VINTAGE & AMERICANA

I was about to get myself Gina Holdar's book A-Z of Classic American Clothing, but Ina was quicker and got it to me for Christmas!

It's a good book for anyone interested in American clothing, Americana, or just clothes and also vintage in general, as it is full of useful things to know as well as fun facts. You can get the book via americana.se. The author, based in Sweden, also runs Americana Classic Vintage, and a web store will launch later this month. Americana classic vintgae can also be seen at Helsinki Vintage this weekend.

And now, listen up all of you who will or can be in Helsinki this weekend:
Americana is giving away two tickets to the Helsinki Vintage happening!

The event will take place next Sunday; March 6 - I don't know what evil powers decide it has to be the same weekend as I work, every single time, but luckily the harbour is close so I'll have a chance to stop by.

Anyway, to enter the give away, leave me a comment on this post, and yes, as usual, be sure I will be able to contact you.
Stay put next Friday then as I will draw the winner randomly and let you know the same evening!

And yes, if you post and link to this competition somewhere on the interwebs you get another entry per link, by leaving me a comment and linking to said your mention.

Good luck - and see you next Sunday perhaps :)

AND THE WINNER IS (vol 2)

Aaaaaand, we have another winner tonight!

As usual, I wish it'd be possible for all of you to get a little something in the mail, but as you know there can only be one... And this time the lucky one who will win the delicious sweethearts set from Playful Promises is...
Tanïa! Congratulations :)

AND THE WINNER IS (vol 1)

So, the Vivien of Holloway valentine's giveaway has come to an end. Thank you all for your participating!

The winner was drawn among those who had answered correctly, and the lucky gal was...
Katja, from the Netherlands!

announcement

The Vivien of Holloway competition will end tonight, instead of tomorrow like previously announced! This due to the shipping; so that the winner can receive her products in time for Valentine's Day for sure. So still some more hours time to answer if you already have not!

And as you already know, the Sweethearts give away winner by Playful Promises will also be announced tonight, like planned.

Good luck!

SWEETHEARTS!

I was contacted by Playful Promises, which I think you all remember from before; the brand with playful and retroinspired cute lingerie?

They wanted to let you all know the following:
First, for those of you who will be around London next Thursday, the 10th, there will be a "Late Night Love In" at their East London boutique withbubbly chocolate and 20% off all night, also a burlesque appearance and the chance to win tickets to the TASSEL CLUB Burlesque night.


Second, Playful Promises and Retro Photo Studio have a little competition going on; looking for someone who represents the everyday woman to be turned into a new pin up princess. The winner will get a retrolicious photoshoot in Playful Promoses lingerie - you can read more about it on the Playful Promises Blog!

Third and last, but definitely not least: Playful Promises are giving away the delicious Sweet hearts set in the picture above to one of you -just in time for Valentine's Day!
♥ ♥ ♥
To enter the give away, leave me a comment on this post. Be sure you are linked to a functioning site / profile, or leave me your email in the comment. As usual, only one comment per person, but if you do tweet or post about this give away, linking to it, you may leave me another comment per link, showing me where and what .

The competition will run until February 10th, when I'll draw the winner at random.
Be sure you check your emails then, Playful Promises can do a quick delivery for you to get the lingerie in time for Valentine's Day!
♥ ♥ ♥
PS. You still have one weeks time to enter the Vivien of Holloway competition too. Try your luck!

VIVIEN OF HOLLOWAY VALENTINE'S COMPETITION!

Oh, have I got news for you:


We have once again worked out this nice thing with Vivien of Holloway, and this time they are kind enough to offer one of you a chance to win a £50 gift certificate! Just in time for you to perhaps get yourself something nice for Valentine's Day...

To enter you'll need to answer five questions related to the brand.
Email me your answers to freelancersfashion@gmail.com - use VIVIEN OF HOLLOWAY VALENTINE'S as the subject so I'll be able to find your emails in my inbox!

The questions are as follows:
1. What size is 36/28/40?

