The weather has been so unseasonably mild in Edinburgh over most of December that I wasn’t sure I would need to break out the big guns with respect to jackets. But then it happened; winter arrived along with the rain and wind and sleet. Hurrah!
The perfect excuse to wear this; a vintage rabbit fur coat that I bought in a charity shop in Inverness last year. It wasn’t the cheapest of the cheap at £50, but the quality of the fur and cut of the coat made me snap it up pronto anyway. It’s very neat – an unusual thing with fur coats as they are often quite big and heavy on (at least for my price bracket).
Some people have issues with real fur, but I have several vintage coats and have no problem with giving clothing a second chance. If I wasn’t wearing them the furs would be going to waste and neglected on a clothes rail somewhere or in the local tip. I would never buy a new coat but the old ones most certainly need love.
This is my other coat. It’s a musquash fur, again at £50 and purchased from a second-hand dealer in Callander. It’s much heavier than the rabbit but the fur is much harder wearing. And what beautiful stripes in the furs.
So what do you think of the coats? Own any furry items yourself or steer clear of them completely? :) How are you keeping winter at bay?
I love getting dressed up. Fancy dress is one of my favourite things. But, I hasten to add, there’s nothing exciting for me about ordering a complete outfit off the interwebs. It’s all about finding things in the shops and second hand fairs of the world, and getting them to serve a new purpose.
So, as an example of this idea, take exhibit a. I found this pillarbox coat in Armstrongs on the Grassmarket marked to £10.
I was in Armstrongs to find a military jacket for a circus ringmaster outfit I wanted to put together. Upon discovering that a military jacket was going to be quite considerably out of my budget (and fair enough – they are genuine articles in Armstrongs!) I turned to the ladies’ rails and came across the wee red coat.
After some buttons, trim and embellishments I ended up with the below jacket and outfit. The wee red coat did me very proud! Huge thanks to Iolair Images for the photo.
So how much was my outfit and where did I get the rest of it from? Well, I think in total it cost about £22. The shorts were originally £3 trousers from Next in the charity shop. Some snips and button changes later, I ended up with my military bottoms.
The jacket went through quite a transformation, complete with the addition of tails. The shoulders are curtain tassels, the buttons were changed and the ribbon added to complete the military look. The tails were the best part, I thought, with an old piece of red felt and a red shirt from the charity shop snipped up to give them a lining.
The coat was originally a three-quarter sleeve. So with some upholstery fabric and a few more buttons, the coat sleeves reached full-length.
As for the top hat, it’s been in my possession for quite some time now and I’ve used it on other outfits, notably my steampunk effort from last year. Interestingly, I got into a chat with a chap about my hat and he mentioned that the vintage top hats are usually only tiny or large now, because all the “normal” sized ones were worn out. So I am very lucky to have such a wee head!
Everything else was already in my fancy dress box… bow tie, earrings, rings, necklace, shoes, bag etc. Sometimes it’s good to have a wardrobe bursting at the seams. Right? :)
What do you think? Good charity shop and thrifty transformation? I must say I do love my coat – I want to wear it everywhere…
There are two things I love when it comes to clothing: hats and jackets. Cannot get enough of them. This weekend past I added another three coats to my embracing (but packed) wardrobe. Oh, and a hat.
But I must be completely honest here, readers. Only two of my four buys in this post were thrifted from a charity shop. The other two comprise the most expensive items of clothing I have ever purchased (!!!).
I went to Joey D’s on Broughton Street in Edinburgh; the shop is a staple of the city’s fashion scene. The designer, Joey D, has his threads shown all over the world and for good reason too. His stuff is crazy and wonderful!
First up, I bought this Harris tweed jacket. It has been re-fitted from two vintage men’s coats to make a ladies’ one.
The fabric is very hard-wearing as it’s Harris tweed. Despite the photo, the colour is almost blue-green (I took the images under electric light) and is a really tremendously lovely jacket. The wind doesn’t get a look in with the tweed – it’s surprisingly warm even though the fabric isn’t heavy.
