Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes!

Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes not only have an excellent name, suggesting both whimsy and violence, but also a fabulous range of bright, summery jewellery, mainly made of laser-cut acrylic. Everything is made by the cheery looking Sally from her flat in Glasgow, aided and abetted by her cat Chi.

I absolutely deserve a cake merit badge, but alas I haven't made an arctic roll so can't claim it. If you've made our lemon and pistachio version, then you're eligible. Choose your favourite indie merit badge for £15.

BLACK SWAN! I saw the film in the cinema and thought it was an intensely powerful masterpiece. Then I watched it at home with friends and decided it was the campest nonsense since Showgirls. Pick up a black - or white - swan brooch with mirrored feathers for £12.

A laser-cut ferris wheel! With eight teeny pods! Hanging on a long silver chain! It's £34. For that price, you could have got 34 goes on the ropiest ride at my local fair. It was an office chair attached to a cherry picker. For a quid you could go up and then down again. It's much better to buy this necklace than go up and down 34 times.

Where was this cat brooch when I was writing a guide to being a crazy cat lady? It comes in silver glitter or plain black for £14. Obviously you're going to get the glitter one. The choice between glitter and not-glitter is no choice at all.

At the time of writing, it is the hottest day in the history of days and I am wilting and desperate for rain. I shall wear these umbrella charm earrings, in the sale for £2.50, in the hopes they make water come from the sky.

I love these heart mug earrings but it's really bothering me that the red pencil hasn't been sharpened properly. Quick, one of you buy all their stock so they can take this image down and we can all sleep easy at night. They're £12 and they'll probably do you a deal if you buy, say, 40 pairs.

Spots and Stripes

Frances and I were having a chat the other day about prints, particularly spots and stripes. She's all about the stripes, I'm often head to toe in polka dots. The two patterns are retro classic and we can't get enough of them. Here are some gorgeous pieces in our favourite prints.

Purses at the ready, this lemon polka dot dress is just £36 from Love Miss Daisy. Listed just earlier today, it's 80s does 50s and it's just about perfect. Buttons down the back, pockets, sweetheart neckline. It's get everything. If it's still on sale after I've had my lunch, I'm buying it from under your noses.

Oh how cute are these wedge sandals? Boden is knocking it out of the park this summer. £20 very, very well spent. Damn, I could spend a fortune in the Boden sale.

This striped coat is just verging on the right side of Beetlejuice. It's in the sale and £84.10 in the Boden sale. I heartily recommend accessorising it with a dalmatian. (Please can I borrow a dalmatian?)

Half polka dots, half pleaty-stripes. This is such a great skirt. It's £29 at Sugarhill Boutique. Swish about as much as you like. Even at the bus stop.

This might be a terrible photo of a gorgeous model, but cast your eye down and check out her brilliant scalloped shorts. Love them. I've been trying to get Frances into them all week. They're £21.

Nope, still not bored of this beautiful yellow sundress. It looks like a bag that you're pick 'n' mix comes in. It's £45 from Joy.

Oasis are very, very good at a bold stripe. And they're good at a midi length. Amazingly, this skirt is £35. It's been a long time since I thought Oasis was reasonably priced. All sizes left, but be quick.

I concede that going all out 50s polka dot can be a little too much, so Lindy Bop's navy halter dress is the perfect solution. It's just £29.99. The Audrey dress at the top of the page is also Lindy Bop and also £29.99.

"Would you like a flake with that?" This candy striped shirt is very ice cream seller in the 50s but styled with dark skinny jeans, red lippy and a beehive, it would look utterly gorgeous. It's £40 from 20th Century Foxy.

Now this is my favourite stripe skirt. The clashing flower print is fabulous. It's £45 and I will not be wearing it with any sort of crop top. Stop trying to make fetch happen, ASOS.

Sarah Louise Jay's stunning necklaces

Sarah Louise Jay calls her necklaces wearable pieces of art, a description that works pretty well for me too. They're not made from expensive metals and jewels, however - their beauty is created from combining intricately cut pieces of wood. They're definitely the kind of necklace that can be called 'statement'.

There are twelve different pieces of laser-cut walnut used to create the Art Deco curves of Grace, above. It's also a great example of Sarah Louise's brilliant use of colour. I never thought pistachio green and scarlet would look so delicious together.

More fantastic colour combinations at work in the Lily necklace. I love how the rope cord makes something so potentially fancy look so straightforward to wear: perfect for dressing up a simple T-shirt; perfect for playing down a show-off dress.

