Not-fast-fashion: here’s my latest op shop charity store haul. Readers will know of my love of op-shopping for an affordable fashion hit. I also believe it’s good for the environment to recycle and re-love some pre-loved items. In this story, I’ve used a black sleeveless dropped-waist dress as the base to appear in many of the outfits and layered up from there. I thought layering up on a basic black piece would give you ideas on how to style up a simple piece, in lots of different ways. I bought everything at local thrift stores at Hospice op shop and Salvation Army thrift stores. It’s fairly monochromatic as I love black and white/cream together, and mixing up so-called evening fabrics such as lace with day pieces such as a shirt. I added pops of print and colour using the vintage scarves, which I got at Red Cross Stores.
Here’s my charity store fashion haul
The starting point – a basic black dress, this one, a vintage design by New Zealand fashion brand Jean Jones.
Black dress worn with a long skinny obi sash, over a cream blouse, to make the dress into a pinafore. This is a nice way to wear your sleeveless dresses into Autumn and Winter when you want to layer up without adding a jacket.
Lace top by French label LAB by Didier Parakian, layered over the cream blouse.
Detail of lace neckline over cream blouse.
I found this shirt collar by Esprit that may have once been part of a detachable sweater with a collar, but I like it better as an interesting layering piece. I tucked the white shirt collar piece into the lace top neckline. It has more of a formal look than the softer cream vintage blouse neckline.
The lace top over a grey silk cami.
Comptoir des Cotonniers cashmere-blend knit over black dress with obi sash tie as belt.
H&M lined blazer with a single button front over the dress. A blazer is so nice to dress up anything and add also great if you work in an office. I can’t get enough of blazers.
Virgo was a classic New Zealand raincoat label you always used to see around. This is a vintage trench with detachable (hood not shown) and a belt and button front.
Here’s the Virgo trench with the striped bow skirt and the vintage cream blouse.
Blouse and heavy drill cotton striped skirt with a bow detail on the front waistband.
I adore soft knits and found this Country Road cardigan perfect for in-between the seasons. Here I have used a vintage scarf as a belt over the dress and layered the cardi over it. A scarf makes an excellent cumberband-style sash belt.
A vintage Picasso art print scarf worn 3-ways: loosely tied around the neck, two corners knitted as a halter behind the neck, and belting the halter using a black tie-belt.
Max, a New Zealand label that is actually celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is often found in charity stores and their coats are a particularly great find, such as this black wool single breasted one below.
The obi sash tie belt is worn tuxedo-style over the white collar as though it’s an undone bowtie. This look is really feminine-meets-masculine.
Again, here worn with the black wool coat over the top.
So there you have it – you don’t need fast fashion to get a cheap fashion hit every time. Why not check out your local charity stores and help them out, whilst getting some interesting and bargain pieces yourself. Hope you enjoyed my latest op shop haul story.
Megan Robinson 16th March 2015
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