When I was a kid, my mum would take me shopping in thrift stores. I hated the smell of dusty old clothes, and the horrifying 90s concoctions that would leap out from behind rolling racks, all busy florals and synthetic fibers. Worse than anything was the thought that someone from school might find out that my new Bootlegger bell-bottoms were actually from Goodwill.
A lot has changed since I was a kid, my taste in pants included. Nowadays Kate Moss and the impossibly cool Chloe Sevigny wear their used threads with pride. Discerning hipsters and clotheshorses everywhere see vintage clothing as authentic, unique, and no longer the hallmark of the budgetarily-constrained.
(That's right, I said budgetarily. You feelin' lucky, spellcheck?)
On the crest of this new wave are trendy recycled boutiques, where you can snap up these made-to-last, few-of-a-kind treasures without that heady thrift shop aroma. There's Frock Me!, a London-based exhibition of vintage garments; The Way We Wore, a trendy LA vintage shop whose clientèle coolness rating is basically off the charts; Courage My Love, in Toronto's Kenzington market, which has been slinging second-hand since before I was born.
Closer to home, you've gotta love Model Citizens on Duckworth Street (down the steps of the War Memorial... but you knew that I'm sure). Almost everything in their collection is recycled and refashioned in some way, and the trendy, boutique-y shop suggests anything but a thrift sore.
Even Oxfam's British charity shops are giving their image an overhaul, with Brit It Girl Alexa Chung as the brand ambassador. Can I just say that this is one fucking exciting time to be putting together a vintage collection.
remake • reuse • rethink • rebuild • refashion • renew • restore the world
24 July 2010
Today I'm stalking... Alexa Chung
who: It girl, model, television presenter
age: 26
made in: Britain
style: classic pretty layered with a tomboyish twist
wardrobe staples: oversize tees, neutral bags, mid-thigh hemlines, cardigans, statement jewelery, dark tights, chunky heels.
why we love her: she's campaigned to combat AIDS, climate change, and has her own line of Fair Trade jewelery.
why you should love her too: she's the brand ambassador for Oxfam – that's right, even It girls shop second hand!
life story (abridged): The youngest of four children born in Privett, Hampshire. Discovered at 16, Chung walked away from modeling after only four years to pursue an education in art and journalism. In 2006 she was offered a job co-hosting British show Popworld. Since 2007 she has topped major best dressed lists in the UK, US, and Canada.
overheard: “There’s not much to being an It girl. It’s really quite a depressing title to hold.”
12 July 2010
The compleat works of my sewing machine (abridged)
The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) performs its first show tonight in Topsail Beach! I spent a solid week on the puffy Shakespearean shirts for this rib-crackingly hilarious show, and boy do those actors wear 'em well!
Check out this awesome production for $15 ($12 for students!) at the Topsail Beach Amphitheatre in CBS on Sunday and Monday nights. The show starts at 6, and tickets go on sale (cash only) twenty minutes before showtime.
The show starts Janet O'Reilly, Ross Moore, and Kyle McDavid. All photos by Chris Hibbs (another very talented SBTS alumnus)... enjoy!
Check out this awesome production for $15 ($12 for students!) at the Topsail Beach Amphitheatre in CBS on Sunday and Monday nights. The show starts at 6, and tickets go on sale (cash only) twenty minutes before showtime.
The show starts Janet O'Reilly, Ross Moore, and Kyle McDavid. All photos by Chris Hibbs (another very talented SBTS alumnus)... enjoy!
07 July 2010
Until the end of the world...
Military chic was all the rage on the spring runways this year, and what could be a more appropriate leader-of-the-pack item than the bandleader jacket? Proving yet again that art imitates life, bandleader jackets (in a less-than-subtle homage to the late Michael Jackson) have wooed some of Tinseltown's most devoted clotheshorses.
I'm not a fan of the bandleader jacket. Maybe it's because I've always had a slight hang-up about my shoulders being too broad. Maybe it's my dislike of Michael Jackson, who I find just as creepy and kitschy in death as I did in life (sorry). But I have to say, as for the rest of the military chic offered up on the spring runways, baby I am down, down, down, down, down.
It started with the L.A.M.B. cargos, a pant I have never before associated with the long-and-lean look. Somehow Gwen Stefani's line has churned out an impossibly chic pair that not only make legs look miles long, but also create a tushy on those of us not blessed with bootylicious assets.
After the L.A.M.B. pants came the Doc Martens darcie boot. A combat-esque shape plays for attention through the ironically girlie tint and heel. As far as I'm concerned, the darcie boot is the ultimate addition to the wardrobe of a post-apocalyptic fashionista. Just to be safe, I'm grabbing my pair pre-apocaylse.
But none of this even comes close to the offering of the delectably destroyed Balmain spring/summer collection. Lovely Canadian supermodel Daria Werbowy stomped down the runway in clunky leather shoes reminiscent of combat boots and a ripped-to-shreds cammo tee. The girl looked like she was fleeing the most stylish war zone in history.
