Off to a gig

On Tuesday night I went to a proper gig. An old school, take me back to my teens type gig. That could mean anything from Wet Wet Wet to Simply Red (ahem, blushes with embarrassment) but it was a little more credible as it was The Inspiral Carpets and Shed Seven.

I was all set with my jeans, trainers, floaty top (from Scope) and a big scarf (Salvation Army). No bag, which is unheard of for me, just my phone, a bit of cash and my car keys. I did leg it into the venue because I was freezing as I’m no longer a cold proof 18 year old.  Once in the venue I was transported back to the days of Worlds Colliding, a fella called Joe, Disco Down and of course I chased a few rainbows. This will mean nothing to some but plenty to others. We had gone all the way to Hatfield to go to the Forum, which was an actual Student Union! I hadn’t been in one of these for well about 20 years!

It was while Shed Seven were playing away, I turned to my left and saw a face I recognised. Not from real life but from the Twitterverse. Caroline Jones from @knickersmyown was standing right next to me! A friend of mine recommended her and I have followed Caroline for the last 6 months. Her idea is great, she has been raising money for Cancer Research by wearing a different outfit each day for a year all bought from her Cancer Research charity shop then sold on Ebay, she has raised a whopping £36k! A real achievement!

Well I must say I was a bit star struck. A proper bona fide Twitter celeb was just there having a bit of a dance and a bit of a sing. I had to say hello so I shuffled round and babbled away with good old Rick singing away in the background.  She was ace, we had a bit of a chat and I gushed about her being an inspiration. I suppose that to me, Caroline has made charity shop shopping more cool and well normal. I think I might have said that at the time, whether she could hear me over the singing I don’t know! My friends all thought I was accosting random stranger, lets hope she didn’t think the same……


xx

The Beaver Ball and other ramblings...

I’m sure you are all desperate to know what I wore to the Beaver Ball, well, I’m sorry to say that on this occasion charity shops failed me. Serves me right for not adhering to my own rule – don’t shop for anything specific (see post entitled The Dos and Don’t of Charity Shopping).

However, while searching in the Salvation Army shop I got my best haul yet from their sale rail. That is:

• two Next tops (one of which I’d seen in Next a couple of years ago, liked but not bought)
• pair of Esprit trousers
• sparkly dress
• Jane Norman shorts

Three pounds the lot! That is less than a pint. In fact, often when I go out my drink costs more than my dress.

Even though I really like the shorts I bought I am not sure that I’m brave enough to wear them, they’re not called shorts for nothing. My husband even hinted (actually, he wasn’t as subtle as to hint) that I am too old to wear them. The cheek! But am I?

I’m going out tonight and am tempted to give them a whirl. So if you are in the St Neots area and spot a middle aged, bushy haired woman in shorts, buy her a drink. Did I mention that they’re orange?

Talking of clothes that I may never wear, numerous people, some I didn’t even know read this blog, have asked whether I’ve worn the Jean Paul Gautier short/pants thing yet. In answer, I have not. But it is the party season so you never know. Though as yet I have not received an invitation to a “wear your weirdest item of clothing” party, but that gives me an idea…

I digress. So after trips to the charity shops and trying yet more of Ingrid’s dresses, she has some beauties, but I still couldn’t keep them up, I ended up wearing a dress that I bought new from TK Maxx. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before as it is a beautiful emerald green colour and when I tried it on in the shop my mum said “I hate that colour but it looks amazing on you”. I focussed on the amazing bit. I had been unsure about wearing it as it is very clingy but then I had the brainwave of putting a petticoat underneath it and that did the trick. If I’m the type to wear a petticoat perhaps my husband has a point about the shorts! I’m not even sure you can get them these days. This particular one I’ve had since I was a student twenty years ago. So my dress may not have been second hand but my undergarment was vintage!

Anyway we had a great time at the ball and everyone looked amazing. I’d definitely go again next year though I may start looking for my dress now.

A dress inspired by Corrie?

I don’t know about you but I am known to have a bit of a gawp at other peoples outfits and try to emulate them. As I write this I am wearing a pair of red skinny jean which make me look a bit like the posh one off Gogglebox but without the Gin. Yes I know, sad but true. I look to many places to get ideas on what to wear, I rarely read magazines so being super fashionable isn’t really my thing but I do look to the TV, high street shops and other people to find my inspiration.

Now those who know me will know I’m not exactly edgy in my style and I’m pretty mainstream but I do like to look at different things every now and then. For example, I own a fabulous green skirt (from Salvation Army) made by a designer in Turkey which I love but I lack the cool edge to really pull it off. I’ve not quite made it to a Jean Paul Gaultier like Sophie but I do own a rather spectacular pair of purple knee length boots which would look fab if they fastened and I didn’t look like a middle aged Super hero whilst wearing them.

I do watch a lot of telly so I have been known to try to wear something a bit sparkly on a Monday after a weekend marathon of Strictly Come Dancing. One staple watch in our house is Coronation Street, I’d even say it’s a family favourite. My husband and I have always been big fans and I do sometimes worry about the story lines and the characters (poor Tyrone and Fizz) but I never thought my going out outfit would be influenced by one of the characters. Now, who on earth do you think I mean? I’ve often think that I could pull off the Carla Connor look and I do look forward to ageing like Rita or Audrey but in this case it was the one and only Liz McDonald. I kid you not. I bought a dress from Banardos inspired by this very special Landlady who does have some somewhat unorthodox outfits. It was the way the arms were cut that attracted me, have a look and see what you think, I will hopefully be serving in the Rovers very soon. X

The weird and the wonderful.

One of the things I love about charity shops is that you can find some very odd items in them, some so hideous that you can’t imagine why anyone would have bought them in the first place and some so wonderful you wonder how anyone could ever part with them.

Last month I spotted some black culottes in the Salvation Army shop and thought they’d be useful for work. I’m often up and down ladders so skirts are not always practical or even decent. But I had the kids with me and they were a full £10 which is expensive for a charity shop so I left them. Another trip to the shop and they were still there. As I was alone, they had been reduced and the shop now has a changing room, I tried them on. It was then that I realised that they weren’t actually culottes but a skirt with a full split down the front and the back - and that it had built in pants!

Then I looked at the labels and had more of a surprise. They were brand new and had been £79.99 in TK Maxx but originally £320. Ten pounds, now seven, didn’t seem to be quite so bad now. Closer inspection revealed that they were John Paul Gaultier which might explain a lot. For some reason the thought of built in pants really amused me and I wondered if the person who bought them originally just didn’t realise what a odd item of clothing it was and that is how they ended up in the charity shop with the labels still on. Or does TK Maxx give any clothing they can’t shift to charity? Needless to say I didn’t buy them as I wanted culottes for modesty’s sake.

It may also be needless to say that when they were reduced again to a pound I did. Mainly for the novelty value; I can now say that I have a John Paul Gaultier skirt (if that is what it is) in my wardrobe and that I’ve saved £319 - though I know I haven’t.

But will I ever wear them? Yes, I think so, if I can decide whether I should wear pants with them or not.

Sophie