Oxfam George's St vintage haul

Dear readers, apologies for the radio silence. I promise it's not that I've fallen off the wagon and gone back to my old ways. I'm happy to report that it's quite the contrary; I've found this challenge much easier than I expected. Until this week, I hadn't bought any clothes, old or new, since I attended the vintage kilo sale a few months ago. I'll write a post on how I'm coping without fast fashion another time.

Today I want to share with you some lovely pieces I picked up in Oxfam's George's St. shop. Now, I feel that I should mention that I work for Oxfam.  This is not an advertisement; I don't work in the retail section and wasn't asked by anyone to feature the shop. I shop there of my own free will, I promise!

In recent years, Dublin has since a boom in charity shops. Oxfam has 51 shops across the country and the George's St. shop is probably one of my favourites. They have a lovely vintage section which I've been a fan of long before I started this blog.

I popped in for a look earlier this week and came away with 3 pieces. Outfit number 1 consists of a long, vintage skirt and a navy turtle neck t-shirt. The skirt was the first item to catch my eye. I'm a big fan of high-waisted and love the fit.

Apparently this skirt came with a matching top which had already been sold earlier in the week. I don't think I would have worn both together anyway, so didn't mind that they had been separated. As you can see in the photo, the hem has become slightly undone at the bottom which I can easily remedy so that's not a problem for me. At €7.50 for the top and €6.50 for the skirt, I think this outfit was a total bargain.

I'm not sure how to describe outfit number 2. I feel like a newsreader from the 80's in this dress, but I love it! It's also from Oxfam's vintage collection and at €12.50 I couldn't say no.

I'm really happy with these purchases and think I'll wear outfit number 1 for Christmas Day. I'd love to know of other charity shops in Dublin with a good vintage selection, so if you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments or tweet me @MaryLQuinn.

Mary x

P.S Happy Christmas to you all!

Vintage Fashion and Décor Fair

Earlier today I popped down to the Vintage Fashion and Décor Fair at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. There was an entrance fee of €7 for this event. I didn’t mind paying this (there were discounts if you had flyers) but I know this bothered some girls I overheard as I left the hotel.

Stalls at the fair included a mix of vintage jewellery, clothes and accessories with some retro crafts thrown in too. Unlike the mayhem of last week’s kilo sale, the Fair had a much more relaxed, friendly atmosphere and was perfect for browsing and chatting to friendly stall-holders. Even though I arrived at least an hour into the event, there were still plenty of things on display and no sense that I had missed the good stuff.

I made a few purchases at the Fair but they are all presents so I’m afraid they will remain top secret! I've shared a few photos of the Fair below. Looking forward to the next one already!

How cute are those teddies?!

Lot's of lovely vintage dresses for sale

The view from above!

Loved these little hand-made brooches.  

Aren't these girls beautiful?

Umm... too recent to be vintage?? #TeamNorris

Loved these Opal earrings. Out of my price range though!

Mary xx

My first vintage kilo sale!

Today I attended my first vintage kilo sale – an experience to say the least! For those of you who are also new to the kilo sale phenomenon, the concept is pretty simple; items are not priced individually, instead you pay for the items based on their total weight. The cost is €20 per kilo so the price is dependent on how much/little you buy.

When Anne Marie told me about this sale I was excited to attend as I'm a big fan of the Folkster shop in Temple Bar. I was also looking forward to hopefully buying something for the first time since I've started this challenge!

When we arrived at the venue early this afternoon, I was surprised to see that although the shop had only been open for 15 minutes it was already jam packed full of eager shoppers. Most of the clothes seemed to have already been taken from the rails as people carried huge loads of garments around in big ikea bags or draped across their arms. We soon realised that people would take as much as they could carry, bring it to a quieter part of the room to sort through, and then leave what they didn’t want behind. With that, myself and Anne Marie found ourselves lurking around other shoppers until they had gone through their stash ready to riffle through their leftovers when they were finished – not my favourite way to shop! Agility, speed and a feisty attitude seem to be the best combination for tackling a sale like this. Nonetheless I managed to come away with one purchase – an oversized Aran jumper.

Although I’m happy with my purchase, I think I'll pass on shopping like this in the future. The chaos, competition and reaaaaaaaaaally long queues are just not for me. I haven't given up on vintage shopping though! I have a family event coming up in a few weeks and am hoping to pop into Shotsy in Temple Bar to try out a few of their lovely, sparkly dresses. Will report back if I make any purchases!

Mary x  

No Regrets!!

So it's been almost 3 weeks since I made the decision to stop buying fast fashion. I must admit there have already been several moments  of panic/regret where I worried that I've set myself up for too much of a challenge. I've noticed myself lusting after everything from trendy jumpers to gym pants and feeling sorry for myself that I can't have them. I've find myself worrying "what if I get invited to a wedding?!". Then I remember that these are ridiculous concerns and people in the world have real problems. I also remind myself that lovely things are still accessible, I just need to re-adjust my shopping routine.

Today I decided to prove to myself that shopping second-hand doesn't mean giving up on buying nice things. On the recommendation of my good pal Anne Marie I decided to check out Om Diva. Close to one of my favourite teenage haunting sites, George's Arcade, this is a shop I've passed many times but never stopped to have a look inside. I'm glad I did. The vintage part of the shop is downstairs and it's so cute I had to take a picture:

I tried on a few dresses here; they were lovely but just not the right fit for me. I will be back!

While I was in town, I also decided to check out Shotsy in Temple Bar. My visit here reassured me that my concerns were unfounded. Firstly, Shotsy has some seriously beautiful dresses so weddings / Christmas parties are covered. Secondly, I had a lovely chat with the ladies behind Shotsy about ethical fashion and buying second-hand. Not only did they make some brilliant suggestions for books I should check out but they also made me feel that this challenge is totally do-able. I'm hoping to make a visit to Shotsy again either tomorrow or next week and will take pictures the next time so keep an eye out for that!

Mary x

Time for a fashion detox

I've decided to set myself a personal challenge; for the next year I am on a fast fashion detox and will only purchase second-hand clothes. Compared to the courageous  Rosamond Bennett who spent a year living without buying anything new, this might not seem much of a challenge. But it's a big deal to me. I like shopping. That's the problem. I recently realised I like shopping a little too much, and I am becoming a fast fashion addict. Like any addiction, there are some pretty nasty side-effects. Redress estimates that: 

Fashion consumption has increased approximately 60% over the past 10 years... In the UK almost 10,000 garments were dumped into landfill – every five minutes. 

In a bid to live a somewhat more sustainable lifestyle, I've decided to go on a fast fashion detox. For the next year, I am committed to only buying second-hand, vintage and pre-loved clothes! 

If you are an avid vintage collector or have a favourite charity shop that you would recommend, please let me know! I'd love to hear your suggestions for buying second-hand in Dublin or online.

**I won't include basics like underwear etc. in this detox. Shoes are undecided. I will do my best buy second-hand  but if there is some sort of  shoe emergency, I may have to look for new...**