Manchester — Thrift Fashion — Real Prices
Fashion for the rest of us.
Found, not bought.
Hi, I'm Fia. I write about building a wardrobe you actually love without spending very much. Charity shops, Vinted, the occasional COS sale. Based in Manchester — though increasingly in a van, somewhere else, on a Saturday.
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Hi, I'm Fia.
I'm Irish, I live in Manchester, and I've been working my way through its charity shops since I arrived here in 2020 — twenty-three, a mature student, with very little money and a lot of opinions about clothes.
I grew up somewhere without much fashion culture, which meant I spent years looking at clothes online before I could ever buy any. It turns out that's quite a good education.
These days most of the photographs are taken by Rachel, who I live with and who has got seriously into her camera. Between us we own a scruffy van we converted ourselves, and we spend most weekends driving it to towns we've never been to, because the charity shops there have things nobody in Manchester has seen.
More about me →Recent posts
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What a Day Out in the Van Actually Costs
I kept every receipt for six van days this year. Here is what the driving costs, what I actually spend, and whether going further afield is really cheaper than shopping in Manchester.
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Hebden Bridge: Four Shops, One Afternoon, Thirty-One Pounds
The first proper write-up of a van day. Four charity shops in Hebden Bridge, what was in them, what I paid, and the one thing I should have bought and didn't.
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Three Years, One City: What Manchester Has Done to My Wardrobe
As I sit here, reflecting on my time in Manchester, I'm struck by how much this city has changed my relationship with clothes. It's hard…
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We Bought a Van
Rachel and I bought a high-mileage panel van and spent a winter converting it in someone's yard. It is not a beautiful van. It is a very good idea.
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