More Coquettes and a Forward Flapper

'Do you mind if I smoke?'- Well how could you refuse! The top image is from a book entitled 'The Grand Days of Travel'; she personifies the androginous yet extremely provocative flapper style, with her suit and tie, yet a glimpse of girlish stocking. Also note her rather sweet little dog friend. The whole books is very interesting with some great images (for example: a photo of a zeppelin flying over the pyramids- how 30's can you get?) but this is by far our favourite.

The other images are from the three other copies of 'La Coquette' which I finally managed to get my hands on, the dates ranging from early to mid thirties. I could kill for the tweed number second in from the right in the coats illustration. There is something for both me and Tom- planes and fashion, all you could want in a magazine cover really.

New Bookster Suit

A long way back in February I ordered a suit from a company named Bookster. Choosing between all of the tweeds they have in stock was no mean feat, an hour is easily whittled away imagining how each swatch may look as a suit, in the end however, I settled for a cloth named 'Stirling'. It is a gun-metal grey in true light with a mustard and pale grey check. I took delivery of it in the last couple of weeks. How can I describe how pleased I am with it? It is all I imagined and more. I find myself waiting with anticipation for cooler days so as I can wear it. It hasn't been particularly cool to-day but what with the new blog and so on I had to post a few pictures.

If anyone is thinking of bagging themselves a suit for the winter Bookster come highly recommended from me. Anyone not, have a look at the cloth gallery anyway. Perhaps my next will be their new Navy blue with red check pattern...

La Coquette

Tom was lucky enough to have first pick of a few 1930's French magazines that came into Otto Retro whilst he was helping out there; he saved me this one which is from 1932. I will be going in Tuesday to try and snaffle the rest for myself; it is just so rare to find them in such good condition! I just need to learn a little French now...

The Tennis themed cover is our favourite. I love that early 30's shape; when the waist was starting to be highlighted again yet the silhouette is still so lean. I can only imagine that being dressed like this they would have been so involved in their outfits and cutting edge raquets they would have managed little tennis before retiring exhausted for a lunch on the lawn.

We are

Thank you for finding 'Keep it to yourself', this is our first blog and over time we are going to be filling the pages with all manner of things which interest us, we hope that you will enjoy looking.

We live in Devonshire, England and although this only a small corner of the country we have found lots of things here which we have never seen anywhere else, examples are difficult but sooner or later these things are bound to find there way on to these pages.

To-morrow morning there will be an enormous car-boot-sale on the edge of town and we hope to find some bits and bobs to begin our list of favoured finds there.

Do check back regularly, we hope to always have something new to show.

T&M