Charity Shop Finds - Simple Fixes

Sometimes it's a simple as changing/replacing the buttons. I got this gorgeous vintage Hardy Amies wool jacket in Shelter in Stockbridge for a ridiculous bargain of £8. Two buttons were missing from the jacket and I looked for ages for something with a bit of interest. I came across these gorgeous buttons on lotsofbuttons.com which were absolutely perfect:

I love the heritage style of the buttons, they go really well with the tweed but from a distance don't distract from the overall blazer. I got some other gorgeous buttons from lotsofbuttons that will hopefully make their way onto things soon. Massive recommendation for that website, it took about 5 days for them to arrive and they were being shipped from the US! 

C x

Charity Shop Finds - Winter

Here's a round up of finds from the last couple of months.

 I got this cute knitted top with a bow for a bargain £3 and the pink 100% merino knit (Uniqlo) for £4 in Shelter on Forrest Road. That shop always has nifty bargains.

This M&S Limited Collection 100% silk blouse was a steal on the £3 rail at Save The Children on Nicholson St.

These were from my favourite charity shop of all - Barnardo's Stockbridge ♥ - The cardigan was £6.99 and the blouse (Dotty Ps) £4.29. 


More pictures to come!


C x

Vintage Inspiration: It's A Wonderful Life

Oasis pleated dress, $50

Franco Sarto suede platform heels, $89

Noel S.B. Overcoat, $465

Polo Ralph Lauren A21-C1559 Grey Trousers, $392

The black Oasis dress is still available on sale for £30 online. Doesn't the tweed overcoat look so cosy? I've seen quite a few like them in charity shops going for very reasonable prices (especially in the Morningside and Bruntsfield areas). And you could pick up a club tie in just about any charity shop you walk into. Your man could look like James Stewart too!

C x

House of Colour Make-Up Sale

I do love a good sale. I treated myself to an early Christmas present at the House of Colour Make-Up sale. Got myself 3 lovely nail varnishes in various Winter shades, and a white mineral eye shadow for post-exam parties (I forgot to include it in the picture).

I got Shocking Pink, Deep Fuschia and Burgundy, all super-cool Winter tones.

Check out the sale yourself here: www.houseofcolour.co.uk/hocshop/pages/sale (I'm not sponsored to advertise or anything, I just really like their products for the huge range of colours!).

C x

Shelter 'Rebrand' Edinburgh Shops

Shelter Scotland have announced plans to rebrand their shops in an effort to attract more customers and donations. All 8 Edinburgh shops will get a makeover, with the Stockbridge branch getting first dibs. You can read a full article about it here. 

From volunteering in a particularly well-branded charity shop, I hear plenty of comments from customers praising the character and care put into the layout and decoration of our shop. Good branding should make a charity shop feel like a boutique, and add to the sense of treasure-hunting while you flip through the rails. On the other hand, bad branding (or a complete lack thereof) results in dull, lifeless charity shops with a lack of distinctive personality: bare walls and endless, unthoughtful rails are off-putting right from the get go, and you'll need serious stamina to find yourself a buy among them.

I've frequently found things in Shelter Stockbridge, and personally, I wouldn't have put it at the top of my list for getting rebranded - the window displays are always kookie and whimsical, the endless Baroque music charming and the rails sorted by style rather than colour or size appealing for treasure-hunters. I hope in an effort to draw more footfall, Shelter don't spoil the individuality of their shops for a generic 'high street' look, and continue to promote the obvious creativity of their staff and volunteers. 

As always, I love to hear your comments.

C x

Those Were The Days

New favourite shop! 

www.thosewerethedaysvintage.com 26 St Stephen Street, Stockbridge, EH3 5AL.

(the facebook page is currently the best place to stay updated)

The lovely Claire started off at the Barnardo's Vintage shop in the Grassmarket (soon to be RIP, and merging with Barnardo's Stockbridge), then bravely set out starting her own boutique, filled with finds from L.A. and London. All the stock has been expertly cared for and restored (none of that damp smell you sometimes find in vintage), and honestly, just a quick rifle through the rails is a complete joy. The 1950s tea dresses are incredible (so much tulle!), but you can expect anything from the 1930s to 1980s, a bridal section to make you squeal and a guys rail with awesome rare vintage t-shirts and polos.

