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Thrifty Things

A Birkin-Beatty inspired second-hand look for less than £29

It’s that time of year again, people celebrating and rejoicing that spring has (kind of) sprung, and the sunnier weather likes to trick us into thinking it’s here too. The season may be fast approaching, beginning officially on 19th-20th March, but winter doesn’t seem to show any sign of giving up its frosty grip. Yep, it’s still freezing. So what to do if you want to dress for the sunshine and the cold? Well, you can take what you consider the epitome of wondrous winter fashion, in my case Warren Beatty in the 1971 film McCabe & Mrs. Miller:

And throw that in a blender with the best of care-free spring style, for me Jane Birkin is the ultimate:

Then somehow after trawling through my vintage and charity shop finds I ended up like this:

Ready to face this confusing season-crossover period with 1970s-or-bust ‘tude. My main focus for the outfit was this unreal-ly luxurious coat which I found in Colchester’s Salvation Army shop for just £4.50:

Even though we’re nearing the end of winter, I knew I wasn’t going to wait until Nov 2020 to wear it, so I figured I’d pair it with more spring-time appropriate pieces to balance out the fur’s mighty heft. I found this shirt in the old faithful St Helena Hospice Clearance shop, where every item of clothing is £1. It does have a button missing, but I don’t mind, the gap allows me to appreciate more of that spring breeze/crisp winter air. A soft, suede-like feel, but still thin and lightweight.

I got the flares from Stour Vintage in Manningtree, it’s well worth a visit for the upstairs section of women’s retro clothes, no men’s unfortunately, but there’s furniture/records downstairs. I like these trousers as the denim isn’t stiff, it feels very comfortable and thinner than regular jeans, so even in much warmer weather they’d still be very wearable.

The bag’s origins I don’t fully remember, I’ve had it for a few years now, but I’m pretty certain it’s from the Vintage St Helena Hospice in Colchester Town. It has that straw/wicker basket vibe which immediately evokes Jane Birkin. Maybe if I keep dropping the contents of my bag everywhere then, like Birkin, I too can have a bag designed for and named after me with throngs of people waiting in line for one. Anyway, back to reality…

I bought the shoes from Ebay when I realised I was lacking a spring/summer pair of flats that I could wear til they start to fall apart (as is the usual pattern, I guess I have an aggressive stride when en route to stock up on vermouth and olives). They’re neutral/cream, but the question is how long will they remain that colour? In their second-hand, yet pre-scuffed, condition they look fairly new-ish, and like the shirt and jeans aren’t as stiff as their counterparts. These shoes aren’t from the world of traditionally tough and sturdy brogues, they’re softer and haven’t (yet) cursed me with blisters.

I tested out this look in a range of locations, were they as exotic as Jane Birkin’s favourite Parisian markets? Or as thrilling as McCabe’s entrance into a 1900s Washington mining town? Well, you decide. Here we have a stylish, brutalist car park entrance, something Colchester does so well:

And then we have an equally exciting, similarly-coloured off-white wall with a fascinating textural wood centrepiece. Clearly, I was captivated:

Finally, this classic brick wall and, with a spring-time flourish, some lush green foliage:

And the expression reads: “Foliage? For spring? Groundbreaking.”

The cost breakdown:

  • Fur coat: £4.50, Salvation Army Colchester
  • Flares: £12, Stour Vintage Manningtree
  • Shirt: £1, St Helena Hospice Clearance Shop Colchester
  • Bag: £5, (estimate) St Helena Hospice Vintage Colchester
  • Brogues: £5.70, (including postage) Ebay

Total: £28.20

Categories
Thrifty Things

I shopped an entire outfit second-hand for under £23

For £22.35 to be exact.

How, where and why you ask? If you haven’t already, read my intro post on why second-hand styling is important now more than ever in this age of fast fashion.

I’m currently based in Colchester, where the town centre has a multitude of charity shops. One of my favourites has to be the St Helena Hospice Clearance Shop on Magdalen Street- every item of clothing is just £1! It’s actually maybe about a five-ten minute walk out of the town centre, but definitely worth it. Here I found the beige turtleneck and this great bag for- you guessed it- £1 each.

The neutral turtleneck is a good basic item/essential, especially if you’re wondering ‘is my wardrobe 1970s TV show detective enough?’ Would I pass for an extra on Van Der Valk? And I love the bag’s distressed effect- perfectly matches my personality and contrasts to the clean, not-as-textured outfit. It also contains the ‘big three’ of items I like to carry almost everywhere- 1 litre water bottle, book and umbrella. When I was studying in London I always had this irrational fear of getting ‘stuck’ somewhere for hours and not having water/entertainment near me. I’m not exactly sure where I was imagining getting stuck- on the tube? On top of Big Ben? But I felt weird not having those items with me. Also, of course, the bag can fit in a purse and other actual essentials.

