The Inspired Shopper

‘Put another pin in your hat, Dot. You’re in for a fast ride!’

– Phryne Fisher

Television can sometimes have an explosive effect on the fashion industry – witness the rage for all things sixties created by Mad Men. The phenomenally successful Downton Abbey has introduced a new generation to high-end Edwardian couture and jewellery, setting off a number of global trends.

Another era is currently receiving a much-deserved boost. The Roaring Twenties – the extravagant period that came before the long slog of the Great Depression – changed fashion forever. It’s being brought to life for a whole new audience in recent and forthcoming movies and TV series showcasing the sheer larger-than-life glamour of the era.

‘The twenties was the most revolutionary decade for fashion in the 20th century’, says Nicole Jenkins, owner of Melbourne vintage fashion store Circa. ‘This era  has reverberated through the years since.’

Nicole,  also a costumier and collector, points to revivals of twenties styles in the 1960s and 80s, as well as current revivals by Prada and other design houses.

‘The twenties has [also] been a perennial favourite for dress-up parties, as the look is so distinctive and easy to put together.’

Two recent Australian television series have already showcased, to great acclaim, Roaring Twenties pizzazz. Underbelly: Razor (pictured below) is a 13-part Australian miniseries set in Sydney. It depicts the‘razor gangs’ who controlled the city’s underworld between 1927 and 1936 and features truckloads of glitzy, gaudy twenties glamour. According to Wikipedia, the first episode made the show ‘the highest rating drama in Australian history’. The Daily Telegraph ran a competition giving readers a chance to play extras in the series, and was inundated with entries.



Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is a detective series set in Melbourne, Australia, in 1928. Oozing glamour and sensuality, wealthy amateur sleuth Phryne Fisher swishes through the staid drawing rooms, foggy back lanes, grimy docks and smoky jazz clubs of the city with her sleek chestnut bob, toting her pearl-studded pistol as she brings murderers to book aided by her handsome colleague Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.

The series has just completed its first run in Australia and a second series is in the pipeline. I couldn’t find information about overseas sales, but I’d be very surprised if Phryne doesn’t make an appearance on the BBC and possibly North American screens at some point.

Phryne – superbly brought to life by the elegant Essie Davis – is a style icon with a conscience, a glamour girl from humble origins who strives to achieve justice for the underdog. She resides in an elegant two-storey Victorian mansion replete with iron lace balconies and wonderful art nouveau decor, supporting a household staff of three, a foster child and a dedicated lady companion, Dot Williams, who assists in her investigations. With a series of exotic suitors and a simmering sexual tension between her and DI Robinson, she epitomises the new sexually liberated woman of the twenties. Her superbly tailored wardrobe delights the eye with its intricate designs, bold patterning and deliciously luxuriant fabrics.

The series is based on the bestselling novels by Australian solicitor Kerry Greenwood. An intellectual heavyweight with a yen for crime, Greenwood has created a larger-than-life heroine, a period female superhero who speaks several languages and is as adept at flying a plane as she is at dancing the tango. Yet Greenwood strives for authentic period settings, and only agreed to the TV series because she was given a say in the design. She was thrilled with the results.

The odd cloche hat makes an appearance, but Greenwood wanted to distinguish the distinctive style of the late twenties both from the flapper fashion that marked the early part of the decade and the very fitted styles of the thirties. At the time, costumes were designed as whole ensembles, with everything matched from underwear through to coats, and fabrics were incredibly fine and embellished. While purists have pointed out historical anomalies in some of the props, the gorgeous locations are apparently in the main true to 1928 and the years before it.

Nicole concurs that the fashions in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries are distinctly‘fashion forward’, and not always recognisable as classic twenties. She goes on to suggest that these days original twenties fashion is not always replicated ‘in its true form’ because styles aren’t always flattering – yet the era has still been highly influential.

‘The drop waist styles are loose and comfortable and particularly flattering for ladies with slim, boyish figures. Unfortunately, they’re not suited to curvy figures, which most of us have, so interpretations usually involve adding a bit more shape.’

