Coffee Time! Vintage Keele Street coffee set in original box

What makes the thrill of finding an attractive set or piece of vintage homeware, even more satisfying, is finding it still has its original box. Look at this lovely set of six coffee cups and saucers.


The cups are most attractive with their rose-floral pattern, but for me what sets the set off nicely is the shade of yellow in those saucers. It is an unusual combination with the roses, but it is a very utilitarian colour, I feel, which is evocative of the age - 1950s if we use the cups as a guide, but probably 1960s, judging by the box.

And the box! What a design. It could have fallen in from the 1950s, but is is that typeface, which is a little less fussy than what went before, that tells me a more modern 'mode' of thought went into the design.


The whole package to me straddles the two decades, but that's OK - we live in a mix and match 21st century, where we can grab and pick 'n' mix just what we want to be surrounded with, rather than have the completeness of a trend dictate to us.


The only thing that matters is, is that you like them.

Vintage Dubarry boxed gift set of toiletries

Just the thing if you want a really authentic vintage look to your dressing table

Don't know how old this lovely lot is - the box looks 1950s - the labels on bottles look 1960s. The box is showing signs of the years. It is a real shame that it has some staining and has taken some spillages from the bottle contents, though I am sure a clever crafty person could put this right.

Set comprises:

2 soaps - unused and in their cellophane
6 Forget-Me-Not bath cubes still in their foil
1 bottle floral mist Forget-Me-Not - bottle is empty except for the merest dribble and seems to be the source of a spill
1 bottle Shalimar hand lotion "Recipe for Dainty Hands" to the rear
1 perfume bottle with squeezy bulb - I don't know if this works - appears a little stained on inside - might be OK with a wash?
1 Small blue plastic funnel (for pouring perfume into the bottle??)
1 Dropper - rubber bulb looks perished
1 Fragrant Talc satin smooth - still has label across the holes, so am assuming it is full
1 bottle of Forget-Me-Not perfume - approx three-quarters full
1 bottle of Forget-Me-Not Bath Foam - approx half full