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

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

Charity Shop Art

Apologies for the long absence in posting, I have been living under a rock, studying hard and not getting much chance to check out the shops. I did do a round of the charity shops near the the university to pick up some cheap textbooks (saved well over £100). In the Barnardo's bookshop on South Clerk Street, they have baskets full of vintage postcards and photographs which would look lovely in lots of little frames, mounted up on a feature picture wall.

I only have the one very pretty white Ikea frame which I've been dying to put something in. When I was flicking through a travel book, 3 little tickets fell out to the Doge's Palace in Venice. They were beautiful, intricate prints, and they reminded me of visiting Venice when I was little, so I bought the book for the sake of the tickets, and to dream of a day when I can afford to go back to Italy.

C x

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair

Y'all know I heart vintage. But you also know that I am a stingy son of a gun, so I'm not a habitual vintage shopper. I still thought I would check out 'Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair' when it hit Edinburgh yesterday, and honestly, it was heavenly. No ripped old tatty Laura Ashley granny dresses in size 18 like the vintage rails in some charity shops seem to be filled with: instead rows of neat sport blazers, thick knit Arran jumpers and regularly sized silk blouses and leather shorts. The jewelry stalls were neatly laid out, no need to spend ages untangling chains and prices went from dirt cheap to moderate but sensible for real vintage jewelry. I was surprised at how much menswear there was, and indeed how many men came along, but what surprised me mosst was how little kitsch there was - I always think of vintage fairs as being filled with Dita Von Teese clones in Vivien of Holloway bombshell dresses with perfectly permed roll fringes, but in fact the fair was full of average people just looking to get their hands on something no one else has.

Wanna see what I got?

Diamante & plastic pearl brooch, £4, Rare and Flair

Lee Cooper t-shirt (for the gentleman), £5.

Ralph Lauren cotton shirt-cum-nightshirt, £5.

Poodle plastic brooch, £2, Goodbye Norma Jean.

I really don't have anymore room in my wardrobe for clothes so I was very strict with myself, tempted as I was to splurge on a cute 70s red batwing dress ("But when will I realistically wear it?").

So the next time the fair is in town, I will pop back along, perhaps armed with a little more idea of what I actually want to find. Have a gander at the website to find out when the fair is coming to your city: theaffordablevintagefair.blogspot.com

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

Vintage Inspiration: People Will Talk

I watched one of Cary Grant's less famous films the other day, "People Will Talk" (1951), written by Joseph Manciewicz who you might know better as the writer/director of "All About Eve" (1950). Jeanne Crain co-stars,  and wears some gorgeous early 50s outfits, like this military-influenced coat and tailored dress:

But there was one dress that really caught my eye:

The dress structure is simple enough: a sweetheart halterneck tea dress, but what really makes it is a small lace overlay which drapes over the shoulders to a point in the middle of the back (unattached to the back of the dress, rather like a sailor style collar). I wonder if it might be quite easy to recreate this with a strapless dress, and a small square lace scarf. It could be pinned with a brooch on each side of the chest to hold in place. One would only need a Cary Grant on the arm to complete the look.

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

Tulle Time ~ Cardigan Love

It was only a matter of time.

(image via fairycandles)

If I was a lady in the 1950s, I would wear cropped cardigans and tulle tea skirts all the time, for dinner dances or just sipping a Martini on the porch.

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

Janet Leigh

I came across this photo while I was procrastinating on myvintagevogue.com.

I love everything about this look, from the casually turned up collar, the perfect shade of red lipstick on the cheeky smirk, the extended arch eyebrows to the simplicity of her dark blonde hair. And, obviously, the car. I believe this is Janet Leigh of The Manchurian Candidate/Hitchcock's 'Psycho' fame, but looking much less like the usual ice-queen with white-blonde hair (hence my difficulty in identifying her!) and all the more wholesome for it. I just wanted to post this because I thought it was quite inspiring, it's very much how I think I could look on a good day if I made the effort. 

C x

P.S. I've just deleted around half the old posts of the blog, which I had meant to do when I switched over from the old useyourtulle URL but hadn't gotten around to yet. I don't think anyone was ever reading them anyway, but just to let you know, because I want to streamline the blog a bit more towards budget shopping and charity shops. It feels like it could be my niche.

Charity Shop Finds April

After my last exam of the degree, my friend and I rewarded ourself with a quick shopping trip. We were unimpressed with the high street, so decided to pop into a couple of charity shops to save pennies. Unfortunately for my bank balance, I discovered a Thakoon for Target dress (S/S08) - which was only available in the US - at the Royal Mile PDSA (apparently left by American tourists when their suitcases were too full). 

It's very neat, with gorgeous little pleat details running on the back on front panels. It buttons up the front, so could be worn open as a summer coat, but I rather like it as a smart dress for Spring. It was £35, which is much, much more than I would ever think to spend on a dress from a charity shop, but it looked barely worn and I had a quick check on Ebay - Buy It Now between £50-75 (plus US shipping), so I still consider it a bargain [sense the futile justification].

I also spotted this pure wool purple skirt by Avoca (Google informs me it's an Irish woolen mill company) in the Nicholson Street Marie Curie Cancer Care for £4. It could do with being taken in a bit, but I might leave that until Autumn in case I put on some insulatory winter pounds by then!

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

Cardigan Love

Wardrobe staple.

C x



P.S.

Tulle Time

As promised, I am keeping up the tulle adoration. With graduations and summer parties fast approaching, I wanted to have a quick look to see what there was in the way of semi-formal dresses.

Grey tulle dress, $79.98 (~£49) on sale at White House Black Market. I think this is adorable, it reminds me of the Chloe S/S11 ballerina dresses.

Tulle ballet skirt (£310) by Wheels & Doll Baby, available from asos. Way over the average person's budget for a skirt, but I could see this being paired with a white halterneck corset to make a fab bridal outfit.

Maddison dress (£150) by Coast. Pricey, but for a formal occasion I think it might be worth the investment, the finish on the halterneck looks incredible (and would be difficult to recreate without serious sewing skills).

A quick look on Etsy revealed a couple of gorgeous vintage bargains:

1950s Prom Dress (£19.20), culturedecay on Etsy. This is dying to be shortened to cocktail length.

Halter party prom dress (I think it's a tulle underskirt and organza outer) (£33.28) by thevintagemistress. Would NOT suit my colouring, but I think it would look stunning on someone with warm, golden skin (i.e. Springs)

If prom dresses are a bit too girly girly, I think this tulle slip from 23stien would be amenable to dressing down. I really love this, it has an internal unitard!

And just to drool over, the most expensive (and loveliest) tulle dress on net-a-porter, by Victoria Beckham (I hate to say it, but as a designer, she has very good taste):

A staggering £6,850.

C x