Pick'n'Mix - the joy of the chaz in '26!

Miró

Back in North Yorks for the week-end so did the rounds of the Thirsk chazza shops today.  Picked up a b/n Boden navy dress for £12 from the Blue Cross shop and a b/n pair of jeans for £4 from the Herriot Hospice shop, (they had a’half price on all clothing over £5 day so should have been £8).  The jeans are 2 sizes bigger than the dress but both fit perfectly! 🤨

Rosa_Damascena

All this talk about department stores must have been picked up by algorithms feeding off the cookies in my system...I quite enjoyed watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGW3Z7Yv7UU . Some of the AI-created scenes are a delight, and probably were if you had the means to afford the goods.

It made me realise that the decline of the department store started around the turn of the last century when tech started to go crazy. It also reminded me that Victorians put building over and above any social imperative to ensure everyone enjoyed even a basic standard of living, The next 50 years were spent on funding warfare, it was only for 1948 that social reforms really took off - and now we find ourselves poorly equipped to defend ourselves as a country, whilst poverty and gross inequalities still exist. Just my thoughts for a Sunday morning!

goldfinches

@Miró - A very elegant dress indeed and jolly nice jeans and I can only agree that consistent sizing across a single brand would be a godsend to the customer and don't get me started on standardizing sizing across the entire marketplace!

@Rosa_Damascena - I do hope your Sunday wasn't completely spoiled by your contemplating the current ghastliness. I enjoyed the video too and thought the streets remarkably clear of horse poo though.

In other news I can report that in between downpours here I have spotted a pair of wrens clearly prospecting for a good nesting site, a squirrel carrying dead leaves to line its drey and ducks starting to build above the raging waters as well as a kingfisher.

I called in at my favourite bhf shop yesterday and pounced on a set of rubber bottomed stainless steel mixing bowls with lids,£5, and a Marks and Sparks blue and white pasta bowl, £2. I'm especially thrilled with the mixing bowls as I've wanted some like this for a while but hadn't seen any really sturdy feeling ones, these feel good and solid as do their lids.

Then I went and had a look on the bookshelves and found all these that I simply couldn't bear to leave behind. They were all £2 each.

Then last of all I had a quick look at the trousers to see if there were any wide leg cords and lo and behold there was a lovely pair of high waist wide leg navy velvet M & S trousers looking completely new so I snapped them up for £7. This is a very inadequate photo because I've made a mess of the lighting but I think you can see the texture of the velvet which is what persuaded me they'd never been worn.

The wide legs mean I can wear my thickest thermals under them which I really need at the moment.

I hope I've navigated this new way of posting properly but if it comes out wrong I'm going to blame the update!

PS I discovered over on another thread that I can now vary the size of my photos, Hallelujah and thankyou to the Forum techs, so I popped back here to edit this post.

Rosa_Damascena

@goldfinches - some fabulous finds, I particularly like the lidded bowls. Your post had me pondering about how much I actually use my shelves full of cookbooks, which is not a lot! Yet now I am finally in cooking mode I frequently go to YouTube for inspiration.

Yesterday I nipped into one of my favourite local chazzers between work appointments and bought four items of clothing for £10. They are still in my car boot and I am struggling to remember what the trigger item that broke the seal of resolve was, but can clearly remember what the other 3 items are! 🙃

Rosa_Damascena

It occurred to me it might be a good idea to decant my car boot - here are my finds over the past week in all their glory:

It was the green and black lacy top that was less than memorable.

I now await a dry and breezy day as I have whole washing machine worth of goodies to launder.

Miró

Another trip to the 99p St Gemma’s Hospice clearance shop. Came away with an Autograph blazer stylee jacket in dark rose and a pair of Maine chino style trousers in a sand colour. The jacket ‘s pockets are still stitched so it could be b/n. (I’m sure the POW wore this, with matching trousers a couple of years ago?) The trousers are bnwt and were originally priced at £30!

Yay, at last I can resize pics! thanks for the tip off @goldfinches 🤗

DigForVictory

@Miró she did - a photo of her rewearing the trous .

Bet you'll look sensational!

<returns, dogged seeking original sighting in full - several photos>

Miró

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81858156#Comment_81858156

Oh!! Well done you 🧐. Now if you could just use your sleuthing skills to find me the trousers….preferably for 99p?? 😉 Thank yooo!

(How does that woman manage to look amazing in absolutely everything she wears???? Snot fair 😥)

goldfinches

@Miró - the POW looks amazing in everything she wears because she has a member of staff who carefully chooses everything so that she never sets foot outside the front door looking less than perfect. I'm sure if you started watching carefully you'd notice that there are lots of styles/silhouettes/cuts etc. that she avoids altogether. I don't think I've ever seen any photos of her in anything bulky like a puffa coat or any fussy/frilly designs. I do feel that it's quite easy to look at someone else and choose things that make them look good but much harder to do for oneself. Presumably her personal stylist has a good eye and has honed it over the years by scrutinising the press coverage.

Found said stylist here

Why Kate Middleton‘s stylist is leaving after 15 years

Plus I think the POW has been clever enough to avoid the milliner that the Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice patronise who clearly sees them coming. I'm not sure whether the hats are an elaborate tease on the part of the royals or the milliners or just the result of bad choices.

The most extraordinary hats worn by Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, in pictures

Anway, I'm sure you'll look like terrific in the jacket and applaud the trousers too.

@Rosa_Damascena - I do like that top jacket with the crazy stitching, so stylish. Like you I can't wait for better weather, the river has overflowed into the meadows here and the main channel is running so fast and deep that it's wickedly dangerous.

@DigForVictory - thankyou for the links, especially the jacket one.

I meant to pop into a charity shop this afternoon on the way back from the walking group but ran into an old friend and went to the pub for a chat instead. However, we are planning a group trip to the Kidlington charity shops next Monday afternoon so I'm looking forward to that and will drop into the very useful shop that C_J mentioned too if there's time.

goldfinches

@Rosa_Damascena - I meant to say that I use this free app Eat Your Books where you can list your cookbooks and then search them by ingredient. It has all sorts of interesting articles about food, mainly from the USA but increasingly from all around the world and you can comment on individual recipes and upload photos even if you have a free membership. They also have frequent competitions for very nice prizes so well worth a look.