Children’s Society, West End Lane: Originally uploaded by dynamist.
Whenever I’m not really in the mood to go into a charity shop, and someone else gets me to do so, I always get amazing bargains. This is what happened yesterday.
My guy, Antoine, and I had lunch in our neighbourhood (West Hampstead, London), and as we started to walk home, he said, “Don’t you want to go to the charity shops?” Normally, I have to drag him in there; then, he looks at the books and quickly gets bored. “No, I don’t need to spend the money,” I replied. “Honey, today I am willing to go to the charity shops with you. Make the most of it,” he told me.
As it happened, he ended up having to stand outside most of the shops, holding the fruit and date smoothie I wasn’t allowed to take in. But I scored some great finds:
1) A navy blue Jigsaw corduroy jacket – I actually bought this for Antoine’s mother, but she told me to try it on for myself. I’m a lot larger than she is, so was shocked when it fit me. And it’s a size large, not an XL or anything. Odd, but I’m not arguing. A steal at £8.50.
2) A Monsoon double-breasted mini trench – very similar to the Monsoon Hilton Check Double Breasted Jacket, but it’s beige and the belt has a buckle. It also has a pretty, flowery lining that I love. (Pictures of all these things to come after they’re back from the dry cleaners.) Another steal at £8.75.
3) A Maharishi jacket – which I am thrilled about, since I love Maharishi clothes but would never spend on them what they cost new. This is actually a men’s jacket (similar to this one), which is a bit big on me, but I only plan to wear it when I have to go out running and it’s raining (which is a lot in London!). The good news is, it also fits Antoine, so we can both wear it! This is a very well-made jacket, and would normally cost well over £100, so I was chuffed to get it for £10. (It is handwash only, and despite being new, smells of smoke – handwashing is in progress.)
Our neighbourhood really does have the best charity shops in London; I know there are more upscale ones in Chelsea and Kensington, but those usually carry higher price tags, too. Go a few miles south of us, to Marylebone, and the prices are outrageous. West Hampstead has a combination of high end, designer gear and low prices that I haven’t seen anywhere else. I kind of want to keep it a secret, but I also can’t help enthusing about it. I’ll have to do a critique on a shop-by-shop basis of what’s in the neighbourhood…
I'm Jackie, 29, an American in London: Lover of pretty things, cute things, and good bargains. Here, I catalogue my finds, all the art I covet, and the one trillion crafts I wish I could make.
[...] 2) I’ve started a new blog, Travaux Manuel, to keep track of all the gorgeous art, clothes, crafts, and accessories I fall in love with on a daily basis. (Saturday morning, I was lying in bed with my laptop, showing Antoine all of the really cool crafts and artwork I want to make. He told me I should take a travaux manuel class, which they have in French schools. If someone hands you a perfect blog name on a silver platter, you have no choice but to create that blog. Am I right?) I’m also probably going to talk a lot about my charity shop obsession there (Saturday’s haul: Maharishi jacket, Jigsaw cord jacket, Monsoon mini trench). [...]
This is so exciting! I love how you’re combining different crafty genres here, can’t wait to read more. And there is so much more hand-made loveliness around now, what with these global niche internet thingies, great timing.
Two years ago, I went to the UK for 2 weeks around Thanksgiving. While I enjoy the thrift-scoring and Goodwill-hunting where I live in Seattle, the charity shops there were something else. Once I’d been to one, I had to keep visiting more for the rest of the trip.