WINNERS OR LOSERS?

HISTORIAN Mary Beard put Boris Johnson’s gas at a peep (if that is indeed possible) when she pointed out his barbed comparison of the PM and Roman rebel Caractacus was fake news. Caractacus, she explained, gave a brilliant speech to the Senate and lived happily ever after in Rome.

BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire is listed as one of the favourites to take over from Dimbers on Question Time.

Who can deny the presenter has the grit and resourcefulness required? Derbyshire has revealed she and her siblings would drug their violent father with Valium in his tea to calm him down. Will she employ that same tactic on the telly?

THUMBS DOWN

DID Sir Rod Stewart really need to whip out his gong on The Graham Norton Show? And to ingratiate himself further, he claimed the knighthood came from the British public. What? Has there been a referendum to decide which pop stars should be shoulder-tapped by Her Maj?

BROADCASTERS launched a complaint about Dancing Queen Theresa May, demanding to know why the PM limits her interview time at the Tory conference in Birmingham. Could it be she was too busy practising her dance moves?

Vintage clothes always come in interesting colours and fabrics: bright pinks, crimsons and golds. It’s rare to find dull clothes from those periods because the past was such a colourful time. Some items are very delicate, web-like lace or silky satins, and the 50s and post-war era saw the emergence

of vibrant tulles. I don’t avoid typical shops but I find that vintage items have more thought put into them. They’re handmade and better quality than the vast quantities of fad fashions being sold on the high street today.

I found vintage shopping a sustainable and cost-effective way to shop when I was a student. I studied social policy and law at Edinburgh University and worked in HR. It was a great career but my dream was always to work in fashion. I told myself I’d work there for a year. However, 12 years passed and I was still there. The more time I spent in the corporate world, the more I wanted to work in fashion. I was made redundant, which was probably the best thing to happen to me. It was the push I needed to start my fashion business and set up my own shop.

I own two shops next door to one another, Those Were The Days Vintage and Bridal Boutiques. They’re full of clothes and accessories dating from 1920 to 1990. The vintage bridal shop is the only one in Scotland and has Edwardian clothes, veils and tiaras which date even further back. I hand-pick my stock, which means travelling to LA and New York with empty suitcases to add to my ever-growing collection. I probably look like Sir Elton John travelling with all of my luggage.

As a vintage buyer, I’ve developed an eye for authenticity. Sometimes it’s the zip or the fabrics that give it away. I’m