Buy it, cut it, stick it, stud it, sew it, change it, rip - upgrade it

Sorry Daft Punk for defaming your lyrics...

I've been customising some jeans!

In my last post I mentioned my accumulation of thrifted jeans that I have long intended to turn into cut off shorts.

Well last week I had some spare time and, clearly nothing else to do, so I put my crafty hat on (can you imagine how that would look? I bet it would be covered in buttons and pom poms) and got to it!

Here are the results:

Sorry for the over-feature of my bedspread on the blog, it really is the best background!

These are my faves and sadly, too small for me. My good friend Clare is taking them off my hands though so they're going to a good home.

I buy all my studs from Chinese sellers on eBay. They typically take a couple of weeks to arrive but for £1 for a bagful you can't go wrong.

The leather inverted cross was made from the off-cuts off some leather trousers (also made into shorts!)

These beauties just about fit me; the dilemma being that I can't move. I'm hoping that if I get a holiday booked soon I'll have some incentive to get into them!

They were originally vintage Wrangler jeans picked up in a charity shop for £1.50.

My hoarding ways proved useful with these. I knew hanging on to the scrap of material that I once called a fancy dress costume would eventually come good...

With my uni ladies. On true form as well- being too late to get hold of one of the 'official' bar crawl t shirts!

These Levi jeans were another charity shop purchase at £2.49. The studs and fabric were left over from the American Flag jacket I made earlier...

Wish I could keep these but they're a bit too big so eBay they go!

I won't bang on about these ones as I already mentioned them in a previous post. The jeans really were the bargain of the century (okay, perhaps car boot) at just 50p!

and finally...

Okay so these aren't denim but needed sorting out nevertheless.

I bought the leather trousers from eBay ages ago; they were too small then and there's no bloody chance they'd fit now! I chopped the legs off (I have loads of leather left for other DIYs) and added a single stud to the back pockets. These are currently going on eBay too.

Well, I'm DIY'd out, how about you? Have you customised anything recently?

Love,

Foxy x

A day at the 'boot

Hello!

This is just a quick one to show you a few things I got at a car boot sale this morning.

I went to Gisburn's (the village mocked by Renault Megane! There was quite a stir, let me tell you) car boot sale with my mum and dad this morning. Having my parents' motivation was good because I actually went last weekend and came away more or less empty-handed because I'm too lazy to get up in good time! I didn't get there 'til gone 11am, not good bargain-hunting practice.

I picked up a few great bits; my favourites being these vintage suitcases:

P.S. Sorry about the pictures, I'm moving tomorrow and my camera charger is packed away so these were just taken on my phone.

They were just £2 each! Even the huuuuge one (which the guy said was 60s). I was so pleased to snap these up as I'm constantly envious of people picking them up for next to nothing (Sadie is a devil for this!) when all I seem to find are over-priced ones- I've seen ones like the small one on sale for £45 and £60 for ones similar to the cream one!

I was drawn to them as we were on the lookout for a vacuum cleaner for my new house in Manchester (moving tomorrow, eek!) and the seller had one stood on top of the cream case. Naturally I was far more interested in its podium.

We did in fact snap up a vacuum cleaner from another seller for £12 which seemed like a bargain as it was a reasonably new Vax one. Sadly, upon getting it home we found that the brushbar inside was completely ruined and had melted so doesn't spin round. I'm going to have to order a replacement one- annoying as these are about £12, so just as expensive as the machine!

I think I'm too trusting of people. The guy seemed a bit reluctant to let us take it out of the box but he insisted that it was in perfect working order and had only had it a few months. He seemed really nice and I guess I thought that he wouldn't rip off a young girl about to move into her own place (yes, told him the back story!). Sigh.

On a more positive note, I got all these great earrings!

I'm totally an earrings (and rings) girl and constantly lose my earrings so like to keep the stock up! Cheap, gold 80s ones like these are my faves so happily picked up five pairs for 50p a set.

I also got a great checked blazer/jacket which I think I'll do an outfit post on when the time comes as I'll probably wear it to an interview. Those of you who follow will know I'm on the hunt for a job in Manchester after graduating.

