Thursday 11 April 2019

Sod Brexit - Let's Go Charity Shopping



It's happened again. Just like last week when I found that velvet cloak which perfectly complimented the embroidered Indian maxi dress I was already wearing, today I've found the ideal hat to match my Afghan dress. Yay! We may be living in a time of political uncertainty but we can rely on one thing, charity shopping will always surprise us.


There are three towns in the UK associated with hat making, Atherstone, Stockport and Luton, the latter being where my hat was made. Marida was one of Luton's largest hat makers and, at its peak, had two factories in the town. Sadly the company was dissolved in 2001. I reckon my hat dates to the mid-1980s when cobalt blue was all the rage.



SOURCE


I absolutely love this dress and, until I bought my Anokhi riding coat in Jaipur, was the most I'd ever spent on a garment and I wear it loads, this is the third time I've worn it this week. If I don't post an outfit photo it's more than likely that I'm wearing this.


You may be forgiven for thinking that you've never seen my dress before but you have, it's just that until I did some research on traditional Afghan attire, I never realised that I'd been wearing it backwards!


Traditionally worn with baggy trousers cuffed at the ankle and a long black veil, Afghan dresses have an elaborately embroidered panel at the front, both the V-shaped bodice opening and the fuller part of the skirt, with a two panel detail, are worn at the back. 


I like mine worn both ways, two dresses for the price of one!

Clockwise from top left: Vintage Indian gauze cotton full sweep skirt; Indian jacket covered in scraps of block printed fabric; 1960s wool coat; Banjara tribal bead & shell belt, 1950s lidded basket, 1970s beaded tote bag; 1980s polka dot midi dress; 1970s cotton peasant-style maxi dress; Phool bejewelled kaftan; Dip-dyed knife pleat midi skirt; 1980s reversible jacket, made in Italy by Bellini

This week's mission has been to fill the gaps in our stockroom so we've been out hunting. We're trading at the Classic Car Boot Sale in London at the end of the month and then it's festival season. The criteria for the Classic Car Boot is vintage and/or high quality second-hand and our festival pitch is all about wild, colourful and fun so anything that catches our eye gets snapped up.

Clockwise from top left: Eight hats, seven are made in England and the odd one out is a wild Latin American bowler; Embroidered peasant blouse; 1980s Bruce Oldfield Custom-made jacket; 1980s sundress; Victorian night dress; Cheongsam blouse; Tianello (made in the USA) rayon Chinoiserie print duster coat; Hand embroidered peasant blouse

Charity shopping never ceases to amaze me. Where on earth had that Victorian nightdress been for the last 130-odd years? Who, in a town with one of the highest levels of unemployment within the UK back in the 1980s, could have afforded Bruce Oldfield Custom Made? 

The Bruce Oldfield dress Princess Diana is wearing in the photo above, chatting to the designer in 1987, sold at auction for £56,000. Not that I'm suggesting that the jacket is worth even a fraction of that astronomical figure, I'm just intrigued by the label.

Clockwise from top left: Vintage academic gown & mortar board; Frederick Theak dress shirt; Jeffery West shoes x 2, Clarks' desert boots (new); 1970s Fight Club style leather jacket; 1980s Dunn & Co cord blazer;  1970s St Michael leisure shirt; 1980s hand printed Kenyan safari shirt

The unworn Clarks' desert boots retail at £100 and luckily for Jon they're his size (UK 9.5).
Not one but two pairs of handmade shoes by achingly hip brand Jeffery West from their Muse collection - a pair of these shoes retail at between £225 and £250 and the company even offer a mending service should you wish to prolong the life of your shoes, how cool to repair your existing shoes rather than encouraging their customers to buy new?



SOURCE

The prize for the star find of the day has to go to Jon for finding this insane Frederick Theak dress shirt featuring Rupert Bear. The company was founded in 1937 and was dissolved in 2008. What did we do before the internet? 


This isn't the only Theak dress shirt in our stockroom, we've also got one in red polka dots. You got to love a man invited to a formal occasion and opting to wear something like this. That's another of the joys of shopping secondhand, you can dream up all manner of stories about the history of your pre-loved finds.

