FOUND - Dress Takes A Kew from Batik

I found this cotton dress by Kew at the Trinity Hospice charity shop near the South Kensington tube station. It combines two of my favourite style turns - a shirt waist and a vibrant pattern. This fabric is aping traditional batik, a printing process that uses wax to displace dye. Wax is brushed or drawn on parts of the fabric. Dye adheres to the un-waxed areas, leaving behind the desired pattern. If this dress were made from actual batik cloth I'd feel like I'd won the lottery. My batik-ish garment is more like finding a tenner in an old handbag; not the lottery but lucky all the same. I'll push the seasons by pairing it with a wool hacking jacket and tights for an early Spring dress debut, but once Summer arrives (and it will) this cotton staple will come into its own teamed with espadrilles and a straw bag. A fantastic find at just, you guessed it, £10.

     

FOUND - It's Got All the Bells & Whistles

I found this Whistles jumper at the Barnardos charity shop in Chiswick not far from Turnham Green tube station CLICK HERE. There's a Whistles retail shop around the corner from where I found the stripy sparkler, making it all the more satisfying. I'm a fan of Whistles ethos and the feminine utilitarianism of the brand and its founder Jane Shepherdson CLICK HERE. Frankly I like the idea of buying women's clothing from a company headed by a woman. If I could afford Ms Shepherdson's fashions, her shops would be my high street home. Instead I always look out for the Whistles' label - the newer grey & white version, as well as the old school cream & pink one - on charity shop rails. While rewards are rare, as this find proves, Whistles is not unheard of in 2nd-hand shops. At just £5.99, this sweater sounds very good indeed.