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Hello! It seems like an age since I last posted, these grey, cold and damp Bank Holiday weekends drag on for eternity.
The capsule wardrobe continues although, after what's been the worst UK April in seventy years, my clothes have mostly been hidden beneath a coat. I'm sure you know all these clothes already but just in case there's my first-ever Dilli Grey dress in Rani pink with my Levi's jacket, the legendary embroidered Mexican tomato dress with an Adidas track top nicked from the stockroom, the 1960s embroidered Indian cotton maxi, an early 70s Ayesha Davar embroidered cheesecloth maxi (worn with a me-made crochet tank top) and my Lucky Brand dungarees with a chartreuse embroidered folk blouse.
As rules are made to be broken I've shoehorned in a couple of new-to-me garments into my Spring collection to make up for the fact that I've not been able to wear my short sleeved dresses.
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I'd been lusting after this fabulous Indian block printed cotton blouse on the East website for ages and was thrilled when it popped up on eBay at a quarter of the original £89 price.
These GAP "high waisted ripped 70s flares" currently retail for £45, I bought them from the clearance shop yesterday for £2. Although jeans are plentiful in chazzas, jeans in non-average sizes aren't so common. These are a 26L and fit like a dream (although I did have to chop a couple of inches off the bottom and re-hem them, I can't be doing with my trouser legs dragging on the floor).
Following decimalisation in 1971, these repurposed coin necklaces were all the range in the early 1970s. I remember my Mum looking at them in jewellery shop windows and remarking on how tacky they were. I'd not seen one in years until I found this one in Cancer UK for 50p. She'd laugh if she saw me wearing it.
The clogs, tooled leather belt and bag are all secondhand finds, the hat was a retail buy back when Debenhams was still in business. Needless to say, I wore a coat over the top when I went swimming this morning. Will it ever warm up?
In garden news, the bluebells & forget-me-nots are finally out, the irises and alliums are imminent and my Black Parrot tulips are bursting forth. Everything's later than usual as it's so bastard cold!
The previous week's Lidl Waste Not boxes were heavy on the apples and, as there were 28 in our last box, we skipped a week. We picked up this one this morning....I'm looking forward to sampling those raspberries! Well have to fight over the potato.
Here's this week's charity shop finds.
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Clockwise from left: East rainbow stripe Indian cotton top; Adidas track top (which Jon told me I had to keep); Vintage 1980s pearl-embellished cardi; Vintage 1980s John V "The aristocrat of overalls" cropped studded denim jacket; 1980s Cote D'Azur applique cardi; 1980s Temptations New Romantic blouse; Mint Velvet sequin & chiffon overlay top; 1970s striped Courtelle polo neck; 1980s Classic Woman sequin & bead cocktail dress; Iceberg Bodycon dress; Hippie logo tee shirt; Repro 1960s Baby Doll mini dress; Embroidered Indian cotton kaftan; Zara nylon ruffle tee; 1980s drop waist midi dress; Free People filet crochet cotton tunic; 1990s knit waistcoat
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Clockwise from top: 1980s fringed beach dress; High waist denim shorts; 1960s Mary Quant inspired suede daisy hot pants; Miss Selfridge duster coat; 1980s suede & knit jacket; Faith cowboy boots; 1980s St Michael lace sleeve dress; Thai peacock print shirt; Christy's, London cowboy hat; River Island washed suede flying jacket; 1980s pewter leather bag; 1960s gents' Courtelle mod cardi;1990s- does-the-1970s daisy print denim flares; Hawaiian shirt; 1950s orange suede jacket; 3 x official European footie shirts; 1950s Attaboy pork pie hat.
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Clockwise from left: Lauren, Ralph Lauren sequin maxi dress; Alain Manoukian wool pinafore; 1980s Tikki dress; GANNI marled rib knit dress (the first time I've found this uber trendy Scandi label in a chazza); Desigual embroidered cotton maxi dress; Johnny B cotton mini skirt; 1980s Directions New Wave blazer; 1980s suede patchwork jacket; 1980s cotton maxi dress; Fringed festival playsuit; 1960s Tootal jumper; 1980s suede patchwork jacket
The keepers?
I couldn't resist buying William this early 20th century Wedgwood majolica cabbage leaf plate to serve his dinner on. A snip at 50p and made up the road, too!
This outrageously gaudy 1950s San Marino Fat Lava vase was £1. Not everyone's thing but definitely ours!
Also there's this generous length of Indonesian woven ikat (for when my dressmaking mojo strikes); a couple of vintage statement necklaces; some brand new toiletries - Percy & Reid shine spray, Jack Wills Hope Cove body butter (named after the Devon seaside village where I spent most of my teenage summers), a Body Shop hand cream & essential oil set and a Revolution eyeshadow palette; a Morris & Co Strawberry Thief oven mitt and a paper trilby for Jon.
I loved reading about your cats in the comments left on my last post!
As you can see, we managed to take down the catio on Saturday afternoon and successfully rebuild it although when I say we, it was mostly Jon! The previous owner was an absolute delight and we got on like a house on fire. What can I say? Cat people rock!
Lined with a few cat friendly plants and a generous spritz of cat nip spray, William's gradually getting used to it.
He's been a very good boy. After 24 hours of being miserable, we tried him without the Cone of Shame and he was brilliant, no mithering at his bits or over-grooming. He's eaten well and, despite being a street cat, managed to use the litter tray (thanks to our friend Michelle's clever suggestion of using soil instead of cat litter). We've also permitted him a few supervised visits around the garden - it's been inundated with cats over the last couple of days, William needed to get out there and mark his territory .
He's been back for his pre-op at the vet this afternoon and was terribly car sick. He's healing nicely although he's managed to remove the suture in his mouth so its looking rather inflamed and he's got a bit of a temperature (although the vet agreed that this could be down to the stress of the journey). Back at home he's eaten a handful of biscuits, some cat soup (dosed with Metacam) and a sachet of Felix and after a mad ten minutes with the cat nip mice he's now fast asleep on the chaise wrapped up in his favourite vintage blanket.
He's back at the vet on Saturday, any tips for car sick cats would be greatly appreciated.
See you soon!