Shopping for this half

Some of you have noticed my scribblings for Susie's 'Shopping for the other half' post and asked what bargains I managed to hunt down for my self at the recent DSM Market. The answer is a shirt by Joe Casely-Hayford for the princely sum of £50, it was reduced from £240. For those of you who missed Susie's post, here is a little backstory....

My bargain from the recent DSM Market.

Susie was unable to make the second ever Dover Street Market Market because she was in Sydney for fashion week. I had to step up to the plate and go it alone. The market saw three crazy days of shopping madness in an old depot building just outside of Angel. Gulp. Now, this type of shopping really isn't for me. Of course there is a significant part of me that loves a good bargain but the greater aspect of my personality prefers a tranquil and pleasant consumer experience. I'd much rather finger a well curated rail than rummage through tightly packed rail after rail and elbow my way to the good stuff at the bottom of a cardboard box. However, with the weight of expectation laying heavy on my shoulders I decided to focus my attention on finding a few bargains for her. Once I had navigated my way to the warehouse and having anxiously queued for just under an hour, I darted from rail to rail and box to box hopeful of nabbing a Christopher Kane dress, YSL leather pieces or a particularly beautiful Sacai knit, but alas it was not to be. The vast space was bursting with bargains and exciting products from the DSM archive with discount of seventy and eighty per cent. I soon clocked the lost souls wandering vacantly around the space, some had bags full to the brim but a surprising number carried nothing more than confusion and bewilderment. I took one look at at a couple of them and vowed not to turn out that way...

One of two detachable collars. I might have to watch out for Susie creating a DIY Miu Miu cat collar out of one of them.

As I began to lose all hope I decided to shift the focus on to myself. I needed cheering up and after thumbing a few uninspired rails of Comme des Garcons shirts and tables of bargain denim, my wanting hands grazed a beautiful shirt from Joe Casely-Hayford. The night before the sale I had dreamed that the market would contain the entire Casely-Hayford AW09 collection that I feel head over heels for all the months ago. Of course it did not but I was more than happy to discover this bargain cotton shirt. It was the only one. Fortunately it was my size and without thinking I ferried it in to my bag and began repeating..."my precious"...

For this outfit shot I decided to detach the collar and wear it with simple wool trousers from COS, my beautiful new hand punched pukk brogues from the Joe Casely-Hayford for John Lewis range and clasping my document holder from Postalco.

Having picked up this hallelujah inducing find, I rejoined the bargain hunting hoards of girls to nab a couple of fiscal friendly finds for Susie. Once happy with my choices (there was a great deal of indecision and chin scratching) I joined yet another queue to pay before I was let out in to the wonderful outside world. Oh freedom! I had spent almost two hours inside the market; shuffling, waiting, hoping, feeling frustrated and left relatively unscathed and happy. Part of me is extremely happy that these markets are a rarity and the rest knows how fortunate I am to have been invited to this one.