Now as a thrift store habituee I must admit I don't pay much attention to fashion, I just buy what I like. But a couple of gentle hints have been dropped that I am a little bit - uh, showing that I'm now in late youth and still wearing the clothes that were popular in my - trendier years. Important to dress for success if I'm job hunting! And since losing weight I need new clothes anyway.

So I decided to spend some time browsing the Main Street stores, then I'd know what to look for - in the thrift stores, of course. Well! I found some of the clothes pretty enough, but the prices! Oh me, my wallet would have a heart attack if it had to pony up over nz$20 for a few flimsy bits of material poorly sewn together. Some of those things look like they will become shredded rags the first time they are laundered.

So I left the teenagers to it and checked out the higher end of town, where the succesful business women shop. Now there was some really nice stuff, well made - but nz$120 for a simple black top with some beads sewn on? Reminds me of when I was a teenager; we used to get a plain T shirt and applique or embroider a motif on it ourselves rather than pay for a fancy one. Now I still have some cheap jewellry from India, so I was thinking I will just get a basic top and sew the beads on myself - come to think of it, why not just wear a plain top with a pretty necklace? You wouldn't need to worry about beads coming unsewn and blocking the pump!

I don't think I'll spring too much for a new wardrobe until I know what sort of job I get, but best dressed working women I know told me to go for basic black with a few solid colors - much easier to coordinate and saves time having to make deicsions. In the meantime I've borrowed Trinny and Susannah and Stacy and Clinton from the library as they haven't yet arrived at my front door with $$$ and a team of stylists to make me a knockout.

Oh and a NS day - second in a row - plus I found 80 cents.