1. For Halloween a gothic look is de rigueur and for that black velvet is the way to go…This dress with an adorable peter pan collar is perfect –
1950/60’s velvet dress from Your Vintage Life
2. Growing up we had an antique witches ball always at the window…my parents stories of it scaring witches away by them seeing their own reflection or its beauty capturing evil spirits inside scared me to death! This handmade Etsy version is beautiful as well as maybe useful! I guess you can’t be too careful on Halloween night 😉
Etsy vintage witches ball via TheFamilyWitchery
3. One of the greatest horror stories of all time is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Mary aged just 18, and her lover (and later husband) Percy Shelley, visited Lord Bryon in Switzerland. The weather was consistently too cold and dreary that summer to enjoy the outdoor holiday activities they had planned, so the group often retired indoors until dawn. The story goes that they decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for weeks about what her possible storyline could be, Shelley dreamt about a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made. She then wrote Frankenstein. A vintage copy of the original book is a great Halloween read (and also free on Kindle tech lovers!) plus the 1931 film is considered a classic with its controversial scene of the accidental death of the child still shocking to this day. In this case do the book AND the film.
source
4. Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without sweets and no-one does that better than the Americans – check out Americansweets.co.uk for a great selection. Oreos, candy corn, smores or even the world largest gummy brain! A whole 3lb 4oz worth!!! Plus American sweets always feel nostalgic and cool to me anyway.
Gummy brain from americansweets.co.uk
5. We love a cats ear hairband here at YVL and this Topshop one is fabulous. No need for a full costume as you’ll look just purrfect (get it?) as is.
6. If you are going to have Halloween decorations make them amazing vintage ones you can use year after year. Again, American items are the best as we just didn’t celebrate here till quite recently. Look for cat and pumpkin ceramics, paper decorations and vintage masks. We love some of the many early 20th century postcards that were produced – hang pegged onto string for a great decorative bunting. For a cheaper alternative scanned set of postcards can be bought on Etsy as digital downloads and printed off.
Etsy 1911 halloween postcard via ThePamperedPansy
7. The British Film Institute Gothic Horror season is a celebration of gothic film and TV across the UK. See some of the greatest horror films and it – “Taking you to the darkest places of cinema – dripping with blood, fuelled by lust, filled with dread.” according to Heather Stewart, Creative Director. Get yourself dressed up in your best vintage gothic attire and see great films from the 30’s, 50’s and 60’s.
BFI Gothic season
8. Every good witch needs a familiar. This retro black cat ornament looks great too and you can keep it out all year round! We particularly like its name ‘Smokey’ is marked on the bottom. All ornaments should have names we feel.
9. Ahh, to know the future – it was all the rage in the 1920’s with fortune telling being big business. Try it yourself with tea leaves using an original Art Deco bone china tea cup…an utterly gorgeous curio. Now to try and predict this weekends lottery numbers…
Etsy fortune telling cup and saucer via SwirlingOrange11
10. Ever wanted to cast a spell on someone? Well now you can scare them that you just might with a spell book planner/notebook! Obviously there no spells just blank pages but it will keep them guessing!
Etsy Witches spell planner notebook via Istriadesign
So there you go – 1o Halloween inspired buys. Lets embrace a Halloween, enjoy the candy and most of all have some vintage inspired fun! If you have any great finds or decorations, remember to tweet us at YourVintageLife.
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GIVEAWAY TIME!
Who fancies winning their own bright pink lava lamp from the heritage range worth £70?? This one could be yours just by simply subscribing/following the blog either via BlogLovin’ or via the email subscription tab on the right.To be in with the best chance leave a comment also on the blog then we have your contact details! (Useful so we can let you know you have won!)
We will draw the winner randomly on 31st October 2013. Good Luck
