Ohh, I love me a vintage ensemble,  pretty, pretty clothes with history – j’adore.

If you, like me, are retro-hearted, then you will dig www.retrochick.co.uk – a swoony-swoon site that helps you discover your own personal style by finding the best in affordable vintage, and ethical fashion and making it work everyday. I’m a total fan-girl and love, love, love creator-girl, Miss Gemma Seager, mainly because she believes in the following:

• Fashion doesn’t have to cost the earth, in any sense
• Style never goes out of fashion
• There isn’t much that can’t be made better by a nice cup of tea
• If you’re nice to people they’ll be nice back.

You love her too now, right?

Miss Gemma – what is it you do exactly?
Mostly I try and get as much sleep as possible. I also sell pre loved and vintage clothing on eBay and write a fashion blog about vintage and ethical fashion under the name Retro Chick.

We’ve got a whole lotta love for the vintage here at Sassy Minx, where and when did your interest in all things vintage begin and how did you turn it into a Retro Chick website of awesomeness?
Ever since I was a teenager trawling charity shops and boot fairs was always a way to get bargain clothes and something a little bit different. I loved the excitement of finding something gorgeous that no one else would have. Buying vintage was a way to keep my wardrobe fresh and original on a budget. I loved that all the pieces I found had a history before me and I felt that they deserved a loving home to take them to parties and care for them like they deserve.

After I left university I ended up in a series of soul destroying office jobs and I hopped around from being a Team Manager in Customer Services, to IT Support and Admin jobs in the hope that finally one wouldn’t make me miserable. Finally in 2007 I realised that none of these jobs would ever make me happy so I jumped ship and decided to stop restricting myself to buying goodies in my size and share my lovely clothes with the world in general.

Is Retro Chick your full-time job?
Yep, I’m Retro Chick 24/7

What five tracks would be on a SV soundtrack?
Oooh I have slightly random taste in Music. My favourite playlist on my iPod is called Happy Happy and it songs that make me feel chirpy, so how about I tell you 5 of those?

1) Candyman – Christina Aguilera
2) I’ve Been to a Marvellous Party – The Divine Comedy
3) I Like Chinese – Monty Python
4) Just A Girl – No Doubt
5) Raspberry Beret – Prince

What era would you like to go back and visit and why? Can I only pick one? If I have to pick one then probably the 1940s. It’s an odd era to pick maybe, seeing as Britain was at war for most of it, but it was a revolutionary time for Women and I’m constantly amazed by how stunning they look in old photographs under such difficult circumstances.

Plus maybe I could pick myself up a nice GI to bring me silk stockings and chewing gum…

Who are your inspir-o girls – people that you dig and admire? I really admire women who’ve made a success of themselves without sacrificing who they really are and women who’ve faced tough times without cracking (or without showing those cracks) My list of inspirational ladies can be a bit random for this reason!

I admire Dita Von Teese for the brand she’s built up around just being her fabulous self and Victoria Beckham for taking all the stick she gets with such grace, and also for being very, very funny. Of course I also think they are both very stylish, polished ladies who make me feel bad when I can’t be bothered to replace my chipped nail polish.

I also admire Margaret Thatcher, not for her politics (which are probably the opposite of mine!), but for what she achieved and Germaine Greer for being a ground breaking feminist.

What a random list! There are so many more amazing women but if I get started I’ll go on all day!

What do you wish you could go back and tell your teen-girl self?
I would probably like to take back some photos of myself now and remind myself I’m not fat. I’d also say “Gemma, it doesn’t matter what other people think”

I probably wouldn’t listen though, I was just as bolshy then as I am now…

What’s your motto for life?
“Everything in life is only for now”. It’s the lyrics from an Avenue Q song that I find strangely inspiring.
Who and what makes you jump-in-the-air happy?
Cup cakes, cocktails and when people send me lovely messages saying they bought something or read something on Retro Chick and it made them happy.

What do you love about being a girl in the world?
Lipstick, high heels and being able to surprise people just by doing perfectly normal things like drinking beer or knowing about computers.

The Retro Chick Sassy List:

Website: http://heartifb.com It’s the best website ever, and made such a difference to my blogging experience
Book: Oooh, this is so hard, there are so many books I’ve read over and over again, I’m a huge reader. I do love Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clark
Make-up brand: I’m not massively loyal to a brand, apart from L’Oreal Mineral Foundation
Place to eat: My House. I cook a mean Chilli
Beauty item: Moisturiser. Body, face and hands, I cover myself in the stuff. It also works on static hair!
Phrase/saying: Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out. – Anton Chekhov
Current obsessions: Cooking, Hummous, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Shoes I can’t afford.

What does the term Sassy minx mean to you, Miss G?
A Sassy Minx knows who she is and that life’s about the journey, not the destination.

Go visit Gemma at www.retrochick.co.uk and go shop at her ebay shop o’ goodness: retro chick – ebay