Vintage Friday

Dawn O’Porter joins forces with Oxfam to promote second hand shopping – and you can get involved too!

I’m not sure I need to elaborate on my love of second hand shopping as it’s been well documented here, but Dawn O’Porter’s recent series This Old Thing has been inspiring my vintage habit on a weekly basis. Have you been watching? I think it’s great that she’s raising the profile of all things retro, and am extremely jealous of her 90% vintage wardrobe (that Mary Quant skirt – swoon). Who wouldn’t want to go shopping with Dawn? I especially adore the sections on fashion history, which are even more detailed in the lovely book to accompany the series. The whole thing has confirmed that I definitely live in the wrong era…

The series has just finished (boo!) but Dawn has teamed up with Oxfam to promote vintage fashion with a series of #ThisOldThing events all in the name of charity, kicking off today with Vintage Friday! Simply don your favourite vintage finds with pride today, 1st August, and text Vintage to 70066 to donate £3 to Oxfam and fight poverty around the world – details on the Oxfam blog here. Whether you’re at work or play, in the office, uni, or getting a group of vintage-loving friends together, I think it’s a lovely way to raise money doing something you love. I can’t wait to see the other events in the pipeline too!

To celebrate and donate, I’m wearing my latest vintage find today – a rose print two-piece I picked up at the Vintage Festival during a flying visit to Glasgow last weekend. It’s an ’80s does ’40s M&S number – I adore the print, the gathered neckline and pleated skirt. It looks a bit like a tea dress worn together but I can’t wait to style up both pieces separately too – three outfits in one. (So much for the ‘co-ord’ trend, vintage does it better!) The vintage marketplace was amazing – I came away with the most beautiful faux fur jacket and an array of mismatched crockery, but could have happily taken half the stalls home with me.

I’ve paired my two-piece with my vintage Van Dal bag (a charity shop bargain), Heidi plaits and retro-style Clarks Originals (we took these pictures just before a huge downpour – nothing says Scottish summer like soggy sandals!). You can share your pics with Oxfam by tweeting @Oxfamfashion, @OxfamOnlineShop and @ThisOldThingtv using the hashtag #oxfamvintage. I can’t wait to see what everyone else is wearing. If only every Friday was Vintage Friday!

Have you been watching This Old Thing? Will you be taking part in Vintage Friday?