China collecting

When I moved from London to NYC to join my boyfriend, I carried with me on the plane, two china tea cups and saucers I inherited from my American grandmother.

Like my grandmother, I love china. Preferably second hand and mismatched. I guess that explains why I like so much to thrift china orphans. By that I mean the odd plate; tea cup; bowl; etc.

My grandmother's tea cups (the beautiful black ones) now keep company with several china items I've thrifted in New York in the 2.5 years I've been here. All have cost me between 25c and $2. There is no particular thrift store that is better for them, you just need to keep your eyes peeled.
Here are some interesting facts about china:

• Porcelain originated in China in the 9th century. It was imported to Europe for many years and even after the Europeans started making it themselves, they always referred to it as ‘china’. It is made of kaolin (a type of clay) and feldspar. China is hard, strong and translucent - allows the light through. Try placing your cup/plate against the light and waving your hand between the cup/plate and the light. If you can see the outline of your fingers – it is translucent and is real china!



• Bone China is the English form of Porcelain. It is considered as the highest quality and most expensive. It is very translucent. Although it looks and feels quite delicate, it is the strongest of china and is extremely hard and durable. Bone China actually contains animal bone ash. Hmmmm, not sure I wanted to know that.
  


• Ceramics are made out of clay, are not porcelain 'china' and are not translucent. I guess that means that some of my thrift china is not china and actually ceramic. Nevermind, it is still very pretty!


• Marks at the bottom of your china allow you to trace the manufacturer and also to put a date on your item. Here are some of mine (my grandmother's is the top left one - do you know anything about it?)And that whole thing about saving your good china for a special occasion? Nonsense. I say use your good china as often as you can, after all, these things were made to be enjoyed. And what could possibly be more special than a cup of tea whilst curled up on my sofa, or dinner for two?

Thrift cinderella

Like a magpie attracted to shiny things, I'm a thrifter with a shoe obsession. Shoes are one of the best things to thrift and here is why:

• Thrifted shoes often mean that someone else has taken the trouble of breaking in the shoes for you. This means you get a gently worn pair of shoes, all soft and lovely, and you are ready to get all the gain with no pain.


• I love shoes and I live in NYC where you walk - a lot - so my shoes get treated pretty roughly. If you're like me, into shoes and into wearing them, thrifting is the only way of sustaining a large shoe collection so that you can rotate your shoes often and have them last longer. Which brings me onto the next point...
  
• Thrifted shoes mean you can feed a shoe addiction without breaking the piggy bank.


• Like with all thrifting, you can look fabulous and with your own individual style. And if you're into vintage, there's nothing better than thrift.

Here are some summer beauties I've thrifted in NYC:

These lovelies are quite special. They are the most perfect 50s pink shoes and were my very first NYC thrift buy. I bought them on the Upper East Side Council Thrift Shop for $7 . I love that thrift store! These marked the beginning of my penchant for thrifted shoes...

These cuties are super stylish and were found in the Housing Works Soho, for $10 - I love the ankle strap. And another pair, these are cute chocolate brown colour and a nice heel, and a lovely pink bottom. $5. This place is a treasure trove for shoes.
The ones below were from the Goodwill on the UWS, they go with everything. $5.
Some tips for shoe thrifting:

• It's not rocket science. Check they are of good quality - made of leather - and in good nick - check the heels and soles.

• Try them on, give a twirl, see how they feel. Even in places without changing rooms, never ever buy a pair of thrifted shoes without trying them on.


• Be open minded. I'm a 6 and a half, but I'll try on 5 and a half, 6 and 7 - you just never know.


• I discovered summer soles a couple of years ago. This amazing invention is basically a trim-to-fit sole that comes in different types of materials and in stylish colours. I have them in all my shoes (thrifted and otherwise). It protects the shoes from my feet - sweaty summer tootsies - helping them last longer. And for all of you out there who may be freaked out about wearing secondhand shoes, a pretty new sole between your feet and your thrifted shoes may help you get over it.

• Like the saying goes: Men are like buses, you don't see one for ages and then suddenly there are two or three at the same time. With thrift shoes it is the same. After a particularly long time with no luck thrifting shoes, when you finally spot a perfect pair, you often also spot about three pairs more. Point in case: Housing Works Soho last week had about three pairs of the most beautiful heeled sandals, all sized 5 and a half. They were all a similar style and I'm sure they were donated by the same woman. Unfortunately they were all too small for me but nevermind, I'll cash in my thrift karma another day.
  
  

Like all thrifting your efforts will be rewarded over time - don't expect success every time, that's the fun part. Go forth and thrift my friends! Good luck and thrift karma!

A thrifted dress fror the perfect English wedding

My friends Rob and Pippa got married two weekends ago in Norfolk, England. It was the perfect English summer wedding.

This is the room they got married in, in a gorgeous old country Manor, the sunlight flooding in. I cried, I couldn't help it, I always cry at weddings!

I wore a dress I thrifted last year from a thrift store in the East Village, NYC, for a grand $15. The dusk pink handbag is also thrifted, from the British Heart Foundation Charity shop in Somerset, England.

