We’re never off duty here at Retro To Go – even when we’re out shopping, we’re on the lookout for retro items. Like these Mary Quant-style mugs from Tesco.
They were spotted in the home section of our local store (so apologies for the picture quality) – and don’t seem to be available to buy online. For your money, you get a large mug in black and white with a floral design not a million miles away from the trademark Quant daisy.
And as you would expect, not too expensive either – around £3.
You can search eBay for vintage fashion, you can wander the streets to find vintage shops or you can find a whole load of it up for auction at the Kerry Taylor vintage fashion auction on Tuesday 20th March 2007.
Kerry Taylor was a Sotheby’s auctioneer who has set up as a specialist fashion dealer, running regular vintage fashion auctions in the Sotheby’s auction rooms. You can pick up several designer pieces (mens and womens) at prices below retail.
But if you want the best deals, check out the bulk sales – like this cocktail and dinner wear lot from the 1960s. Approximately 63 pieces in the set (including the dresses pictured here) for an estimate of between £150 and £250. Good value in anyone’s book.
Find out the full details at Kerry Taylor Auctions website
London’s Routmaster buses might have gone, but that’s just created a market for all of their component parts. And the most interesting of them all are these Routmaster destination blinds re-invented as art.
Made from actual blinds by Pedlars, you’ll have to contact the company to make sure your favourite location is available, as they’re obviously made from a gradually-decreasing stock. The location is then framed and mounted, then sent off to you as a piece of history to show off.
Not cheap, with prices from £199, but it could be a worthwhile investment for years to come.
Find out more at the Pedlars website
Looking like the wallpaper you might see in an old family photograph is this Dorothy Perkins Retro Print luggage.
There’s a definite 70s feel here – an extreme version of a wild 70s wallcovering. Two items in the range, the larger luggage pictured here, as well as a holdall that should be useful as a cool weekend bag.
Both are 100% cotton and machine washable, with the luggage retailing for £30 and the holdall for £25.
Find out more at the Dorothy Perkins website
Via The Bag Lady
Yes, Andy Warhol did a famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe – but he also did a lot more, more than 300 in fact – and these are all collected in a new book by Phaidon – Andy Warhol Portraits.
The book is the first to offer a comprehensive overview of Warhol`s many portraits, including well-known icons as well as many works largely unknown even by avid Warhol followers, including socialites, art dealers, collectors, politicians, and cult figures of a particular era. The portraits cover a wide period in time – from the early 1960s until his death in 1987.
Also included is an introduction by gallerist Tony Shafrazi and essays by Warhol experts, art historians, and critics.
Available now in hardback, you can pick it up for around £30.
When we’re looking round for quirky retro design, D&G wouldn’t be the first place to look. But amazingly, it is D&G who are behind this Test Card watch.
Inspired by the first ever BBC "electronically generated" test card (test card G), it’s certain to get people talking – probably about their childhood. In terms of features, it has a quartz movement, one-touch backlight, water-resistance to 50m and a steel bracelet with butterfly buckle.
You can pick one up now – it retails for £175.
Find out more at the Shade Station website
