Fashion: 2nds

Hunting for this season's look in the bargain bins of second-hand clothing shops will not only help your pocket but also give you the thrill of having found a lost treasure FASHION

The thrill of buying second-hand clothes is in the searching and the rummaging around. For real aficionados, such as Carol Thomas, a student, and her partner Chris Murdoch, a part-time teacher, even a stroll past the stalls on Portobello Road is a bit too easy. "It's not so much fun - all the selection has been done for you," says Carol.

She prefers to go to the source of the supply. On Saturdays, she can be found sifting through the rails and in the bargain boxes of charity shops, such as her local branch of MIND in Kensal Rise, northwest London. There, she and Chris can find real treasures. They have not given up hope of the 50 pence bargain, which in these days of inflated clothing prices (both new and retro) is like getting something for nothing.

Carol and Chris have been on the second-hand trail for almost a decade. They are reluctant to tell of all their secret haunts, many of which are in the relatively obscure but plentiful charity shops of Scarborough, Chris's hometown. And while there is always a market for second-hand clothing, the trends to look out for change at the same pace as fashion itself. Right now, the emphasis has moved on from last year's Fifties' look that was flavour of the season on the Paris catwalks, to the mods of the Sixties (Chris recently came across Harrington jackets for pounds 2.50 in Bristol) and the Seventies.

If you have the eye for it, second-hand clothing can look strangely ahead of its time. As Chris and Carol found recently whilst walking along Whitby harbour - a broad North Yorkshire accent behind them whispered, "trendsetters!".

Tamsin Blanchard

Left Chris wears blue suit, pounds 8, from Oxfam; Seventies gold tie from Chris's dad; shirt, pounds 1.50, from charity shop; green suede platforms, pounds 10, in sale from Shelly's, 266-67 Regent Street, London W1 and branches nationwide, enquiries 0181-450 0066

Above Carol wears stripey cardigan, pounds 8, from charity shop in Scarborough; Chris wear T-shirt, pounds 5, and flares, pounds 5, from Portobello Market

Right

Chris wears fake fur coat, pounds 5, and trousers, pounds 5, from Fisherman's Wife Hospital Charity Shop, Market Way, Scarborough; hat bought from a market in Greece; shoes from Shelly's, as before

Top left

Chris wears long leather coat, pounds 10, from charity shop in Scarborough

Left

Carol wears red feather jacket, from Ad Hoc, Kensington High Street, London W8; loafers, from Shelly's, as before. Chris wears fake fur coat, trousers and hat as before.

Above

Chris wear blue suit as before

Carol wears check suede jacket, pounds 15, from Camden Market, London NW5; crochet top, pounds 3, and velvet skirt, both from Portobello Market

Photographs by Derrick Santini