Something Blue

by Linda Duriez April 23, 2019

I’m always amazed at the wonderful array of people who find their way to our door.

They say that birds of a feather flock together, and certainly amongst those collectors and enthusiasts of heirloom fashion who visit us there are many who become friends and collaborators.

Some of our birds fly in from a little further than others, and we were delighted to welcome fashion blogger and international jet setter Jenny Mandera, who came all the way from Malaga to enjoy a day of dressing up and shooting with us. She fitted perfectly into our little team, and the fitting room at Days of Grace was filled with excited exclamations as she and our regular model Josie tried on their looks and made tweaks and adjustments.

Undaunted by our bracing sea breezes after the balmy med, Jenny played the part of the whimsical artist to a T.

A montage of images of our models on a pebble beach, wearing original vintage blue flocked organza outfits. Josie wears a floor length 1950's dress with a pale blue antique veil flowing from a satin headband. Jenny poses at an easel, paintbrush in hand as though painting Josie, wearing a stylish 1950's swing coat in sky blue

Managing a day of strong sun and stronger gusts of wind on Budleigh beach, our hardy models shot 3 looks (two of which will feature in our next blog), punctuated by a Devon cream tea made by our photographer Louisa, who evidently knows just what will sustain a supermodel.

Two shots of blogger and influencer Jenny Mandera, standing in front of a pale blue beach hut on Budleigh beach. In the left hand image, she wears a sky blue flocked organza swing coat, an original fifties coat from our collection. She has teamed it with a straw hat and tan ankle boots. In the second image, she has unbuttoned her coat to show the Edwardian nightshirt beneath, the wind whipping her blonde hair across her face.

Shooting this look in glorious Budleigh Salterton, one of our old English sayings came to mind

- There’s never enough of that particular heavenly blue because God used it all up on the sky! By the time he had finished the sea too, he only had enough blue for the most special flowers.

Our "flowers" must be particularly special, since they were drenched in shades from palest sky-blue to forget-me-not, and every shade in between.

Our models caused quite a stir on Budleigh beach, picking their way over the pebbles in their delicious vintage outfits and posing amongst the beach huts. I selected two flocked organza pieces from the 1950’s for this look, an elegant floor sweeping gown modelled by Josie, and a stylish swing coat modelled by Jenny. The coat has since made its way into my own wardrobe, but the girls are working on me!

I always have some blue accessories in the shop, as many brides love to have “something blue” on their wedding day. The pale blue vintage lace veil is so very pretty, and would work beautifully with a white dress and blue sash. For glamorous impact you just can’t beat these feather capes from our secret supplier, hand made and dyed here in the UK.

Influencer and blogger Jenny Mandera stands on a pebble beach on a bright sunny spring day. She is posed playfully at an easel, paintbrush in hand, and smiles into the middle distance, clutching her straw hat to her head against the sea breeze. She wears a distinctive blue swing coat - an original vintage coat from the fifties.

We think that the Budleigh landscape is just as much the star of these shoots as our beautiful models. Why not pay the East Devon coast a visit and pop in to see us whilst you’re here?

Photographer - Louisa Currier

Stylist - Linda Duriez

Models - Jenny Manderra and Josephine Birch

With special thanks to Stephen Duriez