More twenties glamour to come

Cloche hats, concave bobs and  sequinned, feathered headbands will certainly be on display in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming extravaganza The Great Gatsby. I’ve only seen the trailer, but that alone suggests that the film will make Chicago look like a Sunday picnic.  It’s to be released in 3D, and will be playing in US cinemas from 25 December and in Australia from 10 January.

As far as twenties fashion goes, it seems that the unassuming Dot Williams is not the only one in for a fast ride in the next few months  – I can’t wait!

Until next time!

If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Wanted – An Annie Hall for the 2000s.

Getting serious about saving money can seem like an onerous task. But it starts with simply changing your attitudes to money and the way you approach spending it. Here are three new frugal tips that are so obvious you may not have thought of them yet!

1. Assume you don’t need anything

Apart from the basic necessities (food, housing, energy, transport) we often say we ‘need’ new items. What we really mean is that we believe our lives would be easier, happier and better overall if we had those items.

When we go shopping for a particular non-basic item we start from a default position that’s so drummed into us we don’t realise it – that we must buy whatever it is we’re looking for. We feel deprived and somehow inadequate without the item.

One way to decrease your spending is to assume that you already have everything you need apart from basic necessities. Then, when a fresh need comes to your attention – a new smartphone; a pair of Mahno Blahnik shoes – you start from the assumption that you don’t need it and work backwards.

Assuming you don’t really need it, ask yourself if there’s anything you already have that could substitute for it. Alternatively, could you borrow it instead? Find it secondhand? Swap something to get it? Or, when you give yourself time to think about it, do you really have enough of that kind of item already?

Of course, at any one time there’s a fair chance that you don’t have everything you need. I often recommend people write a list of things that they intend to buy to put some boundaries around their spending.

The beauty of starting from a default ‘no needs’ position is that you exhaust every other possibility before buying the item. Then if you decide you do really need it, you can buy it without guilt. The real, genuine needs will emerge from the dross of your many wants like shining diamonds, and you’ll find the right items easily at the right time.

2. First things first

I used to be in a 12-step program, and if there’s one thing that is plentiful in these programs it’s wise sayings. Some might argue there are too many, but they can sometimes be quite profound. One of the sayings that has stuck with me over the years is ‘first things first’.

There are two useful ways you can apply this to your spending. The first one is simply allocating enough money for the basic necessities of life (food, housing, energy, transport) before buying non-necessities. Of course, there are many ways you can reduce your spending on these necessities so that you can save more money or buy something you really need.

The other meaning of the saying is even more straightforward, and involves how you spend your time. Shop for the necessities first, and then do any leisure shopping you want to do. If you’re prone to overspending, getting your priorities right in this regard could help you reduce the amount of leisure shopping you do, and therefore your spending. Instead of tacking your food shopping onto the end of a spending binge, take the time to think about what food you’ll buy, where you’ll buy it,  and how you can buy the healthiest food to look after yourself. Changing your priorities in this way is a signal that you’re looking after yourself, and this could also have benefits for your spending. 

You could also look more carefully at other basics like the transport you use to get around, and how you use electricity and gas. Putting time and energy into thinking about those things that you might otherwise spend, say, shopping online could not only reduce your carbon footprint but give you a more mindful experience of life.

3. Look at your family’s money history

You’re not stuck with the spending habits that were instilled in you – it is possible to change your attitudes, and looking at how you came to develop them is a great way to start.

A useful exercise is to sit down and write a history of your family’s attitudes to money. Ask yourself:

How did my parents and grandparents spend money?

What were the attitudes to money that lay behind their spending habits?

What are my attitudes to spending?

How have the attitudes and habits of my family helped form my own attitudes?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be able to look at your spending habits much more objectively and start to get some distance from them. And you’ll begin to understand that you don't have to be stuck with them!

After taking a serious look at my parents’ attitude to money, and those of my maternal grandparents, I now have a completely different approach to saving and spending from the rest of my family. 

Have you found that you gained more control over your spending after changing some of your basic attitudes? What were your original attitudes and how did you go about changing them?

Until next time!

If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Are Any of These Negative Beliefs about Money Holding You Back? and Be a Creative Stinge – 12 Great Tips for Cutting Your Spending and Saving Money.

