Sew much better
eBay addict seeks dressmaking ace for mutually beneficial relationship. Kirstin lnnes finds out more
ver the last decade or so. as we‘re sure
you’re aware. it’s become not only
socially acceptable. but positively necessary, darling. to wear second hand clothes. The vintage business is big — entire empires are built upon a few 50s prom frocks and some really good Mod suits — and seemingly recession-proof, with more stores. online outlets and eBay mini-sites opening up every day.
The trouble with one-off pieces. as every thrift-shopper knows, is they don’t come in other sizes. Fallen in love with a 70s kaftan that's six sizes too big? Have to have it anyway? You‘re not alone.
Sharon Stephen. manager of upcoming band We Were Promised Jetpacks. happily admits that she has a vintage problem. “I've always bought
WE YOU Sophie 22, student
.2 l l My coat’s from the Salvation Army, down on Dumbarton Road. It’s great - they’ve got loads of vintage stuff but they don’t whack up prices like the vintage shops do. This coat was 23.99: I just had to put an extra button on it so it would fit. Sometimes I go to big vintage shops, but I think they just take everything from the Salvation Army and add a tenner onto it!
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My skirt Is actually more like a boob tube from Primark that I’ve adapted as a skirt. That was only
a few pounds.
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These trainers are retro Reeboks from Office; again, they were in the sale, and my bag is from Retro City Vintage, which is absolutely one of my favourite shops in Glasgow.
12 TH! U8? 2-16 Apr 2009
£7 eBay jacket (vintage Jaeger) becomes a Vivienne Westwood- style day dress for £27
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second hand; as a teenager on ()rkney. I Used to raid the charity shops. \Vhen l tnoved to (ilasgow. I discovered .\lr Ben‘s. That really opened my eyes to the range of clothes out there. It fuelled my addiction.‘ A few years ago. she discovered eBay. where vintage clothes tend to be less expensive than in specialist stores.
‘My eBay problem. Yes. I became obsessed
with buying vintage pieces becatise I loved the pattern or the style. and it was all really cheap. It would arrive. and it wouldn‘t lit. but I wouldn't ever get round to sending it back or reselling it. I had this growing stockpile in my room: a proper Farrah liawcett-style jumpsuit. or a (‘hloe dress. straight off the runway. l was starting to get exasperated about the amount of clothes I had that I loved and couldn't wear. so ljust (ioogled dressmakers in (ilasgow one day.‘ i Fortunately. she found limma Macl’herson. a This is justabig cosy former model and qualified fashion designer dress jumper which was who set up her own company. Amelie Bespoke. in the Topshop sale. I had when she was 22. liight years on. she finds most my eye 0" itfor months of her business comes from wedding dresses. becauselliked the but also offers a customising and alterations °°'°""‘th°" there was service; having worked with high-end vintage 500/? off so I managed to clothes at (ilasgow's Saratoga Trunk for years. get 't' MacPherson knows her way around an old seam. 'l just react instinctively to clothes: I've always been able to work out how the cut works. and what you can and can't do with the fabric.‘ she says. 'I can just alter it so it fits. or I can turn it into a different item of clothing altogether? (‘ustomising an existing piece usually takes me “ a couple of hours. no more. and costs about £20. so depending on what you paid for the original. you could have a completely new one-off for as little as £25.‘
MacPherson is part of a new wave of shop owners and dressmakers — often graduates of Edinburgh or Glasgow's Art Schools. or Galashiels' School of Textiles — offering customising services. There's several more of these specialists across the cities. see wwwamelie-bespoke.com. Raw Vintage. Glasgow (www.re-cycIeandw'ear.co.uki and Godiva. Edinburgh lwww'godivaboutique.co.ukl who also offer customisation services. but on their own stock.
‘I JUST REACT INST INCT IVELY TO CLOTHES'
I how my style isn’t too cliched ‘art school’. I just don't want to buy into the Topshop look, even though I shop there! I just like buying cheap clothes, that I like the look of, that aren’t following any kind of trend.