Back in the day I used to spend many a happy saturday afternoon trawling through my favourite charity shops and finding the most amazing clothes and accessories. This was way before vintage was trendy and week after week I'd come away with beautiful dresses and blouses for a fraction of high street prices and be certain that I was dressed in something that nobody else would be wearing. I particularly remember a gorgeous silk 1950s cocktail style dress. It was deep purple with black edging and I wore it with a pair of purple suede winkle pickers. All for a few pounds.
My favourite 1950s cocktail dress in purple silk was similar in style to this dress which sold on Etsy.com
Very similar winkle pickers - I love these!
I also found a powder blue Chanel style suit which I adored. I found countless sleeveless blouses with ruffled fronts that you could wear with anything - they looked great with a skirt for work but equally lovely with jeans.
Imagine this in powder blue.
I also had a passion for coats and owned sooo many. All gorgeous. A heavy black and white herring bone wrap over and a lavender, butter soft overcoat spring to mind. All vintage. So what did I do with them all? All these much loved favourites. Aaaaarggh is all I can say. What happened to these treasured items I don't know. How I wish I still had them. Local charity shops never yield such golden nuggets. Vintage stores carry many stunning objects of desire but the price tag that now goes with them is high.
It's fascinating how clothing can trigger such memories. I clearly remember clothes from my childhood. Special dresses, a red knitted cardigan with a hood I wore when only around 3 or 4 years of age, my first 'high heels'. Like music, clothes have the power to peel back the years. Even the faux pas - I clearly recall Mum spending hours sewing tartan trim onto my jeans to display my allegiance to a certain band, There - I've said it. I have clothes in the attic that I'll probably never squeeze myself into again but I can't part with them. I only wish I'd kept to that ethos when I was younger and had so many glorious things.
Think I feel a poke around some vintage stores coming on. You never know what you'll find...
Images from Google.
