Fall in love with vintage clothes – and with Dawn O’Porter’s ‘This Old Thing’

Whether, like the Daily Mail, you dismiss it as being all about “the frumpy Seventies throwback look”, or – like one Telegraph reader – celebrate its “positive message for young women trapped in a cycle of disposable fashion”, chances are you’ve at least heard of Channel 4’s latest hit, ‘This Old Thing: The Vintage Clothes Show’.

Screening each Wednesday evening, the six-part series features the infectious Dawn O’Porter teaching fashion lovers how to shop vintage – embracing the trend for all things retro, and helping them snap up beautiful, timeless pieces that add glamour, character and personality to their wardrobes.

As you’d expect – given that this is our Book of the Month feature – the series comes with the inevitable tie-in book (published by Hot Key Books), so that you too can benefit from Dawn’s help in igniting (or honing) your passion for vintage fashion.

Taking the form of an indispensable 144-page style handbook, ‘This Old Thing’ offers even more of the vintage hints, history and how-tos that Dawn shares in the series, including chapters dedicated to every decade between the 1920s and 1980s, and features on iconic – and timeless – wardrobe essentials such as the bikini and maxi dress.

The ’90s, clearly, either isn’t old enough to be considered as ‘vintage’, or perhaps just needs a bit more time to elapse before we all start to re-embrace turtlenecks and Benetton.

The blurb for the book says that “we’re a nation obsessed with cheap, disposable clothing” – which may be true, to an extent – and that “hunting for one-of-a-kind fashion gems is more exciting, better value for money, and a lot more fun” (can’t argue with that).

Obviously, we’re not going to completely diss the high street – you know how much we love our department stores and fashion brands – but there’s definitely much to be said for mixing it all up a bit, combining high-street staples and the odd designer accessory with some wow-inducing vintage pieces that help you create a look that’s all your own.

In short, we’re all for fashion that makes you feel good and lets you express your unique personality – and if Dawn’s insider vintage fashion know-how helps you avoid that dreaded moment of turning up at a party in the same outfit as someone else, then that has to be a positive thing.

To keep up-to-date with all Dawn O’Porter’s news, follow her on Twitter at @hotpatooties.