Here in Cambridge we are revelling in the sunshine and the delights that await us this summer. One of our favourite things about this season is the riot of colourful flowers that are coming out, so here are our top five flower prints to celebrate! 

60s Floral A Line Dress 
£40.00

Vintage Pink Floral Dress 
£45.00

70s Liberty Print Top
£40.00

Vintage Floral Peplum Dress
£40.00

70s Yellow Floral Maxi Dress
£35.00

All these vintage beauties are now available in our online shop. My personal favourite has to be the Liberty top - I just love how the print mixes both flower power and paisley. Which floral print do you like best?

A massive thank you to all the lovely people who entered our Celebration Giveaway and joined in with our excitement at opening our Online Shop!

We are very excited to announce that the randomly drawn winner is... 

... the wonderful Ros from Retro-On-Sea! 

We are delighted to know that our vintage accessories will be going to such a good home - Ros has a fabulous shop full of seaside delights, so do check it out! 

Sorry to all the other vintage fans that missed out - I wish you all could have won! As a thank you for taking part we are giving you a discount on orders with Retrovert. Use the code Celebration10 at the checkout to get 10% of your vintage purchases :-)

Wishing you all a very happy and vintage filled April! 

Sophie from Retrovert x

On Sunday we ventured out to a new event in the area. We took our colourful vintage fashion to the village of Whittlesford for the very first Authentique Vintage and Interiors Fair. 

The item that got the most love on the day was this Dollyrockers cotton mini dress. It hasn't yet found its perfect fitting partner, but I'm sure it won't be long! 

Our neighbour was the lovely Sheila from Pretty Things. It was their very first fair and, living up to their name, they had a pretty pastel collection of Art Deco ceramics with unusual designs. The most striking item on their stall was a 'Bizarre' sugar bowl by Clarice Cliff. It has inbuilt sugar tongs on the lid and a rich handpainted design. 

On our other side was Oxbow and Peach with a sparkling array of vintage china and decorative wares, perfect for adding a vintage touch to your home. Lizzie and Georgie have a great eye and have recently opened a shop in Whittlesford so do check it out. 

Another stall that caught our eye was Molly's Vintage with a classic Seventies orange and brown display bursting with retro goodies. According to the stallholder Alyson, one of the reasons these iconic storage jars have the text on is to make them specific for a function, and not just purely decorative, which gave them a lower tax rate. They are wonderfully characterful - if you look closely you can see this Onion is even crying! 

Thanks to everyone that came along! Hope to see you at our next event - Judy's Vintage Fair in the Cambridge Guildhall on May 10th. 

Have a great week, 
Sophie from Retrovert x

Are you looking for something fun to do this weekend around Cambridge? Then come along to see us and other lovely local businesses for a day of vintage loveliness at Whittlesford Memorial Hall on Sunday 23rd March. 

There will be all sorts of delights for you and your home - including Fashion, Furniture, Crafts and Collectibles. There will be a charming vintage tea room so you can also enjoy a cuppa and some delicious cake. 

Retrovert are bringing a beautiful collection of vintage clothing, including lots of lovely print dresses perfect for your spring/summer wardrobe. 

And we will also have a eye catching array of accessories, including handbags, scarves and lots of gorgeous vintage brooches like these...

So if you are looking for a lovely day out, the chance to treat yourself to some vintage wares, or even to find the perfect Mother's Day gift, then come on down. We'd be delighted to see you! 

Have a great rest of the week, 
Sophie from Retrovert x

P.S. If you are feeling lucky today, then don't forget to enter our our giveaway to win a fabulous bundle of vintage accessories! 

We had a blast at last Sunday's Cambridge Vintage Fair. The half marathon made it a bit tricky to get into town, but it proved to be no obstacle for hundreds of shoppers determined to get their vintage fix! 

It was the first gloriously sunny and warm day of the year and this was perfectly suited to our stall full of colourful spring and summer vintage fashion. 

Our stall was filled with new stock, not just dresses but accessories too. Like these silk designer scarves... 

... and a sparkling collection of vintage evening bags. 

As always we dressed in our vintage garb. Mum looked lovely in her chiffon tea dress from Retrovert. It has a fresh floral print ideal for spring. 

I went for a 60s look in my original purple lace shift top, white trousers and purple suede wedges. I absolutely love these trousers - they have the most amazing circular 'windows' at the hem and I knew I just had to keep them when I found them. 

We found lovely new owners for many of our unique vintage pieces. This sky blue chiffon maxi was hard to say goodbye to, but seemed the perfect dress to sell on a such a beautiful spring day. 

Thanks to everyone who dropped by Retrovert's stall. We will be back at the Guildhall in May with even more vintage loveliness. 

Hope you are all enjoying the start of spring!
Sophie from Retrovert x

We are so happy about the opening of our Online Shop. To share some of our joy we are giving away a fantastic collection of vintage accessories to one lucky person. 

