Creeping back into old habits
Normal life has now resumed, and I am falling back into my bad old ways. Last week’s trip to the Brighton Marina car boot sale: striped jumper (yes, another striped top) with wide neck and nice big turn-ups on its wide bracelet-length sleeves, £1; wicker picnic basket, £5; three most excellent large scarves/shawls, £5. The basket is for storing such things in, by the way. And the jumble sales are kicking off again, too: battered but characterful tan work-boots (50p) and long T-shirt dress (30p), Lewes. Not pictured; two pairs of penny loafers (tan Bass Weejuns, oxblood from Next, 50p each at the Lewes jumble) and pair of proper beige riding jodphurs (£2, Brighton Marina), already passed on. The Usual Shop year starts here.
New Year, new items
The Usual Shop has, as you’ve probably guessed, been away on holiday. Almost unbelievably, I have returned with no secondhand souvenirs whatsoever from my travels – indeed, without any newly-gathered items at all, beyond a sale-cheap pair of new blue suede loafers and a striped top from the Zara sale at Madrid airport (long stopover on the way back. Had to relieve the boredom).
I foraged in the fleamarkets of San Telmo, Buenos Aires, marvelled at the prices in some of the boutiques in that city’s Palermo district, got down to rummaging with the locals at some smaller street markets in country towns, but nada. Nothing I wanted badly enough to carry around in a backpack for the next two months, anyway. And in my final stop, Montevideo, the Feria de Tristan Narvaja, said (by one of my guidebooks) to be one of the best flea markets in Latin America, was shut (like the whole city) for the New Year holiday.
However, my family has been collecting for me in my absence, so no fear. I have come home to a strange selection of car boot sale finds from my mother: a set of earthenware cups and saucers; a metal basket to go on the front of a bike; yet another striped top (Esprit); a tightly-fitting denim pencil skirt (Next); ablack fringed poncho (‘cos I couldn’t have found one in South America…); an appliqued ethnic shoulder bag (ditto); a crocheted grey H&M beret; and a black peaked cap. Plus a length of tartan material from my granny, hemmed into a sort of scarf-shape. Good job I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions about decluttering, then.
Twice tweedy
It always seems rather churlish, when at the Art Junky fair, to pass over the crafts, prints, sculpture, hand-made jewellery and other artistic endeavours in favour of the secondhand/vintage clothes stalls, but never mind… Two excellent tweed coats, pictured here hanging to fumigate in the conservatory as they smelled somewhat musty; £15 each. The green one’s a proper country gent special, the grey herringbone a Harris tweed for Burberry (lovely tartan wool lining). Sadly, D decreed that they were both too wide over the shoulders for him, and they look ridiculous on me (I was planning on keeping the Burberry to wear over several thick jumpers), so they’ve gone for rehoming.
Making space, refilling it
So Kim & I did a stall at a vintage & retro fair in the Masonic Hall, St Leonards (great venue). Sadly, it wasn’t terribly busy, and we didn’t make a lot of money – just about enough to cover our costs and make it worthwhile – but I did clear a few things out of my wardrobe (the mistake buys, the too-smalls and uncomfortables, the things I am simply bored with) and saw a few of my Hastings friends. And of course, I managed to make a pretty good start on refilling any vacated bedroom-space with a few gains from fellow stallholders. Long black dress with cut-out lace detailing and flared hem, very slinky (£4 at the end of the day); dark pink Debenhams crepe frock (from Kim, a swap for a navy blue and white skirt and a sailor suit); denim dress with puffed sleeves and tulip skirt (£5, a sample from a local dress-maker/designer); Cuban-heeled Chelsea boots (part of a deal involving two of my dresses). The denim dress is a little oddly-shaped but I’m liking it with a wide elastic belt to hold it in place and maintain a waistline.
Unusual in Uckfield
A rather purply theme to these finds, 20p each from a jumble sale at a primary school in Uckfield. Haven’t been to Uckfield for many years, but driving through, I was reminded of just how many charity shops it has, and how I used to find some good things, including wonderfully-patterned retro curtains, there. Must go back at some point and do the rounds. Anyway, from the jumble: dark navy blue satin wraparound cocktail frock with immense shoulder pads; gothy drop-waisted purple handkerchief-hem number; short kilt (Deborah, is a Burns Night supper planned again this January?); green canvas satchel, the most useful thing of the lot. Plus a white shirt with large silver military-style buttons (to be cut off and used on something else) and a stray long black dress-sash.
