Charity Shop Tuesday

I decided to go from one extreme to the other – we covered casual wear last time, so I thought why not talk about fancy dress? Charity shops offer a world of possibilities – whether you’re making a complex costume or need something to wear to a decade-themed party. Here’s an example:

I’ve worn this dress ‘as myself’ several times but I decided recently to repurpose it for a costume to wear in a video I filmed about the book Following Ophelia. It was originally from Phase Eight, so would have been quite expensive when new. I love the colour, a lovely shade of teal that really suits the velvet fabric.

This is actually my second dress in this style. I have another one of these in red, but it’s currently out of service as the sleeve tore. The fabric is quite thin and delicate. It’s labelled as ‘dry clean only’ but I’m not paying to have dresses that I paid less than £10 for dry cleaned, so I try not to wash them, and when I do I handwash. Nonetheless, I love the red one so much – and have also used it for a costume! – I couldn’t resist getting the teal version as well when I spotted it on the rails at Oxfam.

The one weird thing about it is that it came with a ribbon belt that ties on the natural waist, even though it’s an empire line. This looked extremely odd so I took it off and have never put it back on!

I’d love to know about your charity shop costumes – tell me all in the comments or tweet me! It’s occurred to me that this outfit could be casual Ariel as well as pre-Raphaelite…

In theory, I should love wearing this jumper that I bought in the charity shop I used to volunteer in. It’s purple. It’s got a historical-inspired shape – I liked to imagine it looking more or less medieval or regency depending on my accessories. It’s not thick and warm, so it would be ideal for spring wear.

But I’ve always had trouble styling it. It doesn’t work with skirts, or with bootcut trousers. I finally decided to try it on today with tighter trousers…

…and I hated it. But not because there’s anything wrong with it. Looking at the photographs I took for this post, I realised that I don’t think it suits me. My arms are just too long for it.

This is an interesting revelation because I also have a top (blouse, rather than jumper) with a similar shape and sleeves that stop at my elbows. A top, that like this jumper, I’ve hardly ever worn.

What do you think? Is there a way I could make this style work, or should I take them straight to a charity shop at the next opportunity?