Here is where I'd insert a picture of me in a black gown throwing my cap in the air but alas, my ceremony isn't 'til Feb/March next year! It's pretty ridiculous and I'm getting jealous of seeing all my friends' pictures of theirs- I guess by then I will at least be able to afford a nice new dress! I got a First by the way; so, so chuffed, I worked really hard in my last year so happy it paid off.

So now I just need a job- or my new apartment won't last long! I have an interview on Wednesday for a paid PR and Marketing internship and will possibly be receiving a call tomorrow about another interview for a PR Account Executive role. Cross your fingers for me!

Foxy
x

Odds and ends

This post is a collection of recent random musings/observations/purchases that don't really justify an individual post so basically I've chucked them together here, like some kind of horrible junk-filled charity shop in a bad area- sift through at your leisure.

Spotted in This is England

So firstly, I was watching one of my favourite films the other night- This is England. I know a few people who dislike the film and feel it's overrated due to the amount of acclaim it's received; I however love it for what it is and the film's concept appealed to me from the moment I first heard about it.

I'm really interested in the skinhead subculture (the harmless kind of course) of the 60s, having grown-up listening to my Dad's extensive ska collection, so love the soundtrack in particular; not forgetting all things mise en scène too- the fashion, the northern 1980s council estate setting and general direction by Shane Meadows.

I was re-watching the film in anticipation of the upcoming drama series, This is England: -'86- following the group three years on.

Anyway let's get to the matter at hand- I'm now thinking I could've definitely justified an individual post for this! So I'm at the point where our main character Shaun goes off to a shop with his Mum to get himself a pair of iconic Dr Martins, and I suddenly got a pang of deja vu.

I'm sure there's an easier, more technically-advanced method of getting an image of this point in the film but being pretty dense, I thought taking a picture of the TV would be the best option!

Looking familiar? No? Let me cast your minds back to this post.

So yeah, this was a pretty obscure shop I found in Kendal, Cumbria not too long ago. Maybe This is England's one of their faves too! No Dr Martins in sight here; although some of the gear in the shop wouldn't have looked out of place on the set at Shaun's house.

Burgandy? I'll have a glass of red thanks!

Remember my questionably attractive burgandy shorts I crafted from some vintage deadstock jeans? (see here if not)  Well, well, imagine my surprise at the discovery that they are in fact not burgandy, oh no, they are wine.

Yes wine, one of the new must-have colours for A/W if you take notice of that sort of thing. I believe I said something along the lines of 'they might look alright come Autumn'- did I predict it or did I predict it ey? Yes okay, one might argue that I could have easily looked through photos for the A/W '10 runway shows by the time I wrote that post; however being a mere mortal (and having a slight tendency to be lazy), I don't have time to trawl through pictures as soon as they're posted online, I usually just wait for the all-important September issues to hit the shelves to find out what's going on.

Don't look too shabby in this new climate do they?

No comments on my appearance please, your author was very hungover and in desperate need of a good shower

 A mosey around Settle

Ahh the small North Yorkshire town I call home. You may have cottoned-on to the fact that I'm back up here for a few days.

Firstly, as I mentioned here, I decided to go check out my main local charity shop (Age Concern- not yet making the switch to Age UK in these parts!) in my quest for a fur coat.

Now, with no disrespect, my local Age Concern has a pretty ridiculous policy on fur/ faux fur coats- in my opinion anyway.

Basically, the upstairs of the shop is quite unusual. It's quite an extensive 'dressing-up' area, in which clothes and accessories can be hired for around a pound an item- to the best of my knowledge.

It's a truly amzing place to be. Genuine garments from every era conceivable; some pieces being very quirky and rare. Heaven you'd think? Absolutely not.

Why? Because you can't buy anything! The staff at the shop are so committed to stocking this area, that any unusual, vaguely old wearable items entering the shop go straight upstairs- never to see the light of day again (unless of course they're hired out, which isn't all that often).

Tis a tragedy of shakespearean proportions. Just my luck then that EVERY SINGLE fur coat making its way into the shop is considered 'fancy dress'. One of the volunteers looked baffled when I explained that I wasn't attending some pimps and hoes affair, I actually just rather wanted to buy one. "You mean for everyday wear?" she questioned. Believe it or not sister, people sometimes wear these things for reasons other than jest.

