Credit crunch cruise; The mum who got kitted out for luxury holiday - all for pounds 60!WHEN Midland mum-of-three Deborah Maxwell splashed out on a dream family cruise she had just one problem. How would she afford the glamorous dresses she would be expected to wear onboard each night of the holiday? But the former auxiliary nurse, of Rubery, Birmingham, solved the problem by paying just pounds 60 for SIX charity shop dresses. Deborah, 42, picked up the bargains from second hand stores including St Mary's Hospice charity shop in Selly Oak. If bought new the glamorous garments would have cost more than pounds 400. But when Deborah stepped out in a pounds 6 gold ballgown during one glitzy glitz Informal n. Ostentatious showiness; flashiness: "a garish barrage of show-biz glitz" Peter G. Davis. tr.v. cruise event, she felt like a million dollars. "The dress looked amazing and my husband loved it," she beamed. "It didn't feel like I was wearing a pounds 6 dress I'd managed to find in a charity shop. "I understand the dress is still for sale in Debenhams for pounds 90!" Luxurious Deborah booked the lavish Mediterranean cruise with sales manager husband Paul, 42, son Anthony, 14, and 11 year-old identical twins identical twins pl.n. Twins derived from the same fertilized ovum that at an early stage of development becomes separated into independently growing cell aggregations, giving rise to two individuals of the same sex, identical genetic makeup, and Jodie and Faye. It was the first time the family had splashed out thousands of pounds on such a luxurious holiday. "Obviously it was expensive, so I didn't want to end up spending loads of cash on outfits," Deborah explained. "But I knew I'd have to dress up every night because there are various events going on all the time. "I had about a year to find posh dresses that I could wear, so I started trawling the charity shops. "I worked for St Mary's Hospice as an auxiliary nurse so had heard about the charity shop in Selly Oak which had a great collection of evening dresses. "I managed to pick up quite a few from there, as well as posh skirts, tops, shoes and handbags. My entire holiday wardrobe was made up of charity shop gear, but you would never have thought it because everything looked perfect." After the holiday Deborah had to give up her nursing role because of a a part-time manager for St Mary's Hospice charity shop in Rubery. "I love my new job and I'm always picking out clothes for my regular customers, family and friends," she said. "People think that you can't really get great clothes from charity shops, but my cruise collection proves that charity shop, I still visit others and spend hours looking for clothes. "I end up coming home with great buys not only for me but for the whole family. "And when we've got our wear out of the clothes, I just take them back to the charity shop and sell them on to someone else." CAPTION(S): GOLD ORGANZA or·gan·za n. A sheer, stiff fabric of silk or synthetic material used for trimming, neckwear, or evening dresses. [Probably after Organzi (Urganch), a city of western Uzbekistan. DEBUT DRESS Charity shop price - pounds 6 Debenhams price - pounds 90; SILKY PINK ALLISON DRESS Charity shop price - pounds 6 Store price - pounds 60; VELVET BURGUNDY SIMON Simon, in the Bible. 1 One of the Maccabees. 2 or Simon Peter: see Peter, Saint. 3 See Simon, Saint. 4 Kinsman of Jesus. 5 Leper of Bethany in whose house a woman anointed Jesus' feet. JEFFREY DRESS Charity shop price - pounds 12.50 Store price around - pounds 80; SPOTTED PROM DEBUT DRESS Charity shop price - pounds 20 Debenhams price - pounds 65; RED FLORAL JOHN ROCHA PROM DRESS Charity Shop price - pounds 8 Debenhams price - pounds 65; FLORAL CHIFFON chiffon (shĭfŏn`), plain-weave, lightweight, sheer, transparent fabric made of cotton, silk, or synthetic fiber; it is made of fine, highly twisted, strong yarn. SATSUMA Satsuma (säts  `mä), peninsula, Kagoshima prefecture, SW Kyushu, Japan. It gives its name to a famous porcelain, Satsuma ware, which was first manufactured there by Korean artisans in LONDON DRESS Charity shop
price - pounds 8 Store price - pounds 50; Deborah Maxwell shows off one
of her bargain outfits and below, on board with the family All store
prices are estim
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion