Category: Wonderings
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Secondhand cashmere
Cashmere is always amazing. But new cashmere is very expensive and, honestly, probably not the quality of vintage cashmere. True vintage cashmere – 1950s fur-collared cardigans and Scottish Ballantyne sweaters – can be found easily online but likely for £50 to £100. Luckily, cashmere can be found in nearly every charity shop in the land,…
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Rescue mission
A 1930s jacket. It’s made of a patchwork of silk-stitched shapes in icy blue, olive green and two purples. At first glance, in great shape. However, we have several holes, some of which I think are cigarette burns. Some mending required. But the biggest challenge: laundering. It usually is. Handwash She smelled quite musty, so…
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A thrifting roundup
I’ve been on QUITE the charity shop crawl, but interspersed with antique shops and vintage boutiques. Very treat for little old island me. I’m in Somerset for a week, cat-sitting an amiable little baby boy. I was feeling a bit daunted by a week away from home but it turns out I’d be happy as…
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Real bodies
I learned to sketch bodies for clothes in college. But I learned to sketch bodies that do not exist. Last year, I got a Remarkable tablet to help with my brain and the unexpected outcome is that I started sketching clothes again. I began with the body I’d learned, the body that doesn’t exist –…
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What is THIS?
To walk into a slightly grimy charity shop in a West Country market town and find the THIS I am referring to – it’s in the top-10 thrifting moments of my life. And it’s ranking pretty high. It’s a peacock-blue shot silk coat with knife-pleat panels in other jewel colours. It has a giant fuchsia…
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