Showing posts with label vintage clothing; recycling; charity shops; sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vintage clothing; recycling; charity shops; sewing. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Vintage or next year's remaindered stock?
Visited Anita's Vintage Fashion Fair in Portobello Road this weekend. Having a fashion fan niece to stay, plus the excuse of the start of London Fashion Week is great. Bought the cosiest of cashmere jumpers and managed to pass on to Izzie some of the dresses I have hoarded for the last couple if years and realistically can't fit in. I am very sad to see them go, but to a good home.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
The vintage vs virtue debate
We've been having a clear out. If you know how much I'm capable of hoarding, you'll understand why. We also acquired a statue and two boxes of heirlooms over the Xmas period and won't be able to pass them on for a while. And when we were at my Mum's over Xmas she insisted I sort through some cases of clothes I'm pretty sure I'd left with her precisely because the contents are out of season and she has far more storage space than me.
So, the clutter. Guiltily I threw out three perfectly good sets of bedding and several shirts. We also offed two other bags of old clothes and some random picture frames and bags. They were to be charity-shop bound but have sat around for months going nowhere. Instead, they've sat around looking messy and I've nowhere to hide them.
The trouble is, however tightly and neatly I pack away what I have, I don't have much room and I have too much old stuff. I'd throw out the old stuff but i'm conditioned not to. That jumper may be 16 years old but it was a good buy and there's nothing wrong with it. You see my problem?
As a would-be vintage fan I'd like to keep some of this stuff so have squirrelled away some favourite fabrics. I hope to surprise myself by reinventing some of these garments as handbags and other accessories - one more item on this year's 'will do' list.
But what of the rest? We often hear that clothes are made to be disposable these days, yet some of my 20-year-old tops and jumpers are still going strong. I'm currently wearing a top from the mid-80s I acquired from my Mum about a decade ago. Not everything stands the test of time as well, but many things come back into fashion eventually. Should there be a rule that anything above a certain age be thrown out and, if so, where on earth will the next generation of 'vintage' come from?
So, the clutter. Guiltily I threw out three perfectly good sets of bedding and several shirts. We also offed two other bags of old clothes and some random picture frames and bags. They were to be charity-shop bound but have sat around for months going nowhere. Instead, they've sat around looking messy and I've nowhere to hide them.
The trouble is, however tightly and neatly I pack away what I have, I don't have much room and I have too much old stuff. I'd throw out the old stuff but i'm conditioned not to. That jumper may be 16 years old but it was a good buy and there's nothing wrong with it. You see my problem?
As a would-be vintage fan I'd like to keep some of this stuff so have squirrelled away some favourite fabrics. I hope to surprise myself by reinventing some of these garments as handbags and other accessories - one more item on this year's 'will do' list.
But what of the rest? We often hear that clothes are made to be disposable these days, yet some of my 20-year-old tops and jumpers are still going strong. I'm currently wearing a top from the mid-80s I acquired from my Mum about a decade ago. Not everything stands the test of time as well, but many things come back into fashion eventually. Should there be a rule that anything above a certain age be thrown out and, if so, where on earth will the next generation of 'vintage' come from?
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