Sunday sunday...

Since we live in Finland, it's about time we write little something about vintage shopping in our home town Tampere. One of our most recent vintage shopping sprees took place in Suvi-Fintage event, held by local vintage enthusiasts. The event took place in Tallipiha stable yards, which is a tourist attraction in the centre of Tampere. Tallipiha is a nice place to visit even without any special event. Small craft shops and cafés offer a relaxing getaway from the noise of the city and the surroundings take you back in time.

At Tallipiha you can find different kinds of hand crafts and there's a chocolate shop open year round.

We had there a lovely, laid back Sunday shopping and eating ice cream...

On our way home we popped in to a giant ginger bread house in the city center.

We'll write more about vintage shopping in Tampere soon. Until next time!

Let's swap those dresses

Dress swaps are a fun way to recycle clothes and a good excuse to throw a party for girls only. Here's how I organized mine a while ago.

I sent the invitations 2-3 weeks beforehand so the guests would have time to go through their wardrobes and find items they no longer use. I knew most of my friends were planning to go to see some bands play later that evening so I figured the girls would be in the mood for a little pre party with cocktails.

Most of us wear the same sizes and have similar style, so we had plenty of stuff to swap. It doesn't matter if all guests aren't the same size though, you can always swap hats, purses, shoes and accessories.

Should there be a theme?
I think it's not necessary to have a theme, but it helps. People have so much stuff nowadays, so you might not want them to bring all their extra clothes at once. I invited friends who are all into vintage style and swing dancing so we mostly had clothing and accessories under those categories.  You could also have a summer clothes swap, or office clothes swap, anything really.

Sell it or give it?
We swapped some items and some were sold & bought. The main idea was not to make money but recycle and save money. When you invite people who know each other there shouldn't be any problems to decide on these things. It's  a great feeling to know your old favorite dresses have a good  new home in your friends wardrobe and they don't all go to strangers via drift stores.

My dress swap theme was five o'clock tea with cocktails, so we had some tea with blueberry cheesecake, home made macaroons, cucumber sandwiches etc. The cocktail was of course a martini,  but since it's summer I made it with watermelon and vodka. The recipe

I found a matching feather fashinator for my dress! I'm like a walking zoo with all the feathers and panther spots.

After swapping & cocktails we headed to the local club to dance and listen to some amazing  old school rock'n'roll bands.

I came home around 3 am, feet hurting like crazy but my heart bubbling with joy, what a perfect evening!

Shopping in Como, Italy

We wanted to write about vintage shopping in Como, but since there are just couple of shops even remotely vintage, we are going to share what we think are the must see spots in this beautiful northern Italian city.

The reason why we travel to same city every year at the same time is Swing Crash Festival, one of Europe's biggest swing dance events during summer. We usually shop during the day and dance the night away... In between we enjoy Italian cuisine with nice wines. Here are some of our top picks from our latest trip:

Vintage shops

For clothes there's a shop called Mercatino Michela on Via Francisco Benzi 13. They mostly had modern fashion but there were some vintage pieces as well. The prices are quite high from our point of view.

We've only managed to find one shop that sells vintage stuff that's not really "old antique". It's located behind the main bus station and it's called Mercatino Usato. They have loads of stuff from past decades and prices are fairly cheap.

There's a department store called COIN in the center of Como (Via Boldoni 3), you can find people selling random vintage items next to the store in a small alley on most days. Handbags, jewelry and watches would be items to look for from those tables.

Vintage reptile embossed leather purse found last summer. 

Shoe shops

Our two favourite shoe shops are Square and Black One. Square has all the shoes categorized by size and they all cost the same, this year 30 eur, but we've seen 15 eur days too. And they got Italian leather shoes!

A shop called Black One has a great selection of Italian shoes, and the prices are very competitive, you can find chic leather shoes for 40 euros or even cheaper. Blackone is located on Piazza S. Fedele. We've never left Blackone without a new pair of shoes!

Square on Via Giuseppe Rovelli

Take a break

While us girls spend an hour in each shoe shop trying everything in our size, our male companions sit down for a cold beer in Café Tropical. They have nice seating outside and very friendly and welcoming staff. Sometimes they bring a complimentary snack. Their bathroom in the back yard is also something to see. Somewhat an exotic experience, go and find out!

Cafe Tropical is located opposite to Square shoe shop on Via Giuseppe Rovelli

Rosé wine for cooling down between shoe shops

Wine & dine

There are plenty of good restaurants in Como. Our all time favorites are the Il Pomodorino on Via Cinque Giornate and La Darsena by the lake. Pomodorino has outside seating in a small courtyart, very good place for a romantic dinner. La Darsena is the place to go if you want to watch the sunset while you eat. Both places serve pizza, price approx. 8-12 euros, bottle of local wine 20-25 euros.

Dessert

Gelato is the obvious choice for dessert, snack, breakfast and for cooling down on a hot summer day. If you want something else, we recommend frozen yoghurt from the Yogurt & Co. It's delicious! 

Other stuff

If you are staying in Como for longer there are plenty of cool things to see and do. If the weather's nice (it usually is) there's a beach near the fountain. Just walk on the right hand side of the lake  (looking from the Piazza Cavour) untill you see a big fountain in the lake. There's a pizza restaurant and they've got a little private beach on their back yard. They charge for everything, but for 15 euros you'll get an entrance, towel and a sun bed.

Be a tourist

There are boats going to every little village along the banks of lago di Como. A great day trip is to visit Bellagio. It's quite touristic, but there's a chance to bump into George Clooney...

If you've already traveled along the lake, so next step is to try a bit of hiking up the hill. For beginners (like us) we recommend riding the Funicolare up to Brunate and walking the trail up to the Volta Lighthouse. the altitude is 900 meters above sea level, so remember to keep hydrated and take it easy if the weather is hot.

When you're walking up the hill and you see this sign, you're not even close. So take a break and have a cold drink, the view is great!

Wiev from Dolce Basilico

More shopping?

If you are up for some vintage shopping, hop on the train and ride to Milano. If you've rented a car and are into more modern look, there's a massive outlet mall in Switzerland side of the border, it's called FoxTown.

There's a market each Saturday next to the wall that surrounds Como from south. You'll find loads of cheap Chinese clothes from there, but also some Italian clothing and shoes. Watch your purse, it can get crowded in there!

Ice cream sticks and banana splits

I've been eating a lot of ice cream this summer and the sticks started piling up. So I got crafty and made these simple chalk board inspired labels for my herb garden on the balcony.

 

I used ordinary craft paint and white marker. Any mistakes on white marker can be fixed with a black narrow marker.

Suomeksi: Jäätelötikuista voi tehdä liitutaulu-henkisiä minikylttejä yrttiruukkuihin. Tavallista askartelumaalia kerros, pari ja teksti vedenkestävällä valkoisella tussilla. Jos tekstistä tulee sotkuinen, sitä voi korjailla päälle mustalla kapealla tussilla.