QUINTESSENTIALLY | Insider | 2010 August

Vintage at Goodwood feels like it’s been a long-time in the making (decades even), with posters and articles popping up since the beginning of the year. A celebration of all things cool Britannia, this ‘Festival of Britain’ descended on West Sussex for a long weekend, creating a temporary time vacuum for lovers of vintage fashion, music, food, art and lifestyle.

The festival is the brainchild of the achingly cool Red or Dead’s Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway, along with Lord March, the mastermind behind the Festival of Speed which has made this beautiful area so famous. This year’s festival is the first of what will become an annual music and fashion event, showcasing DJ’s and bands galore, along with vintage clothing, furniture and vinyl and contemporary brands and bands inspired by Britain’s creative and cultural heritage.

Arriving at the station, it was clear that this wasn’t going to be like any other festival. The platform was teaming with hundreds of people who appeared to have jumped straight out of a time machine, with a bizarre mix of tea-dresses, red lipstick, go-go boots, three piece suits, leg warmers and original army uniforms as far as the eye could see. Festival-goers of all ages had delved into their dressing up boxes to come up with unique outfits from the decade of their choice. I saw immaculately dressed sixty year olds in vintage suits and pillar box hats perched on the vintage 1960′s shuttle bus next to teenagers wearing fluorescent pink leotards, leg warmers and half a can of hair spray.

Walking from the entrance gate, through the small wood decorated with fairy lights that separates the outside world from the main festival, I felt like Alice disappearing down the vintage rabbit hole. The site itself was dotted with vintage cars, motorbikes and caravans and vintage-style posters were plastered across every available wall with the running order of the various stages. Perfectly coiffed attendants waited at the entrance like 60′s air hostesses to greet you when you arrived and a mixture of rock and roll, swing and funk music floated from different corners of the site. Even the food was vintage, with tea tents strewn with union jack bunting and a gloss of doll-like waitresses balancing giant trays of scones with clotted cream and jam, along with vans selling cheese on toast, fish and chips and bacon butties. For those not so interested in the war years cuisine there were also hog roasts, burger vans and sushi stands for those who like sex, drugs and sushi rolls.

There are hundreds of things to do at Vintage, and I wished I had booked in for the whole three days in order to cover everything. Vintage hunters can rummage through the emporiums lining the world’s biggest vintage market – fishing bargains from giant battered leather suitcases and haggling over one-of-a-kind-pieces. Music lovers have a huge choice, with five different stages playing swing, rockability, soul, funk, disco, ska and even electro in a purpose built corrugated-iron warehouse hidden away at the back of the site. The eclectic line-up this year included The Noisettes, The Faces, Earth Wind and Fire, Paloma Faith and The Buzzcocks, and there were even dance classes to help you perfect your moves before hitting the dance floor. Other offerings included the Beauty Box which transformed visitors with 40′s chignons and 50′s quiffs, a cinema showing classic films, a fun fair, a roller disco, art exhibitions, workshops, catwalk shows – the list goes on and on.

When we finally got back on the train and headed back to London we were already planning to book our tickets for next year. Having spent two days soaking up everything Vintage has to offer, we can’t wait for more.

For more information, please visit www.vintageatgoodwood.com/home.aspx