SpendIt ShoppingFashionTechnology Debrief time
Lingerie emporium Boudiche has found a charitable use for unwanted bras and knickers, as Claire Sawers discovers
T he smalls heaven that is Boudiche has found a clever way of decluttering your underwear drawer. Ah, relief. Finally, all those ill-fitting, sale purchase, four-boob-effect bras that you know won’t get worn again can find themselves a happy home.
Boudiche has teamed up with the Edinburgh-based charity Smalls for All to collect bras and knickers to send to Africa. Set up last year by Maria Macnamara after a visit to an African
WESAWYOU
orphanage, Smalls For All aims to collect 1000 pairs of pants, and as many bras as possible to send to women and children in
Andrezj Sliwa 20, Student, Mexico Magdelena Slowik 19, Student, Poland
I really like the new Urban Outfitters store on Princes Street, and I end up getting a lot of my clothes from there now, like my shorts and my waistcoat.
The bag is out of Primark in Glasgow. We’ve just been to the library, which is why I’ve got all my books with me. They won’t fit in my handbag. I got the boots from Topshop, and the tights are H&M.
I can’t even remember where I bought my stuff! Although my Vans were definitely from Schuh.
I’m half Polish- half Mexican, and I picked up my T- shirt and jeans somewhere back home in Mexico. 12 THE LIST 29 Apr–13 May 2010
Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Macnamara decided to act after reading an article, explaining that many Zimbabwean women often owned only one pair of tattered knickers or were unable to wear underwear. A Zimbabwean priest explained what locals really needed: ‘Bras and underwear give women prestige; it shows they have money, so men are less likely to assault them.’ So to encourage shoppers to part with their underwear, Boudiche are offering 20% off a new bra at Boudiche for every bra donated on a ‘new for old’ trade-in scheme. Not such a
‘BRAS AND UNDERWEAR GIVE WOMEN PRESTIGE’
‘pants’ idea then (yeah, we went there) considering a recent survey from Poll.com found that British women hoard 124 million unwanted bras (a typical female owns 13 but wears only eight, leaving five others gathering dust). There are donation boxes in the Edinburgh (Frederick St) and Glasgow (Ingram St) boutiques, where people can drop off their knickers (eh, brand new multi-packs only please!) and unwanted or ‘gently worn’ bras. For every bra fitting, Boudiche will donate five pairs of women’s or children’s underwear to the cause.
BUY THE WAY News from the shop front
■ FLOWER arranger Charlotte Lawson (or Lotte to her friends) will be running a pop-up flower shop in the Made in the Shade Maisonette in De Courcy’s Arcade, Glasgow, on Sat 8 & Sun 9 May. She’s a fan of vintage containers to display the posies and ‘fancies’ in too, which she scours flea markets for (see above). Visit www.lotte andbloom.co.uk for more info. ■ ‘WE’RE SENDING you over to Topshop right now’, the website Shoppulse tells us, with a slight trace of urgency in its cyber tone. A useful new portal, it tells you what new lines of clothes, shoes and accessories are added daily to high street and designer shops, with democratically priced product feeds for ASOS, French Connection, net-a-porter.com, New Look and others. Its daily ‘Got To Have It’ section is pretty good too. www.shoppulse.co.uk ■ CARRYING ON its tradition of showcasing a ‘Maker of the Month’, Broughton Street’s Concrete Wardrobe shines its light towards Teresa Green during May. The textile designer silk-screens flying birds, sketches of coffee pots and scribbled doodles onto tea towels, purses, peg bags and aprons. Her pared-down drawings will be on show in the CW exhibition space from 1–31 May. See www.concrete wardrobe.co.uk for more info. ■ A BIT LIKE an online version of Cash in the Attic, the website www.valuemystuffnow.com lets you send off photos of art, jewellery, music merchandise, ornaments etc, then receive a valuation direct to your inbox. It’ll cost you (valuations start at £3.99), but then maybe so will not knowing what you’ve got, if you’re planning on selling your treasures on eBay or at a car boot sale, eh? Bras and new knickers can also be posted to Boudiche, 203 Ingram Street, Glasgow, G1 1DQ. A 20% off online voucher for a bra will then be issued. www.boudiche.com
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