For those not in the know, Harris tweed is woven exclusively in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It’s also very expensive as a fabric.
Here is an awkward selfie of me wearing the jacket. It’s a perfect spring or autumn coat; bit longer, cosy, warm, keeps the wind off…
But it was blimmin’ expensive.
Of course, once I started trying jackets on in the shop there were two I liked in particular. I couldn’t decide on which one to choose. So I thought “screw it” and bought both of them!
The second one is much shorter and neater and is a heather colour. I appreciate they both look very similar in the photos, but they are quite different in natural light. Here it is on:
I am loving these coats. I figured that for the money I will easily get a decade’s wear out of them because the tweed is so hard-wearing and the cut is quite timeless. Unless I spill paint on them or rip an arm off I think I’ll have these on my back for a good while yet. That’s my argument and I’m sticking to it…
To make up for the extreme expense of the jackets, I had a quick look in the charity shops on the way home (this logic is clearly ridiculous). Saw this hat. Immediately had to purchase. Look at those feathers!
And to really rub it in, the last shop I visited had this coat on the hanger… ANOTHER tweed jacket!
So now I have no less than three tweed jackets and one feathery hat. The thrifted items came in at £6 for the hat and £5 for the jacket. So all in all, aside from the extreme expense of the Harris tweed efforts, I think I did quite well!
What do you think? Gosh, I hope you like the first two coats :)
It’s January. We all know what that means… Clear-outs galore!
I was pretty keen to get stuck into the bowels of my wardrobe a few weeks ago, because as we all know, loving charity shops does nothing good for your storage situation. A day later, I had accumulated seven bags of decent clobber, accessories and books to donate to my local chazza shop. How triumphant I felt.
There’s something quietly exciting about clearing out the drawers and knowing that all your discarded kit will eventually end up in another good home. And finding some old gems you forgot you had.
Of course, I had some of the typical plain Primark tee-shirt fodder, but there was also some really nice bits and pieces that I decided to part with. Donated shoes did especially well.
These brown heels have never been worn outside – I bought them in the US and realised when I got home that they hurt my toes. D’oh! This really cute little Accessorize bag couples well with them. Both items duly donated!
Other shoes included these little flats from Topshop (originally bought in the charity shop) and these black brogues from House of Fraser. The flats haven’t received much love from me so I figured someone else should give them a go. The brogues are too tight, and therefore completely new and unworn.
This little bag is made up entirely of discarded juice boxes. I bought it in London many years ago, and have hardly ever used it. So I decided to let it go, even though I think it’s so fun! It’s very small, so partly the reason why it’s been neglected. But hopefully a new owner will give it the love it deserves…
Clothes were not ignored in my massive clear-out, either. I donated no less than SEVEN coats (I really like coats – I have dozens of them), two of which I took a snap of. They’ve done me proud over the years, but time to say goodbye:
I also donated this purple smock dress that I bought from the petite section in BHS a few years ago. Being 5 foot 8 inches, this dress was more of a long tee-shirt and is now so small for me that I might accidentally moon someone if I decide to stretch, swivel or bend down. Some matching jewellery too!
Me and the bloke slung all seven bags over our shoulders and trekked down the hill to the local high street to donate the items. By the time I got to Capability Scotland I thought my arms were going to fall off, they were carrying so much swag. Still, all in a good cause.
I hope the items find happy new owners.Would you pick up any of this stuff if you saw it hanging/perched in a charity shop?
I was up in Inverness at Christmas time, and took great delight in exploring the town’s charity shops and second-hand haunts. The town is home to around 60,000 folk so there were some interesting places to explore.
I found some goodies (for another post) but thought I would write up a place called Hung, which was both an art gallery and vintage pop up shop. The thing is, walking past it you’d never know there was second-hand clothing because it’s tucked away upstairs! So it’s a wee bit of a secret, really.
