New To Me

In the absence of finding anything very exciting from this morning's car boot (classic car parts may be worth a small fortune but they don't make for the most scintillating of blog posts) I thought I'd show you a couple of last week's finds instead.

This early 1960s vintage lurex and wool skirt suit has been painstakingly handmade with exquisite French seams. It has cotton underarm protectors (to avoid any unladylike sweat stains) and is lined with pink silk.

It was hanging on a rusting metal coat hanger from the wing mirror of a van belonging to a scruffy bloke dealing in antique books. I'm always a bit wary of things on hangers as sellers tend to ask a premium but I bit the bullet and asked and was more than happy with the £2 he wanted.

A vintage purist may have worn it with flesh coloured stockings, kitten heels, dainty jewellery and an alligator hide Kelly bag.

Me, I prefer something a little less traditional so it's fringed suede shoe boots (£5, local market), turquoise opaques, 1960s vinyl bag (50p, Salvation Army) and a heap of ethnic jewellery.

This midnight blue lace shift is mid-1960s and again, handmade. It has covered buttons and French seams. The sleeves, sides and hem are silk and it came with a separate nylon lining.

This was from the same seller. I asked if he had any more old clothes and he produced this from the back of his van. I had to haggle him down to £4. 

The original lining doesn't show the lace off to it's best advantage so I'm wearing a pair of velvet hot pants (70p, car boot sale) underneath along with a pair of Claires' Accessories tights (£1.50, 2009 sale), Nordiska suede belt (20p, car boot sale), faux suede platform shoes (£5, local boutique), a 1960s vinyl shoulder bag (£3.25, Walsall Hospice) and a vintage plastic brooch (20p, car boot sale)

In the absence of a cider press, I'm off to spend the afternoon baking with apples. I'll share any creations with you very soon.