Do you ever look in the mirror and realise you’re getting a bit bored of your own style?

 

We all do, but it’s so difficult. When you think you’ve got the kookiest hair-do going, someone walks past with a bigger, better, more daring quiff than you’d ever dream of! We’re relentlessly fighting our own personal style battle to be iconic, original, and unique in an ever-growing culture of fashion nonconformity and rebellion.

 

I doesn’t help that all the high street offers are repetitive variations of the same clothes, largely over-priced and over-stated. It’s impossible to have an unshakable style of your own when the same trends are always changing and the prices aren’t dropping. Correct. But only correct if you haven’t taken insight from Macklemore when he raps about the wonders of thrift shopping…

 

Vintage is massive, and it’s most definitely a trend that’s already gracing the street. But the fantastic thing about vintage clothing is that there are very rarely duplicates of anything. So everything, though belonging to that chic style, is your very own and unique.

 

I know that as the grunge/vintage/retro look has exploded, more over-priced vintage shops have emerged. They’re great if you want to treat yourself a little bit every now and again, and some are pretty well priced, but not really practical for just topping up your wardrobe. So the best places to find vintage clothing, and I can already anticipate a brow flickering as you read this, are charity shops.

 

Honestly, go in with an open mind, once you get over the fusty smell and wade through the old books and china, it’s like your very own treasure hunt. Guaranteed, you’ll need to sift through some drab. But there’s nearly always a  few cheap and classic vintage items of clothing just waiting to be found and put through the wash with a strong dose of Lenor. Plus, with so many different charity shops, there’s massive scope (no pun intended) to find a few items you’ll love.  It’s also worth keeping an eye out for Vintage Fairs that travel across the UK. They make for a great day out, and there are so many novelty trinkets aside from clothing, and so much for the eyes to enjoy!

 

But it doesn’t end there. For those of you who’ve never tried it, and for those who have but are maybe unaware, Ebay offers a massive trove of vintage clothes. With a simple search of a few key words like ‘vintage/grunge/indie/retro/hipster’, gorgeous chic hand-me-downs spring up all over the place. However, it can be frustrating for those who are not bidding pros. Even for us Ebay veterans, disappointment is only a click-too-late away. There’s nothing worse than losing by 50p on an auction you had your heart set on. But there are plenty of ‘buy it now’ options that are very reasonably priced.

 

Vintage clothes-shopping gives you a brilliant fashion platform to experiment with your style. The thing is, thrift and vintage clothing items have a magical way of looking effortless and ridiculously cool with practically anything you put them with.

 

For those of you a little more hesitant to whack on extravagant 80s prints and embrace the 70’s cuts, mixing just a few vintage items with contemporary fashion is also a massive winner. Stick an extravagantly patterned vintage blouse underneath a plain knit Topshop jumper, just the bold collar against the plain jumper looks so effortlessly hip.

 

Even more wonderful, there’s rarely ever the frustration of missing out on your size. Baggy and oversized is so in, and looks so good when its vintage. Let that 90s cardigan hang off your shoulder! It’s meant to, you don’t care, you’re casual and quirky, and who gives a damn.  You cool cat.

 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEITH BLOOMFIELD