Lose Pounds While You Save Pounds

Here's either a money saving tip that will also make you thinner or a diet that will help save you money!

Instead of buying that new DVD, diet book, app etc do your annual diet the Dr. No News way. Arithmetic goes like this, most of us eat approx. 2000 calories a day, the following diets will cut 1000 calories without the complications of eating the foods that make you want to gag, food prep that takes forever or turns you into a crank.

If you are a person that cannot do without your usual, and you feel that the proportions of food groups are correct anyhow, follow diet A. If you are a person who needs a ritualistic 'new broom' to make you feel like you are off to a great start, try diet B.


Diet A. Buy your usual things and cut everything in half

Diet B Eat breakfast as usual, eat lunch as usual. STOP except to drink water

Don't Suffer Unnecessarily from Sales Fever this January

Have you the dreaded fever brought on by the retail industry's need to de-clutter their space at your expense so they can fill it wholesale with more impulse and speculative buys for the Summer we never have?


Take this test to find out if you are suffering from this contagious seasonal illness:

1. Have you been thinking about that gorgeous jumper for the last 4 months, that you would have bought in a heart-beat had you had the full retail asking price?

Yes/No

2. Have you checked whether it's still available in your size, 12 times a day for the last month, just in case they're all sold out?

Yes/No

3. Did you put away every spare penny/cent instead of going out or buying anything over basic food stuffs turning the heat on in the morning?

Yes/No

4. Do you mind that hundreds of people have tried on that jumper leaving make-up marks, pulled threads, deodorant stains on it or that someone bought it wore it for  night out and returned it because of the stores 'great' return policy (or their mother owns the boutique)?

Yes/No



Answers below

Yes

1. You are obsessed so you probably already own it, in which case you have had the pleasure and comfort of wearing your jumper for months

2. You are obsessed so you probably already own it, in which case you have had the pleasure and comfort of wearing your jumper for months

3 You are obsessed so you probably already own it, in which case you have had the pleasure and comfort of wearing your jumper for months

4. You are obsessed so you probably already own it, in which case you have had the pleasure and comfort of wearing your jumper for months

Your behaviour may look mad to most but you are fever free and you always look fabulous

No

1. Then you never really wanted/needed it

2. You won't diet into it or prefer the baggy look, your average size will be gone to all the VIP customers who have first dibs on sale stock

3. If you do buy it now it will be in a consignment/charity shop by March, value is what we put on something we'd go to the ends of the Earth for

4. Try shopping in consignment/charity shops in March, people are always buying too much in the sales

Step away from the word 'sale' it will only re-infect you

Free Art and Art for Free?

Part of the 'Don't Ignore the Issue' Series 

Free Thoughts on the Matter

1. Books, art and music have been virtually free for generations, all one had to do is go to the library, museum or switch on the wireless. All this 'topical' talk over whether music/books/film/art should be free is an ongoing debate between artists that already have the means and those that would like to pay their (exorbitant) rent for their slum cell but can't afford to.

 2. Food and housing and silk scarves should be free but since they're not and musicians/artists have to pay for them like everyone else, so...

3. The cultural and media industries as a business made billions for their selves using a handful of highly visible artists.Very few artists have ever made a living from their work. Why should the majority suffer for the fake lives of the few?

4. Artists may take an outside point of view of society but they are not outside of it, they are part of it.  Unless everyone does their job and then gets paid according to how pleased their 'customer' is why should artists.

5. When people value things, they pay for them, when things are valuable, they look after them. How many Banksy rats and other paintings were scrubbed-off or covered over before they were worth a fortune?  Now councils, auction houses and private owners fight over them.

6.  Paying only as a donation is paying someone's wages as a 'tip' or gratuity. Basic living, minimum wage first.  Many professions use tips to signify customer appreciation.  Tips should be an optional extra (and go straight to the worker who earned the tip).

7. Historically, there has always been been a division between artist workers and keen amateur.  The amateurs should not be allowed to set the agenda for those who need to work for their living.

8. People have always paid accordingly. Buskers and street performers put their hat outside of busy places like theatres for people to throw coins. Inside theatres, people have paid up-front for something they have traveled miles to see in particular.

9. Artists and writers that do free art, do art that is free. Favours and internships aside (for now) it's just so much clearer to know where one stands from the start.

10 Let's get priorities straight, live for free and pay for art!

NB: This article has been written by me and published on my blog for the purpose of giving to you for free. However, if you publish it elsewhere without my permission or acknowledgment, I may be mortally offended and may well sue your ass off

Monthly Vintage Advice Slot - Part 2

What's it worth??*£$??

I know it may seem strange to seasoned vintage lovers but some people do not know whether they like something or not until they know how much something is worth. Never mind the amazing workmanship, the fabulous materials, the perfection of the cut. It's not that they don't care about those things, they are oblivious  - what counts is the cash, and the more it's worth the more they like it. Even if one appreciated the general all-round excellence of an item there may come a day when there is need to sell or value. 

So, if you've bought or were given what appeared to be a bargain vintage item at auction/*bay/goodwill store/charity shop you may now want to know how much is it worth.

Scarcity and popularity, a wonderful combination that applies to old as well as new but vintage things often do not have contemporary equivalents for a comparable recommend retail price and therefore harder to put a figure on, however, here are some general guidelines beyond stalking result prices at actions*.

What lowers the price  

Brand that is not current but as yet has no cult following e.g Koret

No brand name or maker's mark indicated

A good brand name but the item not from that brand's heyday e.g. Christian Dior from the 1980s

A brand that has now declined in popularity and/or produces lesser quality goods eg Suzy Smith

An unfashionable shape

Major wear

Minor wear in a few places

Damage

Dirt
Missing 'bits' e.g. a shoulder strap or a key to a lock

A style that is still in current production and relatively inexpensive e.g. a high-street beaded evening bag made in the Far East

A material/design/motif that is no longer politicly correct 

A fashion brand that had ceased then obtained cult status but then the name subsequently re-launched in mainstream fashion e.g. Biba

What adds to the price

Heritage brands that are current or have cult following e.g. Chanel or Lucille de Paris 

Brands name is clearly visible and typical of the make e.g. a Gucci Jackie or Britt

A good brand name made within the era of the maker's heyday e.g. Dior from the late 1940s-50s

A brand that has a great and continuous reputation for quality and desirability e.g. Hermes

An fashionable shape or colour

As new or very minor wear

No damage or missing 'bits' and no alterations

Clean and well maintained

A style that suggests a fashionable item of much greater value e.g. a no-name bag in the style of an Hermes Kelly  

A material/design/motif that is interesting and unusual

An item that is the original of a popular copies e.g. an Hermes Kelly bag

Made of highly prized materials

*Where further explanation is not self-explanatory not variable, the above uses leather-goods and bag makers as examples except in the case of couture/RTW fashion houses Christian Dior and Biba