I've been a busy little bee this past month as I finally launched my own little Vintage Instagram Shop called Top Of The Town Vintage! The first collection titled "Cavilleri Collection" launched the Wednesday just gone and metaphorically speaking, it flew off the shelves with only 3 pieces left, waiting to be snapped up by a fellow vintage lover. I am completely stunned and little humbled by the reaction in all honesty. Top Of The Town Vintage is a real passion project for me, something I've been mulling over for months now and am genuinely doing simply for the love of it. Truth be told in hindsight I'm not exactly sure what my expectations were in terms of success, all I knew was that it was a project I've been enthusiastically working at and that I was nervous as hell to announce it! With this being a secret little idea I've been working on for quite some time now, you might say- as cliche as this sounds- it's become my little baby and so I guess the nerves were understandable, putting something you truly care for out there for the world to see is ever so slightly daunting. But with the first collection launched and I couldn't have asked for a better outcome, so I guess I can take a deep breath.... And move on to the next collection. Yikes!

I adore my job and I feel incredibly look to do what I do for a career but with work life always so busy and as I often feel like I fly from week to week, its hard for me to sometimes sit back and enjoy it in the way I would like to. Top Of The Town Vintage was a way to let off some steam, go back to basics and do something I truly love away from blogging. As I'm sure you're all well aware by now vintage is and always has been a long term love of mine. Whether it's true or reproduction, vintage is such a huge part of my style DNA (I really hope that doesn't sound pretentious) and shopping vintage has become second nature to me- I'm forever keeping my beady eyes out for great finds in thrift stores, charity shops and vintage fairs, old habits due hard. One of the most frustrating parts about being a blog and wearing vintage is that I than can't really share the pieces with my audience, they are one off, unique finds and although that's the sheer beauty of vintage, it also means no one else can have it... A little counter productive when you're job effectively entails sharing your wardrobe with others. Yes of course it's all about drawing inspiration rather than creating a carbon copy of my outfit but it would be nice to be able give those complimenting my outfits and supporting my blog a helping hand on the vintage shopping front. I guess you could say this was where the idea for Top Of The Town Vintage first came to be! I wanted to share my eye for spying amazing vintage pieces and I wanted to do so in carefully curated collections inspired by people, places, films and songs of eras gone by!

It's been incredibly cathartic going back to the drawing board and revisit all my old inspirations in order to figure out collections and themes. The past few months have been spent going back over iconic outfits seen on the likes of Jane Birkin, Marianne Faithfull, Francoise Hardy, George Harrison... the list goes on and in doing so I actually feel like I've been able to fallen back in love with the people who have had such a huge influence on my own personal style. I able to adore vintage fashion through new eyes and learn to appreciate it all over again! Photographs and films from the sixties and seventies I'd once studied so carefully as a teenager, I am now able to immerse myself once more... I even watched Breakfast At Tiffany's for the first time in forever recently and found myself feeling truly inspired all over again. This is a film ordinarily I'd take for guaranteed having watched it countless times and subsequently deem as an "obvious choice" but revisiting it after such a long time made me remember why I loved it so dearly and why it means so much to both myself and others! Oddly enough Top Of The Town Vintage has become the catalyst I never knew I needed to fall back in love with style.... and not just any style, my own personal style! It's been a reason to get inspired once again and a pleasant reminder of who I am, what I love, where my passions are, why I adore fashion and lastly... That I really, really, really should have been alive in 1965.

The second Top Of The Town Vintage collection will launch in a fortnight. Go follow our Instagram account for further launch details and to shop the last of the Cavilleri Collection now!

Sophia x

Film Photography by Holly Elizabeth

First Outfit: Cornflower Blue Turtle Neck Top- And Other Stories, Check A Line Mini Skirt- And Other Stories, Round Ivory Hat Box Bag- Aspinal Of London

Second Outfit: Orange Wool Coat- Cos Stores, Check Pussybow Smock Dress- Sezane, Knee High Black Leather Boots- ASOS, Black Leather Satchel Bag- Mulberry