My thrifting habit goes back a long way – to the 80s in fact. I was 14 years old when I started. My friend and I would seek particular areas of Birmingham where there were clusters of charity shops. We would look for vintage pieces – fake fur, leather and suede jackets, vintage dresses etc. We loved retro fashion from the 60s and 70s and we wanted authentic, we wanted quality and we most definitely wanted cheap!
Our love of fashion was influenced by the music we listened to. Well… fashion and music in the UK has always gone hand-in-hand hasn’t it? My style influences back then, and now included Debbie Harry, total style icon, and Nico for her minimalist chic look. I loved that charity shops offered items that were a bit different from what the high street had to offer. We could be fashionably creative without busting our meagre budget.
I’ve chosen some pictures that show some of the great pieces I’ve managed to find, all bought from Barnardo’s and other charity shops.