I doubt I can make you appreciate how fun this new shop is unless you go pop in yourself. I spotted an Aerosmith Nine Lives t-shirt on the facebook page and couldn't resist. I just need an excuse to buy a very VERY pretty dress and I'm back there in an instant.

'Nine Lives' t-shirt, Those Were the Days; jacket, Barnardo's Vintage; skirt, Primark.

C x

Banana Republic do Mad Men

Remember how much I have loved finding Banana Republic in the charity shops, like here and here? In the UK, they have 5 shops in London and one in Bath, so it feels like finding treasure when I spot something by BR here in Scotland. I doubt I will ever pay full price, despite the high quality, because the prices are a bit beyond a student budget. However, they've announced a collaboration with Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant, and it's really making me wish I had lots of money: 

The right hand picture isn't far off what cardigan girls like to wear currently. And that trench is just awesome.

Houndstooth and pearls, headscarf and tweed suit! 

The gentleman's collection is equally gorgeous. I love that shawl collar cardigan.

And hats! I also love that those heels look like they could actually be walked in.

(Images from NYMag.com)

C x

Charity Shop Find - Belated June

Volunteering in a charity shop has been oddly cathartic. Being surrounded by clothes, good or bad quality, has made me appreciate the variety of clothes in my own wardrobe, and when it comes to my addiction to sales and special offers, realising that I can always pick up something similar for even less within four or five charity shops has stopped that feeling of missing out when I walk past a sale without looking in. 

Seeing the kinds of things people donate also reminds me of how ridiculous my consumerist desires could become. Trends barely a month old are recognisable among the recent donations, as more harem pants and floor length skirts than we can sell fill the rails. Sometimes these cast offs match the styles (but never the quality) of the vintage rail, and you can be damn sure it'll be in fashion again one day. A member of my family has this sussed, and deliberately puts clothes into storage, to discover them a few years later when they're next in fashion. Do you ever watch those Gok Wan TV shows where he visits the wardrobes of women with sales addictions, and they have cupboards and drawers bursting with clothes? We buy into the next trend, but where does really that get us? As I was wondering this, I looked through my wardrobe, and noted that since I stopped trying to keep up with trends, my clothes (now around 50% from charity shops) have started to become a cohesive collection of mix and match pieces (how often I would have to buy a new top to match a new skirt!), which offers the potential for longer term style. I may not look on trend, but the money I might be able to save and put towards a life experience (hello holiday) is, for me, worth infinitely more.

So here's the ONE new piece of clothing I bought in June, from Bethany Christian Trust on Hamilton Place. It's a gem, and I consider it underpriced at £5. 

Black wool Banana Republic kilt, £5.

(Antoni & Alison pink silk shirt, satin bow from the sewing kit, Dune pumps)

It's very, very heavy, so not really practical for summer. Oh, actually wait, I live in Scotland, it's probably completely appropriate for July (there were flash floods in Edinburgh, people lost their cars! In July!).

C x

Summer Sales

I hope you're enjoying the start of Summer and have got a good holiday or few days off booked soon. I'm still job hunting, probably because I'm far too fussy with jobs, so I'm avoiding the shops as much as possible. Which makes the fact that the Summer sales are almost here quite unbearable.

Since January I've managed to replace many of the clothes which were now too big for me (I lost a tonne of weight in the last year :]) and I'm nearing completing my wardrobe switchover, so I wouldn't have been looking for anything in particular either. I can safely stick to internet window shopping, and post up here the best of the bargains and the cheapest of the chips.

Artigiano jersey dress, £25 - It's a good day when one is in the position to be in the realm of spending money at Artigiano, it's seriously expensive. This dress has lovely detailing in the back, there's something a little bit 1930s about it that I rather like.

Artigiano pleated georgette skirt, £9 - Ignore the frumpy styling: these midi-skirts are quite trendy at the moment, and £9 for an expensive Italian version is rather good. Dry clean only though, but these types of skirts should all be.

Gap contrast collar shirt, £19.99 - maybe a touch more than you want to spend in a sale, but I love this fifties-style blouse, it reminds me of Frenchie in Grease.

