Saturday 15 May 2010

Americans call it thrifting


Certainly thrifting sounds more glamourous, but I'd call it charity shop shopping. Yes, I can afford to buy new stuff but I like the thrill of the chase and not wearing what everyone else is. In 'The Glass of Fashion' by Cecil Beaton (top book btw, full of inspiring anecdotes about great fashion eccentrics from the 1900s to 1960s.) there is a great story of two ladies who turned up at a party in identical black dresses trimmed with ostrich feathers. One, in an act of very expensive panache, nipped into the toilet with some scissors and came out waving the fathers like a fan. Anyway, my latest buy was a 60s style shift dress in bright pink silk by LK Bennett for £15. Only problem is, I always buy dresses and coats cos they are the only things that usually aren't totally trashed by the time people give them away. I must admit, I am a bit leery of buying second hand shoes, hats and night/underwear for hygiene reasons. Who buys second hand underwear, really?

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