It’s been a fair amount of time since I’ve used this space on the internet to be indulgent and talk simply about clothes and although this piece will still be sprinkled with nods to sustainability (it’s almost impossible for me not to, now), I want to ease your minds a little and get back into my creative and editorial groove…
WHAT I WORE: Vintage Suit – £10 (Originally Retromania London) // Silver Blouse (Jumble sale) // Platform heels (Vagabond – old)
Not too long ago, I was walking the streets of London thinking of ways to kill time before my journey home and obviously, me being me, killing time often comes in the form of browsing vintage and charity stores. Enter, Retromania, a tiny old vintage store tucked away in Pimlico, that appeared on my phone as a Google Maps suggestion.
Unbeknown to me, Retromania was having a mega sale and when I say mega, I mean, upstairs was £10 and downstairs was £5. It explained why there was a lady hauling a gigantic mountain of clothes to the till; it was a vintage shoppers goldmine and only for a temporary period of time.
So, sure enough, I was grabbing different pieces from rails and dashing to the changing rooms, expecting to come away with treasures. Sadly, my first try on wasn’t as spectacular as I was envisioning.
That’s the thing with vintage or any second-hand shopping; you can pick out an item and have a specific vision for how it will look on you, only for it drape unevenly and hang off all the wrong places…
That’s until I was about to dash out the door, my departure time drawing closer, and my eyes returned to something that had stood out as soon as I’d entered. It was a mint green wool suit, about five sizes too big and a price tag of £40; a little too steeply priced and a little too oversized for my liking, especially when I’m no longer a fan of impulse purchases. I prefer the more considered approach.
But of course, the sale was on, and I was reminded that this piece was actually only £10 and well, I’ve adjusted trousers before, so, how hard could it be? I flung myself back in the changing room, stripped down all my layers once again and decided to take the plunge. This huge minty suit was destined to be mine.
And now it is; in all of its Life on Mars, Bowie-esque gloriousness. It took me a few days to adjust and tailor to my size but that £10 sale and the clock ticking to rush me out the door was all matter of destiny. My suit collection has officially grown and you can see a snippet of the adjustment process, over on my DIY Highlight on Instagram Stories.
Just like how this suit recently entered my life, so did colourful eyeshadow. You may or may not know but make-up just isn’t for me. I’m at a stage now where even though my skin is far from perfect, I would rather face the occasional day where I lack in self-confidence than keep up a strict skincare routine or buy single-use beauty products which I probably wouldn’t know how to apply, anyway.
Yes, even my disinterest in make-up turns out to be an incidental sustainable lifestyle choice. However, I do love colour and I’ve never been against the idea of creative make-up which allows you to enhance your personality. In fact, I’ve reblogged a lot of posts on Tumblr which explain my feelings about it all, in various different ways.
I’m embracing it and allowing myself to explore something I’ve, well, resisted for so long. My eyelids match my suit, my suit matches David Bowie, and all of what I’m wearing is sustainable (second-hand clothes and extremely worn in platforms). What more could a girl want?
If you own a sewing machine or know a friend who’s willing to help you out, this is a PSA – get that mint green suit which looks like it would never fit you. Save something from ending up unworn (perhaps even in a landfill), get creative and live your sartorial dreams.
How would you have styled this suit? What’s your best vintage bargain? Let me know in the comments!
5 Comments
I love retromania 💓💓💓 I started going there when I was little and it was called Cornucopia. Heaven if you see clothes as stories to get lost in ❤️❤️❤️
Aw amazing! It was full of so many treasures!
OBSESSED WITH THESE PICS!!!! So so so cute!! Love the suit and eye shadow!
Hehe, thank you!
My best buy was years ago, when I was in my early 20’s, just a little older than Tomeia is now. In the 80’s ( showing my age!!) I spent my spare time trailing second hand shops, and the local Army and Navy stores in Stroud in Gloucestershire. In those days, the store was in an old warehouse that smelt of oil and grime. My memory was that it was frequented by ‘Under Milkwood’ types of characters, ‘Captain Cat’ springs to mind!
It was run by an equally strange couple of men who I can vividly remember, following me around the piles of ex – army/navy seconds, intrigued as to why a young lady like me was buying up the strangest of items and wearing them as ‘normal’ attire!
My favourite was an old naval oiled cape. It was in a typically military green, here’s one, https://bit.ly/2J8BvAs
It cost me around £5.00 in those days, and used a fair bit of my monthly budget. But it was ‘fab’. I wore it with pride, in all weathers and everywhere… Until one day, my new boss, who just happened to be ‘Roger Saul’ of The Mulberry Company Design Ltd, asked to borrow it himself.. loved it and never gave it back!
i must mention my other great buy at the Army surplus, this was a heavy weight binocular bag in a fabulous tan leather, that when polished I could almost see my face in. In later years it hung proudly by our front door on the Isle of Wight as a memory of days gone by!
Tolmeia, you will remember this I think;-)