Gap dot sweater, £9.99 - and this reminds me of something Grace Kelly would wear, thanks to that elegant drape neckline. 

Pepperberry wrap dress, £27.00 - What a pretty colour! I'm really into wrapover styles at the moment, I'm not sure they're strictly 'on trend' but they're classic and suit just about every shape. 

Florence & Fred (Tesco) scallop edge skirt, £7.50 - cheap cute with a capital C :)

C x

High Street Clothes in Charity Shops

When is it okay to buy high street in charity shops/thrift stores?

In my rules of charity shop rummaging, I wrote that in general, you want to go for vintage/designer and avoid high street clothes. But there are plenty of exceptions.

You can change colour, size, even decoration, but the one thing you can't change about clothes is the material. Clothes from the high street are often made as quickly as possible so that they reach the high street while the 'microtrend' is still in. To achieve fast turnaround, materials need to be easy to sew/print/size, so tend to be made from thinner, cheaper material, like thin cotton, polycotton and polyesters. By the time they reach charity shops/thrift stores, cheap material will be well worn, so if it doesn't look tired and worn yet, it may not be far away from it.

But sometimes, there are some real gems. High-end high street shops like Whistles, Hobbs, Jaeger, Cos, Banana Republic and LK Bennett produce high quality clothes, and charity shops in affluent areas frequently receive these types of donations.

Hence my love of the charity shops in Stockbridge, one of the most affluent areas in Edinburgh. Recently, I found this gorgeous Whistles top, featuring a crochet Peter-Pan collar, in Barnardo's. Whistles is a great, high quality company, so I didn't mind the £10 price tag, more than I usually think to spend on a top.

I'm currently job hunting, and I think this would be perfect for office-wear with a smart pencil skirt and cute Mary-Janes. Very Emma Pillsbury from Glee.

(source: What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear)

Franca at Oranges and Apples recently wrote an excellent guide to Edinburgh Vintage and Charity Shops, outlining the best places to find good quality pieces. One shop I'd additionally recommend is the Shelter shop on Teviot Place (Bristo Sq). Its vicinity to the university means there's a great mixture of clothes. I picked up this Banana Republic wrap cardigan for a bargain £5 (the buttons on the sleeves, ohmyIlovethem):

And that's the plaid skirt I got in the Lands End sale a couple of months ago - I LOVE burgundy :)

But I don't want you to think I don't appreciate low and mid high street brands! They regularly make good quality clothes, but finding them in the jumble of charity shops might just require an extra bit of rummaging.. Charity shops have become more savvy in recent years to only stock good quality clothes, and send worn, overused clothes to fabric recycling companies. These can be made into blankets for the homeless and for the Red Cross. This is why you shouldn't bin clothes, even if they're ripped or stained - still donate them!

C x

Sunglasses

I found a really good offer online through random stumbling to get 2 pairs of sunglasses for $20 and get free shipping (or 5 dollars off shipping outside US) at 80s Purple using the voucher code 'eyesonus'.

I've been after a pair of vintage-style Wayfarers for ages, but Primark's versions were too small for my face (who knew I had a fat face??) and most high street shops were charging a ridiculous £15-20 a pair!

I thought the pink pair would be more icy-pink than candy pink, but they're still cute, although I prefer the black pair. I really just wanted a pair with translucent frames and coloured arms.

(I suck at posing.)

In the end, the two pairs and the tiny fraction of US shipping beyond $5 cost me only £12.72. Bargain.

Wayfarers: Marilyn, John Slattery, Kirsten Dunst

C x

Cardigan Love

Last week of dissertation fever, so haven't had a chance to get out and hunt the charity shops. Did indulge in a few too many catalogs though, and spotted some good styling tips for cardigans:

Boden V-Neck Cashmere Cardigan - I charitised my one and only v-neck cardigan thinking it didn't go with anything. I like how this is styled open over a different neckline, and the jewel details stops it being frumpy.

Boden - the same cardigan, styled with silver. I love pink and silver together (except on trashy people).

Another v-neck cardigan, this time by NW3 at Hobbs and styled with an open peter-pan collar. How TRENDY are those these days, right? 