When Liane Shannon had her daughter, Emma, she was concerned about the effects of synthetic and non-organic fabrics on her skin. But finding children’s clothes that were made from natural fibres and also fashionable and vibrant was much harder than she’d anticipated. So she decided to create them herself, and founded an innovative company in the process! 

1.  Visit stores that are far away from where you live. It’s easy to get used to the prices and kinds of stock in your local op shop, and to assume that it’s all the same wherever you go. Explore further afield and get a new perspective on prices and the stock available. Not only that, but a new store is a novelty that gives you a fresh eye to hunt out the bargains with. I found the navy cardigan pictured above at a Salvos store in Bentleigh, a suburb I hardly ever visit. It was half-price so cost only a few bucks. I just love the ruffled sleeves. The pendant in the picture was also an op shop find, from Salvos in Camberwell.

2. Don’t make assumptions about how the geographic area affects stock quality and prices. Stores in disadvantaged areas don't necessarily have poor stock, and those in well-heeled parts of town aren't always overpriced. There’s a tiny op shop opposite Fitzroy’s high rise housing estate that obtains some of its donations from the pupils of an exclusive boys grammar school in the south-eastern suburbs. A couple of months ago I visited a Vinnies store in Kew, a prosperous inner eastern suburb of Melbourne, and found it was cheaper than the Vinnies in Malvern. This cute shirtdress was waiting for me -- it was only $8 and brand new. An independent op shop I visited in Kew on the same day also had great prices.

3. Visit op shops when business is quiet. Any day when there’s less competition for the stock is a good day to go op or thrift shopping! Long weekends are a great time to visit; most of my suburb seems to go AWOL if there's a public holiday either end of the weekend. Cold rainy days are also great for secondhand treasure hunting.

4. Leave something behind. On most of my best op shop visits I'll find at least one treasure that wasn’t meant for me. On a recent visit I bought what appeared to be two brand new cushions (Ikea?) for $5 each (pictured above). On the back wall of the same shop I found a gorgeous kitsch print for only $19, but I left it behind because it just didn’t feel right to buy it. That print was meant for someone else, and whoever they are, it's probably looking fantastic in their loungeroom as I write!

5. Wait for prices to go down. As op store mavens know, ‘chainstore’ op shops like Salvos and Vinnies have a ticketing system that involves reducing the price of items that haven't sold after a certain time period. Independent op shops will often overprice their stock for much longer, but eventually they'll reduce the prices on items that aren't selling.

I waited about two months before I nabbed this gorgeous picture at my local op shop. It has a lovely carved frame in gold-coloured metal and is in great condition, but at $70 it was beyond my budget; about $45 would have been my limit. Luckily it was hanging quite high up on the wall so it was easy for shoppers to miss. One morning I dropped into the store and noticed that the price had been halved to $35. I snapped it up immediately! My patience had been rewarded.

Happy hunting!

If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Inspired Thrifting: What Makes a Good Find at the Op Shop or Thrift Store? and Great Tips for Successful Op and Thrift Shopping. 

But this isn’t enough for them. They leave the restaurant to investigate the farm for themselves, asking the waitress to hold their seats.

While this is comedy, the fact is when it comes to anything to do with animal rights and food production, you can’t take anything at face value. Eggs are no exception. If you’ve moved beyond cage eggs and want to find out about the alternatives, it’s not as straightforward as you’d expect.

An end to cage eggs?

There are four broad categories of egg-laying systems: cage eggs, barn laid, free range and organic. Battery cages were banned in the EU from 1 January this year, because of the unacceptable level of cruelty they impose. They are also illegal in seven US states.

Alternatives to the cage

Animals Australia has produced an excellent summary of the various categories of egg-laying systems and what they actually mean for animal welfare. It’s not simple: within the three more humane categories, different labelling systems exist with their own standards. Unfortunately it’s also positively labyrinthine in the USA. Luckily for UK consumers, things appear to be more straightforward there, as this guide suggests.
Below I’ve set out some of the discoveries I’ve made in my attempts to work out what’s going on with Australian labelling. The gist of this is: you can buy genuine free range eggs from the supermarket, but you'll have more choice if you buy them from other outlets.

Bog standard supermarket 'free range'

Toothbrushes are one of the many plastic products we buy and throw away, not realising that there are other options. I use old ones for cleaning grouting and around taps and sinkholes but there’s only so many toothbrushes you need for this purpose!

