New 1960s bag - ta, chazza!

Last weekend Mr Robot and I had a good trawl round the charity shops. I was after midcentury china, for a little shoot I was doing for In Retrospect. As it happens I found a couple of lovely plates – both Midwinter, one Oakley and one Queensbury Stripe – that were perfect, though the shoot didn't go as well as I'd hoped so I'll be trying again this weekend*. However, the thing about charity shopping is that you can't really predict things; all you can plan is to go and look, and hope the Charity Shop Gods reward you. Shopping with a vague aim – 'midcentury china' this time – will always turn up something, but if I were to go out with the aim of buying something as specific as a particular china pattern, or a 1960s bag, I'd be disappointed 99 per cent of the time.

Last weekend was the other one per cent.
I nearly, very nearly, left this 1960s leather (fake-snake) bag by Eros on the shelf as I don't really need an evening bag of any sort, and it's a little too small to hold all my work-day gubbins. However, boxy bags seem to be becoming rarer, and I really liked it, and it was only £6, so I bought it anyhow. After all, who knows when I might need one, and then I'll be glad I've got this. The bag has clearly been used, as there's a little wear on the bottom and the swing-out hinges on the chain handle, but whoever owned it obviously was proud of it and looked after it, as she kept the original tag inside.

It's debatable which of us had the better day's haul. I got my Midwinter plates and 60s bag, whereas Mr Robot got a set of plates (we are horribly addicted to dinnerware) and a little silver-and-glass jam pot. Then he had his big find. We do try to be restrained in our acquisitions because our house, the kitchen in particular, is so small, but as soon as I spotted this set of carved wooden salad bowls, I knew he'd want them. His face lit up when he saw them! They're not exactly small, but when something is this perfect, how can you leave it behind? They're really very us: wooden salad bowls are very midcentury, but the carving looks East Asian and fits in with the general 'Victorian Traveller' style of most of our home, and the fact they were only £6.50 appealed to our cheapskate side.
I'd lost my charity shopping appetite for a while, but stuck at it, reasoning that if I just kept on with it, sooner or later I'd find something great and my love of the chazzas would return. Oh boy, has it returned now...


 *Top tip: don't use Wensleydale cheese for cheese and pineapple hedgehog. It's too crumbly.

Comments

  1. That bag & those bowls are gorgeous!
    Vague & open to new ideas is the way to shop the chazzas!
    I love the British term for charity sjops, sounds sooo posh compared to American "thrift" stores.

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    1. Heh, funny how I think 'thrifting' sounds fancier. The term is becoming more common over here - I'm never sure if the people use it want more internet traffic so are using the American term, or are trying to distance themselves from the idea of charity shops. 'Thrifting' sounds more middle-class, like someone's being a smart saver.

      I don't mind - if people are too fancy for charity shops, that just leaves all the goodies for me.

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  2. The bowls are fab you couldn't not buy them! and how can you go wrong with a handbag?

    The kitchen in this house is so small most of my kitchenware is still in boxes :(

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    1. The tiny kitchen is the one thing I'd change about my house.

      The bowls are indeed ace. Every time I see them I think, "Wow!"

      Delete
  3. That's awesome regarding your thrifting mojo having returned in spades. What terrific finds! Your bag is so chicly glamorous and those salad bowls are equally beautiful. They're so pretty in fact, I'd be tempted to use one or more as decorative catchalls around the house. :)

    Many hugs & heartfelt thanks for all of your fantastic blog comments this month,
    ♥ Jessica

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    1. We're saving the salad bowls for food as there are so many of them, they'll be perfect for most of the components of a Burmese meal. I won't put soup in them, but noodles, rice, salad and curry should all be fine.

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  4. Your luck's in. Quick, get that lottery ticket. The bag is a serious beauty, very classy looking and £6 is a great price. I went new bag shopping with a friend recently and I couldn't believe how much they cost. The carved bowls are great too. You're on fire!! :)

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    1. I never have any luck on the lottery. I think I have to make my own luck in life - as someone once said, "The harder I work, the luckier I get!"

