My collection of auction & buy-it-now bests over at eBay

There was a time not so long ago, when even the most deafening fire alarm could not stir me from deep slumber, but a low-pitched ‘doink’ could have me jumping out of bed and into the most lucid state of mind within seconds. Said doink, would be from eBay, notifying the broke 20-year-old the ‘barely used Chloé block heels’ was ending in ten minutes and basically initiating intranet war between myself and three strangers across the country. The ensuing nine minutes I’d be a general, brooding over the red missile launch switch while the others paced in their own respective war cabinets and waited. Then one novice player would put in the first bid and all hell would break loose, and we’d battle, 5 pence at a time, until the very last second when I’d take the plunge of bidding way over my budget and win a new, old pair of Chloe block heels. I’d say yay, maybe cackle, and go take another nap before the ‘used-once Alexander Wang bucket bag’ would doink me up.

Point is, it was my pre-loved goods haven – high street or designer, my post-adolescent pocket money was put to efficient (?) use. Plus it taught me life lessons (don’t mess with Celine ‘watchers’). While over the years I’ve ventured into more current-season goods, eBay has always been my refuge for timeless pieces like Burberry trench coats… and more so these days, knitting supplies and home DIY solutions. My barndoor-cum-tabletop originates from eBay, par example, which cost me a fraction of what I’d have paid for one at a store. So I thought I’d share some of the things I always keep tabs on, and with their new Collections functionality it makes it much easier to sort them into little squirrel stashes… although, prepare to fight me for a couple of these – you’ve been warned.

A few suggestions:

I’ve also added collections with themes: Travel, first date, gadgets, fashion DIY tools, and seasonals so do check those out as well!

[hotspotter-10]

DIY Denim painting: gathering inspiration…

All photos with tripod

I was asked by eBay to customize my own pair of jeans in support of a charity campaign involving the pop group B*Witched, who will be auctioning their favourite denim show pieces in aid of the UK charity Jeans for Genes Day. This obviously led me to Googling for ideas, and eventually took me straight back in year 1999. What is it about the internet and painting on denim material that MUST involve a brooding cat/wolf/unicorn or really awkward grafitti? Google Images suggests a mountain of things that either look like the wardrobe for Sister Act II detonated, or Robin Sparkles* is actually a Canadian fashion blogger (oh, is that why we all need to go to the mall) littering the intranets with ‘coul grafitti coat‘ how-to’s. The fact of the matter is, other than the popular two that are bleaching and ripping, there’s seems only so many other modern ways to customize denim without crossing over to the 90’s again. So heck, I decided to give painting a go, if all fails I figured I’ll wear it with roller-blades + scrunchie and do the Locomotion… aaand get braces again, why not.

* The alias of Robin Sherbatsky, a fictional character on the series How I Met Your Mother

Wearing: Jersey tee – ASOS. Denim shorts – DIY on Levi’s (via eBay). Nail polish – American Apparel.

A couple of tips:

• I usually source most of my DIY equipment and victims on eBay, but it’s especially good for denim. You can score a pair of previously-worn white denim Levi’s shorts like these for under £5, or choose from a range of new products from certified sellers. Same with materials and equipment – sometimes I purchase a job-lot of random broken jewellery to play with, or buy very specific colours of rhinestones.
• Fabric paint is surprisingly opaque, almost identical to the texture of acrylic paint. If you find that the paint is too thick while painting, just dip your brush in water to thin the paint out for those tricky corners.
• It IS actually possible to paint on denim with acrylic paint – but I’d personally recommend doing that only to garments you wouldn’t necessarily wash as often: like jackets, vests or denim rucksacks.
• Masking tape is perfect for geometric patterns – simply cut strips and lay them out in zig-zag pattern for a easy-peasy paint-job.
• Last but not least, if all this painting scares you, there’s so many other simpler things you can do with fabric paint and denim – polkadots, stripes, shapes… you can even draw bananas all over your jeans, which would also be very effective in hiding your boner. Yes I have bananas on my pocket and I may or may not be happy to see you.

Please do help Jeans for Genes Day by selling your own denim on eBay (or bidding for one) and donating between 10-100% of your final sale value to the charity. 

Ebay Platform Boots, Gmarket loose shirt, Topshop Feather Skirt

If Autumn had a Welcome goodie bag, I would like it to contain all the above. Paycheck, could you maybe take a cab when you come home because I need to see you urgently about something.

Leather and links – Topshop   EQUESTRIAN Riding boots – ebay ‘Copy of an Imitation’

Some directions I might want to take for autumn. Besides the fact that I can never spell equestrian… equistereanne… ekestryan (there) right, I’m hooked on it. I’ve been scouring ebay for a good pair of riding boots, and on finding it also fulfilled the need for knee-high boots (need, since when do we need all the shoes we covet). So now I’m guessing I need a horse, which category on ebay can one purchase a horse, preferrably one with an engine?

This may be old news to some, but I’m still fascinated by Kathrin Rohr’s and Saskia Hammen’s Copy of an Imitation collection. There’s air of medieval, Tristan & Isolde to the designs, but with delicious modern twists – I do wish they were available physically somewhere so that I can lurk from a close distance… and reach my hands out to touch… but then pause, to put them straight back into my pockets and continue jangling the coins. SIGH.

Jacket ASOS | Denim Shirt Vintage Mum’s | Jeans Zara | Shoes Office | Bag Camerabag Ebay

If someone could explain why the weather is acting like a spoilt brat these few days I may today sleep with my toes uncurled. Well literally. It’s probably morally wrong to write this sentence, but I’ll write it anyway because since when do I have morals?: It’s freezing cold, even inside a bed. The last time I checked it was June, am I correct? I’ve been sleeping with a thick hoodie on and that’s saying a lot to someone who usually sleeps naked.

I can’t wait to be more experimental with the boots, although I think they’re the perfect upgrade to a half-arsed comfortable outfit like this one. I got the vintage camerabag over a year ago with a Praktica Nova SLR and a few lenses, all for £5. I may want to extend the straps if I had any idea how to go about doing that. Anyway, can one describe bags as comfortable? because this one is, everything is so accessible – I never knew I could find my housekeys under 3 seconds without causing a storm. Well, too bad it’s just a fancy box.

I don’t really sleep naked. I wear socks at least, duh.