I'm taking part in the Oxfam #secondhandseptember challenge to only buy secondhand for the month of September.
As a lover of all things second hand this isn't too much of a hardship. My love of secondhand , started in 1979 or thereabouts when I first walked into my local Oxfam shop for the first time and picked up a pair of 1960s turquoise kitten heel slingbacks. These shoes were hand painted which fascinated me at the time, I later found out from our Newcastle mod girls that shoes would frequently be dyed to match the colour of their latest outfit, sometimes having many layers of dye. I was hooked and this passion continues to this day.
For me vintage, or secondhand as it used to be called! is about the quality and also the heritage of the garment. I love to think of the person who wore the piece, did they love it as much as I do? Lots of the pieces I own are handmade and it is the love and care that has gone into making these beautiful little dresses which is a stand out feature for me.
I'll be sharing my favourite vintage pieces throughout September, but first up , even thought it is still August, here is my latest dress. A 1950s handmade dress with jumbo dogtooth check, picked up for £15, a bargain! The dress has large belt hoops for a dramatic thick black belt to be worn with it. The dress is handmade but has a size 38 label in it. I'm a size 6/8 so this shows the current shift in dress sizes, a 38 is a 50s/60 size 12.
If anyone is ever having a clear out and finds any old clothes from the 50s, 60s or 70s pleeese bear me in mind as I'm a bit of an addict!
More vintage to follow
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