More thrifted goodness...

One of the outfits I wore on the weekend, gotta love this full circle mini skirt I scored from a thrift shop last week.

Outfit: Thrifted full circle skirt, yellow notebook for listmaking (it gets a bit mental sometimes!), ebay cat eye sunglasses, Zara wedge boots, the most amazing vanilla perfume I wear every day from Yves Rocher in Paris, Country Road Singlet, favourite thrifted envelope clutch.

This Weeks Takings

The shopping ban was a pipe dream. These are some bits and pieces I thrifted this week. Vintage neon tribal inspired skirt, red silk t-shirt, sheer pleated black skirt, camel high waisted wide leg trousers (they are going to be major this season!)

Summer Yellow Skirt

Too busy out in the sun this weekend to do an outfit post, but this is what you'll find me wearing. How amazing is this yellow skirt? Found it in my favourite thrift store, I think it originally came from a ballroom dancer's costume. The yellow colour is amazing.

Outfit: thrifted yellow flouncey skirt, thrifted tee, zara handbag, mango boots, white plastic watch, ebay cat eye sunnies.

This weeks takings...

This week's lunchtime thrifting was very kind to me, and I left piles behind in my favourite store in HK. But this is going to be the last of it for a while, I have decided to embark on a month long shopping ban. It will give me time to further refine my wardrobe and focus on what I really need. 

Ladylike pink collared blouse, white linen blazer (was able to cross that off my essentials list - and it actually fits well!), pleated navy silk skirt with tiny white flowers, blush silk blouse with lace detailing, dark red wool high-waisted mini shorts.

Thrifted Yellow Shoes

Love these cute yellow flats I found at my favourite thrift market on the weekend. For $30 honky. That's about £2.50. Very happy. They are actually Elle magazine brand, umm did they ever even make clothes.

Outfit Post: Thrifted Elephant Grey Leather Midi Skirt

Can't get over how good the thrift shopping is in Hong Kong, particularly when I was under the impression that there would be none at all here. The best thing about it is that Chinese people don't like it, so when you find a shop selling old stuff it's usually packed with really amazing things. Like stuff all over the place, even hanging from the ceiling. Spent a few good hours trawling through one shop next to the wet market in central. From afar it looked like it was just filled with thousands of plastic bags of tools or hardware. On closer inspection the bags were actually filled with vintage clothes, bags, sunglasses, ties, shoes and purses. It was out of control. All covered in a layer of dust but that was fine by me.  I've also picked up heaps of vintage leather for next to nothing around the Cat Street markets, like this amazing elephant grey leather midi skirt and a pair of tan suede pants (soon to be turned into shorts). All for less than a few dollars.

Am planning on heading to Shanghai over Easter where there are absolutely amazing markets with art deco and mao antiques and heaps of vintage clothes. I'll be sure to post my finds when I get back.


Wearing: vintage elephant grey midi skirt from Cat Street Markets, country road black singlet top, thrifted mustard top (two quid in east london), zara satchel, mango bootines.

Outfit Post + Cat Street Antique Market

When the question of moving to HK came up I was pretty keen, until I learned that there aren't that many thrift stores in the city - Chinese are traditionally weird about wearing other people's cast off clothes. To be honest, that was almost a deal breaker for me, as thrift shopping and scoring bargains is basically what gets me through the day. Ebaying and buying on etsy can be fun, but for me it doesn't compare to the feeling you get from scoring something amazing (for next to nothing) in a shop or market. Sooo, long story short, I was ecstatic during the week to stumble upon the Cat Street Antique Markets in Sheung Wan. Filled with all different sorts of antiques, and a small contingent of vintage and used clothing (yipeeee!) the markets are fantastic. The bf would probably call it all tat (and is very concerned about how much of it will end up in our flat when we get one muhahaha) but as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. I ended up in this hidden cave of an antique store that has just about everything you could ever want - and scored a pair of high-waisted leather trousers for $85HK, which is about 6 quid! Was soooo happy. I have always looked at these type of trousers on ebay but never got around to committing. They are a little bit big in the waist so am going to get my Shenzen tailor to adjust them, but its still love. I also have an affection for the kitschy Mao and communist posters and collectables in the market, but am holding back from buying any non-essentials for the time being...

Wearing: vintage leather pants from the Cat St Markets, kookai bustier singlet, reiss mesh heels, DIY tassel earrings.

DIY Beige and Red

The absolutely beautiful blogger from Intrigue Me Now (who I met at the Levi's event briefly) kills it in this beige and red outfit. To DIY it, thrift some beige and red pieces and wack them together. Am jizzing myself over those red shoes but am on a shopping detox atm so will be looking and not touching.

Go thrift now...

...blushes, pinks and beiges

Images: Knock you for Six

Go thrift now...

... heavy skater skirts and shrunken knits. On my list for lunchtime thrifting.

Image: Anywho / Street Style Aesthetic

Guide to Thrifting (for the VERY thrifty) Part Two

You may be asking, what does thrift have to do with DIY? Well, erm, just about everything! Thrifted clothes are the backbone of my DIY projects, as I simply don’t have the money to buy new clothes and then experiment with cutting, sewing and ripping them. I wish I had the cashola to fund the luxirare style ‘DIY’ (“take 17 kilos of chains, glue them to a jacket, done!”), but in the meantime I will have to stick with what I can source cheaply from an opshop. I guess also, my interest in DIY was born out of buying cheap thrifted clothes and wanting to make them my own and on trend, and even though I now have a little bit of extra cash to spend on Topshop and Asos, the sense of satisfaction when I have done it myself is unbeatable. 

Finally, being a bit of a greeny at heart, I love the element of thrift and DIY that promotes recycling and making old things new again. I hate to think of all the clothes that get thrown out and believe it or not, you can often find better quality thrifted clothes than the cheap new stuff out there.
 
If you haven't seen the original post have a look at Part One - A Guide to Thrift Shopping (for the VERY thrifty). In that post I outlined a number of essential factors to help you find cheap thrifted clothes (some say vintage but maybe its best to be honest and just call them 'old'). I decided it it might be a good idea to drill down a bit more into the concept of ‘Location, location, location’, as there were are a few points  I think could be better expressed (must apologise for my rambling in that post – if you haven’t seen it check it out!).
 
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
What I was trying to iterate in my last post was a theory around location, demographics and clientele that dictate finding a good charity shop (yes, I may have thought about it too much...). The last couple of months have provided me with a lot more insights so here goes.

Thrifting potential is definitely something that can be broken down into the what and the where (and the how much?). For me, any success in terms of what I find in charity shops (and how much I paid) is often directly relevant to the area I am looking in. It may sound strange so I have done a little breakdown for you for various areas in your town and their relative thrifting potential (keeping in mind that this is an evolving theory that may be different depending on the characteristics of the place that you live). I have also done a broad map using the London Tube map to illustrate my points (click for whole image). I have only included a section of the map, namely the North, East and West, because I don't have a whole lot of experience in South London.

Locations have been rated as to their thrifting potential using the highly technical OMfuckingG scale (the number of times on average a punter says OMfuckingG when thrifting at this location, brought on by the combination of an items quality and its price).

Affluent Areas
These areas are often characterised by local residents with high income levels, which you can spot in the form of big nice houses and a uniform of white linen and gold sunglasses for the middle aged women (and some very tight looking facial muscles). Charity shops in these areas are often touted as the place to go – due to the likelihood of finding high quality, barely worn items. I agree that the catchment will mean designer, and overall better, items. Also, major chains of charity shops, such as Oxfam, The Salvation Army and others will often send their nicest pieces to these shops. However, for that reason, this quality of merchandise will set you back a pretty penny, locals are happy to pay and shop owners are much better at realistically pricing their items. 20 quid for a jacket isn’t cheap or DIY-ready in my eyes… (I told you this guide was for the VERY thrifty).
Thrifting Potential: Zero OMfuckingGs

