It's vintage, baby!

Want to be Generous with your clothes shopping, but can't find anything chic enough in the charity shops? Try vintage! When I passed my driving test recently, hubby offered to treat me to a vintage dress from The House of Rose and Brown in Saltaire, Bradford, and this is what I got:

Oh, yes, how pretty is that? It's 1960's and it makes me want to twirl and skip and be very girly! I dismissed it at first because I wasn't sure about the colour (I'm a brunette with a sallow complexion, whites and pastels don't always suit me) and thought it was a bit shapeless. But I tried it on anway and instantly fell in love. It's not shapeless - the empire line nips you in just below the bust (and the darts in the top part create the illusion that I have more bust than I really do!) and skims over all the bits you want skimming over. I'm going to wear it to my friend's outdoor wedding in August, but it looks great teamed with jeans so I'll be able to wear it more casually too. And it was only £36 - yes, you can get cheaper dresses in Primark, but will they last 40 years and look this good? I doubt it.

This was my first visit to a vintage shop and it was a little daunting. I get nervous in small shops when I'm the only customer, but the shop assistant was lovely - helpful, but not full on. It took a bit of rummaging to find things I liked but it was worth it. Here are a few tips I've gleaned from my first visit:

- Look twice. Of course, fashions have changed since whenever these clothes were made, so it can take a couple of looks for your eyes to adjust to the difference in style. I found nothing the first time I went round, but then I landed on three things I was interested in the second time.

- Try things on. In the shop I went to, everything was labelled with a guide size, but remember our shapes have changed a lot in the last half-century. I tried on a lovely maxi dress that was supposedly 8-10, which I am on top, but I'd have had to remove a few ribs to squeeze into it! Similarly, the dress I ended up buying looked too big at first, but when I got it on it was perfect.

- Think outside the box. I saw a couple of things that, with a bit of alteration (i.e. a raised hem), would look great, but I'm still on baby steps with my sewing so didn't go for them. It might be worth brushing up your sewing skills if you plan to shop vintage often.

- Visit again. I overheard the shop assistant tell another customer that they'd sold out of 1940's clothes the week before - such a shame, because I love that style. But it just goes to show that they'll have different things in every week, so I'll definitely be going again next time I want a treat! Don't be deterred if you don't find much the first time you visit.

I'm still a fan of charity shops and there's no doubt that helping a charity adds to the satisfaction of knowing you are reusing something that could have gone to landfill and saving resources. But for something a little bit special, vintage is a very chic form of recycling!

200-word Review - 'Eco Chic' by Matilda Lee

200 words? I could review this book in six: Every Clothes Wearer Should Read This. But I’ve got the words, so I’ll use them.

‘Eco Chic’ explores ethical questions behind our growing demand for cheap, fashionable clothes. Now I know I’m already part-hippy but this book still challenged my way of viewing clothes. The early chapters deal with the pitfalls of modern couture from sweatshops to scary chemicals, and the latter chapters show the alternatives: designers using green or Fairtrade materials, high street stores engaging with the issues and alternatives to buying new clothes. It also has a huge directory of companies selling ethical clothing.

The early chapters had me riveted and appalled at the grim facts behind clothing manufacture but I admit I got bored with the lengthy discussions about ethical designers, and felt that the topics of refashioning and making your own clothes were hurried through at the end. But then I’m sure a fashionista would be more interested in design than a tomboy like me. However, this isn’t just for fashion fanatics –people who aren’t concerned about fashion and just look for a bargain should also read this book to see the true cost of their clothes.

Generous Journal - why charity shops rock

OK I've been a bit slack recently - what with going on holiday I didn't do my journal for two Sundays running. Terrible! I've also been too shattered to blog this week, let alone do much generous stuff. (I did however sign up to a new action on the Generous website - Sign up online to become an organ donor, which I did when I was 13 but I've been on to change my details at long last!) So I thought I'd do a feature on one generous thing I love doing - charity shopping!!

To demonstrate why I love it, take a look at the picture above. OK it's a holiday snap and not great for showing off the clothes, but in it I am wearing a fantastically comfortable cardigan which I think was about £4 from Cancer Research UK in Otley, a cute Mickey Mouse t-shirt which was £2.99 from Cancer Research UK in Ilkley, a very flattering (if a bit big) pair of jeans which were £4 from Mind in Otley and a belt to hold them up (you can't see it but it's grey with sequins on) which was 99pm from Oxfam in Otley. The picture encapsulates the three reasons I love charity shops: it's cheap (less than £12 for an outfit in this case), it benefits charity (I've technically donated to three charities in this picture alone!) and it means you get things that are a bit different because they're not currently on the high street. Add in the fact that it's also a form of recycling, and I think that proves that charity shopping rocks!!

If you're not convinced from the fashion point of view, check out my friend Fi's blog because she's a fellow charity shop addict but is far more stylish than me!!

Generous Journal part five

I'm not doing very well on this ... the carrier bag boycott is proving more difficult than it sounds. I tried to find a decent sized tote bag to fold up and stick in my handbag when I go shopping but to no avail. What's worse, we went shopping yesterday and forgot our big canvas carrier, so had to take four carrier bags! Not very generous ... bag-finding efforts to be renewed this week.

Another matter foiling my generous efforts this week is the flipping weather. Today was supposed to be Race for Life day and I've raised loads of sponsorship money ... but because of the flooding earlier in the week and the forecast bad weather this weekend (which judging from my view from the living room window wasn't quite true) the race has been postponed to 29th July. This equally foils my plans to donate two bags full of books and clothes in the donation bins at the racetrack. I'm now not sure whether to hold onto these till the end of the month or to just find another charity shop.

Another matter of shame, linked to Race for Life ... I bought some rather hideous jogging bottoms from Asda yesterday, mainly because they were pink and white which was the 'colour scheme' of preference among my colleagues who are racing with me. However I've just been reading a report on Clean Up Fashion to say that Asda are among the worst clothing retailers for protecting their workers in other countries, particularly Bangladesh. I've not removed the tags from the said hideous item and will be returning them.

I think everyone should look at the Clean Up Fashion website to make an informed decision on where to shop - I am no longer going to shop for clothes in Primark, Asda, Tesco, Matalan or the Arcadia stores ever again having read this. So I am planning a bit of generosity by omission ... hmm, maybe a bit of active generosity is called for!!