Liberty-print-kinda Shirt

This item is the thing which initially made me say 'I'm going to start a blog about charity shopping'. I picked up this pretty patterned shirt for about £3 in a charity shop in Leytonstone.

I like this shirt because:

1) the print reminds me of Liberty.

2) It has a contrasting lapel which kind of reminds me of PJs...

...And the great thing about things which look like PJs:

Zooey Deschanel in New Girl - Queen of awesome PJs 

Louis Vuitton's covetable vintage PJ thing in recent collections

I felt very envious whilst charity shopping in Leytonstone when I saw that the lady in front of me at the till was buying a very cute denim shirt-dress-thing which, given the chance, I would have definitely snaffled. You snooze you lose.

A word on boots and undies...

I love charity shops and second hand shops so much, but the two things you can't really get in them is shoes and undies. Thanks to my regular low-spend on clothes I can usually afford to spend a little more on quality shoes and underwear which is very important and well worth it!

Undies
A hungover trip to Bravissimo whilst I was at University taught me the lifelong lesson - get a good bra, and make sure it fits perfectly because this makes you stand taller and actually look slimmer. Since then, Freya has been my brand of choice. Equally, good knickers are important for morale and I like the ethics behind Mary Portas's 'Kinky Knickers' (which can often be found at cut prices on ASOS).

Shoes and Boots
Shoes - I like French Sole ballet pumps, they're pricey but Diana used to wear them and they're made of real leather which means they don't make your feet smell like those cheap ballet flats you can get 10-a-penny.

Doctor Martens - the classic boot - practical and awesome. I get mine from the joyful factory shop in Northamptonshire where you can get samples and discontinued lines which won't break the bank.

This gal knows what I'm sayin:

HA:

Here are my one of a kind paint splattered DMs which cost something like £25 - amazing!

Hello and Welcome!

For a while now I have been trying to think what would make an interesting and focussed blog for people to really enjoy? What's my thing? It dawned on me - SECOND HAND SHOPPING. Yes, my thing is second handing in general - charity shops. car boot sales, table top sales, junk yards, swishing, etc).

The beginning.. 
It all started with a love of vintage - my Mum and Dad used to play the Chordettes, the Ink Spots, Ella Fitzgerald and Phil Spector's Christmas album in the house all the time. Once when I was off school with a bad cold my Mum got hold of a Doris Day box set and I watched The Thrill of it All which pretty much changed my life. I became obsessed with old movies and loved Gone with the Wind more than any teenager should.

Then I went to university and worked in a department store part time. It sold lots of expensive clothes which were probably made using child labour. I started to dislike the highstreet and question the provenance of my clothes.

Now
I work in the arts for the good of my soul but I don't have much money, and the little money I do make needs to be spent going to the theatre and decent bottles of wine. SO - there you have it - it all adds perfectly - a way to hunt vintage clothes, be an ethical shopper (or hunter, as second-handing is all about the hunt) and be thrifty.

And so, that's that - I hope you enjoy hearing about the things I've found.

Here's my favourite dressing gown which was handed down to me from my grandmother, in my neatly decorated room using vintage wallpaper which was 25p per roll: