On Thursday 1st May we organised out first fashion show to raise money for local charity Senior Solutions, whilst raising awareness of Westhoughton businesses. We are please to announe that we raised £1485 for Senior Solutions.
Fashion Show Review
On Thursday 1st May, we organised a local fashion show to raise money for Senior Solutions whilst raising the profile of local businesses. Senior Solutions is a Westhoughton based charity that combats social isolation and loneliness by visiting local people and those in the surrounding area. The event took place at Brookfield Hall that was hired to us free of charge.
On the night, Lane of Vintage Vocals acted as compare for the evening, as well as entertaining with his singing. All of the photos that you see on this blog were taken by Phil of Snap Decision who was the official photographer for the evening.
Vibrant Vintage opened the fashion show with a collection of true vintage clothing from the 1950′s to 1980′s. Below Cat wears a 1970′s blue Eastex suit, and carried a 1940′s suitcase. The size 12 suit has a very 1940′s vibe about it and is priced at £25 (the suitcase is not for sale)
Next up we have Vicky wearing a lovely Global 1960′s tropical dress priced at £30. She is carrying an unusual bag priced at £10
Then we had Alex wearing a purple 1980′s dress with beaded detail. This size 12 dress is priced at £20. With Alex we have our male model of the evening Chris, wearing a vintage shirt pried at £12
Next we had Rebecca wearing a 1960′s vibrant sun dress in a size 8/10 priced at £20. She is wearing a yellow sun hat (£10), retro sun glasses (£1) and white lace up size 3 1960′s boots (£25)
Then we had Julie in a 1960′s pink size 10 dress priced at £20. She is carrying a large pink wedding hat priced at £20
Next we have Sara wearing a 1950′s yellow and black three quarter sleeve dress priced at £45. She carries a black clutch bad (has a chain) priced at £10
Then we have Lauren wearing a beautiful 1950′s pink dress in a small size 8 (priced at £60). She wears this dress with little lace socks and carries a 1950′s box bag with cherries on.
Then we have the lovely Alice in one of our red crown of roses rockabilly dresses.
Then we have Cat modelling a 1980′s black and green dress with matching jacket priced at £35.


Next we had Alex in a vibrant floral 1980′s dress priced at £20

Finally, Rebecca concluded the first catwalk in a jaw dropping 1950′s evening dress (£60), pink gloves (£4) and gold bag (£12)


After Antique Chic, Alexandra Kay Designs showed off her debut collection of vintage inspired clothing, all made from vintage dress patterns.
Following Alexandra Kay Designs there was a short break where people could browse the selection of stalls and buy raffle tickets. Victoria Jones entertained with her fantastic 1960′s songs.

After this Vibrant Vintage were back with their second catwalk of the evening. First up were the British made rockabilly dresses, priced at £50.
- British made dress £50
- British made dress £50
Then we had Cat in a lovely British made black watch tartan dress with lace detail priced at £35


We also had Chris in a Levi denim jacket priced at £40 and a wrangler shirt £10


Rebecca wore a vintage swimming costume priced at £15, a vintage red hat (£15) and a vintage blue and gold dressing gown (£12)

We then showcased our stunning wedding dresses. Lauren was first on the catwalk in a gold British made rockabilly dress priced at £50

Sara wore a beautiful 1980′s knee length lace wedding dress, priced at £80

Then we had Alex in a size 8 1980′s evening dress (£40) and hat with veil detail (£15). Chris wore a shirt (£10), cravat (£10) and Harris Tweed (£50)

Next up we had Vicky in a 1970′s dress with pink tassel detail (priced at £50)

Finally, we had Rebecca in a stunning 1970′s wedding dress (£100) and veil.

