East End, Clobber and a Ruby...

Project wardrobe rejuvenation is going pretty well. No vintage this week, but plenty of second hand schmutter. Despite the fact that I am currently cold, pasty and hungover you'll notice that they're all rather optimistic of warm weather and a tan. Luckily, I'm off to Malta in a couple of weeks.

Silk and sequinned Ted Baker top £5.00

Crochet look crossback top - brand new with tags on £4.00

More sequins on this Topshop vest - £3.00

Heidi Klein beach kaftan with dancing figures print - sample £5.00

I might Ebay this one. I made a tenner on the Boden dress I found a couple of weeks ago

Brand new soft leather hobo style handbag £6.00

I love this, it fits everything you can imagine

I'd love to do more outfit posts, but the camera is rarely my friend, and concurrent project 'eat healthily and look slimmer' was slightly derailed by ending up in an eating establishment here last night:

Oh well, at least I got some exercise before the curry, we were on a treasure hunt for a friend's birthday which took us all round Jack the Ripper's old stomping ground. The East End might not be the prettiest area of London, but it has some great photo opportunities. If you go on Sunday, there's also the Petticoat Lane and Columbia Road markets.

Wall at the corner of Fashion St, East End.

Intriguing doorway...

Stencilled graffiti - Banksy style but without his subversive humour

 This was my favourite. The chair and hooded monks are paper cut outs just a couple of inches high glued to the bottom of the wall down a random street. The shadows are painted on the pavement. Cool huh?

(nb. For international readers not acquainted with Cockney rhyming slang, a Ruby is short for Ruby Murray and means a curry)

Lakota x

TRASHION MAGAZINE GIVEAWAY HERE - Make sure Blogger didn't delete your comment if you entered already

Linking up to Flea Market Finds

Thrift Share Monday

Magpie Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

Nails Nirvana...

I love nail varnish. I think it's my favourite cosmetic. Lipstick is all very well, but unless you spend an inordinate amount of time checking yourself out in the window of Primark, you don't get to appreciate it much. Ok, so other people have to suffer my usually bare daytime face, but I get to admire a manicure all day. And have you ever got out of the washing up by triumphantly telling your other half you've just put mascara on? I don't think so.

But it wasn't always this way. Years of bribery from my parents, inability to undo knots or successfully fight with my younger sister failed to stop me mangling my fingertips with my teeth. I became immune to the taste of Stop n' Grow (remember that? My insides are probably a post-Chernobyl disaster area) and it seemed inevitable that my hands would always resemble those of Kurt Cobain - bitten nails, chipped polish, ideas for Hole’s second album…

Me after a hard night

Getting married was the first incentive to look a little more ladylike (my 'something blue' was my pedicure) and somehow I managed to quit chewing. However it was winning a year's worth of nails inc. manicures in a Glamour magazine competition that caused the polish love to really take root. I have what I like to think of as an edited collection of essential nail varnishes these days - a mini suitcase tin and a make-up bag full - but have been following polish blogs recently, and keep finding looks I never knew I needed. The PolishAholic has lots of nail art posts - I'm in love with her latest look using decals she posted yesterday - and fuckyeahprettynails has all kinds of craziness.

That said, I don't go in for acrylic/gel nail talons or those dodgy looking air brush designs - some of which do make an appearance on fuckyeah - so I was excited to see this idea for cheapo nail art when watching C4’s Super Scrimpers the other day. Gem Fatale from the fab blog of the same name was the younger thriftster featured last week, and suggested using a hair grip as the perfect tool to do a polka-dot pattern over your base coat. Just tip a small amount out of the bottle – I poured it onto a tin foil covered plate – and use the bobble end of the grip to dip in the varnish. Voila! 

Base: nails inc. The Hills collection Melrose Avenue

 Spots: nails inc Monmouth Street 

Gem also has excellent tutorials for leopard and tiger print - I am a trashy rock chick at heart so those will definitely be next!

Has anyone watched much of Super Scrimpers? I enjoyed it when Gem was on, but Mrs Moneypenny’s advice to the spendthrift couple who were featured seemed to be much what anyone with half a brain could offer. Buying two brand new DVDs a week and got no money? Stop buying DVDs! It reminded me of the tedious money saving articles which are recycled constantly in glossy magazines and are never any use to me. “Make your own lunch instead of buying from Pret a Manger”, “Cancel that gym membership you never use”, “Put all your debt onto one credit card with a 0% introductory rate”. I could write this stuff in my sleep. It’s on a par with fashion editorials on Summer style entitled “Nautical but Nice”. Sigh. Are you listening, Cosmopolitan?

Lakota x

PS. If you entered my giveaway yesterday, Blogger has eaten half the comments, so please check and try again if necessary. And if not - off you go! Win the launch issue of Trashion Magazine

Linking to Creative Bloggers Party and Hop

Amazing TRASHION Magazine Giveaway!

Ok lovely people, prepare to be excited. There is a brand new magazine launching soon which I think we're all going to love. Move over Vogue and Sunday Times Style, there is a new and thrifty kid on the block.

Here's what the editors of Trashion have to say about the new venture:


TRASHION is a national creative fashion magazine. We celebrate money saving, recycling, creativity and individuality in fashion and are concerned with all things crafty, vintage, thrifty, customised, handmade, quirky and cool. If you prefer your fashion edgy and original as well as stylish, be sure to keep an eye on TRASHION in 2011.


Sounds good, doesn't it? I've already pre-ordered my copy, but the fabulous folk at Trashion HQ have kindly offered me another issue - likely to sell out - to give away to one of the followers of Faith Hope and Charity Shopping. Interested? I thought so. We are stylish vintage shoppers and cool craft kids after all. You can check out Trashion's website here.


If you'd like the chance to win a copy, all you need to do is be a public follower of the blog, and leave a comment below. Please make sure you leave an email address if you don't have contact details on your profile. The competition closes at 7pm on May 26th. Open to all readers worldwide.


For additional entries you can:
1. Add the button to your sidebar - titled Trashion Mag Giveaway at Faith Hope and Charity Shopping and linking back to this post.

2. Tweet the following:
 "I've entered to win the launch issue of @TrashionMag at Faith Hope and Charity Shopping. You can too! http://tinyurl.com/6cey59b"
 
(I'm @FHCShopping if you want to say hello)

Please leave an additional comment for each additional entry as this will make my life a lot easier and allow me to use a random number generator (rather than copying all your names out like I did last time!)

Good luck everyone.
Lakota x