Gentrified Areas
Gentrified areas are generally central locations that used to be somewhat rundown, lower income neighbourhoods, that have seen an influx of young professionals and new development. These locations are great for vintage shopping, as there are usually heaps of vintage shops here that sell you nice items (albeit at a serious mark up). However, there are slim pickings in the thrifting department – for the simple factor that there are probably a huge number of people like you,  frequenting thrift shops looking for a bargain, so anything good doesn’t last long. Not the mention those sneaky vintage sellers who swoop down and get everything good before your even out of bed on a Saturday morning.
Thrifting potential: Two OMfuckingGs

Cusp Areas
Areas that are on the fringe of newly gentrified locations are what I like to call cusp areas. Soon they will be completely gentrified, but for now, they can sometimes hold a number of good charity shops that benefit from a close proximity to newly gentrified areas, but still retain a little bit of the down at the heel character that is essential in finding bargains. Although you may find there is still competition for thrifted items, the turn over is generally lower than in gentrified areas which means better bargains.
Thrifting potential: Three OMfuckingGs

Suburban Areas
This is where the thrift gets enticing. Suburban areas are key to snagging the best thrifted bargains. A major factor in this is the clientele. The people who go to thrift shops in suburban locations are much less likely to be trendy, fashion forward bright stars – which makes your thrifting a whole lot easier. If you can find a thrift shop in a suburban location, with a local area that feels a bit like heaven’s waiting room (read: lots of old grannies with cute clothes saying goodbye to this life), I promise you will get your hands on the big time. Capes, pleated skirts, amazing jackets, peg leg trousers aplenty. Generally these type of thrift shops are cheeeap too – 2 pounds for a pair of pants type cheap. You won’t feel bad DIYing those pants believe me.
Thrifting potential: Five OMfuckingGs

Urban Fringe
You wouldn’t think your town's fringe, think warehouses, industrial units, miles of freeway etc, would have good thrift opportunities did you? However, do a bit more research and you could find that there is more hiding inside those titan sheds that you first thought. I’m talking about sorting warehouses or depots. Major charity shops such as Oxfam, The Salvation Army, Marie Curie etc often have a depot where any items donated to a charity bin get sent for sorting and checking. If you are very lucky, your local one will have times when it is open to the public. This is when things get hectic and amazingly thrifty. I have been to a few that do 'bag' or 'kilo' sales, ie fill a bag for 2 quid, or a pound a kilo. When you’ve filled a bin bag to the brim for 5 quid you can definitely afford to DIY some of its contents.
Thrifting potential: Six OMfuckingGs (would have been 8 but you had to spend 12 quid on the train to get there and then walk through an industrial estate didn’t you?).

Small towns
What can I say – small towns are where it’s at for thrifting, low retail rents often mean there are heaps of stores in the one place. Now if only my boyfriend would stop the car when we go somewhere and see one…
Thrifting potential: Six OMfuckingGs

There is obviously going to be a whole range of anomalies to the analysis above. I must admit that complex cities such as London are also harder to predict due to the mixed nature of wealth and demographics (one street will be gorgeous victorian terraces and the next one will be a council tower block). However, the only way to find out is if you explore. If you see an op shop - have a look inside, no matter where you are and what it looks like from the outside. You may be pleasantly surprised. Once you have visited enough you may be able to form your own spatial analysis of thrifting potential....

Do any of you have any other tips for thrift shopping that I haven't mentioned? Would love to hear them!

LFW Day 2

Day 2. Feet were hurting by that stage... would have been good to have some ski poles to navigate the cobbles at somerset house. Had. to. walk. very. slowly.

Charity shop red high waisted pants (two quid), Topshop leopard print body, Whistles leather jacket (if I had unlimited funds I would happily deck myself out in ONLY whistles, arrrgh), black envelope clutch  from a charity shop - a pound, Reiss mesh heels, necklace bought in paris.

