Remember my Barbie & Skipper dolls? Last spring I gave away most of my childhood "collection" of them (six out of eight) to a charity shop; but decided to keep these two + a selection of clothes made by my mum back in the 1960s. And instead of just going back into their box, they've continued to be on display on one of my bookshelves, and I've kept changing their outfits now and then, "just for fun". The other day, I was inspired to make them new casual tops out of a pair of old socks. Barbie's did not require any stitches at all, just cutting. On Skipper's I had to add a few stitches by hand for a better fit.
When "playing" with them, I keep getting impressed by my mum's details on some of their clothes from around 60 years ago... Like Skipper's pair of jeans:
In our local newspaper this morning (which nowadays I subscribe to online), one of the local news was that another second hand shop for charity is about to be opened in the city centre (we have a number of them since before, but none of them right in the middle of the city). I have to confess that so far, I've been giving away a lot more clothes and things to collections for charity, rather than buying second hand myself - especially clothes. But I'll certainly at least pay the new shop a "curiosity" visit when it opens!
How about you? Are there many second hand shops where you live, and do you like shopping clothes second hand?
Your Barbie and Skipper outfits look really good. So well made.
ReplyDeleteI volunteer in our local Hospice charity shop and have found some excellent bargains there. Last winter I bought a warm padded coat for only £6 and have also found some new jumpers unworn with the tags still attached for just £4.
Sounds like good bargains, JayCee. Our existing charity shops are all "across town" for me, which means it's only very occasionally that I visit them.
Deletethe jeans are so sweet and i see what you mean, all that stiching to make them look like real jeans. Love the sock sweaters and would never have known. I thought they were made by you mom. I like the idea of changing them out, a good excuse to play with dolls. ha ha... yay for a new thrift store. I have shopped them for 40 years, furnished two houses with a lot of thrift buys. and when selling Real Estate, I wanted nice clothes for work and could not afford them. I found a store that was upscale thrift and bought several really nice dresses. someone said they were too expensive, I said paying 38 dollars for a 128 dollar dress was cheap. because of how i am built it is difficult to find clothing in used stores and also in new... my brother has never in his life bought anything used, cars, trucks, houses, clothing, nothing used comes in his house.. good thing he has more money than we do. ha ha they did rent a used house when they got married, in fact 2 used houses were rented, one of which flooded during a storm
ReplyDeleteSandra, I agree with you about the difficulties finding the right size in second hand shops. Can be hard enough with new clothes, sometimes - especially with fashion shifting between tight vs loose etc!
DeleteI may buy clothes on markets, but never in second-hand shops. We don't even have them in my area. There are two charity shops belonging to two organizations, to which I donate by placing the bags in something which resembles a recycling facility. The donations get sorted out, and the good items are given or sold to needy families.
ReplyDeleteDuta, I usually donate clothes by leaving them in a special collection bin at some recycling facility, too. Over the past year or so there's been a bin for clothes donations where I also go to recycle paper, plastic and glass jars etc. (5-10 min walk from home for me)
DeleteWe call it op shopping here and yes I love it, amazing what you can find sometimes. I use to have a barbie doll, I have no idea what happened to her but she had wigs I could put on her head and I had a swimming pool for her.
ReplyDeleteAmy, this Barbie is of that kind too. She has two more wigs but I've always considered this one "her true self" (not sure why, I just always liked this one best).
DeleteDo you have any Goodwills there? That is where I love to go! There are many here. We call the second-hand shops "Thrift Shops". And people who visit them a lot are called 'Thrifters". Your Mom was an excellent seamstress, and the dolls are so cute there. It is great that you kept them. I can never get rid of anything my mom made. Where did you find the tiny newspaper?
ReplyDeleteGinny, not by that name (Goodwill). There are different charity organisations and churches behind those I know of. - The tiny "newspaper" I made, it's cut from the solutions at the back of a crossword magazine. I thought they needed something to do rather than just sit there... ;-)
DeleteYou know I love Barbie and Skipper, the clothes your Mum made for them and the little scenes you create for them. Well done on the tops - they look all ready for spring. Those tiny jeans really are amazing!
ReplyDeleteMy town does not have many charity shops, but there are two where my family have both donated and bought in the past. Last autumn, my sister asked me to get something for her she had seen in their window, but their opening times clashed with her work schedule. While I was there, I spotted a shirt in my favourite colours, in my size, and by a relatively expensive brand I rarely buy. This one was a bargain at only 5 Euros, and so I bought it.
From my Ripon holidays, I often bring something home that I have found in a charity shop, a dress or a book. Ripon's streets are lined with shops run by various charities, some are very welcoming and well put up, while others seem a bit messy and "loveless".
Congratulations on your bargain ☺️ Yes, it seems to me that Britain have a lot more of these kinds of shops. Here in my town we no longer have any 2nd hand book shop of the kind where you can both sell and buy used books. We used to have one but when the owner retired (way past normal retirement age) I don't think anyone took over. In Britain, I know that John (Graham's brother) used to frequent 2nd hand book shops a lot! I think I have at least three books he sent on to me about things like English idioms and habits etc :)
DeleteMost of the bigger towns here have at least one or more charity shop, run by volunteers and mostly give financial support to the many dog rescues in the area. A friend works in the shop of one of the local animal charities, so I give things to her for selling on. Another takes things to someone who collects, again, for animals.
ReplyDeleteI do buy clothes from the local market - an excellent source of "natural" fabrics, but haven't bought anything from charity shops.
Carol, all the charity shops I know of here are for helping people. (Not having any pets myself I can't claim to know all that much about it, though...)
ReplyDeleteI work occasionally in a local "eco/charity" shop and in Stornoway I can think of 5 off the top of my head.
ReplyDeleteGraham, I remember your post about your local shop. It is my general impression that Britain has more of these kinds of shops than we do here, but I think lately there have been popping up more of them here too, as people (me included!) are getting more and more conscious of environmental aspects, and the need to recycle - as well as inflation playing a part as well, with many also in need of looking for cheaper options than buying new.
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