I spent the day with Pretty Flamingo vintage to get festival ready from rolling round in a hippy van of goodies, to rummaging through the shops to find the perfect looks for dancing around in the fields of Somerset.
Getting festival ready with Pretty Flamingo
Photos by Karyn Dickinson – MoodyMe Photography
Styling by Liv Heeney & Katie Grundy
One of my favourite trends that never dies is vintage, and it’s so important that we support national vintage stores as some of the best hidden gems that can be found in the independent shops of our town. I’ve been collaborating with Pretty Flamingo which is found in REX Liverpool, as well as coming to every major festival near you.
Sally Ayres the founder of Pretty Flamingo has been travelling around in her bright orange hippy van to bring you the goods to make you look festival ready all year round. This darling brand doesn’t just offer you standard vintage, it’s a treasure chest mother-load of vintage where you can pick up an original flapper dress to flares that the 70s would give a nod to.
What I love about vintage is that it’s nearly impossible to find the same piece anywhere else. I stand for originality and uniqueness, and Pretty Flamingo does exactly that – I mean I think we all want to be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons right?
Sally offers one of a kind pieces that are found from all over the world, from the highest quality fabrics, with a price tag that doesn’t break the bank. Why? Because she does it for the love of creativity and fashion. She thinks that everyone should look fabulous in vintage! Also she hosts the best AirB&B covering her city centre apartment in flamingos, records, retro furniture overlooking a gorgeous skyline. I was fortunate to stay in this bohemian dream of a palace! Serious flat goals!
I’ll be sporting vintage all throughout my time at Latitude, and be covering myself in glitter and flower garlands to fit the rainbow colourfulness of the festival, and mingling with the pink sheep. It’s a gorgeous festival to be heading to, and if you’re already going you’ll be happy to know Pretty Flamingo are setting up at Latitude for entire duration! So you can come down, party, get your face painted and get festivalised with the festie queens. I’ll be there dancing with one of her flamingos and throwing some shapes!
My festival ready tip for Latitude is to embrace colour and go bold.
I love walking around festivals and admiring the array of fashion, it’s like effortless style is oozing everywhere, and seeing unique boldness stand out in a crowd is what festivals are all about to me. Being free and expressing who you are.
So for Latitude I’ll be styling up vintage with designer, as well as bringing one of a kind pieces to the fields of Somerset!
I took a special liking to Pretty Flamingos jackets and jumpsuits in particular, they’re my festival go-tos and you could pick a bunch of decades, and know that Sally will have something that’s your cup of tea from minis to maxis.
On our trip around the Pretty Flamingo shops I took a tour of the brand in Sallys studio, shop in REX and her storage containers where we found a Narnia of collectibles and hidden gems. I felt like I was thrown back into a time machine of retro goodies each piece as beautiful as the next.
This is what I love about Pretty Flamingo is that you’re not getting any vintage, you’re buying into a lifestyle and supporting a hard working successful woman.
Sally also makes her own jewellery from crystals in Ibiza, paints onto jackets and shoes, as well as crafting unique floral crowns (she’s even been known to make an LED crown!) I fell in love with the crown she made for me as it brings a pop of colour to my outfits, as well as contrasting the rainbow locks. Everything about Pretty Flamingo speaks originality and creativity. You feel like a true festival queen in vintage knowing what you’re wearing is personal, there’s a story behind each garment and a lot of hard work has gone into the preservation and restoration in Pretty Flamingos pieces.
You can find Pretty Flamingo in REX Liverpool, on the ASOS Marketplace and on the Pretty Flamingo blog where she scribbles her thoughts. If you want some serious festival inspiration head over to Pretty Flamingos Instagram.
Let me know if any of you are going to Latitude, and who you’re looking forward to seeing!
See you in the fields!