WEARING: Vintage Afghan dress (Goodbye, Norma Jean), 1960s-does-Edwardian leather lace-up boots (car boot sale), 1980s Marida hat (Severn Hospice), Banjara coin pendant (Goa, 2005)
Today fast-fashion retailer Pr*mark opened its biggest store in the world just 9 miles down the road from me in Birmingham. I can't think of a worse shopping experience, mass produced tat made in questionable circumstances of which the majority will end up discarded in six weeks time. Ethics aside, who wants to dress like everyone else anyway? By shopping secondhand, you're not only reducing waste generated by a generation who believe cheap clothing is their god-given right but you're dressing to your own tastes and not those dictated to you by the fashion industry.....Secondhand for life!


Me and the lads will see you soon.


56 comments:

  1. AMEN!
    but i fear one has to live in england to be blessed by the 2.hand gods like you are....here in frugal east germany its really hard to find cool things - one has to go to berlin, but there the stuff is sold for pharmacy prices (as we say). anyway - my closet is more then full, do not need new dresses - it would be just for a change...
    love your dress from both sides and the new hat is a perfect match indeed - for the dress and for you!
    xxxxx

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    1. Much as I envy where you live I'd be very frustrated with the lack of secondhand goodies (although you have found some beautiufl things at the flea market, haven't you?) xxx

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  2. Aw, look at those lovely lads, lounging louchely in the sun (and I use up my allotment of alliteration for the day, lol).

    I love your finds - I would so enjoy shopping with you! Those two pairs of Jeffrey West shoes are wonderful (L would wear them in a heartbeat), and I laughed over that awesome Rupert shirt! I also like making up stories of where my things come from - how on earth do they end up in a thrift shop? Where have they been all this time?

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    1. I would LOVE to shop with you, we'd have an absolute blast! xxx

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  3. Oh wow - some great finds! Love the hat - perfect colour!

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  4. Sadly not a cat in hell's chance of getting anything like that round here without a hefty price tag. We have "vintage" rails in the chazzas and they think it's fair game to charge £15 for a per uno jumper sometimes! Probably have a bit more luck down in Brightonx
    Arilx

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    1. Yes - I've seen those vintage rails - they're crazy! Hardly anything is ever vintage or the prices are insane. You need to stop off in the Midlands on your way to visit your son! xxx

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  5. Afghan dresses are gorgeous, and so cool they can be worn in two ways. That Afghan dress looks great on you. The blue hat is the perfect accessory for it. I agree that pre loved items are always the best, they always have stories to tell.

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    1. Thanks, Ivana! I love these dresses especially now I realise they can be worn backwards! xxx

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  6. Love the bright colors and I would guess Brexit is tiring for you Brits.
    Coffee is on

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    1. Thanks, Dora! Oh yes, Brexit is exhausting, we're all sick of it! xxx

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  7. I need to have a look at my Afghan dress-I think I've been wearing mine wrong for decades as well! Thanks for cluing me in.

    That shirt with the bears is a genuine WTF piece.

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    1. Ha! Glad I'm not the only backwards one here!
      The shirt has found a new home already - it's brilliantly bonkers! xxx

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  8. Another great post, Vix. I heartily agree with your comments about fast and cheap fashion and second hand. Great to hear your stall has been going well - as the best with your next trading day. Wish I was in England to visit your stall.

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    1. Hello Alli, lovely to hear from you! I wish you could visit our stall, I'd love to meet you! x

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  9. I wore a lot of cobalt blue in the 80's! A visit here is always a wonderful trip down memory lane.

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    1. Cobalt blue and jade green were the colours of the 1980s! x

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  10. Lincoln is a clothing desert , being a Uni and Tourist town the charities have their own vintage shops at a price . i now stick to the Jumbles and the 5 for a pound church sales

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    1. Gah! Those vintage rails make me laugh - there's only shop in Walsall with one and there's not a single vintage item on there - it's all Primarni! The proper vintage is on the rails with the normal stuff - I snaffled a 1950s cocktail skirt from there on Friday! x

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  11. I'm still trying to work out why there is much vintage clothing in your neck of the woods. I look and look but at the most I find is the odd bit of 80s stuff -sometimes...anyway so much fabulousness in one post! I love the Bruce Oldfield jacket. You look lovely in your outfit and the titfer is perfect!
    Xxx

