Bargains and birdcages

Maxi Dress (eBay), Hand-dyed boots (Charity shop), Faux fur gillet (Hand-made) Jewellery (India)

I found my bargain dress on eBay last December, no-one else bid on it so I won it for 99p. It's actually a "Dollyrockers" but the seller hadn't a clue and listed it under "Women's Clothing" with the title "long dress". It always creates a stir when I wear it.

In the background you might be able to make out some of my hat collection, a cinema cigarette advert (bought at a boot sale for £5) and a few of my suitcases. I keep my summer clothes in the larger one. The wooden puppets were bought back from a trip to Lombok in Indonesia back in the late '90's and are the very same one can be spotted in my pal, Helga's groovy house.

Here's the results of today's bargain hunting expedition:

The chic German-made turban was 95p and still has the original 1970's store tags attached .When I spotted it I immediately thought of my friend Jem's latest post. The vintage black patent handbag was made by Ackery of London, it's in mint condition and suede lined. It cost £3.50. 

The clothing was off a stall on our local market. The guy buys crates of clothes at auctions and sells it off at crazy prices. Some are vintage and others are designer samples (no labels, occasionally with pins still in situ). My haul included a couple of tailored jackets, black lazer cut leggings, a tweed shoulder cape, a crazy orange Chanel-on-Acid cardi, a customised denim trucker jacket and a black maxi skirt with a psychedelic pagoda print along the hem. 

This jacket has a bustle and fits like it was made to measure,the other has puffed shoulders, a nipped-in waist and a huge pussybow - I look like a gothic widow.

The great thing about market shopping is the camarderie, you can have a laugh with the stallholders, haggle over the price and flirting pays dividends. I got the whole lot for a tenner. You wouldn't get that much fun on the high street.

Jon's been busy today and created this little beauty:

It's a Victorian birdcage we found in a charity shop for £1.25. It's been given the verdegris treatment and wired up to become our new stair light. We need a more attractive energy saving lightbulb and we've got some artificial peacocks to clip around it.

Pretty, huh?