2. How would you measure yourself to get the correct bust/waist/hip measurements?

3. Can you tell me in what clothing we have the sweethearts fabric?

4. Where is all the Vivien of Holloway clothing manufactured?

5. Where was our shop before we moved to Holloway Road?

Visit the Vivien of Holloway site (www.vivienofholloway.com) to find the answers!
The winner will be drawn randomly among those who have answered correctly.

The competition is open until February 11th when I will announce who has won the gift certificate.
Vivien of Holloway can offer you next day delivery so you'll get your items in time for Valentine's Day :)

Good luck!

NEW YEAR'S GIVE AWAY OVER

So, I'd like to thank you all a lot for for your comments on the Best Of 2010-competition.

The lucky winner this time was commenter no43; Phoenix Rising! You will receive a small little pinup-package I out together - a set of false lashes, a strawberry pin up lip balm, a swallow pin and a bow pendant.

♥

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF

2011. So, last year is over and this one has begun. Time goes by so fast.
But on the other hand, some things that happened only a short while ago feel like it could have been years since. The days get this strange blue, thin layer of nostalgia over them, and happenings are transferred to this space where time has no meaning - last month, last year, ten years ago. Sometimes it feels like forever, sometimes like just now, sometimes the amount of time does not matter, except for that it is all something that already was.

Well, I guess those are just called memories. Perhaps you know what I mean.


Blogs form this ever changing media in the sense that what you publish is only directly available for a short time; the faster you post the faster old posts disappear to the archives. And while some old posts are viewed over and over again via different sources others will remain unread.

So I thought I'd have kind of a similar diggin-in-the-archives-competition or shall we say give away to the one I did last year, when I asked you to name your favourite post ever on The Freelancer's Fashion Blog.(Surprisingly many thought the best one was written during December 2009, which of course is great as that would mean I just get better by time...or then just that it's not interesting enough or to much bother scrolling back a bit. Heh:)

But anyway, this time it goes like this:
Name or link to your favorite post from 2010 by leaving me a comment.

Just like last year, when Prefecta won the mirror necklace, you will be able to win a surprise gift, something small and pretty.

The competition will be open for about a week or so and you can of course enter from where-ever in the world you are, but do leave me your email if you don't have a blog or page to link to.
Happy New Year!

TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER

Ok.
So the Hoochie Mama Jane Art Deco earring give away is over.
And.
The winner,
who will receive these,

is...
(drumroll; trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)
Pinup Candy!

And for the rest of you, there will be more give away's coming up still ♥

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW (+ ONE FIFTH THING)

Pretty carnations against my soft pink kitchen walls.

Bread with butter and a whole lot of garlic plus apples from the farm. Life is too short and baked goods too great to ever even consider giving up carbs (which are healthy btw), bah!

The high heeled vintage brogues I mentioned earlier. Another case of The Lazy Thrifter Get's Lucky; they were brought to me, didn't have to lift a finger.

Wall paper from PiP Studio that will soon be on a door here at home!


+ that fitfh little extra thingie; the Playful Promises give-away has ended and the lucky winner was Maarikki!
however, the rest of you still have a chance to buy your favorite Playful Promises items (and anything else on the site too of course) with a discount of 20%, as the discount is extended until Friday October 1st! So hurry up! Use the code fashion.

♥ PLAYFUL PROMISES COMING UP ♥

I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with Playful Promises already?
If not, then hurry up and give them a look; I'm sure you will like it:


Playful Promises is a London designed brand with a range of playful and flirty lingerie, swimwear and gifting in delicious colours and shapes with cute packing - I love the candy pants for example!

Playful Promises was created in 2004 and can be found in stores around the world as well as in their own shop in East London and of cores online: www.playfulpromises.com

Here's a little sneak peek of what's to come later this fall:


So, now I'm of course more than pleased to be able to offer one of you the chance to win a Playful Promises' Please Me Please set!

The winner can choose between a bra or a basque, and a brief or a thong. The sizing goes from XS-XL and 32A-26DD.

How to enter?
Visit the Playful Promises site and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite Playful Promises product is! Make sure your blogger profile is available/blog link working, or if you do not have a blog or site, remember to leave me your email in the comment so I can reach you afterwards. One only comment per person!