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    1. I can find vintage stuff in India street markets full of H&M and Primark over makes - I think it's my hidden talent. I popped into town for a birthday card on Friday morning and found a vintage treasure in every single charity shop in town.
      Isn't that Bruce Oldfield jacket a class act? I bought a Wallis suit from a jumble sale in 1986 with a very similar cut of jacket - it served as Liz & I's interview suit for well over 15 years! xxx

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  12. Love your dress and totally understand that you wear it a lot of times (those colors are so fabulous!), I also wear my favourite dresses/trousers twice or three times in a row, as don't understand the urge to wear something different every day. If I like it, I'll wear it repeatedly! serial offender!
    I admire your fab finds, that hat has a lovely color. What to say about the amazing Rupert Bear print!. I do love it!
    Not a lot of opportunities to find vintage clothes here and even second hand shopping is still pretty strange. But I'm glad that it's becoming more popular and more shops are opening, both consignment and charities!. I think it's becoming trendy! ;DDD
    besos

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    1. Hooray! I'm so with you. I have love affairs with certain items in my wardrobe and wear them constantly, put them away and forget about them for a few months.
      That Rupert bear shirt soon found a lovely new home with a virtual friend, I can't wait to see her wearing it.
      I'm excited to hear that Spain's secondhand market is starting to flourish. I remember visiting a car boot sale in Nerja many years ago and being disappointed that there were no clothes, just nick nacks and furniture (no good when you've flown there!) xxx

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  13. That really is a gorgeous dress so I'm not surprised you wear it a lot.
    Hugs-x-

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  14. That dress looks great either way round - I guess it depends on whether you're in the mood for embroidery or embonpoint.

    Great finds there; that jacket must've been an absolute bargain.

    As for fast fashion... I know sometimes people want new things and can't afford quality - one of the things that put me off charity shopping for years was having had to wear jumble sale clothes as a kid at a time when I desperately wanted the things the others had. But I don't get the whole way of treating clothes like they're disposable. Don't people like the clothes they buy?! Why are they buying stuff they don't want to keep? I guess they don't really do clothes as self-expression.

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    1. Those Afghan nomads knew what they were doing - making reversible dresses!
      I was amazed by that jacket. I'm not often bothered by labels but the quality of the jacket stood out a mile.
      I hear you with the wanting new clothes after a lifetime of secondhand but, like you, why on erath would you throw something away so quickly? I can look back at ten years of blog posts and I still like everything I've ever worn! xxx

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  15. beautiful clothes and cats! It is amazing what you can find amid the crap at a thrift store.

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    1. Thank you! There certainly is a lot of crap but those gems make the effort of wading through it so rewarding! xxx

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  16. Truer words were never spoken! Use up everything you have! Clothing, linens, dishes, pots and pans, etc. I may never need to shop again!

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  17. Fancy that dress being back to front! Ut does look good both ways, its amazing that it's a fit either way.
    I realised the other day that I don't even go into clothes shops any more, or at least I haven't for ages, last summer must be the last time and then for something specific. I loathe throw away fashion, wasteful and tat that it is. Your Afghan dress is so much more drool worthy.
    The lads are looking gorgeous relaxing on the grass.
    Have a lovely weekend. xxx

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    1. I thought it seemed a shame to have the embroidered panel at the back! Silly me! xxx

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  18. It's amazing how totally different that dress looks worn the right way around, so two stunning dresses for the price of one! Either way, that cobalt blue hat is perfect with it. What a find! They did do some fabulous colours (and prints) in the 80s. Isn't charity shopping the best? I pity those who need Pr*mark for their fashion fix. xxx

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    1. Two dresses for the price of one! they are very different both ways, aren't they?
      The 1980s was the last decade where high street clothes were made well (no Asian sweatshops) and possibly also the last decade of there being a distinctive style - everything since has been a feeble rehash of past eras. xxx

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  19. "Secondhand for life" here as well! It's just sooo much more interesting and cheap as well, not to mention better for the environment. You do have to dig and go often, and not expect instant gratification in the same way. You can't always find exactly what you think you want, but you are so often surprised with joy. Treasure hunting more than mere shopping. I too never go into standard clothing stores any more. People complain about the musty smell of charity shops, but I find new clothes smell of excess dye and plastic! xo Jazzy Jack

