Shanty House Oxfam Show

Shanty House decided to put on a little Fashion and Music event in November last year.  The aim was to create fab looks from charity shop and recycled clothing.  I think we achieved it.  Everyone had so much fun thanks to the great guys at 'The Rainbow Warehouse' in Birmingham.  We had the catwalk, a stall, bands and DJ's even a beat box battle!!  We raised over £400 for Oxfam (where we sourced all the clothes) and had an amazing time.  Lots of people came away with a different view of what can be done with second hand clothing.  I've posted some pictures of the Catwalk below with a few tips on how the looks were achieved.  

Women's Winter Warmers Collection: 

There are always so many interesting jumpers in the charity shops.
When winter comes you don't have to look less girlie because of it.
Wear your jumpers with a skirt and show off your feminine waist with a belt. 

You can always find a good fake fur in a charity shop.
If the length is too long and you not handy on a sewing machine,
 advertise at a fashion college for students who are willing to take it up in return for the left over fur.

This interesting skirt was made from a men's cardigan my friend gave me.
I cut the sleeves off with just enough left to cover the arm holes.
I then sewed the left over sleeve down to close the arm holes up.
I added a couple of darts to the neck (now the waist) to give a better fit and add femininity.

Bright Brights Brights......I love to mix an old style print with a Glam Plain colour skirt to give it a modern twist.

Men's Collection:

This is one of my favourite shirts from the show.  So simple.
The collar is cut off and the edges left raw. The front is taken up to waist height and the sleeves rolled up.
Teamed with these bleach jeans it becomes a big love for me.
Designed and Created by Chris Pitts. 

What a find... a bit of haggling and I got myself this Jaeger smoking jacket for just £10!
Thanks 'Credit Crunch' Birmingham.

Love Love Love these velvet trousers. Teamed with a simple white shirt so we don't overkill the look.
The snood is made from two jumper torso's.
It's a great British eccentric look. 

You gotta love a mac!

This shirt is two shirts melded together to create a wonderful one off piece.
The button strip and bottom of the shirt were cut off and added to a plain black shirt.
Designed and Created by Chris Pitts.

Women's Glam Collection:

Easy to make Glamourous dress.
This dress is made from an old jumper that I cut the sleeves and torso off.
Those were used to make leg warmers and a snood.
I attached rectangle of fabric to the bottom
of the cropped jumper that was left and voila......A beautiful Glam Dress. 

When I found this sequin boob tube everyone turned their noses up!
Sequins can be tricky...but this long floaty skirt adds chic to make this really glam outfit.

If you find something wonderful like this sparkly silver leopard print cardigan,
make sure you team it with something simple and classic.

A beautiful find in the back of the Charity Shop.
Always ask if they have special vintage stock out the back that they have not put out!

This dress is made from a T-shirt and some snake print chiffon from an old 90's dress. Its extremely simple to make.
Cut the chiffon into long rectangles the length you want.
Sew on to the the bottom of a T-shirt...easy.
This particular style has the length of the T-shirt shorter at the front.