After dancing the night away, the next day, my boyfriend and I went on a walk from our little village of Cley-upon-sea. We came upon a 'cockle van' next to the sea port where all the sail boats were anchored. Our lunch will go down as one of my all time memorable meals. Deliciously simple seafood, oysters, the smell and taste of sea and perfect company.




The perfect end to a perfect weekend.

The once in a lifetime Salvation Army find

As part of my two week holiday in England, I take my mom, a thrift store junkie like me, thrifting at the Salvation Army shop off Oxford Street in London.

You can try on clothes behind a flimsy looking curtain on a shower ring. Picture my mom and me squeezed together shoehorning our ways into respective dresses whilst avoiding flashing the men perusing the men's section next to us with a vagrant boob or bottom. Yikes.

My mom tries on a dress, with a geometric blue print on it - sighs and gives me the wise advice that "ladies over the age of 40 should never wear puff sleeves". I take that is a no then. Then it is my turn, I manage to try my dress avoiding indecent exposure by having my mom clutch the curtains closed. It is a winner. Mom just goes OOOOoooooooooo and I think, gosh that is pretty nice. We put our clothes back on, and my mom treats me to the dress, we leave triumphant. A gorgeous Laura Ashley - with a 50% discount on the thrift shop price- a grand total of £12.50 (£20).

The fabric is gorgeous with the loveliest floral print.

I love it when you try on some thrift and it fits like a glove. I think this is a pretty fenomenal find. I cannot wait to wear it!

Such is the beauty of thrifting, you must sift through loads of random things until you can find that diamond. What are your once in a lifetime thrift finds?

The London Salvation Army shop is large, with women's and men's clothes, homewares, books, shoes, and also accessories.

Address: 18 Great Peter Street

For the love of thrift rating (from 1 to 10):
Selection: 7
Presentation: 7
Niceness of staff: 7

Bargain factor (ie pricing): 8

Thrift turnover: unknown

It's in the genes kiddo

I'm in London this week visiting family and friends. I'm staying at my mum's and quite frankly, am being spoilt rotten, and not minding being the baby girl although I'm a ripe old 32 year old.

The love for vintage is clearly genetic; I'm sure scientists will soon discover the tique gene.... My grandmother owned an antique shop for a while and my mom has a great eye for antiques as well as thrift.

Here are some of my mum's finds. First is a pair of dressers she bought in the Isle of Skye (the most beautiful island in the world - off the Northwest coast of Scotland!). You can see they are quite sober; they are probably 19th century - and reflect the conservative tastes and austere religious aesthetic of the islanders. I think they are also pretty cute. The first piece is my mom's bedside table.

What is also rather delightful about these dressers is that you can tell they are from the Scottish Highlands. You can tell that from the second item of the pair. These dressers are shorter than most dressers - so that they could fit under the eaves (the slopey roof part) of the houses (farmers' cottages) in the area back in the day. The mirror part of the first piece was probably added at a later period. My mom bought these in a second hand furniture shop in the Isle of Skye. On a totally different note, here is my mom's gorgeous art deco walnut cabinet. She bought this at an antique warehouse in Glasgow next to the Clyde river. I love the colour. Aptly, the beautiful woman in the photo in the middle, is my grandmother, who had a love for all things antique.

In order to keep with the theme of Fortheloveofthrift, my mom has patiently obliged to model her two best thrift finds. She bought these in Blackheath, London at the local charity shop - Cancer Research UK, for £8 (or $15). They are made of silk, are reversible and she's had a ton of comments on them. I think she looks fabulous in them.

Tyra Banks move over, my mom is America's next Top Model!
First the blue side, very earth mother:
Then the ivory side, very stylish classic mother:
Then the black jacket, very sexy sophisticated classy mama:And then the pink side, a rather reluctant and giggly model, my "I-look-like-a-giant-strawberry" mother! I don't think she'll be wearing the jacket on this side.....

Jacket- thrifted

Style - model's own

How many dresses can a girl own?

Quite a few I believe. This Sunday, a stall in Hells Kitchen fleamarket had a huge pile of dresses, all for $5 each. Once I saw it, I quickly packed the boyfriend to the neighboring cafe to read his newspaper - he's such a good man! I knew this was going to take time and skill. I went rummaging elbow deep next to a couple of other thrifters and checked out a few nice dresses, all too large, until I spotted these two. I couldn't try them on, but I didn't care, from looking at them I knew I was golden:

- Pink dress - perfect for summer, very delicate, very feminine. Sweet!

- Black dress - lovely cut, great sleeves

The photo in the first picture is one I bought in a market in Buenos Aires, Argentina - I love the face of the slightly grump lady on the left staring at the couples dancing tango. The frame was thrifted at Housing works.

On my thrift list: the white summer dress

On my thrift wish list is a white summer dress - with some embroidery perhaps. I haven't had any luck yet but I'm keeping my eyes open!

Here are some inspirational thrifted examples via Lookbook:

From Canada, a thrifted example of white summer dress AND leather bag from a flea market...beauty!

Some inspiration from Germany - This is the dress I would love to find - what a beautiful combination of the thrifted dress and a sharp blazer...

And finally, another example of a white dress, this time paired with some roller skates - also thrifted. Not sure about the skates.....I'd last about 10 seconds....