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    1. I agree with you, I hate the synthetic smell of new clothes.
      Your description of charity shopping is so evocative I want to run out and have a rummage right away! xxx

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  20. What wonderful finds! If I ever get to visit England, one of the first things I'd want to do is go charity shopping.
    Good luck with the Classic Car Boot, I'm sure lots of people will appreciate your unique, vintage pieces. Shopping at regular stores can be so boring. X

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    1. Thanks, Jess! All our towns and cities have charity shops although some are more expensive (and better stocked) than others! xxx

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  21. I did some work experience at Stockport hat museum it’s a great place to visit.
    Fancy finding a Bruce Oldfield piece. It does make you wonder who owned it and how did it end up in the chazzer.
    We are off to Stockport tomorrow and the antiques textile fair if all goes to plan. It will be nice to see everyone again. I believe there’s some new traders and it’s the Mods event so it’s worth going just to see the scooters.
    Have you ever wondered why we don’t see saris and Indian outfits in the chairty shops. What happens to them all ? When I look at the outfits in the local Asian shops I think now beautiful some of them are
    Have a lovely weekend Vix and I love your dress worn either way. Love to Jon xxx

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    1. The Stockport museum was on the BBC the other day - it did look a cracking place to visit.
      Hope Stockport is fun - that Mod fair was always a good one. I'd love to visit the textile fair.
      There's a couple of specialist Indian charity shops in the Midlands but Walsall's Scope is really good for kurtas and sari fabric. xxx

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  23. Delighted to see that Jon's participation in The Hunt for Vintage has been rewarded with those boots. 'Tho their styles are dissimilar, he and Fred Astaire resemble one another in their confident carriage and put-that-spotlight-on-me smile. Life's a performance: too few men make the effort to dress for their parts.

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    1. Alas, he's given them an outing and it appears they're a narrow fitting - the fabulous boots will have to go to a thinner footed chap! xxx

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    1. Sorry I deleted your comment, I wasn't sure if it was spam or lost in translation.

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  25. I love the hat! I had a Marida hat, it was fabulous quality, but it was beige (my colour nemesis - makes me look ill) so I ended up selling it on. I'm sure my Mum told me that some relative, maybe a great Aunt, was apparently a milliner in Luton. I will have to find out the details when I next see my Mum, it might make a good blog post! The dress is fabulous either way - I do wear some things backwards, especially if I want to switch it up between a high and low neckline. xx

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    1. Thank you!! I remembered seeing a Marida hat on another blog, it must have been yours. That sounds like a fantastic subject for a blog post. We trade next to a chap at End of the Road festival who bought the contents of an old hat factory and now makes his own, they're amazing! xxx

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  26. I find I enjoy trawling charity shops so much more than I do high street shops. And the things I find in charity shops are always my favourite pieces. I often get complemented on something I'm wearing and it triggers an explanation about where I found it, how cheap it was, how much preloved stuff I have in my wardrobe, and how I rarely buy form the high street anymore... even if I can encourage just one person into a charity shop I'll be happy!
    xx

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    1. Yes, charity shopped clothes can be a real icebreaker, I often strike up conversations with people after either me or them have commented on what the other person is wearing! x

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  27. Both cats have such sombre expressions! They obviously take their lounging time very seriously. I would love to know who originally bought the Rupert Bear print shirt, AND if he ever wore it. Does it fit Jon? Is he going to keep it? If not, at least take a photo of him wearing it! The Afghan dress is beautiful, backwards or forwards.

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  28. How gorgeous you look in this dress and blue hat! I am glad that you wore it backwards at first - it proves that it works both ways!! I adore your secondhand finds, and it seems your people treasure vintage stuff so much more consistently than majority of people in other countries. Famous British eccentrics? :)

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  29. Hi, I just stumbled across your blog post while searching Afghan dresses. I'm an Afghan (born in the UK) and I just wanted to say the dress is lovely and really suits you, and thank you for using the correct term, Afghan, rather than Afghani :) it's so nice to see others appreciating our traditional clothing!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind comment! It's lovely to hear from you. xxx

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Thanks for reading and for leaving a message. Please don't be anonymous, I'd love it if you left a name (or a nom de plume).

Lots of love, Vix