FOUND - Three Worthy Birds in The Hand

I found this Laurel Burch brooch at a 2nd-hand sale in Chelsea Old Town Hall. Laurel Burch was an artist, jeweler, dreamer. At just age 14 she packed a bag and left her tumultuous home life in Southern California for the promise of the Golden Gates of San Francisco. At 19 she married a jazz musician but was divorced with 2 children to support at just 20. A self-taught painter, local restaurants bought and displayed her work, and she sold jewellery from a tackle box on the streets of the city. There, she met businessman Shashi Singapuri who helped her travel to China where she had her paintings designed into cloisonne earrings. With Mr Singapuri's backing, manufacturing began and a Laurel's dreams came true. In time she parted company with Singapuri, managing her company on her own and licensing her designs to various manufacturers who today distribute her work world-wide. This little trio of tweeters was a fiver.  

See Huntress London's ideas for styling 2nd-hand 

brooches on the Oxfam Fashion Blog CLICK HERE  

BONUS POST - Made in The Shade Of Red

I found Look-at-Me reds hotting up at the Oxfam Boutique in Chiswick. The shop's late night sale is now just days away, in fact Thursday, 4 December, from 5-9pm. If a crimson Christmas is what you're wishing for, then spare your blushes and pop into their 2nd-hand celebration. This blood orange number from LK Bennett is only £38 and the real coral necklace just £40. 

Tree trimming in trousers this year? A Nicole Farhi velvet jacket is like fine wine. Better with age. Pair if with almost any trousers and silk slippers for a smoking-jacket ensemble that would make Noel Coward proud. It's only £80.

  

The elegant detail of this Diane Von Furstenberg silk shift is spot on. Team it with fab flats for minimalist style under the mistletoe. Over skinny jeans or sparkling stockings, you'll be wearing this racy red DVF long after Santa's returned to the North Pole. Holiday dressing is a piece of (Christmas) cake in this £90 stunner. 

This and so much more at the Chiswick Oxfam Boutique 

Late Night Shopping Event, Thursday, December 4 from 5-9pm. 

Follow @OxfamBoutiqueW4   

FOUND - It Booked A Place With Me

I found this big, gorgeous, fashion book - circa 1986 - at the West Ealing Antiques Fair in a stall hosted by the Cancer Research charity. If you read Huntress London regularly, you know how much I appreciate style inspiration between bound covers for the price of a glossy magazine. If you ONLY pop into charity shops in search of second-hand style bibles, I say bravo. This one features photography from famed snappers Horst P Horst, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Karen Radkai, Norman Parkinson and others. A fantastic find for a fiver. I'll let the pictures speak a 1000 words.

 - 

Find more fab fash photos

 at The V&A's Horst Exhibit 

until 4 January

FOUND - Save-The-Date Chic in Chiswick

I found Chiswick Oxfam Boutique awash in sparkle and anticipation as its staff prepared for the shop's Late Night Shopping event scheduled for Thursday 4 December from 5 to 9pm. Huntress was given a sneak peak at the 2nd-hand holiday style finds that the Oxfam team have been holding back in preparation for this chic celebration. I was especially excited by a See by Chloe silk shift (£90) & vintage, Made in Hong Kong, sequin-encrusted sleeveless top (£60). Rachel, the shop manager, Renata, the shop social media expert and volunteers Mary and Lizzie were welcoming, friendly and helpful. This shop has a great vibe - I've been in repeatedly and it's lovely to see locals taking pleasure in pre-owned clothes for a good cause. 

Looking to do casual elegance over Christmas? Might I suggest Jimmy Choo flats? These studded stunners (£100) are just another of the spectacular 2nd-hand beauties available in a week's time. So MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Thursday 4 December, 5-9pm - Nibbles, Drinks, Smiles and Style. Oxfam Boutique Chiswick is very near the Turnham Green tube station. Out of the station go left and at the main road go right - you'll see the shop next to Whistles. Extra Christmas Cheer? Make a dapper donation - drop off last year's party dress (and more)!

Huntress London will feature more sneak peaks 

from this stylish sale in the coming days 

FOUND - 2nd-Hand Hats Off To Top Girl

I find friends and colleagues brimming with stylish ideas and 2nd-hand daring. Emily, friend and colleague, is an aspiring writer, comedian and professional gadabout originally from the Canadian prairies. She moved to London three years ago, compelled by the misguided notion that her life would turn into a Richard Curtis film. She's stayed because it turned out far better. Emily, take it away -

After making an atypically pragmatic decision to chop off all my hair in preparation for a trip abroad, I found myself at a loose end in Kensington with a brand new visa in my passport and a brand new style on my head. I’ve always loved hats but as someone with big, curly hair, I’ve found it difficult to find toppers that don’t make me look like a newly-purchased Christmas tree that’s only had its bottom half unbound. However, with a lot less hair I was free to enter the great world of millinery and, when I saw this £10 hat in the Gloucester Road Oxfam, I fell in love. It's the work of Peter Bettley, a man who I gather has been designing for everyone from Selfridges to the royals for the past 39 years. I’m sure my hat is more high street than Her Majesty but I don’t think I could love it any more even if it had royal provenance. I wore it to a friend’s house the other day and she described it as ‘very Mary Poppins’ to which I replied, ‘I assume you mean practically perfect in every way?'

Mark Your Calendar: 

Oxfam Boutique Chiswick ** Merry Shopping Night

Nibbles, Drinks, 2nd-hand Style, 5-9pm Thur 4 Dec

Follow @OxfamBoutiqueW4

TRY THIS - I Can't Hear Your F**king Style

I find swearing in public a lot like red lipstick on your teeth. It trumps the thoughtful vibe of your cool, collected sartorial ensemble. Curse in a crowd and you're no longer that woman in the perfect pattern-clashing outfit with shiny hair and ballerina-esque posture. You're just the gal with the rotten potty mouth. Worse yet, for me, crowd swearing is as unimaginative as a twin-set & pearls. Don't get me wrong, I love f**king expletives. Cursing can be therapeutic and has its place, but its constant overuse in public has sadly dumbed it down, left it weak, w**ky and wanting. Weaving my way through a crowd recently I was struck by the loud, dull clunkers falling from people's lips -- "...my G*d d**n mum..." "...his suit was s**t..." "...she f**king said..." I love the city's sound track and real-life refrains but street-side swearing, like a plastic carrier bag, is common, unnecessary and impotent. Bad language should be like gorgeous silk satin panties, smooth and naughty, your secret, shared with only a select few. Whether whispered with punch or hissed through gritted teeth, swearing should almost always be an exclusive, artful affair. Don't curse creative cursing to a mass grave. Properly privatize your profanity. 

FOUND - A Skirt With Muscle and Bustle

I found this 'selvege' skirt by Lulu & Red at Fara on Bond Street in Ealing. Founded in 2003, the brand quickly set up a concession in Topshop and was a popular seller online. Interestingly Lulu & Red cut size 12 prototypes that were then sized up and down, rather than a tiny initial sample size that had to be sized up. And up. It's a shape-changing starting point that other designers might consider employing. This clever skirt looks as if the wearer has pulled suiting fabric off the shelf and expertly wrapped it round herself. From the hand printed pink front to its bustle-effect back, it feels at once haberdashingly masculine and whimsically feminine. A bit of research seems to indicate the brand is no more, so you'll only find it 2nd-hand, all the better in fact. This was once a pricey piece of kit, but I got it for a snip at just £20.