Charity Find Alberta Ferretti Jacket and Layering

Here's a lovely charity shop find I've been wearing quite a bit over the last couple of weeks.  It's a Jacket by Alberta Ferretti, in pewter grey with a slightly metallic sheen to the fabric.  I'm always up for a charity shop rummage, however brief, and this visit was after a quick run to the bank on my lunch break.  I couldn't resist a sneaky peek to the charity shop next door on my way back!  It rarely disappoints.

Alberta Ferretti is a designer known for creating very feminine clothes, her tailoring cut to flatter. The jacket is made in a rayon and poly' mix, but the cut is great.  As usual with good second hand and thrift store designer clothes it cost a mere fraction of it's original value and yet the quality is all there.  I love the grey too, although I'll have to be careful as the last two things I've made have been grey.  Maybe soon time to turn up the colour dial a fraction.

The buttons are blue-grey shell and its lined in dark grey.  I particularly like the neat, nipped in shoulders.  I also like the fact that it is a size 10, but fits me perfectly!  Which goes to show that on a rummage session it's always best to ignore the label and try on anyway. Quite often different makers and designers will be more or less generous in their own particular sizing and this can vary quite a bit.  Although with true vintage clothes I normally have to go up a size or two, as they were generally made for a smaller frame.  I'm usually a 12, so would probably look for a size 14 or 16 in a true vintage garment. The same goes for buying vintage sewing patterns, always check the measurements carefully and if in doubt buy a size up.

The jacket is quite a long line style with welt pockets.  Very sleek and simple, a real classic shape that won't date or show it's age.  I took these pic's just before leaving for a day working in the office, wearing an ice blue cashmere jumper and my lace print black skinnies.  But I've also worn this jacket with leather jeans and a visibly 'lived in' (scruffy?) All Saints tiger t-shirt and sneakers.  It goes equally well with both looks.

Jackets are a useful extra layer under a coat that provide a bit of extra warmth, but also retain a bit of structure and shape to your outfit, even if you are adding and shedding the tops underneath. I've found jackets of various sorts invaluable at the moment to layer up and down when travelling around with work.  

Excuse the slightly rumpled back, these were taken after a day wearing it at work.  It's held up pretty well, but a less lazy person would have waved an iron over it before taking the photos!

I have for example just had a week visiting various galleries and clients around the country, which generally means leaving home early for a frosty walk to the bus stop, catching a bus to the station, then standing on freezing train platforms.  Then I'll be squashed on a hot train until I get to where I'm going, there to do a day of work and afterwards the return journey in reverse.  Occasionally I also have to do a fair amount of walking around outside in between time too if I'm seeing two or more venues or clients.  Or I could be sitting in a hot stuffy board room, touring a building site, or if I'm lucky enjoying a meeting over tea and cake in a cafe.  Or for example as with last week, doing all of those things in one day and finally climbing into an unused and very cold industrial loft space for a lengthy discussion regarding its potential. Layer on.  Layer off.  Layer on again.  Try not to leave said layers in a trail of random lost property as you go.

It's worth the effort to travel though as the experience of seeing and meeting and talking in person is always preferable to any other.  Sometimes I'm rewarded with a treat, such as when I came across this Frank Auerbach painting on Wednesday, waiting to be hung.  So fascinating to see the reverse side, never usually on view, but showing the layers of paint applied to this canvas over time as the artist worked.  

There are probably several paintings here, repainted, reworked and the canvas perhaps eventually reused.  Paint over paint.  Layers never to be revealed.  Utterly intriguing.