Vibrant Vintage would like to thank everyone who took part in the event. We are still collecting the money and will let you know as soon as we do, how much was raised for Senior Solutions.
Charity Fashion Show
On Thursday 1st May 2014 we are organising a charity fashion show to raise money for Senior Solutions, a Westhoughton charity (registered charity No. 1090662). The fashion show will take place at Brookfield Hall, which has very kindly been hired to us free of charge.
The idea behind the event is not only to raise money for a worthwhile charity but also to raise awareness of the varied and diverse businesses that Westhoughton has to offer. Vibrant Vintage will be taking part in the catwalk, as will local shop Status@BL5 and a young fashion designer, Alexandra Kay Designs.
The event will start at 7pm where you will be greeted with a goodie bag. You will then be able to browse a selection of stalls, all local businesses, prior to the fashion show. You will also to able to buy raffle tickets priced at £1 for 5, all money raised goes to Senior Solutions. Prizes include:
- Silver earrings – donated by Nash Jewellers
- 2 x one month gym memberships and 2 x five personal training sessions – donated by Body Torq
- 2 x £5 vouchers – donated by Pawsilicious
- cut and blow - donated by Capelli Lounge
- Shower head, hose and soap dish – donated by Bathroom Design & Supply Ltd
- 4 x £5 vouchers – donated by Waterfields
- 32GB memory stick – donated by AWK Computers
- 1 free hair cut and 1 free cut throat shave – donated by Kals Barbers
- Inline Skates – donated by Westhoughton Hardware
- 2 x £5 vouchers – donated by Gee Tees
- Jar of lemon curd – Kens Deli
- Tooth brush holder and soap dispenser – donated by Select Bathrooms
- 3 x book of discount vouchers – donated by Westhoughton market
- Vouchers for a hanging baskets and mugs- donated by Darby’s Garden Centre
- Two steaks and bottle of wine – donated by Weathersppons
The fashion show will then commence at 7.30pm, where Lane will compère and entertain for the evening. Our stunning local models will showcase the beautiful clothes from Status@BL5, Alexandra Kay Designs and Vibrant Vintage. The models will be having their hair styled by Jaks who are based in Westhoughton. Jaks have kindly donated a voucher for a cut and blow too! There will be a break between each catwalk where Antique Chic will be singing.
All clothes that you see on the catwalk are available to buy on the night. Following the fashion show, you will be able to have a browse of the clothes and have a glass of wine and some food.
Tickets are priced at £6, this includes nibbles and a goodie bag. All tickets will be entered into a prize draw to win 5 bottles of wine on the night. If you would like to buy a ticket, kindly printed by Infinity Imaging free of charge, please call into Vibrant Vintage, Status@BL5 or the café in the market.
If you are a local business we ask that you drop off 150 business cards so we can put these in the goodie bags that will be given to each customer. Furthermore, if you can put up a poster advertising the event or donate a raffle prize, items for the goodies bag or money to the charity please drop an email to victoriaclaire@vibrantvintage.co.uk
Wooden advent calendars
Advent calendars originate, like so many of our Christmas traditions, from Germany. At the beginning of the 19th century German Lutherans would count down to Christmas by drawing a chalk line on their doors. This started on 1st December and ended on 24th December, when Germans open their presents. However, some families decided to light a new candle each day as a count down to Christmas. Eventually, the first advent calendar was made in 1851.
Victoria of Vibrant Vintage has a German boyfriend and seven years ago she bought him a standard Cadbury’s advent calendar. However, in return she received a very elaborate wooden advent calendar filled with the best German chocolate. Her boyfriend explained that it is traditional in Germany for boyfriends and girlfriends to buy (some even make) a decorative wooden advent calendar and fill it with yummy chocolate or home made treats. Apparently, buying a ready made calendar lacks thought!
Every year Victoria receives another wooden advent calendar filled with chocolate and sweets. Last year we used these wooden advent calendars to decorate our stall but were inundated with requests to buy these calendars. Therefore we have decided to sell some lovely wooden advent calendars in our shop. Below are a selection of our wooden advent calendars
A nice alternative to the wooden advent calendar is the Santa Sacks. These can hang anywhere and with more space for chocolate, perfect if you have more than one child. The below sacks are a red and white Nordic garland priced at £20.
Finally, if you love advent calendars but have decided to lose a few pounds for the party season, we have some great advent count downs without the calories.
All of the above are available to purchase at Vibrant Vintage, 2-4 Wilbraham Street, Westhoughton, Bolton, BL5 3RA. The shop is open Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am – 5pm.
A charity afternoon tea
One of my all time favourite things to do is to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon sipping tea, eating dainty sandwiches and devouring a scone (or three) topped with clotted cream and jam. So when I heard that Tracey, one of our regular stallholders at Haigh Hall, was hosting a charity afternoon tea I jumped at the chance to attend.
Tracey has recently set up the charity Leapfrog Community Platform – Bury and Bolton foodbank, a food bank to assist local people. Having worked as a legal advisor for the housing charity Shelter, I am familiar with people having to rely on food banks for a variety of reasons from redundancy, fleeing domestic violence to young people who have found themselves thrown out of the family home. So not only was it afternoon tea but raising money for a worthwhile cause.
The event was held at Little Lever Cricket Club, where the room was decorated with handmade bunting and wild flowers in jam jars or vintage jugs. The tables were laid with vintage table cloths, china cups, side plates and cake plates full of a variety of sandwiches. Tracey’s daughter, Lauren, waited the tables bringing hot tea.
Following a plate of sandwiches, cakes made by Brookes cupcakes were available to munch on. I had a very yummy scone and carrot cake but there were also a variety of cupcakes, Victoria sponge and chocolate cake to eat. While eating these scrumptious cakes, the fabulous Bexi Owen entertained us with songs from the 50′s and 60′s.
For the afternoon tea I wore an original 1950′s silk wiggle dress with floral print. I accessorised with pink 1980′s Etam shoes, art deco fan shaped clip on earrings and Radley handbag. I put a victory roll in the front of my hair.
While my mum wore a lovely Bon Marche purple wrap round dress (this season). She accessorised with a lovely opal and sapphire necklace.
Following on from this event, Tracey is looking for people to put collection boxes in prominent places or act as a food collection point. If anyone can assist please drop me an email and I will send you Tracey’s contact details.