You may get another entry if blog or tweet (or post on a forum) and link to the give-away. Leave me another comment telling me you've done so, linking to your post in question.

The give-away ends in one week, September 28th! I will draw the winner randomly the nest day.

Last but not least, you also have the chance to shop at Playful Promises with a discount of 20% until then!
Use the code fashion.

Good luck and playful shopping ♥

announcements

1) The give-away from Island Filigree has ended and the two lucky winners are: Anaïs, who will get the pendant, and Mae, who will receive the earrrings!

2) I have no idea why it is so hard for me to actually get the things out there, but by now I have collected two ikea-bags full of items I will sell and donate away. The ones in the first category will end up on my sales blog, including the following almost unused items: a bullet bra, girdle and waist cincher, all one size too big for me, all from What Katie Did. I will try and goddamit post them on the blog next week so in case you're interested stay tuned!

3 ) and oh yeah, almost forgot, we Itty-Bitties now have a blog; catch up with burlesque news, shows and updates here: ittybittytease.blogspot.com! Our site is finally also up and running, version 1.0 at least.

A PRETTY PRETTY GIVEAWAY

I am glad to tell you not only one but two of my readers will have the chance to win some beautiful handmade filigree jewelry:

A paisley pendant-


- or a pair of Drop Flower earring from Island Filigree!

Island Filigree sells sterling silver filigree from the Mediterranean island of Malta. Filigree is an ancient tradition that has been handed down over generations for hundred of years. The art of filigree is now experiencing somewhat of a renaissance in Malta, as local artist have started to make new and more contemporary designs. Island Filigree sources filigree from Maltese artists only and make sure everything on their site is handmade.

For more info and shopping head over to their site islandfiligre.com. They offer free shipping worldwide!

To enter the contest, as usual, leave e a comment on the post below. You may mention weather you'd rather win the pendant or the earrings, but bear in mind that the winner will be drawn randomly so it can be either one in the end.

Please leave me only one comment and make sure your profile is viewable or that you've left me a link to your site or your email!

If you tweet or link to this giveaway you may have another entry for the contest; leaving me another comment linking to the post/tweet or forum in question. I will draw the winners on Sunday, September 5th!
♥ Good luck ♥

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW (OF WHICH ONE OF THEM IS THE WINNER!)

Parmesan-walnut-lemon pasta helping us recover from the wedding last night. Should've made more...


Finally got the closet emptied of stuff (my grandfather's books and a whole lot more undefined stuff), washed and painted to be ready to filled with my stuff! Burlesque stuff mostly. Our living room is grateful to stop serving as a storage room.


My pelargoniums are dying. I don't know why. They are in a sunny place and get enough water. Any hints how to recover them anyone?


Last but not least, Miss Fortuna drew a winner of the Tyra Therman mermaid brooch and the lucky one is Paula!

FOR YOUR INNER MERMAID / PEARL OYSTER GIVEAWAY FROM TYRA

The pearl oyster brooch (or well, pearl mussel actually) is from Tyra Therman...

...and you can win a similar one for yourself!

I always thought Tyra's pearl oyster-jewellery were beautiful and a brilliant idea; like something a mermaid lost, washed up on the shore to be found by some lucky girl passing by...

You can buy her mussel brooches, necklaces and earrings as well as other jewellery and accessories from her shop; Punavuoren Putiikki and now also online from Made By. (Made By is like a Finnsish Etsy, still taking it's baby steps - it is possible to order abroad but so far Made By can only calculate the shipping fee for Finland.)b But first, try and win one for yourself!

The brooch is made out of mussel shells and pearl-beads.

To enter the give-away, as usual, just leave a comment on this post.
If you do not have a blog or website trough which I can reach you, remember to leave me your email.
And please, as I will draw the winner on random, only ONE comment per person!
If you link to this give-away in your blog, on your site, on twitter or some forum you hang out on you may leave me one more comment (per link) telling me that you've done so, and of course linking to the post/site in question.

