VERY BUSY....

SO sorry,
I moved 2 months ago and i can't settle down one day ! I am a busy bee !
I stopped myself to go on internet while i was looking for a job. I was determined and focus on what i was doing.
And I found a job a month ago in Luxury Retail... BRAVO BRAVO.... but i cant find time to publish post. I cant even put my photos on the computer because obviously, i am in a internet cafe.

I have finished new jumpers and they are lovely. I wish i could share with you...If someone still following my blog. hu hu

Very soon, i will find time to publish my photos...

Thank you

My newest Knitting books....

Recently, I bought 2 knitting books. The first one is called "Practical knitting Illustrated : the key to hundreds of garments you can make yourself". There is no date at all but i believe it is a late 30s early 40s book.
It contains more than 300 pages, got an A.B.C of knitting and crochet (which is handy for me to know how they knitted, with hundreds of patterns for men, women, children and house ware.I never seen one like this before. I am really impressed.





The other one is called "MC Call Needlework - winter 1948 49". It is American. I never had an American magazine before and i am really impressed by the difference with European one.
I bought this one because it got Norwegian patterns. But now i have consulted it, i am much more happier. The patterns are fantastic and the articles and the adverts are so great. Of course the Americans were prosperous in 1940s compare to Europe.






I am having so much fun to read that magazine.
There is a page where people have sent pictures of crafts they have done with the patterns found in that magazine.



Brilliant isnt it ?

Farewell to my favourite Springolators...

I do love shoes but i am unfortunate with them. Every time I buy a pair of shoes, I can be sure something will happen.
Here are the list of bad luck i had with shoes :
~ hurt me to death
~ not my size
~ Discoloring
~ break instantly
~ Unrepairable
~ package lost
~ break, repaired and break again...
~ etc....

Every one who buy vintage has this problem... But i have a particularly bad luck.
In that case, i brought them to be repaired... they were already tore (as shown in the picture) and the heels had to be re heel. They were just fine, i could walked with them, and could have done my things as usual but now, there are dead.
I can't believe that i brought them just fine and now i cant use them anymore. BOOOOOO !

This post is a farewell to my favourite pair of Springolator. I picked them up at the shoe repair shop yesterday and they definitely ended them.




Adieu !

Interview for Elle magazine Korea

Vintage knitting book collection, originally uploaded by Knitter from the past.

This week is so crazy ! First of all, I have been contacted to do an interview for Elle Magazine Korea about my knitting book collection. They looked at my blog and my myspace page and they have immediately been seduced by my passion for knitting.
Juhee is the girl that contacted me. She is Korean, works as a stylist and has a passion for writing. She does some articles for Korean magazines and I am glad to piqued her interests.
The Elle editor and Juhee started by choose some photos to document my lifestyle, my works and my interests.. then Juhee sent a questionnaire to fill with 16 questions to develop for the interests of Elle readers.

We decided a appointment in London to do a shooting. And because Morgan and I had to go to London the last Monday to find a studio flat, I took this occasion to meet her.
The best place for (vintage) book shops is Charing Cross Road or at least as a lovely background of London.

I haven't visit London for a while and I missed it a lot. I can say that day was very successful. I come home with photoshoots for a famous magazine and a flat in my favourite part of London : Islinghton

I am really happy and a bit proud they have done a proper article about me.



1. Profile (Age, Where you born, School, Job)
I am Mademoiselle Coco. As you can guess I am French. I am 24 yrs old and I just finished my degree in Fine Art. I just freshly arrived in Big London to be with my loving boyfriend and carry on my studies. I am actually looking for a job in museums and galleries to fullfill my passion for arts and history.

2. The reason why you started book collecting
It came just naturally. I even started buying books before I knew how to knit. I thought it was a part of the fashion people ignore because knitting has been considered as old fashioned. As a knitter, I like having plenty of patterns. But some books are just beautiful by themselves. I even collect children and mens patterns...I have a rich collection with different shapes, editing and eras of magazines. It becomes more than a pattern because, for sure, I will never knit some of them. It is a knowledge and it was a need. I want to stay closer to their "way of living", to stick to the vintage fashion is my priority.

3. Route - how do you get your book from, where you buy, etc.
I used to go to the flea market in Paris called Marche de Saint Ouen. it is a paradise there of vintage and antique items. It is as big as a town, no kidding, and you can find everything you desire. It is that place where i found most of my patterns. Of course, with internet, life is easier. I find most of them on specialized knitting stores...There you can find the finest and the richest collection of magazines and patterns. But i am always aware and searching everytime i am out.The most exciting is when i find them by surprise. My last purchase was in a park with a lonely single market stand held by a grandma selling some bits and pieces. I do not know why she was there and why she was alone but I found a late 30s early 40s knitting book with 200 pages with cloth cover. INCREDIBLE, isnt it ?

4. Your favorite book you have
I really love my "tricot de Modes de Paris" it s from early 40s late 50s... It does not look special but dont judge a book by its cover ;) I have a practical gaze. As a knitter, I do love clear explanations, following by aesthetic colored pictures. Most of the patterns are in black and white, sometimes the patterns are stopped half way and they continue 10 pages later.I really like "Tricot Paris" from early 1940s. The style is so "zazou". The models, the style are just crazy. I never seen that before. Even the clothing, the poses, the models are just so "zazou" !!!

