Cheapie Chambray & Cords

I like the chambray-and-corduroy combo. Two timeless utilitarian textiles. Built for comfort and to last. Very butch blue-collar workwear. Also a bit country-and-western. They do preppy and geeky well too.

Chambray things, I have a lot of but it hasn't been easy finding them corduroy pals. I've been scouring op shops for men's corduroy pants to snip and make into cuffed shorts for many Summers now but it seems like only fat men in Sydney ever get rid of their cords and those on the women's rails are never the right shape - too hip-hugging + skinny legs - to transform into the kind of schoolboy shorts that I like wearing. And my own man-style corduroy pants are too precious to cut.

Then I lucked out last week at our local Salvation Army store with this sandy number. Whee! From the women's section. They came as shorts (save me cutting and sewing them!), already cuffed with be-buttoned fasteners and a slightly high-waisted fit. Perfection for $7!

I wore them yesterday with another bargainous item. My "balloon" chambray shirt found long ago in the bargain bin of one of the many Korean fashion shops in Chinatown.

The construction of this "mullet" (short in front and longer at the back like the haircut) shirt is quite amazing. Well, to a sewing novice like me. Five panels + tiny gathers at the bottom hem = a shirt that drapes and falls so nicely + puffs up like a balloon on a windy day. All for a happy $5.

Have been enjoying doing close-ups of my accessories in the last couple of what-I-wore posts (and the accessories love it too because they never get seen clearly) so here's more...

Threw another utilitarian-type fabric into the mix with this free hessian tote from a shop that specialises in door knobs.

The necklace is actually an old charm bracelet that I've extended with metal chain. When I first laid eyes on it, I knew it was made for me! Bag and shoe charms are common on such bracelets because all girls love them, right? But chair charms?! No one but four?! And I love chairs.

The watch was a birthday present from the boyfriend. The first birthday after we met. Dead-stock from the 1980s. Came shiny and new in the original packaging. I was impressed. He scored quite a few points.

The bracelet is made from recycled aluminium pull-tabs by a Brazilian crafts co-operative. Read about them here.