Enter the Environmental Toothbrush. Apparently the brainchild of a Brisbane dentist, its handle is made of sustainable bamboo. It’s designed to be thrown away, but the company claims that the entire toothbrush, including the bristles, is fully compostable and will biodegrade in soil without pollution.

The bristles of most normal toothbrushes are made with nylon. The bristles of the Environmental Toothbrush are made with a polymer that in ideal conditions composts within 48 hours. But non-ideal conditions are often the problem with compostable plastics, and apparently these bristles compost even in the sea. The company chose polymer in preference to pigs hair or horses hair, options that would have been objectionable to vegans.

The design is both simple and appealing. The bamboo handle looks good and is nice to hold; people who’ve started to use wood implements after years of plastic often mention how pleasant it is to look at as well as touch. We seem genetically designed to crave natural substances. The packaging is biodegradable, a nice change from the insult of even more plastic to dispose of when you buy a conventional toothbrush.

The big ifs with this toothbrush are two-fold – the energy used to create it and the conditions of the workers who manufacture them in China, where they’re made.

Without any information to the contrary I’d have to assume that the toothbrushes are made using conventional power. As for working conditions, we’re completely in the dark, which is too often the case with eco-friendly products. I’d like to think this product is people-friendly but at this point there’s nothing on the website to assure me of this.

Even without these assurances, however, this toothbrush is a definite step forward. It was the only eco-conscious toothbrush made by an Australian company that I could find on the web.

The price is a big positive; at $AU36 for a packet of 12, it works out at only $3 per toothbrush. The only drawback is that you have to buy them in bulk.

The Environmental Toothbrush can be bought online from the website, and the company ships worldwide. Freight is free within Australia. The toothbrush is also available at a number of Australian retail outlets – see the site for details.

Disclosure: I received a free sample toothbrush from the company.

Until next time!

The Fairwear campaign and Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA)  have made heroic efforts on this issue for years. Both groups work towards the goal of Australian outworkers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry receiving fair wages and conditions.

ECA does this through its voluntary accreditation system. This system helps brands and manufacturers meet their legal obligations and standards throughout the entire supply chain.

Accredited companies are permitted to use the Ethical Clothing Australia swing tag or label. This shows that the garment was made in Australia and everyone involved in its production received at least the legal rates of pay and fair working conditions.

Whether or not you observe Easter in the religious sense, it’s a time of great temptation when it comes to chocolate. They say that the best way to deal with temptation is to give in to it!

If you’re concerned about human rights, animal rights and the environment but love your chocolate, look no further. There are many yummy options you can eat with a clear conscience. And those with dairy and gluten allergies don't have to miss out either.

Organic, Fairtrade, vegan, gluten-free chocolate is a reality!

Below are some examples of the Easter offerings produced by companies with a conscience. Some address all the concerns above, while others address exclusively vegan and fair trade concerns. Many but not all use organic chocolate.

Some companies sell chocolate online and through retail outlets while others sell through bricks-and-mortar stores only - stockist information can be found on the websites.

(Some of the companies that don’t produce vegan chocolate do produce dark chocolate products that are made without dairy products. However, these products may contain traces of dairy in the production process and also animal products such as honey in glazes. Vegan products in contrast are specified to have no traces of animal products.)

Oxfam

This dark chocolate Easter egg is from Oxfam’s range of Fairtrade Easter goodies available in Australia. The Fairtrade chocolate used in the range is handmade, free from child labour and helps families in developing communities.The range includes organic chocolate but isn’t vegan.

These products helps producers and communities in countries like Dominican Republic, Ghana, Peru, Paraguay and India through improved market access and stable and regular income.

Oxfam also has loads of Easter ideas in unwrapped cards; handmade soft rabbits; and re-usable paper mache keepsake boxes, some with luxury handmade Belgium Fairtrade chocolate buttons and eggs inside.

Sjaaks

This cute little bunny is totally dairy free, organic and Fairtrade into the bargain! It’s from the vegan range of Sjaaks, a  US family company that, according to its website, is committed to organics and fair trade. Sjaaks also produces a Fairtrade vegan range of Easter eggs. 