Accessories and usefuls
Other gains of the week 1: pine foldaway stool – just the right height for guitar-playing, and the right width for stowing between the fridge and the dresser – found at a boot sale by my mother; brown ankle boots, clear-outs from Lucy’s mother; glazed pottery plant-dish, pretty patterned curtains/fabric, brown brogues, all from jumble sale at Laughton. Plus a copy of Richard Ford’s The Sportswriter, one of the great novels about journalism, because I lent my last copy of it to someone and never got it back again. Next picture: two pretty cushions, from Laughton jumble; finally, from Plumpton jumble, two patterned shawl/scarves, useful striped purse, and a larger black suede vintage-style clutch-bag/purse.
Eighties retro rewards
Odds, ends and assorted highlights from jumble sales last weekend at Laughton and Plumpton. And some very bizarre finds indeed… From the left: deconstructed Tommy Hilfiger bleach-wash jeans-turned-skirt (sort of), perhaps some seam-sewing required; pale cream high-waisted 1980s leather trousers (beautiful soft leather; tiny size, but I’m sure I can find them a home); checked M&S pencil skirt (gone to Jo-ann). Brown Pierre Cardin double-breasted jacket with some quite spectacular sculpting to the shoulders; brown pussy-bow Next blouse (brushed cotton, probably 1980s, now gone to Jo-ann as well); little girl’s retro-print playsuit (for Lucy’s niece). Plus two slightly dubious jackets; white cotton, man’s, a bit like a lab coat; navy cotton, woman’s, again ’80s Next. Not pictured: very thick dark green Barbour woolly jumper; spotted pale grey silk blouse; cream silk ruffled pencil skirt (also already given away). Total haul of the day came to about £6, by the way, including entry to both jumble sales (50p to get into Laughton – there’s inflation for you).
Best of the bagfuls
The star finds of the weekend; Frank Usher drop-waist spotted dress and tiered, flared dark red taffeta evening skirt, £1 each (Crowborough jumble sale); purple suede high heels and grey bow-backed courts (both only New Look, but quite nice) plus lovely pair of square-toed man’s brogues (£1 a pair, Crowborough); gold beaded evening bag (30p, jumble in Newick); black satchel with briefcase-type fastenings (50p, Nutley). The satchel is the perfect size for D’s laptop; it’s Swedish-made, a good-quality leather, and funnily enough, has a small and discreet ‘Volvo’ logo hidden under the flap – I suspect a corporate gift to a journalist on a car launch. Also found this week and not pictured: two plain but useful woolly jumpers and an embroidered skirt (given to C); two Boden corduroy skirts and a really nice Reiss black pencil skirt (to Lucy – am really cross I couldn’t fit into the latter); 50s-style M&S (c.1980s) patterned summer dress (gone to Jo-Ann); man’s dress shirt; black embroidered halterneck top and black cotton sundress (neither photographed well); and a couple of T-shirts, also passed on already.
Not quite sure, of all this weekend’s haul (see below as well), which items I will actually end up keeping for myself, but I might wear this taffeta skirt a few times for a laugh, and the sundress is a possible staple. The satchel’s a keeper, too, but sadly the brogues were too small for D and the other shoes a tiny bit too tight for me in the end.
*PS: the Frank Usher dress went to my next-door neighbour as a Witches of Eastwick costume for her Hallowe’en party, along with a few other shoulder-padded horrors from my boot-sale bag.
Slightly less revolting retro
In a similar vein to the previous post, but some marginally more promising eveningish items. Laura Ashley velvet paisley tuxedo jacket (very large, perhaps more of a smoking jacket); silky harlequin-pattern blouse (Trisha, you’re a braver woman than me!); gathered drop-waist velvet skirt; pretty flowered silk culottes (Louisa, I could see these on you); cropped purple Indian blouse and, the absolute piece-de-resistance, the leopard-pattern cocktail trousers, semi-transparent and utterly outrageous. All from the Crowborough jumble sale; I paid a grand £1 for the tux but the rest were in the fill-a-bag-for-£1 deal.
Revolting retro #1
Am getting a little overwhelmed by this ’80s/early ’90s/ethnic grunge thing that I’m seeing on the students this autumn. From jumble sales in West Hoathly and Crowborough; wide single-button woollen jacket; long button-through dress (thought it could have potential if chopped to knee-length); long checked pencil skirt; flowery flared number; voluminous maxi-skirt – can you see the faces in this pattern? Only noticed these in the photo, which was rather spooky. I doubt I will be wearing any of these items myself, upon reflection once I got them home. Into the boot sale bag!