What it comes down to is this: I'm thinking the chrysalis is in serious need of some cropped-to-death army surplus items. Flak jackets, combat boots, and jewellery that looks like chain maille, all coming soon.
If you buy into the whole 2012-doomsday scenario, you're just in time to stock up before the end of the world... for those of us who just dropped serious cash on army surplus, I'm hoping armageddon holds off just a little bit.
I'm not a fan of the bandleader jacket. Maybe it's because I've always had a slight hang-up about my shoulders being too broad. Maybe it's my dislike of Michael Jackson, who I find just as creepy and kitschy in death as I did in life (sorry). But I have to say, as for the rest of the military chic offered up on the spring runways, baby I am down, down, down, down, down.
It started with the L.A.M.B. cargos, a pant I have never before associated with the long-and-lean look. Somehow Gwen Stefani's line has churned out an impossibly chic pair that not only make legs look miles long, but also create a tushy on those of us not blessed with bootylicious assets.
After the L.A.M.B. pants came the Doc Martens darcie boot. A combat-esque shape plays for attention through the ironically girlie tint and heel. As far as I'm concerned, the darcie boot is the ultimate addition to the wardrobe of a post-apocalyptic fashionista. Just to be safe, I'm grabbing my pair pre-apocaylse.
But none of this even comes close to the offering of the delectably destroyed Balmain spring/summer collection. Lovely Canadian supermodel Daria Werbowy stomped down the runway in clunky leather shoes reminiscent of combat boots and a ripped-to-shreds cammo tee. The girl looked like she was fleeing the most stylish war zone in history.
What it comes down to is this: I'm thinking the chrysalis is in serious need of some cropped-to-death army surplus items. Flak jackets, combat boots, and jewellery that looks like chain maille, all coming soon.
If you buy into the whole 2012-doomsday scenario, you're just in time to stock up before the end of the world... for those of us who just dropped serious cash on army surplus, I'm hoping armageddon holds off just a little bit.
24 June 2010
Shakespeare got to get paid, son
I'm sure you've all noticed that tell-tale silence that has descended on the fashion-blogosphere in my absence. How the world once survived without my self-important musings, we may never know.
This week's post will be a quick one, as I find myself overrun with the task of making puffy Shakespearean shirts.
(I know I'm ignoring my blog - cardinal sin! - but Shakespeare got to get paid, son!)
The shirts are for Shakespeare by the Sea Festival's summer production of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr [abridged]. This year the Festival opted to use recycled materials for the shirts rather than buying new! God love 'em!
And sustainable costuming choices isn't the only thing SBTS does well. With three actors, 37 classic plays, 90 minutes and approximately 153 laughs, the Compleat Works is one hilarious night, and it don't hurt that the show plays in the seaside Topsail Beach Amphitheare – where else can you take in a glorious sunset and the world's shortest-ever performance of Hamlet at the same time?
If you'd like to catch the Compleat Works, or another one of Shakespeare by the Sea's six summer productions, check out www.sbts.info
And don't worry – all this excitement can't derail our mission to give gorgeous clothes a second lease on life. Notable finds this week include a yellow and blue Tommy Hilfiger silk tie, and a pair of Rampage bootcut dark-wash jeans. Pictures coming soon, but for now if you wanna check out my puffy-shirt handiwork you'll have to check out a show this summer!
See you on the thrift side!
TC
This week's post will be a quick one, as I find myself overrun with the task of making puffy Shakespearean shirts.
(I know I'm ignoring my blog - cardinal sin! - but Shakespeare got to get paid, son!)
The shirts are for Shakespeare by the Sea Festival's summer production of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr [abridged]. This year the Festival opted to use recycled materials for the shirts rather than buying new! God love 'em!
And sustainable costuming choices isn't the only thing SBTS does well. With three actors, 37 classic plays, 90 minutes and approximately 153 laughs, the Compleat Works is one hilarious night, and it don't hurt that the show plays in the seaside Topsail Beach Amphitheare – where else can you take in a glorious sunset and the world's shortest-ever performance of Hamlet at the same time?
If you'd like to catch the Compleat Works, or another one of Shakespeare by the Sea's six summer productions, check out www.sbts.info
And don't worry – all this excitement can't derail our mission to give gorgeous clothes a second lease on life. Notable finds this week include a yellow and blue Tommy Hilfiger silk tie, and a pair of Rampage bootcut dark-wash jeans. Pictures coming soon, but for now if you wanna check out my puffy-shirt handiwork you'll have to check out a show this summer!
See you on the thrift side!
TC
17 June 2010
Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France... fashion!
Unlike most sensible people I know, I am capable of watching an absolutely ridiculous, boring, or contrived film (and genuinely enjoying it) if I find the costumes interesting. The best example I can give of this sort of movie would be Sofia Coppolla’s Marie Antionette, a film which never managed to break its pedestrian pacing despite a strong cast and critically-hailed director. What it did manage, though, was a visual feast of costuming… I mean that in a literal sense, the clothes and shoes looked tastier than all those shots of French pastry!