      Delete
  5. Beautiful bowls-I've never seen carved ones. I have a soft spot for lacquered teak, but those are magnificent. Great deal too.

    I have a similar snakeskin bag that was looking a bit ragged at the edges. If you're not a purist about "fixing" vintage, a carefully applied crayon (nothing fancy, just the sort children use for colouring)can hide quite a lot. Blend it in with a rubber eraser until it looks satisfactory. I won't tell you how many bags I've taken crayons to over the years-just try a small, inconspicuous spot first to see if you like how it looks.



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    1. Ah, that's a cunning idea. I was going to use a bit of shoe restorer, as it's leather.

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  6. Fab finds! Obviously it would have been rude not to buy them!

    I saw two overpriced carnival glass bowls in a charity shop yesterday. I went weak at the knees, but the prices and lack of space stopped me buying but oh I am hankering still!

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    1. Chazza pricing can be so odd. I can keep a lookout for carnival glass for you, if you like.

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  7. The bag is fabulous and so are Mr. Robot's carved wooden salad bowl. I too have a penchant for boxy bags, and when I find them I tend to buy them, even if I know they're way too small. It's been a while since I found a nice bag in a chazza, though. xxx

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    1. Yes, they do seem to be slim pickings at the moment. I'm glad I've had a good run, it's been my first good run in ages. (I'm hoping 'vintage' is no longer a mainstream fad and it'll get easier to find Old Tat in chazzas once more.)

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  8. I think the first law of chazza shopping is 'buy it if you like 'cos it won't be there if you come back for it'! I learnt this the hard way...

    All your finds are lovely - the handbag is gorgeous and I can see why you didn't pass it by! Love the salad bowls as well.

    Have a great week.

    Veronica
    vronni60s.blogspot.com

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    1. Yup, that is a very important rule. I'd rather buy something and redonate it if I change my mind than umm and aah and miss out completely.

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  9. Hi crinolinerobot.blogspot.com,

    I have came across your site and I am wondering whether you have any advertising available? If so please will you provide me with the pricing and terms for your advertising?
    Hope to hear back from you soon.

    Thanks
    Thomas

    ads@zoomonlinemedia.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Thomas,

      I'll reply to you properly, but I think it's something I should also say publicly - I don't have advertising on my blog, nor do I do sponsored posts, accept freebies, or have any commercial affiliations. It's important to me that my blog should be about things I genuinely like, and that I put my money where my mouth is and pay for things myself.

      Mim

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  10. You have had a fabulous hunt, dear Mim.
    It's always great to read such good news about someone who really enjoys true vintage items. You two, both were fortunate. I think I saw a similar handbag in our local used-clothes shop, but the poor thing was in such state, no mending could hide it's wear & tear (someone was, obviously, quite loving it and used it often - alas, not trying to keep it's good shape) - some people do not appreciate material things: I suppose they can afford buying new item all the time, and they don't get sentimental about things. :)
    I know is's sort of funny to say, but I think that my kitchen is also small (when I see the tiny one bedroom apartment my brother lives in, in the city - folks tell me my kitchen is huge), but due to the fact that I need a lot of storage space for large appliances, huge buckets, pans, sacks of grains and so on - that is why I'm building a second kitchen.
    You need one too, I think Mr. Robot would approve. :)

    Have a GREAT Sunday, darling!
    Marija

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    1. I dream of being able to extend our kitchen to meet up with the neighbour's wall, though that would make the dining room rather dark. But it would be so good to have that extra space for things like pans - as you say, they take up a lot of room. I don't have lots of electrical gadgets (people are always startled that we don't own a microwave, even) but I do like the right pans for different jobs, and things like the stockpot and jam pan are very large.

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  11. Wow! Didn't they do well? Loving those bowls so much, I'd have snapped them up in a heartbeat and that bag is a stunner, even our grotty chazzas charge more than that for vintage bags. Tania's right, get yerself a lottery ticket! xxx

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  12. How did I miss this post? I am chuffed for you about the bag, it's lovely! Sometimes you just can't leave something wonderful there, regardless of whether you actually need it or whether it will fit you x

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