Quality Not Quantity

I'm back from a gloriously sunny day spent exploring the Black Country for hidden treasures and thought I'd show you what I made with some of last week's car-boot sale crimplene.

Using about a third of the fabric I knocked up this maxi waistcoat, cut from a 1971 McCall's dressmaking pattern, lining it with a pure silk sari I snapped up for 10p from a jumble sale.

 

I punched in some metal eyelet fasteners (found in the box of vintage sewing bits I bought last week) and laced through a strand of green leather that's been in my jar of vintage trimmings since time immemorial.

Thank you for the brilliant and encouraging comments you left yesterday. Claire made an excellent point, "Yes, you can spend less... but you also have to be driven to consume less too. I realised recently that I still buy loads of stuff I don't NEED, just because it costs little. It's great to say you have seen the marketing games of big brands for the lies they are. But I still don't like the feeling that I am weak for vintage 'stuff' and make meaning in my life by going shopping for it."

She's dead right. It's hard to resist buying every treasure you come across but try to be realistic. Tempting though it may be, don't buy just because it's cheap, vintage or that it'll make a great blog post, buy it because it's genuinely useful, will fit in with your existing decor or that it's wearable and suits you and your lifestyle. You're building a wardrobe and furnishing a home not opening a museum. If you absolutely love it then buy it but if there's any doubt leave it for the next person who comes along. You haven't failed if you come home empty-handed you've merely learnt to be discerning. Spending all your cash on second-hand stuff is no more sensible than splurging it in Top Shop.

I could have bought a vintage black maxi skirt, a 1970s plaid swing jacket, a heap of bangles and a pair of modern platform sole sandals today but I didn't because I'd already got similar stuff at home.

Here's what I did buy:

Compton Hospice (50p)

 I can't resist a souvenir scarf, I adore travel and anything than encapsulates exotic holidays and foreign climes. Occasionally I refashion them into cushion covers but this one's pretty enough to wear. I'd love to know how it travelled from Oceania to West Bromwich.

Virgo slingbacks from Freeman, Hardy and Willis's Contessa collection.

These 1960s silver shoes are my exact size (UK 6.5) and in perfect condition. They were reduced to £1.99 in the PDSA in Dudley.

Mod-tastic!

Handmade maxi waistcoat worn with a vintage mini dress (Sarah Misfit) and my new shoes and scarf

I returned home with a handful of purchases that came in at less than a tenner. I've had a lovely day catching up with my friend Cheryl, had a tasty lunch and haven't wasted too much money on frivolous fancies.