One Pound

One of the charity shops in town had a sale on the other week, in which all of the stock was reduced to £1! Although I had only visited to purchase a burgundy-coloured velvet blazer that I had tried on the previous day (unfortunately it had already been sold by the time I got there), when I realised that all the stock was so cheap I couldn't resist having a look.

I came across a rather fetching pair of navy and green tartan trousers, which I immediately envisaged as shorts - à la this post from all the way back in November 2009. They were pretty easy to re-hem as they didn't fray too much, although I did have a bit of a palaver when I accidently melted them with the iron... hopefully no-one will notice :). I tried to give them a 'turn-up' effect, rather than simply re-hemming them, which I think gives them a nice finish.

Of course, after cutting them down to short length, I had two trouser legs' worth of spare material, which I thought would make a nice neck tie. I borrowed this idea from Cait (from the blog Wayward Daughter), who made a very charming matching outfit from some gorgeous tweed material last year. As with Cait's outfit, I've gone for that 'Gossip Girl' look - complete with a boater hat. What do you think?

Before and After pictures:

It was a bit chilly outside so after taking the main outfit shots I also had a play around with the camera settings indoors, and ended up making loads of silhouettes against this frosted glass window. The photos aren't entirely relevant to the post, but I thought they came out quite nicely so I thought I'd share them anyway!

Sadie xxx

The re-launch of Chelsea Girl at River Island

Chelsea Girl at River Island

A few months ago, I wrote a post about the recent changes in River Island’s ‘direction’ – a move from nasty diamanté-embellished denim, to some much more retro inspired garments that seemed to reference the brand’s earlier 60s/70s incarnation which went under the name of ‘Chelsea Girl’. Well, it seems as though the literal revival of their older self was already in the pipeline, as they recently re-launched the name with a collection of mid-century style garments.

So as a lover of all things retro, you can imagine my excitement when I noticed the ‘Chelsea Girl’ logo appear on their website. But after looking through the clothes on offer, I felt a little let down – it felt like the disappointing re-launch of Biba all over again, albeit a slightly more affordable version. Sadly, some of the clothing seems like it was designed for the mainstream store and then put into the re-launch to ‘pad out’ the collection, whilst other items focus too much on the name without thinking about the styling.

However, there were some particularly ‘of the era’ designs that caught my eye. The current collection seems to be focussing mainly on the 1970s revival, meaning denim flares, ‘gypsy’ blouses and flowing dresses – and a fabulous pair of suede hotpants. I can see some of these pieces fitting seamlessly into my current wardrobe, adding a relaxed bohemian vibe in the process.

All photos (except photo of website) taken from telegraph.co.uk

I think I was just disappointed because I expected an immaculate re-make of my favourite era, forgetting high street stores need to maintain a balance of the old and the new. Although some of these pieces do reflect that ‘carefree’ 1970s spirit, I’d rather have the originals – so I think I will be sticking to vintage shops from now on!

What do you think of their new range? Would you rather own the vintage versions?

Sadie xxx

The Silver Screen

This month has been incredibly busy - filled with deadlines, revision lectures, London protests and long journeys across the country - so I hope you'll forgive me for abandoning the blog for a few weeks! Also, photographic opportunities are rather limited when you inhabit the world's smallest university room, meaning that I have been rather uninspired. But I'm back home now for a bit, so I'm hoping to finally go thrifting again - with the added bonus that it is carboot season once again!

Anyway, before returning home for Easter, I popped into the city centre with my dad to have a look around the markets. I discovered a little retro stall - the type that looks like a disorganised jumble of musty oddities, with clothes piled high and rails jam packed, making it a real physical effort to look through everything... i.e. the best type of vintage shopping experience! I came across this raspberry pink turtle neck blouse, which is about as retro as you can get - I'm totally in love with the flared sleeves and typical busy 1960s floral pattern. The best thing about it is that it appears to be home-made - I wonder if the person who made it thought that 40 years later, a girl would purchase it and show it off to the world? 

The magazine I'm holding is really there to compliment the pink/1960s theme - its an old copy of 'Picture Show', featuring the famous Brigitte Bardot who is looking as stunning as ever. My copy is actually from 1959, and it is filled with pictures and TV/Film reviews from back when the silver screen was a very glamorous affair. I picked this magazine up at the carboot well over a year ago, and re-discovered it when having a rummage through my room the other day!

Sadie xxx

P.S. I keep forgetting to mention it, but I'm on Twitter - so feel free to follow me there if you'd like!