Anyway, the volunteers are relentlessy loyal to their policy of not selling anything from the 'fancy dress' section and I was told that the only way I could have a coat is if, by some miracle, there were any that hadn't made that final journey to the top of the stairs. PRAISE THE LORD! behold, three fur coats hadn't yet been exiled to the top room. Unfortunately they were ugly, too big, too long and brown- Miss Fox didn't approve. And so it was that I walked away empty handed.

I also visited the 'All sorts Market' held at the Victoria Hall. I was just passing and thought 'all sorts' might include some fabulous bargains for me- it didn't, and I left 50 pence out of pocket from the entrance fee, boo!

As I was nearby, I also popped accross to the small weekly car boot to see my lovely Gran who has a stall there every Saturday.

I came away with these cool earrings:

They were 50p-a-pair. The black ones are clip ons and the gold ones are studs. Excellent additions to my collection!

Happy Birthday Nanna!

To round off an utterly thilling morning, it was my Great Nanna's 90th birthday- I hope I'm still throwing parties at that age (not that I'm likely to get that far at the rate I'm going).

She showed me up by quaffing champagne whilst I stuck to the J20s- suffering from the night before!

Wow that actually turned out to be a rather long post ey? Still, I've decided to keep it all together; I haven't the heart to uproot the different little sections, not after they've bonded and got to know each other- that's unethical.

Oh Clitheroe...

I was very excited today to be visiting the car boot sale at Clitheroe Auction Mart. I haven't been since I was a wee nipper and can't particularly remember enjoying it so much; but nowadays car booting is like treasure hunting for me!

The auction mart is also where the livestock market is held so it isn't the best smelling or aesthetically pleasing place to shop but it's definitely a rewarding experience!

A quieter part of the car boot sale

I actually didn't end up buying much (more to do with a lack of funds than anything!) but among the few things I bought, I saw old tapestry bags/cases, vintage trunks, big chunky kitsch cardigans and quirky 80s jewellery galore!

Item number one is this black leather purse with gold fastenings for 50p.

The lovely old woman who sold me it told me that it she'd been given the purse as a gift and it had sat in her drawer for years- so perfect condition!

Bargain of the day, I would have to say, is this black faux fur coat which was a mere 3 English pounds!

As you may have read in this post, I've been seriously lusting after a fur coat. I decided I didn't particularly want a black one but at £3, you can't really afford to be fussy!

This one is from C&A; which, seeing as the company left the UK in the late 90s, must be over 10years old at the very least. The label states 'made in the UK' so I assume that the coat isn't from one of the company's current international stores.

If anyone can guess the age from the label, please do!

In a size 12, it fits me really well- just a hint of over-sized, er, ness.

Mummy and Daddy Fox also found me a sewing machine, something I've been after for an age! It's pretty old (my Dad reckons 60s/70s) and is pretty basic, technically speaking, but I'm a (very) basic sewer so that's okay- plus they bartered it down to a fiver!

I literally know nothing about sewing machines nor much about sewing, but the thing works and has all its bits and bobs intact as well as the original instruction manual and even a guarantee! Pretty sure it's expired by now but it's the thought that counts ey?

Car boot loot

It came to my attention today that there's a mini car boot sale right under my nose in my small home town of Settle!

I had always known about it but for some reason, going along never really occurred to me. Perhaps something to do with the locals...

Anyway, so I popped along to have a quick nosey around and man, was I glad I did!

I got all of this swag for just £3!!!







Now, I realise that I bought a little gold watch only the other day- but for 50p you can't go wrong can you? New battery in it and it's running perfect.

The bulk of my treasure is made up of various clip-on earrings (which I seem to be wearing more than those for pierced ears nowadays). Some of these aren't perfect but they were so cheap I got them anyway- the huge ones in particular are a bit scuffed on the pearl centre.

I particularly like the little black ones with flowers on- slightly more subtle than the others (which wouldn't look out of place in Kim Woodburn's jewellery box).

The chain is goldplated and I reckon it will look good layered with various other gold necklaces.

I really fancied driving off to a bigger car boot tomorrow but alas, I'll be working all day- the pitfalls of being a skint student (oh to have rich parents...). C'est la vie!