Before you get worried, let me just say that I am aware that revolutionary French fashion is not a practical point of inspiration for contemporary clothing. But there are other periods (and other, better movies) that can lend their lines, shapes, and silhouettes to a modern wardrobe.
Last night, the inspiration was Quentin Tarintino’s Inglourious Basterds.
In past viewings of this film, I had been wowed by both Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger’s “Nazi night” gowns (probably the only thing distracting me from the scalping besides the enigmatic Hans Landa that Christoph Waltz portrayed). But I was surprised to find I’d missed out on admiring so many of Shosanna Dreyfus’ ensembles, and the very ones that could conceivably serve as inspiration, too!
I love the 1940s ‘working woman’ aesthetic, that tomboyish image that most of us ascribe to Katherine Hepburn. Laurent’s Shosanna nails it: I’ve been coveting her loose-fitting trousers, tailored trench, her hat. These items are basics, but styled in a way that makes them timeless rather than boring. It’s enough to make me wish I were the proprietress of a Parisian cinema, though I`m not sure I could stomach the other elements of the story.
I`ll spend this sunny Thursday rooting through thrift shops, in search of classic Hepburn-esque trousers and cute, tweedy hats. But all I really want is to sit and read in a café, with a cigarette and a glass of wine…
I`ll see you on the thrift side.
TC
Before you get worried, let me just say that I am aware that revolutionary French fashion is not a practical point of inspiration for contemporary clothing. But there are other periods (and other, better movies) that can lend their lines, shapes, and silhouettes to a modern wardrobe.
Last night, the inspiration was Quentin Tarintino’s Inglourious Basterds.
In past viewings of this film, I had been wowed by both Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger’s “Nazi night” gowns (probably the only thing distracting me from the scalping besides the enigmatic Hans Landa that Christoph Waltz portrayed). But I was surprised to find I’d missed out on admiring so many of Shosanna Dreyfus’ ensembles, and the very ones that could conceivably serve as inspiration, too!
I love the 1940s ‘working woman’ aesthetic, that tomboyish image that most of us ascribe to Katherine Hepburn. Laurent’s Shosanna nails it: I’ve been coveting her loose-fitting trousers, tailored trench, her hat. These items are basics, but styled in a way that makes them timeless rather than boring. It’s enough to make me wish I were the proprietress of a Parisian cinema, though I`m not sure I could stomach the other elements of the story.
I`ll spend this sunny Thursday rooting through thrift shops, in search of classic Hepburn-esque trousers and cute, tweedy hats. But all I really want is to sit and read in a café, with a cigarette and a glass of wine…
I`ll see you on the thrift side.
TC
15 June 2010
Nothing new under the sun
What a week! In a completely uncharacteristic twist of fate, St. John’s in June is sunny, warm, and (gasp!) summery. All this sunshine and sticky heat is enough to leave any girl dreaming of light lace and breezy cotton, so it’s no surprise that my two newest acquisitions reflect my current preoccupation: the sundress.
It’s no secret that the recession has left its mark on the usually-untouchable fashion world; designers at spring 2010 runway shows dropped the verboten w-word (that’s “wearable”) with abandon. Or so I am told, because here on The Rock there isn’t much in the way of a fashion community (notable exceptions, y’all know who you are).
I think the sundress is the epitome of practical, wearable, functional fashion. The sundress is easy dressing embodied, because it’s a single-garment ensemble that takes minimal accessories. Your shoes can be modest and sensible (though really, where’s the fun in that?) Bonus: dress it up with bling and killer heels to transition your look into evening (without splurging on a dressier frock).
This week I came upon two fantastic cotton-blend sundresses: a bone-and-cream white lace dress, and a black embroidered sundress that reminds me of the 1950s. With some cleaning and a few small alterations (reinforcing seams to maintain quality, mostly) the pieces will soon be ready to take centre-stage in our 2010 Summer Photoshoot.
Let’s just hope the weather lasts until my gorgeous model Catherine arrives from Ontario... until then, we'll catch you on the thrift side!
TC
It’s no secret that the recession has left its mark on the usually-untouchable fashion world; designers at spring 2010 runway shows dropped the verboten w-word (that’s “wearable”) with abandon. Or so I am told, because here on The Rock there isn’t much in the way of a fashion community (notable exceptions, y’all know who you are).
I think the sundress is the epitome of practical, wearable, functional fashion. The sundress is easy dressing embodied, because it’s a single-garment ensemble that takes minimal accessories. Your shoes can be modest and sensible (though really, where’s the fun in that?) Bonus: dress it up with bling and killer heels to transition your look into evening (without splurging on a dressier frock).
This week I came upon two fantastic cotton-blend sundresses: a bone-and-cream white lace dress, and a black embroidered sundress that reminds me of the 1950s. With some cleaning and a few small alterations (reinforcing seams to maintain quality, mostly) the pieces will soon be ready to take centre-stage in our 2010 Summer Photoshoot.
Let’s just hope the weather lasts until my gorgeous model Catherine arrives from Ontario... until then, we'll catch you on the thrift side!
TC
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