I’ve had the belt for a few years now, and can’t actually remember which charity shop I got it from, but it’s the perfect length(?) for using as a waist belt. Recently I was scouring Ebay for some good heels which are wearable and not insanely high. I’m 5’9, and as much as I like towering over people in heels there’s a limit to it I’d say. They’re originally from Zara and have a suede effect- pretty versatile and can be paired with more casual or less casual outfits.

There’s definitely been an increasing interest in co-ords, not necessarily just suits, but having match-y top and bottom pieces. I’ve found it difficult to find a shorts-suit, maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that it’s February- who knows? But I think any season can call for shorts, just wear with tights (skin colour or low denier black tights is what I prefer) and a long coat- we don’t have to freeze for our fashion- although if I had to maybe I would just a bit. I found the tailored black shorts in Sue Ryder on Short Wyre Street for just £2, and the black blazer in PDSA on Long Wyre Street for under £5, forming my own kind of dream shorts-suit-co-ord. It was easy to do with black as they both match in colour, but finding the sand coloured shorts-suit of my dreams with second-hand separates might be a taller order.

I’d probably wear this outfit maybe to a bar, although if I was going to be drinking 5+ pints I might lose the belt- I still like the look without it. I would still see myself wearing this during the day, but maybe swap the heels with some black boots for more of a casual and comfortable time pacing/procrastinating around town.

Here’s a total breakdown of the costs:

  • Black blazer- £4.95 from PDSA Colchester
  • Black shorts- £2 from Sue Ryder Colchester
  • Beige turtleneck- £1 from St Helena Clearance Shop
  • Belt- estimated £3 from a charity shop I don’t remember
  • Heels- £10.40 (including postage) from Ebay
  • Bag- £1 from St Helena Clearance Shop
  • Total cost: £22.35

So if you’re in Colchester, or a different town with good access to second hand stores, consider thrifting your way to your next great look. If you prefer scrolling online, why not try Ebay or Depop as a sustainable alternative to the fast-fashion giants?

I’ll see you in a few weeks for another thriftily-shopped look.

Categories
Thrifty Things

About

Hi, my name’s Emilia and welcome to my thrifty fashion blog

I’ve always loved shopping second hand. In quite a few of my free periods during sixth form college around 5 years ago The Salvation Army charity shop in Colchester was my favourite distraction from going to the library and memorising quotes from The Tempest. Fast forward to my final year of University; I became time-poor and much more interested in the convenience of shopping online, ending up committing the cardinal sin of buying from fast fashion websites. You know, the ones which always seem to have at least 50% off, but two thirds of what arrives ends up being half the amount of fabric you thought it was, or the cut looks like some kind of shapeless Jedi robe. Well, I guess I got what I deserved.

Basically, I was mindlessly buying out of laziness, boredom, and not really thinking about the consequences of supporting fast fashion sites and brands. Recently, there’s been more awareness about how these companies operate, it’s not just the relatively newer dodgy online shops, even familiar high-street brands such as H&M are also guilty of feeding into the trend of turning over masses of new designs quickly at lower costs. But how does this affect the rest of the world?

This post by The Green Hub reveals some staggering truths:

  • “Global clothing production has doubled in the past 15 years, with garments on average being worn much less and discarded quicker than ever before.” – Ellen MacArthur Foundation
  • “We are increasingly disconnected from the people who make our clothing as 97% of items you’re overseas. There are roughly 40 million garment workers in the world today; many of whom do not share the same rights or protections that many people in the West do. They are some of the lowest paid workers in the world and roughly 85% of all garment workers are women.” – The True Cost
  • “Nearly 70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make the world’s polyester fiber, which is now the most commonly used fiber in our clothing. But it takes more than 200 years to decompose.” – Forbes
  • “The fashion industry is designed to make you feel “out of trend” after one week. Once upon a time, there were two fashion seasons: Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. Fast forward to 2014 and the fashion industry is churning out 52 “micro-seasons” per year. With new trends coming out every week, the goal of fast fashion is for consumers to buy as many garments as possible, as quickly as possible.” – Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion
  • “Only 10% of the clothes people donate to thrift stores or charities get sold, the rest goes to landfill.” – 1 Million Women

The bottom line is that clothing is being made and discarded at an alarming rate, which is destroying the environment, depriving workers of fair pay, and making us feel more and more obsessed with the ‘latest and greatest’ styles for the cheapest price possible.

So why not shop second hand? There’s already enough clothing in the world, why create a demand for even more? Fast fashion is affordable? I bet that charity shops, Ebay and Depop will find you outfits you love for even less, and without supporting unethical practices.

Thrifty Things is a commitment from me to shop second-hand, a return to what I’ve always loved, although I lost sight of it briefly. You don’t have to sacrifice your own personal style for sustainability, and I’ll be proving it by blogging my affordable outfits made up of second hand pieces in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same.

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