Was trying to channel a bit of kate-moss-isabel-marant-ness but not sure if it worked.... Although I think I did ok reflecting the required amount of side boob. Thanks to Saskia of Not Just Medical for taking the shots (using the autonoflash setting..obv).

Guide to Thrift Shopping (for the VERY thrifty)

Ever since I can remember, I have shopped in second hand clothing stores. Call them what you will – op shops (Australian slang for the opportunity inherent in any second hand store experience), charity shops (I often feel its ME being given charity in the form of amazing finds but whose counting?), thrift shops or jumbles (because the best ones always are a bit of a mess aren’t they?) – they have always been my go to place for something different (and cheap!). In the last 5 or so years the vintage market has completely exploded, with everyone getting amongst it – not least high street stores like Topshop and Urban Outfitters. But for me, the thrill of vintage is still in picking an amazing item out of a heap on the floor, and scoring it at a tiny price. To do this, you have to know when, where and how to look. My friends are always telling me I do well with my thrift shopping, so I thought I would share a few of my tips.

Location location location!

Heaven’s waiting room + not too many young people = great thrift shop finds

A good jumble where I am able to repeatedly find great pieces is usually located where a range of different factors (accessability, demographics, local income levels etc) come together to provide the perfect environment - lots of great cast offs! As much as I would love to go to every jumble around, it is often than you have to pick the best one when you get the opportunity, and this is where the locational factors should come into play. A major element when considering the location of a good thrift shop is to think about what the catchment area is like, and more specifically the demographics of this catchment.  The best jumbles are often located in catchments where a proportion of the population have a reasonable income, its in these places that you often find better quality cast offs. However, in my experience I don’t think you do that well (in terms of thriftiness) in areas that are very affluent because a) lots of people will scour these op shops and b) the op shops owners are often more savvy to the value of their goods, which generally means higher prices.

Thrift shops that have a high elderly population in the local catchment are usually great sources of amazing vintage clothes (try not to remember that the reason so much great vintage ends up in these jumbles is that someone’s once-trendy grandma has kicked the bucket…). Charity shop depots or sorting stations with attached stores are often a fantastic resource aswell, as they act as a channel for a bigger catchment area and thus increase your chances. These are often located on the outskirts of cities and town and are a pain to get to but definitely worth it. There is an amazing collection depot in Sydney's Summer Hill where I have found a mountain of amazing things and never hesitate to treck out there when I visit Sydney.

Furthermore, another point to consider is that the best op shops are those out of the way and not in an area where they will have been picked over by people with tastes similar to your own. An op shop in an area with lots of vintage savvy young people, such as East London or the Lower East side, will have been picked over. There will often be vintage shops in these areas that handpick the goods for you but then you'll be paying a premium won't you? (Lets remember that this is a guide to THRIFT shopping and not vintage shopping, in whcih case I would tell you to get down to your nearest market or on ebay). There is an op shop that I currently visit two or three times a week (obsessessed...), that is in a somewhat dodgy and suburban area where the customers are not trendy east enders, and lucky for me, are not there looking for a chambre shirt or a 80s pleated skirt. Which means I usually always score a few great items that have been completely overlooked. Basically the rule is the more trendy young people you see in the store, the less likely it will be to have many good things that haven’t already been picked up. The further out of the centre of town the better, or located in areas just below the 'up and coming' bar.

I have this idea that at some point I will do a serious amount of research about all the outer London Salvation army stores, I’m talking zones 3 – 6, and set out to cross every single one off my list. I can imagine my travel card would get a work out but I am sure it would be worth it for all the amazing things I would find. Now if only I could find someone as crazy as me to be my partner in crime?

Go Often

Frequency is one of the most important factors when it comes to shopping in second hand stores, not least because everything is going to be a one off and if you don’t scoop the great stuff someone else is going to. Things are coming and going all the time, so when you have found a great opshop using the location tips above, go as often as possible. One thing I generally do is investigate all the op shops in the vacinity of my workplace and do a regular lunchtime stakeout. If possible, I try to go at both the beginning and end of the working week – often thrift stores get picked over on the weekend, with regular incoming and outgoing stock (in the form of full bin bags dumped at the front door) so hopefully by the end of the week they will be bulging with new stock.

