Admittedly it takes a good eye, the sort that can look over a pile of old garments and see what you can make of them, and they of you. Then it needs a little adventure, to team old clothes with improbable but right accessories. It may also demand scissors and a needle and thread, but it’s the perfect way to beat imitation—and inflation.
Photographed by David Tack.
Scanned from Honey Magazine, November 1974.
I’m always delighted and fascinated by articles like this, somehow proving that certain interests are just innate in some people, and some things simply never change. Fifty years later, new generations are still discovering the joys of second hand clothes as though nobody ever thought of it before.
There was a storm in a Tiktok teacup earlier this year when someone declared that resellers were the Landlords of the Millennial generation. In what felt like a heady mix of inverted snobbery and undiluted envy at some people’s eye for a bargain, they declared second hand clothes were only for the poorest people and it was immoral to be making money out of them. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that it must be one of the oldest jobs in the world. In centuries gone by, the finest clothes were left in wills, given to servants, resold, remodelled and recycled until they were practically rags – which is why we have so little left in completely original condition.
On top of this long history, here in the Seventies (and then right up until the present day) you can see the glamourising of second hand clothes as a perfect counterbalance to the ever-expanding, and ever-cheapening, fashion industry. I also can’t help noticing that the belted sack dress (see further down) and bangle combination looks like something you might have seen in Topshop in the early 1980s. Proving that secondhand is often more fashion-forward than what you find in the shops.
A new look at dressing gowns: Soft cotton or silky wrapover dressing gowns can easily be found at jumble sales and markets. Fastened with a pretty brooch or with a scarf tied round the waist, they’re much nicer to wear around the house than that tatty old quilted thing your mum gave you! A bonus is that they can double as a dress or even a coat over jeans for the daytime. Paisley print robe £1, from Portobello Road Market. Painted bone fan with slotted blue ribbon, Chimera.
A little colour goes to your head: To follow the 20s,30s look which has become hot fashion for the evening, why not add a little glamour to a crocheted or knitted beret by sewing on tiny bugle beads (they’re the cylindrical ones). A geometric or floral design can look good—or a motif on one side if you haven’t got the patience to cover the whole of the beret. Antique beaded beret from a selection starting at about £10 from Carla Sklan at Antiquarius, 135 King’s Road, SW3.
The soft touch pulled into shape: Most of the prettiest second-hand dresses to be found have waist measurements which are really enormous and the idea of darting and reshaping them can offset the low price. To combat this we cut a strip from the hem about 3in wide, cut it in half width-wise and doubled it over to make two strips to tie round the back. Even easier would be to attach two narrow ribbon ties. Our dress from a selection at Orange Box, Camden Passage, N1.
Two for the top:Hats are still one of the most important accessories you can buy or make, and they look especially good if they’re bedecked with feathers or trimmings. If your purse demands you try your own hand at millinery, we’ve come up with an idea for trimming a plain felt beret. Just make two small incisions approximately one inch apart and add a natty trio of brightly coloured feathers. This smashing felt cloche with painted applique flowers and leaves is more of a good investment at £10 from Diane Logan, 40 Chiltern Street, WI.
Best suited: Ladies’ tailored suits abound for a mere pittance in most second-hand haunts and, if you accessorise them well, they can become the mainstay of your wardrobe. But nothing ruins the line of a tailored jacket more than out-of-shape shoulders. If you carefully unpick the lining around the armhole and search about, you’ll find it’s probably the fault of deflated shoulder pads. Buy a new pair of foam ones (from haberdashery departments of large stores); enclose each pad in a little square of plain fabric and it’s easy to tack them into place. Another idea to liven up a plain crepe jacket is to add some contrasting fabric on the pocket flaps or, if you have the patience, embroider your initials on a breast pocket. Authentic tweed costume courtesy of Mrs Kilford. Collarless green crêpe embroidered jacket, Orange Box £4.50. Feather-trimmed felt hat, to hire from Diane Logan ; long crêpe-de-chine patterned scarf, Essences £2: belt from a selection at Fenwick ; cane, Biba ; fox fur, Orange Box £4.50; green earrings and double bird brooch, Medusa’s Heirlooms. All Orange Box clothes from Camden Passage, 33 Islington Green, London N1.
Taking your nightie to a party: It doesn’t have to be a choice between a jewelled gown or your old jeans for a party. A long old-fashioned satin nightie is just about the prettiest and sexiest thing you could wear—and you won’t look too dressed up or contrived. And if you do get home late and tired you’re dressed for bed as well. Ankle-length cap-sleeved embroidered pink satin nightdress £5, from Bombacha, 104 Fulham Road, SW3.
Anything goes: To prove that even the most ordinary old dress can look bang up to date with just a little attention, we found this pleated black sack dress and re-vamped it. Pulled in at the waist with a wide red belt, with lots of red and black glass jewellery, black seamed stockings and your hair up, it soon becomes a show-stopper. Dress from a selection of oldies at Martha’s Market, Martha Hill, 39 Marylebone High Street, W1. All jewellery from Chimera, Antiquarius.
For the good sport in you: Smart dresses and feminine bits and pieces are easier to find than casual sporty outfits, but here’s one solution to show the tomboy in you, and it’s a great way to use that too-big sweater or cardigan you’ve discovered. Team it with striped cut-off men’s summer trousers and a shirt or blouse and flat shoes—the whole outfit could easily cost you less than a fiver. For a more feminine touch, appliqu6—or even sexier, inset—your own lace motif on a blouse. You can buy one at a haberdashery store or cut out a bit of lace from an old petticoat. Hip-length baggy hand-knitted cardigan £1, striped cotton men’s shorts 50p, both from Portobello Road Market. Short-sleeved cream lace-inset Rayon blouse, Essences £3.50. Thin red leather and hessian belt, Fenwick. Huge perspex initial, Mid Twentieth Century at Antiquarius. See-through plastic tube bracelets, £1.50 each from Reflection and Light at Antiquarius. Socks and shoes, model’s own.
Two for the price of one: Above and below : Along with casual clothes, skirts are about the most difficult things to buy secondhand. Here’s a way to solve the problem and gain a matching blouse and skirt from a dress. First remove the side zip (if there is one), then carefully unpick the waist seam. Run a row of gathering round the top about 4″ in, then gently ease it up to fit your waist measurement plus 2″. Attach a strip of petersham about 14″ wide to the outside edge, turn in and finish off the side opening. For the blouse, turn up 1″ of the bottom edge, and thread with a narrow strip of elastic. Yellow and black floral-printed cotton dress, Portobello Road Market £1. Floppy cream silky blouse with elasticated waist and lace-trimmed collar and insets, shown with skirt, £3.50 from The Orange Box, Camden Passage, 33 Islington Green, London NI. Bangles and necklace from a selection at Chimera ; earrings from Medusa’s Heirlooms.
Tighten up: Baggy blouses and shirts may be the most fashionable shape but sometimes it’s nice to show your waist—and with this idea you don’t have to worry about endlessly tucking slippery material back into the waistband of your skirt or trousers. Gather the waist with two rows of shirring elastic, machined close together, remembering to sew a little lower than your actual waistline as the blouse will ride up a bit once it’s gathered. Our candy-striped cotton blouse is from the Portobello Road Market, 60p.
Liz Eggleston 