Welcome to November’s Thrifty Six! Jane chose this month’s theme of Shawls, Capes and Scarves – just in time for the cold weather here in the UK…we have snow! It probably won’t hang around for long but it’s making it feel rather festive already.
I have a lot of pre-loved scarves which I wear regularly (such as the one I wore for the Style Not Age French Girl Style theme), but I don’t wear my two capes very often. A few years ago I bought a vintage Welsh wool tapestry cape on eBay, which I love but have never worn. I packed it away in the summer and now can’t find it! (I also have a cape coat that I bought second hand on Instagram but I can’t find that either!)
Luckily, I’d kept this checked cape on the rail so it was easy to lay my hands on. This is also an eBay purchase, originally from a range of clothing by TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton. It’s not particularly heavy, so not suitable for very cold weather, although the beauty of capes is that you can wear them over pretty much anything. For the rest of my outfit, I’ve taken my cue from the orange in the check print. The trousers are part of a suit (seen previously here and here). I switched the jacket for a jumper in a matching shade of orange. I always think a wide brim hat looks great with a cape so I added this fedora to finish off the outfit.
SHOP THE LOOK
Fearne Cotton cape (on eBay here and here) | Warehouse trousers (similar) | Karen Millen jumper (similar) | Zara hat (old, similar)
“The T6 theme for November is ‘Shawls, Capes & Scarves’, an ideal opportunity to show off my genuine 1960’s hand-crocheted cape.
Although bought separately, it’s a perfect match for my hand-crocheted baker-boy cap; they’re like a set that sadly lost each other many years ago…
I’m bringing them together along with a genuine 1960s ‘Go-Go’ dress and pastel pink leather ‘Go-Go’ boots to create this extremely stylised look.”
“Scarves are something I only started having fun with once I retired. And my crew took the prompt and decided to showcase different ways to layer these magical pieces of fabric. I created a necklace from 3 thrifted scarves which I shaped into flowers (but that’s hard to tell when they are all pushed together like this). I think they contrast against the lime green thrifted sweater so wonderfully.”
“Scarves are my favorite item to thrift:
-They are usually in great condition
-They are one-size-fits-all (or -most)
-They’re pretty much always in style
-They can be found quite inexpensively.
That’s how I have ended up with 151 thrifted scarves 😀 But I do wear them all the time so my cost per wear is good, averaging $0.85 per thrifted scarf.
I went for a print and texture mixed fall look with my thrifted circle motif scarf, thrifted plaid pants, and retail Oxfords (currently 98 wears and still going strong).”
“Hats and capes are not for me. I think a cape is a beautifully elegant piece of clothing but I have no idea how and on what to wear it, and I hate hats. So that wasn’t an option. When it’s cold, I always wear a scarf over my mouth to protect my lungs when I go cycling. But the idea of wearing a second-hand scarf over my mouth really bothers me. So I’m skipping school a bit and wearing a self made scarf here. Years ago I picked up the idea of crocheting. Just a rectangular piece, the same stitch that were all my talents when it came to crocheting, but I found it very relaxing. And so this scarf came out. Wonderfully warm!”
“I love any kind of topper piece and scarves are my jam so I appreciated this month’s thrifty theme very much. I paired a preloved cape-like jacket (not a cape because it has sleeves) with an old thrifted scarf over a black secondhand dress for a rich color blocked budget friendly fall outfit.”
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Your cape is gorgeous, Emma! I do hope you can find the others. It’s maddening when you know you have something…you just don’t know where it is!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Thanks Marsha! I packed a lot of stuff away when my mum moved in to make space for her clothes. Hopefully she’ll be moving into her bungalow soon (that’s taking longer than anyone thought!) so I’ll be able to find my capes and most of my winter sweaters!
I love your cape with the orange pants! Matches so well.
Jennifer
https://curatedbyjennifer.com
Thanks so much Jennifer!
It’s a lovely cape and is gorgeous styled with your signature orange!
Thank you Sally!
I think your Cape is really special. I love it a lot! Its one you don’t see often. And it looks amazing on those orange trousers.
Thank you Nancy!
Emma, your cape is gorgeous! I love the orange plaid and it looks so great over a column of orange, too. I agree that a wide brimmed hat looks great with a cape! Such a cool outfit!
Shelbee
What a beautiful piece. I remember my aunt had one similar, just a nice statement piece. Jacqui. Xx