Charity Shop finds

I’ve always been a great fan of charity shops. My mother was a great one for a bargain and there was one charity shop in particular in my home town, The Children’s Society if I remember correctly, that was a particular favourite. Their windows were always beautifully dressed and whilst my mother rifled through the clothes rails I would load up on books.

My love for them has not died down with age and I can forsee that they are going to come in rather handy during this year of dressing ethically. Just right for when I’m in the mood for some retail therapy – total guilt free shopping: not only will I be recycling clothing but also giving money to charity.

Or is it? I do have some ethical angst. Because the rails of the charity shops are awash with cheap clothing. Primark, Peacocks and Matalan labels dominate. Is it really OK to be buying these clothes with their legacy of environmental and social harm just because someone owned them before? Am I making it easier for some other shopper somewhere to justify ‘throwing away’ clothing because it’s cheap because she’s assuaged her conscience that it’s going to a charity shop not into the rubbish?

That said, I bagged recently a fab chiffony sleeveless floaty shirt dress* from my local Oxfam shop. £2.79 – bargain.

*Atmosphere (aka Primark) label – I know. Sigh.

Vintage tunics

I picked these up in a couple of East London vintage shops.

Aren’t they fab – I’m assuming from the ’60s or early ’70s. This one is branded “Vanessa” which, judging by the label was Scandanavian of some kind.

And this is St Michael – the M&S brand. Weren’t they funky back then.

My mother would probably have worn them then as dresses (there’s a photo of her about seven months pregnant in 1974 with a dress on that barely covered her bottom!) but I think I’ll wear them as tunics.