The prize consists of: 

• Gorgeous blue satin scarf 
  
• Metallic gold handbag
• Mint beaded necklace
• Hand embroidered floral brooch
• Super cute bow brooch

Five fabulous vintage accessories to brighten up any outfit this spring. They would make perfect presents for vintage loving friends, or you could keep them all for yourself! 

How To Enter
There are three ways of earning an entry. The more you do the more chances you have to win! 

• Leave a comment on this post telling us your favourite item in our new Online Shop
• Sign up to our Monthly Newsletter using the box at the top of the sidebar
• Share a link to the giveaway on Twitter mentioning @Retro_Vert

Terms and Conditions

• The giveaway closes at 9pm on the 27th March 2014
• The winner will be chosen at random from the valid entries and will be contacted by email shortly after the giveaway closes. If no response is received in 7 days, we will draw another winner.

Good luck everyone! 
Sophie from Retrovert x

We love vintage fashion and accessories. And we know you do too! We absolutely adore selling to our customers at fairs, but there are so many more vintage loving gals around the world that deserve to get their hands on Retrovert's delights. So it is with great excitement that we announce the opening of our Online Shop.

Our collection is eclectic and full of vintage gems. We want to help you find items that suit your own unique style - maybe you love the classic shape of Fifties frocks, or maybe the bold prints of the Sixties are more your thing -  whatever look you love, we are here to help find the perfect vintage piece for you! 

Here's a little preview of my five favourite dress available in the shop right now (and boy was it hard to narrow them down!) 

We will be adding new items to the Shop each week, so check back often. I promise we have some more absolute stunners coming soon! 

Have a fantastic week
Sophie from Retrovert x

I love pancakes and I have them for breakfast every week. They are too good to have them just once a year on Shrove Tuesday! I have been making pancakes since I was a kid. It is probably one on the first recipes I learnt and now remember off by heart. With just three basic ingredients it is incredibly simple - the kind of recipe you can whip up in the morning before you've fully woken up. 

4 oz Plain Flour 
1 egg
1/2 pint of milk (or use half milk and half water)

Weigh the flour, add the egg and then pour in about a quarter of the milk. Mix until very smooth with no lumps. Then add the remaining liquid. And now your batter is complete. Told you it was easy! 

To cook your pancakes heat a little oil up in a flat frying pan. When you add the batter it should hiss and this shows that the pan is hot enough. The trick to getting a nice thin pancake is to pour in the mixture slowly covering about three quarters of the base, and then quickly pick up the pan and swivel it to spread the batter out into a thin layer. Cook for around a minute until the top is starting to cook. Then turn it and cook on the other side for another minute or until cooked to your preference. 

If you are feeling ambitious and want to toss your a pancake then here are my tips: 

• Make sure it is cooked enough before you try, otherwise you will end up with something resembling scrambled egg. 
  
• Shake the pan to loosen the pancake. If it moves easily you are ready to try flipping it. 
• The toss is in a flick of the wrist - tilt the pan slightly down then give a sharp upward flick to toss your pancake into the air. 
• Have fun and give it a go - you can always double the batter for a bit of practice beforehand. 
• Keeping a pan just for pancakes makes them easier to toss. Look after it by wiping with kitchen paper after using instead of washing, and try not to burn anything in it to keep the surface non stick. 

So there you have it - a super easy pancake recipe. Lemon and sugar is a great traditional topping. Personally I am rather partial to melted chocolate and raspberries. However you have them - Enjoy! 

Sophie from Retrovert x

Two days to go to the 86th Academy Awards! We love film, but here at Retrovert what we are really interested in is the fashion. We can't wait to see the fabulous gowns on the red carpet runway, but also to find out who is going to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Nominated are Michael Wilkinson for American Hustle, William Chang Suk Ping for The Grandmaster, Catherine Martin for The Great Gatsby, Michael O'Connor for The Invisible Woman and Patricia Norris for 12 Years a Slave. 

It looks like the odds are on for Catherine Martin to clinch the award with her work on The Great Gatsby. She worked alongside Miuccia Prada and the Brook Brothers to produce breathtaking 1920s inspired designs. The 1920s is one of my favourite eras and if you fancy channelling your inner flapper then here's how to Get the Gatsby Look with Twenties Accessories. 

If you take a look at previous Oscar winners for Costume Design, then it looks to be in Martin's favour. She won back in 2001 with Moulin Rouge! so she's proved she can do it.

Films featuring the iconic Jazz Age of the Twenties have fared well too. The Aviator won in 2004, also featuring Leonardo DiCaprio in some very dapper suits and Chicago won in 2002 with its fabulous flapper fashions. The Great Gatsby from 1974 clinched the award for Best Costume too. 

Did you see the Great Gatsby - what did you think of the costumes? Do they deserve to win the Oscar? Let us know in the comments below. 

Sophie from Retrovert x