Whistles cable knit cardigan. This is divine. It looks like a little Chanel-style jacket from a distance but up close is a thick, cosy cardi. $$$ :(

Kettlewell long cascade wrap - I personally think I'm too short to pull off these gorgeous cascade cardigans that are so à la mode. The pairing with the grape palazzo pants is like something straight out of Gucci SS'11, you think? 

And this I just spotted on weheartit.com. I think this gorgeous little cardi could be DIY'd fairly easily...

...which brings me to my next order of business, I am going to attempt my own DIY clothing the week after next, using finds from charity shops. Very exciting!

C x

To Buy or Not To Buy?

I am considering buying myself a posh leather satchel as a graduation present to myself. I've probably already justified countless things in the last few months with this excuse, but this is something that I really can't afford off the bat, and would need to save now for, or require a howk into savings.

I really love the ones by the Cambridge Satchel Company, they're a lot less expensive than other companies and they can emboss the satchel too...I love it in red (15" = £84), but then I think about how often I wear blue, and how the only blue I like with this tomato red is navy or dark cobalt:

Top: Red with deep navy

Bottom: Red with Dark Cobalt, the only blues I would wear with this shade of red.

So perhaps to get maximum wear out of it, I should pick something more neutral. I can't buy black or navy bags, because inevitably I want to wear it with the other in an outfit. While I have no problem wearing black and navy together (as long as it's a deep navy like the one above, verging on black), I know not everyone else feels the same way (certain friends who tell me off for it). 

Top: Good black and navy combo

Bottom: Less good black and navy - the navy is too soft, and looks a bit cheap next to black.

Somehow, red feels like the only bright colour that could still come off 'professional' enough for the 2nd degree it looks as though I'm probably going to embark on (the purple, pink, green and yellow versions seem too casual, and I don't wear brown, leaving only black and navy anyway).

Or should I hold off and find a colour I'm completely sure about? Spending that much money on myself should probably mean getting a colour that can go with just about everything:

Purple/indigo, burgundy, plum or dark green might be more professional...

Hummmm....

C x

Dotty P's Dresses

Final exam of university this week, so I'm away doing dull revision, which I doubt anyone would want to read about (influenza strains, anyone?). I'm dreaming of rewarding myself with a pretty new dress when everything is finished (I have materials and pattern for a green teadress, but that may be a project for June). Dorothy Perkins have an amazing range of vintage inspired dresses right now (is it just me, or is DP always much better in the summer than the winter?)

Dorothy Perkins - Pretty Dresses by A Cardigan Girl featuring short sleeve dresses

Vintage-inspired dresses galore! From left: navy spot crochet dress £25, cobalt structured dress £40, indigo belted flare dress £45, coral v-backed collar dress £50, red crossover dress £35. 

I will take them all, please!

C x

Lands End Sale

Lands End is having a massively reduced sale on their Canvas collection. I managed to control the spending (for once!) and only spent £30. Here's my haul (apologies for the rubbish camera phone pictures):

Lightweight cotton funnelneck in Grey Heather (£8). I got an XS (UK8) and it's a good fit, especially around the shoulders, but spacious enough at the waist for after chocolate cake.

Plaid wool skirts in Aubergine plaid and Blackwatch plaid (£6 each). I worried myself by getting them in a US6 (UK10), thinking they might be a bit neat. But as it turned out, they were pretty loose (sitting lower on the waist than the model's), I might have even been able to go down to a US4/UK8 (but better to leave room for a Winter tummy, which is when one is likely to need a wool skirt!).

And an obligatory cardigan:

Cotton cardigan in Pale Sky (£10, but has since gone back up to £29) - it's much more icy blue than pastel, as their picture might suggest. I got this in an XS (UK8) and it's snug, but luckily not tight (the benefits of small shoulders), however, I'd suggest if your shoulders are more normal that you go up a size.

There's more nice things that I unfortunately didn't have the pennies for:

Flannel, suede or leather ballet flats (£29), cotton tartan shirtdress (£24), cotton mix Argyle cardigan (£19).

And lots of nice menswear too:

Cotton mix vintage varsity cardigan (£19) [because men should wear cardigans too!], cotton Oxford shirt (£10), leather Chelsea boots (£49).

See the full sale: www.landsend.co.uk

C x

PS - Get free delivery before midnight tonight, quote FD1404.