Sadly, there's only a couple of pieces left from her 'Winter Garden' collection, inspired by the architecture of the grand Blackpool building of the same name. I love Marjorie and her seashell-shaped centrepiece.

These pieces are so intricate, they'd definitely look their best with simple clothing: a summer cotton dress perhaps, or a striped top maybe, as shown here, displaying Iris to her advantage.

Or for even more of a statement piece, how about Charlotte, where a thicker braid takes the place of a metal setting and chain?

Each piece is around £60 to £75. Yes, they're more expensive than a Topshop number, but for something so thoughtfully and lovingly put together, I think that's a very reasonable price indeed.

Friday Wishlist: Gorgeous things you'll want to buy RIGHT NOW

The perfect dress. £48 from ASOS.

The perfect tumblers. 99p (I know!) from Zara Home.

The perfect pillowcases. £24 from West Elm.

The perfect ceramic clock. £12 from Anthropologie.

The perfect skirt. £55 from Oasis.

The perfect unicorn ring dish. £12 from Urban Outfitters.

The perfect shoes. £52.50 from Boden.

Sluttery Sales Spy: Accessorize, Mango & Sugarhill Boutique

This week featuring a squirrel knob. TEE HEE. 

THE DRESSES

Safari dress, £40 (was £65), Cath Kidston

Welcome to Cath Kidston's safari: where lions, zebras, giraffes and elephants all stand together, having a wee blether, perhaps even partaking of some tea and home-made cake (rumour has it that one of the wildebeest is entering The Great Serengeti Bake Off next year). The jeep stops and a lion comes right up to tell the driver all about his day - bit of a queue at the post office, apparently, but he finally managed to get his new passport forms.

Yup - we're all friends here. Although do we think the zebras are due a pattern refresh? I'm thinking polka dots.

Burrito dress, £45 (was £65), Sugarhill Boutique

Sugarhill Boutique continues to have the loveliest prints and patterns around. This Burrito dress is covered in little donkeys, as the name suggests, and not tortillas filled with mince and beans, as the name also suggests. You picked the right translation there, design team. Do feel free to accessorise with your own burrito stains, though.

THE SUNGLASSES

Tortoiseshell eyelash sunglasses, £37.50 (was £125), Tatty Devine

Guys. GUYS. Tatty Devine's amazing eyelash sunglasses are down from £125 to just £37.50! At that price, I'll still cry when I inevitably lose them, but I won't cry £125-worth of tears and have to be hospitalised for dehydration.

Jeepers Peepers Diana sunglasses, £10 (was £18), ASOS

In my head, these sunglasses will make me look like a glamorous Hollywood star, possibly of Latin American descent.

In reality, they're going to make me look like the love child of Deirdre Barlow and Victoria Beckham, and I'll probably keep putting them on upside-down. Fuck it, I'm going to buy them anyway.

THE BAGS

Saffy bag, £17.50 (was £35), Accessorize

Oh, I KNOW that a cream-coloured bag is just asking for trouble. I KNOW that I'll scuff it against a pebbledash wall that appears out of nowhere. I KNOW that my new jeans will give the entire back panel a weird blue haze. And I KNOW that there will be a biro incident of some kind. But I'm sort of in the mood for pale and ladylike, and that doesn't happen very often. I feel that I must act now, and deal with the consequences.

Pebbled bag, £29.99 (was £59.99), Mango

When a dainty bag simply won't do - and as you know, I have some pretty hefty precious cargo to transport - I suggest buying one the size of your torso. This seems a good rule of thumb - a rule of torso, if you like. Anything bigger and you risk people thinking you're carrying around a leather sleeping bag.

THE JEWELLERY

N2 by Les Néréides Alice locket, £40 (was £78), ASOS

Les Néréides is my favourite jewellery brand - everything has a soupçon of craziness. This Alice in Wonderland locket opens up to reveal Alice, the White Rabbit, his watch, and who knows what else that we can't see from this angle. There are even a few playing cards, just in case you were in any doubt about the overall theme. Isn't it the cutest? There are a few more lockets in the sale - I'm quite fond of the church and wedding one, too.

Calista cat ring, £6 (was £12), Accessorize

I'm pretty sure Accessorize used this as a fox ring last year, but apparently any fox can be turned into a cat if you just stick its diamanté nose further up and give it a squiggly mouth. WHO KNEW? Perhaps you shouldn't experiment on your local foxes just yet, though. I need to source some oversized diamantés first. 

SQUIRREL KNOB OF THE WEEK

Squirrel knob, £1.95 (was £6), Anthropologie

Warning: this squirrel knob may contain nuts. It's like The Great British Bake Off all over again, isn't it? I bet this doesn't happen in the Serengeti. 