Take Inspiration

I find that it really helps to get regular inspiration from streetstyle and other blogs about what people are wearing. It might go without saying, but streetstyle blogs often highlight different but realistic ways of wearing things, and give you ideas about how to wear something you never would have given a second glance! Shopping at thrift shops are a perfect opportunity to experiment with styles, if you get it for 2 pounds who cares if you get home and your housemate tells you it's 'borderline horrendous'? Back to the jumble it goes! In the same vein, fashion and styles are changing all the time and because as ever, old is new, it really helps to see how other people are working their outfits.  Also, because most designers take inspiration for their new collections from vintage styles and trends, you can often pick up something old that looks like something currently on the catwalk for next to nothing.

Dig Deep

Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and dig around in a jumble, the best finds are often at the bottom of the pile! Some people would draw the line at trawling through the customary basket of underwear that is found at most op shops, but don’t be scared! I’ve found many gorgeous vintage bralettes and body suits in those baskets, although it should go without saying that I don’t ever consider knickers and everything always gets a good wash before I wear it. One particular treasure trove of goodies is the men’s area – I have often picked up great silk shirts or pants from the men’s area. Often the diddery old op shop volunteers don’t know a pair of womens harem pants from a pair of mens track pants so make sure to look high and low!

Learn to Sew

Learning to sew and buying a sewing machine has opened a huge amount of doors for me in terms of jumble shopping. Most of the time, a piece bought in the jumble will be just not quite right, but with a bit of imagination and elbow grease you can turn it into something amazing. I have no skills in designing clothes (or none that I know of ) but find it incredibly easy to alter things bought from a thrift shop, so that they are bang on trend and exactly what I want. Buying a sewing machine is obviously a pretty committed thing to do just for the sake of a bit of DIY, but even just learning how to do basic hand stitching like invisible hems, small pleats or take up cuffs will open a multitude of doors. Don’t be afraid to take the scissors to something that isn’t quite right – you’ll probably never wear it the way it is anyway, and if you have following the above rules you hopefully bought it for less than a fiver and won’t be distraught if you ruin it.

Put your imagination hat on

One of the most important things that I do when I am in op shops is to use my imagination about how certain items of clothing could be worn. Sure everything may look like someone else’s cast offs, which they are, but be sure to try everything on that you think might vaguely work and imagine it mixed up in a more contemporary outfit. Try on silky tops and imagine paired with skinny jeans and sky high heels, try on bulky patterned cardigans and think about wearing with leggings and flat boots, throw on a stripy 80’s swimsuit and think about it with denim cut offs over the top. The options are limitless, you just have to create them in your head.

Go with something in mind

In the same way that a lot of us go to the highstreet with something in mind to buy, I make sure to think before I go about what I would like to find. The un-sortedness and general squalour (that makes my eyes light up and my bf's skin crawl) of op shops often leads to confusion when you get there, but if you are clear in your mind that you want a pale pink blazer, the chances of missing one through sensory overload is reduced.

Be kind to the staff and don’t be stingy

People working in jumbles are often volunteers and aren’t there to be treated like shop staff. I truly believe in op shop karma – that being that if you put out a good vibe and attitude you will be rewarded with amazing op shop finds. So make sure you are kind to the people that work there and hang up the clothes that you try on. Reverse bargaining is great for op shop karma. Haven’t heard of it?  Here’s an example: if they say two pounds for a top, pay them four, and make sure to put a little in the charity box as you leave. Unless you are really poor it’s probably going to be no skin off your nose.

Images: Garance Dore

Thrifted Brilliance

Perfect example of thrifted outfits killing it over designer wear - Lucy from Lucy Laught was photographed by Jak & Jil in these camel pants, bought in an op shop for $12 aussie. RESULT!

Image: Jak and Jil.