5. Your wish list book, which book you would like to collect in future
I am fancying some norvegian knitting magazine from the 1940s... It is quite difficult to find them as much as the real 40s knitting.

6. Episode while you make book collection. (ie: funny story about buying book, etc.)
I was as usual in my favourite place, Marche de saint ouen, to go to a shop specialized in sewing patterns and knitting patterns. She informed me she had to close her shop next week. Because I am so fond of knitting and because she really likes me, she gave me all the patterns for 2euros instead of 5 or 10 euros each. After a minutious selection, i came home with 3 full plastic bags with in them 36 magazines !

7. Why do attract you into Vitage? as you look like a girl in 40s-60s. what do you think of Vitage's attraction?
Glamour, Elegance, Collection, Shape, Rarety, .... the 1950s has always been a fantasy, even in its own time. i do not feel different from other people because every one tries to follow a model. The question is What is vintage ? Vintage is the taste of yesterday altered by the taste of today.

Vintage is fashionable today because the occidental system we live in is going so fast that it has to take ideas from past decades. It goes so quick.. there is already the 80s to sell as vintage.
8. Future dream, plan ?
I wish i can owe my own shop... A kind of wool shop with vintage knitting and vintage patterns, and vintage clothes. A small and friendly place with knitter and vintage people. A place where you can stay and chat and share.

9. Best place to go in London as vintage lover.
My top 3 are Alfies antique market / Portobello Market / Camden Town

10. The best book of your life (any genre; fiction, comic,illustrate, poem, fantasy, etc.) and why?
I havent got one ! I love all the books i read but one i particularly like was Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I woke during the night to finish it. i could not stop it.

11. Do you prefer specific genre of book? or any writer?
I havent got any specific genre of books. I read Greek writers like Homer, Socrate, I also read 19th century french writers as Emile Zola or Alfred de Musset... and i can jump to 1950s 1960s american writers with Kerouac...And to finish my patchwork, i read sociologic and art essays. I like everything ! I can read an erotic novel and then, grab humouristic comic.

I read about music, i read biographies, I read true life style or fiction... poems and history...

12. How many books do you read in a month?
minimum of 3 when i am a busy bee.

13. What is your standard when you choose book?
I love the cover... I know that is silly but i like to see, to touch, to use my senses. In fact, I want to be seduced. But of course, i will never buy a book i will not read.

14. Where do you go to read or buy a book in London? shop, library, etc.
I definitely go to Charing Cross Road !

15. Do you have any habit when you read a book?
I always turn the page on the top right corner. Old habits taught from my grand ma !
16. Why do you read a book? and what do you get from book?
I seek for reflections. I like it when a book teaches me something or gives me reason to think.

Romantic Sunday Promenade

I celebrated my last Sunday in Mid-England in one of my favourite place : Foxton locks.
This fascinating place sets in the heart of rural South Leicester. It has been built in the 19Th century and has kept its English Victorian cachet.
We watched the colorful boats passing through ten old staircase locks. We wandered all around the park by lovely lanes. We walked romantically along the canals, climb the old red-bricks bridges and enjoy the ambiance with a distinguished conversation with my sweetheart..

I had the occasion to take pics of Morgan while he is wearing his knitted jacket. This outfit suits perfectly with the background. I wish I could have a better camera. The photos aren't good enough for me.





I love this country life with colorful old houses, surrounded by flowers and nature. Later, I will have a small house like this, with a garden. I will have fruits and vegetables and maybe chickens and a sheep ! I could make my own wool !
Now, i need to conquer London !




Morgan is sitting on ruins,showing off with his lovely jacket I made specially for him.




There was a single stand where I found a knitting book from late 30s early 40s eras. It is incredible sometimes the place you actually find the precious things you love the most. I could not imagine one second I will buy a book like this here. I haven't got anything like this in my collection. It has more than 200 pages with many explanations and instructions with many patterns for women, men, chilren, teenagers and housewares. It is just amazing !




and to finish my post, just a couple of photos of me... I can't deal with that wind. Next time, I will buy a scarf to protect my coiffure. It is upseting and my wild windy hairstyle embarass me.

Saturday Shopping Outfit

I am definitely not inspiring for a week and i have nothing much more exciting that to show you my outfit of the day. I dont even smile on the picture. My hair are messy and the wind is cold. BLOODY HELL !
This week has been so gloomy. The weather was not good so... the activities limited. I had the time to finish 2 books. Plateforme by Michel Houellebecq and L'Immoraliste by Andre Gide.
Both stories has been written in a such clever way. I haven't noticed that the stories enthralled me. They wrote in a different century, different style and different situations but the matters are the same. They are defenetely dandy characters with a romantic spirit.
Here we go again... My Saturday outfit to go shopping downtown. Just like a wild teenager. Let's have some trouble !



~50s Brown chocolate sport jacket for boys~
~50s Yellow satin-type shirt/blouse made by Cairo~
~Late 40s Early 50s Woolly pencil skirt hand made~
~Non vintage white woolly socks made by Burlington~
~Brown leather pair of mocassins~

Old Woogies links...

I have found it after years and years of research, and finally, I found it even without looking for it.
Old Woogies is an Italian brand who made and sell Rockabilly items of very good quality. All its products are made in Italy, they are all in limited edition and it is quite cheap.
They are mostly for men but you ve got some for women too.
You can find everything to be a perfect rockabilly lover. Pants, shoes, jeans, jumpers, caps, watches, combs and even bikes ! AH AH !