The UK's best online vintage fashion shops

I'm possibly at my happiest when searching through a rail of vintage dresses. However, I get frustrated by how poor vintage shopping online can be: too many bad pictures, too many items badly labelled. Over years of searching, I've around 15 different boutiques I come back to time and time again. Want to experiment with vintage? Trust me: try these shops first.

Lucy in Disguise was once both a brilliant physical and a brilliant online shop. Although the actual shop has now closed, thankfully the online shop lives on, selling the vintage of my dreams. You may know the shop through its connection with Lily Allen - she's the co-founder - and it stocks the kind of clothes you'd like to wear out partying with Lily. Although some of the clothes do have pop star prices, they also do brilliant sales. And, god, this 1940s green gown is beautiful.

We tend to promote the designer/makers on Etsy, but it's also a brilliant place to browse for vintage from all over the world. Type a general search, or simply head straight for your favourite shops. Some of my favourite UK sellers include Darlings Vintage (great dresses, also a nice line in lingerie), Palette London (designer label dresses and jewellery) and Advantage in Vintage (specialising in mid-century vintage, such as this gorgeous 1940s silk tea dress). Don't forget ASOS Marketplace too, another multi-seller marketplace that can turn up gems, although I find it generally takes more searching work than Etsy, and is a bit more focused towards 80s/90s clothing.

Peekaboo are one of the companies that sell on ASOS Marketplace but I prefer to browse their site directly. They have a concession in the giant Oxford Street Topshop which gives a good indication of their style: trend-focused, easy-to-wear vintage pieces such as this 70s floral print dress.

Rokit's stock is huge and covers almost every era and style. While the photography can be a bit basic compared to other stores, it's hard to argue with the choice available. Search and you will be rewarded with gems such as this 1950s sundress. Check out the Rokit Recycled range too: pieces that have been rescued and reworked to make them modern wardrobe suitable.

Beyond Retro is similar. If you've been to one of their stores, you know how you could spend hours searching through their stock: it's the same online. However, they're particularly good at picking out clothes for you: there are often features on how to replicate a trend. This 1950s dress is from Dawn O'Porter's edit of their stock, part of her 'This Old Thing' drive to promote wearing vintage.

At the other end of the vintage shop scale is Juno Says Hello, a tightly edited selection of glam cocktail and entertaining wear, such as this gorgeous Bianca dress from the 1970s. Dresses can be hired as well as bought, and the store throws in all sorts of perks for customers, from scented candles to access to their incredible library of fashion and style books.

I discovered Vintage Deli through Domestic Sluttery and now it's one of my firm favourites. Owner Katy Coe always has something interesting in stock - and they are photographed beautifully. My current favourite is this sailor shirt dress.

Talking of Sluttery favourites, Love Miss Daisy has been one of our most-loved vintage shops for years. If you're after a fab frock, dating from any time between the 1940s and the 80s, there's bound to be one here for you. I love the primness of this 1950s pussybow dress.

The selection at Lovelys Vintage is a bit smaller than some of these other shops but definitely worth keeping an eye on, as they get in some fabulous pieces. An Ossie Clark for Radley dress you say? Yes please.

It's Vintage Darling! stock both vintage and vintage-inspired dresses so you are bound to come away happy. I'm all about this simple 1960s dress. They also stock a great range of accessories.

My Vintage stock both vintage and repro clothing too. Owner Emma is an avid tweeter: follow her to see what's in stock first. I've got my eye on this extremely cute 1950s St Michael dress.

The Stellar Boutique has something of a bohemian edge. The photographs of its vintage stock - dating from the 1940s through to the 1990s - are a lesson in how to make vintage look contemporary. I love the colours of this 50s shirt dress: I'd quite like her yellow converse and basket too.

Merchant Archive's stock is exquisite. There are 1920s beaded dresses and 1930s gowns worthy of starlets. Some of the prices go into the thousands, and you can see why. Some pieces are just about within budget for special occasion wear, however, such as this smart, streamlined 1960s wool dress - yours for £120. If you are after some serious vintage porn, also take a look at William Vintage: there's a reason why his dresses regularly appear on the red carpet.

Lady Pearls does glamour too, at a much-more wallet friendly price. Their range of evening dresses include this divine dusty pink evening gown. Simply add one of their bags, some jewels and shoes and you're good to go - and with the vintage guarantee no-one will be wearing the same as you.

Got a favourite online vintage fashion shop I've missed? Let us know in the comments so we can shop there too!