Downstairs is full of quirky jewellery, hand-made crafts and art from local artisans. But upstairs is where the real jewels lie (for vintage hunters, anyway!).
There were some pretty little items on show, including this gold embroidered clutch bag. No doubt it was soon snaffled up, as it was a reasonable deal at £8. I’d probably have bought it myself but I already have one that looks very similar!
I loved the ceiling decorations – it looked like money was raining down on me (I wish!).
As it turns out, I didn’t buy anything on the day I popped in, but I got a great Christmas present from the family thanks to Hung!
There’s barely a week goes by without me visiting the British Heart Foundation‘s charity shop on Dalry Road, Edinburgh. This weekend was no exception; its pull has the gravitational equivalent to that of Jupiter on my poor, bargain-addled brain.
It’s a great shop, but doesn’t have that kind of vintage, cluttered, rooting-around-for-gems feel like Hospice of Hope does, for example. It’s cleanly laid out and most of its stock has quite a modern feel to it.
I cannot recall ever finding vintage clothing in here, but it’s a wonderful place for other delights… Like books. There’s an entire wall of them!
There is loads of clothing stock. For some reason there is a really large number of jackets in this shop too, so it’s the place to go if you’re looking for a new coat…. or gilet. Yes, there was a whole rail of gilets ripe for the picking.
I picked this wee smock up a month or so ago from the shop for £5. I figure it must have probably been quite expensive as it’s got French Connection on the label. How much do those dresses go for? I think they are quite dear.
It was all about the shine of the material as soon as I saw it. Duly bagged. It’s been on my back probably at least half a dozen times in the last month so. Thanks, British Heart Foundation!
I spotted some items in the bric a brac section on my latest visit. But I must admit I wasn’t a fan of this green mantle clock. What do you think? Aye or naw?
There was the obligatory crockery photo too… I’m yet to visit a charity shop that is lacking in an old set of teacups and saucers, plates, teapots etc. I didn’t like this either, but I do hope it goes to a loving home!
Even though the bric a brac wasn’t appealing to me on my visit this weekend there was still a lot to get through, including a solid wall of bags and shoes. No yellow shoes though, drat.
And I was tickled pink by a large selection of board games. Blockbusters, anyone? :)
My main reason for popping in to the shop was to try to source a jacket or coat. Autumn is well and truly here and I’ve spent the last few days wandering around town with a blue tinge.
I wasn’t disappointed. Within about 30 seconds I had grabbed two potentials, and after trying them on in the changing room I opted for this purple £8 bargain.
So that’s me sorted with an autumn coat for the next few months! The buttons clinched the deal – I am a sucker for military style detailing. The material is kinda woolly, and I did like the texture.
I absolutely need to get better with my photos so apologies for my lack of photography nouse, but here’s what it looks like on. What do you think?
It’s certainly kept me toasty and warm in this windy, nippit city. So I’m pretty glad I managed to find it!
I am in the BHF shop quite frequently, so no doubt I’ll end up coming away with more clobber in the coming months. It’s just too handy.
Like I mentioned earlier, this is a fab shop for coats and jackets, modern stuff and books. I’m sure you get the odd vintage gem in here but so far I haven’t been lucky. But… there’s always next week! ;)
*Note to self – I need to start taking photos of the window displays…
The perfect excuse to wear this; a vintage rabbit fur coat that I bought in a charity shop in Inverness last year. It wasn’t the cheapest of the cheap at £50, but the quality of the fur and cut of the coat made me snap it up pronto anyway. It’s very neat – an unusual thing with fur coats as they are often quite big and heavy on (at least for my price bracket).
This is my other coat. It’s a musquash fur, again at £50 and purchased from a second-hand dealer in Callander. It’s much heavier than the rabbit but the fur is much harder wearing. And what beautiful stripes in the furs.
Purse Full of Pennies 