miami

From the everglades to the art deco, miami sure had a contrasting scene. Would I go back though? No. It was definitely a sight to see, but it didn’t have the charm of the other cities. It was a bit dirty, a bit scary and a bit… no very smelly and though that could of just been my area, I explored enough of the place to think otherwise.

That said I’d still recommend it, who knows what you’d think. And Disney’s only a 4 hour drive away if need be!

san fran

San Francisco is a place that seems to have a little bit of everything. From the tourist soaked boardwalks of Pier 39 (home to the infamous sealions), to the eerie halls of Alcatraz prison and to the gleaming curves of The Golden Gate Bridge. And that… is simply the tourist side of the city.

We were fortunate enough on our trip to get the opportunity to explore alongside some locals, seeing the hidden delights of the city in all its wonder. Golden Gate Park and its herd of bisons was a particular favourite! The shopping, on a completely different note was also very impressive, the city’s Westfield containing swooping escalators that curved around the main foyer. Personally, I have never seen an esclator that curves and is not the basic up and down!

It was no New York but it was pretty close.

new york, i love you!

Out of all the places I’ve ever visited, New York is unlike anything I have experienced. It has an atmosphere – a buzz – that could really be no farther away from Sydney. I love Sydney, don’t get me wrong, but nothing ever stops in New York, you can go out at any time and there’s still thousands of people doing thousands of things. It’s truly a place where the world seems to be moving faster than you can think. There’s strange sights, noises… smells! But it is amazing, a place that not any amount of days could ever have you see and do the whole city.

In terms of vintage shopping, I have stumbled upon some extraordinary clothes. The op-shops are honestly above all I have ever experienced and the clothes will be coming online in mere weeks! Be excited girls, there are certainly some very special one-offs to be grabbed!

off to hogwarts

Have finally touched down in America and first stop Orlando, Florida – the home of theme parks! As an absolutely huge Harry Potter fan I was beyond excited to finally go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Orlando! The park did an amazing job of  making Hogwarts and their local town Hogsmeade as realistic as possible. It really felt like you were in the books and films. There was the sweet shop Honeydukes which had Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans – which like in the books had many outrageous flavours, including vomit, it smelt hideously realistic! There was Ollivanders where you could get your wand and Owl Post where you could send your mail. There was the Three Broomstick and Hogs Head where you could buy a Butterbeer, which was so sweet, like fizzy butterscotch! And thats all before you even got to Hogwarts!

It was truly a surreal experience, which I could not rate higher!

the alps

One of the best things about England is its proximity to Europe. You can go pretty much anywhere in the continent a lot easier and normally a hell of a lot cheaper than we can go anywhere in Australia alone!

So with that in mind we went on a cheeky trip to Courcheval, France! With some of the best snow on records it was amazing and as an avid snowboarder I loved it. I tried to capture the beauty of the Alps as best as I could so hopefully you can enjoy it vicariously through the photos!

Off to England’s countryside next and from experience I know there will be some lovely untouched thrift stores I can raid through!

Until then,

L

london calling

Arriving in London I always get a feeling of excitement and anticipation.

Being English, I grew up in Wimbledon, an area central enough that nearly every street corner has some sort of memory on it. I think that’s the reason I love London so much, everything is so known yet forgotten.

So when I go to London I don’t do the normal sightseeing stuff, instead I shop. Unfortunately, I only had 2 days in the city but the amount of places I ended up visiting, well it was quite an achievement!

Here is where I visited and where I’d certainly recommend:

Oxford Circus: home to chain stores of the largest magnitude. I’m talking stores as wide as they are tall, and they’re 5 levels tall! Top Shop, H&M, Zara and many more.

Carnaby Street: a carless street full of boutiques and cute coffee shops.

Knightsbridge: home to Harrods and Harvey Nichols, need I say more!

Sloane Square and Kings Road: once home to punk, walking down this road will now see you pass every designer shop London has to offer.

Camden: a hell of a lot of tourist shops but delve in deep and there’s some amazing vintage finds to be found.

Portobelllo Road: markets placed literally on the lanes of a functioning road, predominantly vintage but a bit pricey.

With out a doubt London will always hold a special place in my heart and hopefully not too long in the future it will be home once more.

L

big news

I am very excited to announce that I have been given the opportunity to go to England and America for the next 6-weeks! Apart from being an amazing experience, it will also be the perfect opportunity for sourcing new stock!

I will be writing and taking many photos while I’m away so that you can all follow along with my travels.

Whilst I’m away the Lilly Sparrow Vintage Facebook Store will still be very much alive. New stock will be coming out every week and you will still be able to make purchases and have them delivered with little delay.

Better go pack.

Leave tomorrow!

L

Of where we'll be soon!

roadtrip

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of getting new stock, especially when there’s been a journey behind it. This week’s roadtrip to Byron Bay proved this to be the case as we stumbled upon the most divine op-shop in the middle of who-knew where. Unfortunately we had a tight schedule to keep to, leading me to stare hopelessly out the window as perfect stores flew by. One things for sure, I will certainly be repeating the trip on a lot slower pace!

That being said, the one op-shop we did get to visit was a haven for gorgeous clothes, kitsch home wares, and crazy knic knacs. I came out with a lot of surprises which will be filling the pages of Lilly Sparrow Vintage’s Facebook Store in the coming weeks!

But until then for a little preview.

L

hola

If you’ve found this blog you’ve probably already visited Lilly Sparrow Vintage’s Facebook Store and if so I’m glad you’re enjoying it enough to take a look here. However, if by some serendipitous chance you’ve stumbled upon this blog via another route – hello and welcome to the world of Lilly Sparrow Vintage! It’s a pleasure to both meet and become reacquainted with new and old visitors.

Lilly Sparrow Vintage is an online boutique thats specialises in affordable vintage and retro one-off pieces. This blog will become the counterpart to our shop, allowing you to go behind the scenes as we scurry around both Australia and the world in search of all things vintage! We will attempt to showcase as many beautiful and exquisite vintage finds as we can get our little hands on; but more than that we will share with you all the inspiration that led us to fall down the rabbit hole of vintage fashion and to never come out! From the beautiful things that are clothes, jewelry, music, travel and art we will endevenour to explore it all. Showing you who the true Lilly Sparrow Girl is and how that fun-loving, joyous, passionate person is within us all.

Stay tuned. I have a feeling we will be friends!

L