Sjaaks is based in California. Its creator brought his confectionary skills from his native Holland when he migrated to the US. The company sells its chocolates online and they're also sold in some US retail stores, but unfortunately appear to be available in the domestic US market only.

Plush 

This UK company is committed to fair trade, which means that all its products are Fairtrade certified. Plush sources its chocolate and sugar from five different Fairtrade locations, and there’s info on the website about them. The company's Easter offerings include a milk chocolate strawberry drizzle egg and packets of solid Belgian chocolate eggs.

If you’re in the UK you can buy Easter eggs straight from the website, or there’s an extensive stockist list that includes bricks-and mortar retailers and other online stockists. Orders from outside the UK can be taken but they must be made manually.

Some of Plush’s products use organic chocolate but I couldn’t find any dairy-free ones. The company packages its chocolate in handmade, fairly traded gift boxes, and reusable and recyclable boxes.

Premium Chocolatiers

This US company specialises in vegan chocolate that is also gluten free, nut free and egg free (but unfortunately not Fairtrade). According to its website, it has pioneered the creation of artisan chocolates that mimic milk chocolate. The company is based in New Jersey but ships to more than 20 countries. Its Easter range includes mini eggs such as those pictured, larger eggs, and Easter bunnies in various sizes.

Constant Craving

This Australian company creates artisan, handmade chocolates that are vegan and also suitable for those with lactose, gluten and dairy allergies. Unfortunately these chocolates aren’t Fairtrade or organic, which is a shame because the handmade chocolate above looks incredibly delectable. 

Constant Craving produces a  giant Easter egg (pictured at top) reminiscent of the Easter eggs I would keep going for weeks as a child, carefully breaking off a few pieces to eat each a day while the remainder got stale in my desk drawer! Chocolates can be ordered online and shipped to anywhere in Australia, and there’s also a list of stockists on the website.

Loving Earth

I couldn’t find any Easter eggs on this company’s site but had to include it because it sounded so interesting and ticked all the boxes, including sugar free!

Loving Earth chocolate is raw organic. The company offers a vegan range with some truly adventurous flavours. Not all of its products are certified fair trade, but it uses its own form of fair trade certification and says that fair trade principles govern all its dealings with growers. There’s plenty of information on the website about the growers, including a ‘Grower information’ link for each product.

Loving Earth creates a number of innovative products, combining raw organic chocolate with fruit extracts, corn, exotic spices and nuts to create what sound like amazing flavours. Pictured is the sour cherry raw chocolate bar, which is fair trade, vegan, organic, gluten-free, sugar-free and sweetened with organic agave syrup!

Loving Earth is based in Campbellfield in Melbourne, Australia. Goods can be shipped all over Australia as well as internationally. If you’re in the area you can pick up the produce from the warehouse if you call ahead.

The company’s commitment to organic products and nutritional production methods extends to ‘activating’ its organic almonds to retain nutrition - you can read more about this on the website.

Cocoa Rhapsody

Certified Fairtrade and organic with a large vegan range, this high-quality chocolate is  manufactured in Australia but at this point the company doesn't seem to produce Easter eggs. There's a list of stockists on the website, mainly confined to Victoria but including NSW and Tasmania.

Cocola

Cocola is a Swiss chocolate available in Australia. (Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to produce Easter eggs either). It’s Fairtrade, organic and free of cane sugar but not vegan (organic milk powder is used) It's also gluten and soy free. The dark chocolate products are made without milk solids but may contain traces of dairy. 

Cocola products are available in bricks-and-mortar stores in most Australian states - contacts for information on stockists are included on the website.

Green & Black’s

Green & Black’s is a large organic chocolate company that was bought by Kraft in 2010 but has promised to retain its original philosophy. It supplies the UK, Europe, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. It has a strong commitment to fair trade and ethical sourcing, and the online range includes Fairtrade Easter eggs for kids (see pic). 

The company’s dark chocolate products are made without milk but it warns that because of cross-contamination in the production process they may not be entirely milk free.

Divine Chocolate

If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Kylie Kwong Partners with Oxfam to Bring Fairtrade Design to Your Table and Ten (Really 11) Green Books for Your Christmas Stocking.