The competition is open until next week's Sunday evening, July 25th!
Good luck!

(PS. Love you all! ♥)

A LIL' SOMETHING 2

Next Friday, July 2nd (is it going to be July already? Oh my.) Tampere will go all exotic due to the Burlesque Coctail-party, held att YO-talo, organized by Tampere Burlesque.:


I will be elsewhere as the Helsinki Cruising Club is on the same night, but you can catch for example Sally Vanilla and the Finnish Blonde Burlesque troupe on stage. There will also be a Mucha-inspired Dr.Sketchy's held before the event starts!

Now the following one mostly goes out to the Finns, but of course to everyone else too who happens to be around: Vaudeville Boutique is offering one of you the chance to win two tickets to the event!

Enter by leaving a comment below and make sure to leave me your email if you do not have a blog or such trough which I can reach you. The contest is up until Wednesday, June 30th at around 15:00(EET).

WINNERS

The Olivia Rouge give-away has ended!

The lucky winners are:
.
.
.
.
.
...Emm, who will win the golden bow!

and...
.
.
.
...Peyton Sawier, who will receive the silver one!

Congratulations ladies, you will receive an email from me shortly :)

OLIVIA'S GIVEAWAY

My friend Olivia Rouge has now opened up her own shop-atelier. Not in my hometown though, but in hers; Tampere - find her at Mäntykatu 4.

For those of you elsewhere, Olivia also has a webshop and an etsy filled with her accessories and summer-y dresses!



Pictures from the atelier.

And now on to the best part: now not olny one but two lucky readers have the chance to win an Olivia Rouge sequin bow-clip!

One lucky gal (or boy for all that I care) will win a silvery one.

And the other lucky one will win a gold one!

How to enter?
Easy peasy. Just leave one comment - and one comment only - on this post, making sure you include a valid email address of yours if you do not have a blog or site linked to your profile. If you however link this giveaway on your site, blog or say facebook, you may leave me another comment telling me you've done so and linking to that page in particular!

And, one little treat still before I pack my bags and head for a three-day wedding elsewhere;
Olivia is offering 15% off purchases at oliviarougeshop.com for the fastest ones - the first 25 customers will receive the discount when entering the code FREELANCERS!

Note that the discount is valid at the online store, not her etsy shop. Non-Finnish customers must email their orders as the site can't calculate the post charges right, just add the code to the email.

The give away is open until Friday May 21st! Good luck ♥

and

the winner

is...

The Sock Theory giveaway has ended and the winner has been drawn. This time luck landed on commenter no.8; Rubyredruca - who I'm sure will look lovely strutting around in her tuxedo stirr-ups! Congrats!

And for all you others, remember you can still get the discount from Sock Theory (see the banner in my right column) - and don't worry, there will be more chances of winning something small and lovely soon again!
♥

SOCK THEORY

Lucky girls (and boys), it's giveaway time again - one of you will have the chance to win a pair of funny, but edgy "Tuxedo Stirrrr-up" Knee High Socks from Sock Theory!


Sock Theory carries a lot of funny, pretty and stylish socks, stockings, tights and more to go along with different styles. Wear the tuxedo knee highs as pictured with heels like leg warmers, as socks on black stockings with black heels for a trompe l'oleil boot look, with flats or why not with a pair of calf-high boots?

As usual, all you have to do to enter is to leave one comment -and one comment only- on this post, also mentioning your email if I can't reach you through your blog or such.

If you however post and link to this give away you may leave me another comment telling me about it, giving you two entries.

The winner will be drawn randomly on Friday April 23rd!

As there can only be one winner there is a another treat in for everyone still: Sock Theory offers you a discount code for 10% off purchases of $25 or more! The code is FREELANCER.

I suggest you check out the store; Sock Theory is all-female owned, New York based, active since January and with the aim to open up shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Morgan, who contacted me, tells me she developed the concept of legwear being the centerpiece of an outfit, instead of just an accessory. She wears, owns and models all items on the site and only selects products for Sock Theory that are unique and interesting.



Good luck -and happy shopping- everyone!