Vintage by the kilo

I'm very embarrassed to admit this as I am somebody who is normally top to toe in SPF 30 with the merest hint of a sunny day but today I got sunburnt shoulders. Pretty badly sunburnt shoulders. It's been amazingly warm here and I dutifully slathered SPF 50 all over my daughter but forgot to do my own shoulders. I'm feeling pretty sheepish about it, particularly as I was berating my dad earlier today for being proud of his holiday tan. 'A tan is simply your skin showing sun damage', said I, smugly, unaware of the state my shoulders were getting into as I spoke. Anyway, there's not much I can do about it now, but there's definitely a lesson in there somewhere. Or even two: don't be smug and always put sunscreen on your shoulders. Live and learn, people.

I recently went to a vintage kilo sale over in Headingley, through a tip-off from a friend who is always beautifully and vintagely attired. After queuing in line for about half an hour I joined the masses of bargain hunters with sharpened elbows to delve through racks and racks and boxes and boxes of vintage clobber which is then paid for by the kilo (£15 per kilo in fact). Brilliant, I thought, having absolutely no concept of how much a kilo is in terms of clothing. It's actually about 4 items of clothing, which makes it pretty bargainous in anyone's books. So, being completely honest, it wasn't the greatest experience ever. There were a LOT of people there and there was also a lot of 'vintage' that was clearly not. However, there were gems to be had and this jacket was one of my finds. It's made from wool, French and, according to my internet research, from a 'leading ready to wear label in the 1980s'. It's incredibly versatile and I have been wearing it quite a bit recently as a change from my black blazer. I also got a coral puffed-sleeve tunic, a fuschia blouse with black buttons and a very strange polyester purple and turquoise thing, the latter of which was, in hindsight, a mistake. Perhaps there's a third lesson there?

These photos are not the greatest as I was running out of the house to my sewing course. Also I seem to be having a bit of a bad hair week at the moment due to the trials of growing out a short hairstyle. And yes, yes, yes I know, more leggings and tunics.

Wool jacket: Vintage Kilo Sale

stripey dress: French Connection

gold sandals: ASOS

cream belt: birthday present from my sisters