Modelling Mod

It's been something of a relief that most of the magnificent haul of vintage clothing recently donated to the charity shop has been too small for me. 

 

Disappointing in some respects, yes, but the fact that most of the pieces didn't fit me made it easy to part with them without a backward glance, and of course they have made very good money for the hospice.

But I confess to a little yearning for a couple of them...

these two 1960s beauties, for instance.

They've got that cool Mod vibe going on, and I was tempted. Enough to give them a bit of a road test this week.

1960s Courtaulds dress, bracelets and tights - charity shopped

Boots - retail (sale)

 

 

Black'n'white grooviness, including Mary Quant and Diana Rigg. 

1960s Tricoville suit, shoes, tights and beret - charity shopped

More fab Mod frocks.

I look like a Sixties air stewardess, which of course is a good thing, as my favourite ex-hosties Fiona and Connie know!

Charlie reckons I should get my own colour scheme and stop being a copy cat...

 

and Min agrees.

Despite the fact that I do love the style of both dresses, I don't actually adore them on me. Blame the period bloat, or my overflowing wardrobe, or my general arsiness, but I'm just not feeling either of these outfits. The high necklines bother me, and I feel less like me in them than I should.

So away to Ebay with them (after a wash, obviously!) 

 

 

And while I'm in a dissatisfied mood, here's another thing.

What is the deal with charity shops and new goods? Why do so many of them insist on flogging bought-in stock, usually of poor quality but with inflated prices? I can understand selling Christmas cards, maybe diaries or calendars; and I can even forgive Oxfam its range of fair trade gifts and toys. 

But isn't the USP of charity shops the fact that they are all different, with a unique and ever-changing (secondhand) stock; and don't their customers understand that it always worth a look because they never know what they might find? When charity shops fill their precious display space with new bags, hats, scarves and gloves, customers are seeing the same goods in every branch. And I would hazard a guess that anyone wanting a trapper hat or pair of earmuffs has already bought them by mid-February.

 

To me, it feels like a fundamental misunderstanding of why customers choose to go to charity shops, but I'm interested to know what do you think.

 

(I'm hormonally grumpy, so it's probably best to agree with me. Today, I heard Claudia hissing don't make her angry! at Nina, when she thought I was out of earshot. Just saying.)

 

xxx

 

Compliments of the season

Today I wore one of the dresses I bought last Saturday at the vintage and craft fair.

When I tried it on, a stall holder (not the seller, actually) said, "That dress could have been made for you." Which pretty much clinched the deal. It is a perfect fit.

Vix, that most astute of bloggers, has commented that my wrap cardigans function in much the same way as her waistcoats/jerkins; they pull an outfit together and make it more me/her.

I think she's spot on.

I do like the dress without the cardigan too.

I was walking home from school, after dropping the kids off this morning, when a bald, burly window cleaner stopped me by saying, "Excuse me love, can I just say that dress is wonderful?" To which of course I replied, "Yes, indeed you can. And thank you!"

So we had a little chat about old clothes and bright colours, and I went on my way grinning. A Sheffield window cleaner, in his 50s, who didn't appear to be the kind of bloke to think about clothes at all, appreciated a bit of vintage glamour. That made me smile!
 

1960s Courtaulds Dicel maxi dress (vinatge fair), blue wrap cardi (charity shop), assorted bracelets and earrings (charity shop), smug smile (random compliments from unlikely sources)


I went Christmas shopping to Debenhams today, as it's their sale plus an extra 10% off for card holders (I've had the card for years but rarely use it now, apart from for buying gifts.) Good grief, things are so expensive! I know I sound like a ridiculous old fart, but I am so attuned to charity shop prices that the "real" cost of things in "real" shops shocks me rigid. 

So here's my dilemma. 
I would love to buy vintage/secondhand gifts for friends and family, for all the reasons that I choose to shop that way for myself. But is that imposing my beliefs and tastes on them, and should gift giving be about what the recipient would like first and foremost, rather than what the giver wants to give?  

I'm trying to do a bit of both - a vintage scarf to accompany some perfume, maybe, in an attempt to break people in gently!

What do you do? Vintage/crafty/homemade gifts whether they like it or not? Or the high street, with resentment in your heart and a wailing in your wallet?

  

While I wait for your sage replies, I will swan about in my gorgeous frock, which at £12 cost far less the party dresses I saw today.
And it brings me a million times more pleasure.
Window Cleaning Man agrees!

Have a wonderful weekend, my dears. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx