Leaping Through The Lanes...

I always feel an overwhelming sense of nostalgia when I come back to my old home town of North Walsham in Norfolk. It is, so I've been told, the oldest settlement in Britain dating back to the 1300's. This is obviously, a more recent photo but it's not changed much and looks almost the same today.

It's where I lived and grew up until the age of 19 and so every time I come back to visit family, the memories come flooding back. As does wandering The Lanes in Norwich, some 15 miles further south. I spent a great deal of time there as a teenager and always preferred the older part of the city to the brand new shopping centres.

So now I'm back for the week and the vintage scene in the city has blossomed into something quite beautiful. Several vintage clothing stores have popped up over the last few years so here's what happened when I went shopping...

The only way I can describe Goldfinches Vintage is like a time-warped aladdin's cave, jam packed full of retro goodies with handbags, scarves, purses, sunglasses, jewellery and of course clothes, popping out of every possible nook and cranny.

What completes the atmosphere is the decoration. Accessories are displayed in old style suitcases and even an old walkman is attached to a pair of high waisted cut-offs. The small details are what really gives this store its unique edge.

In my opinion, this place has the best collection of vintage accessories I have come across in a long time. I didn't go away empty handed of course, and after having a lovely chat with a couple of the girls behind the counter, purchased a fabulous 1960's navy faux leather box bag.

I then headed down the slope and round the corner to Prim Vintage. The store has a lovely, spacious boutique-y feel with classic floorboards under foot and the clothes displayed neatly on open rails around the walls and across the window space.

It was an absolute pleasure taking a leisurely peruse through the rails of clothes which had so obviously been carefully hand-picked to showcase the very best in retro fashion. But given my irrational obsession with accessories, I was drawn to the colourful array of vintage scarves looped round the stair banister and ended up purchasing a beautiful pastel pink, floral printed number for a very reasonable £5. What a bargain!