Consuming Interest

Cast-offs for Kids

By LESLIE ADRIAN MORE children's clothes are outgrown than worn out, in these days of smaller families. Where the same clothes once served two, three or even four brothers or sisters, now they are used by only one or two. A few enterprising people have been quick to see the implications of this and, as one result, London has at least three shops where second-hand children's clothes in fine condition may be bought or sold. There is a band-box air about these gay shops, with their displays of expensive-looking clothes at 'knock-down' prices, which makes the word 'second-hand' seem quite inappro- priate. But though it may be the pretty party dresses and baby clothes that first catch the mother's eye, the practical commonsense of these 'out-grown' shops can be seen in the shelves of jumpers, school suits and winter coats, all good as new.

There is widespread prejudice against buying children's clothes second-hand. 'Buy other kids' cast-offs for my girls? I'd rather go out scrubbing,' said an impecunious mother of three when I suggested where she could buy a nearly new dress for her small daughter. A visit to The Children's Market got her, for 8s. 6d., a dress which would have cost 35s. new.

At The Children's Market (29 Holland Street, off Church Street, W8: WEStern 2676) with its rows of fresh, good clothes, I fingered a six-year-old's silk velvet party dress (priced 16s. 6d.—it had probably been 5 gns. new) and rustled through a rack of boys' blue gaberdine school mackintoshes (marked 27s. 6d. to £2, shop prices £6 to £7 10s.). So much value for so little money reminded me of a wholesale dealer's comments on the profits to be made out of children's clothes. 'I learned early that it doesn't pay to be generous with material in hems and seams.'

For clean clothes In good condition The Children's Market pay half what they hope to sell them for. They stock everything but shoes for babies, toddlers and school children. Clothes for older boys (10-12 on- wards—apparently they have a talent for wrecking their garments) are scarce, but there is no shortage of those military, dark- blue overcoats beloved of headmistresses. There are plenty of pretty clothes for girls in these shops. In fact, young mothers coming to buy for their infants have been seen leaving in new cotton dresses.

Good-As-New (6 Regency Parade, NW3: PRImrose 8208, and 62-64 Lower Sloane St., SW1; SLOane 4637) work in the same sort of way as The Children's Market, buying clothes outright and selling every- thing except shoes. The objection to dealing in second-hand footwear is based on the sensible assumption that it can be bad for a child to wear shoes which have been formed by wear to the shape of another child's foot. But, like The Children's Market, Good-As-New exclude from this ban, bedroom slippers, dancing pumps and riding boots.

The Children's Bazaar (162c Sloane St., SW1: SLOane 8901) have a slightly differ- ent system, selling outgrown clothes on commission, and making it the parent's responsibility to put a price on each gar- ment. Here I found, among other things, a Scottish father's dream of a bargain: a tiny kilt, trews and a fine hair sporran, for a 5-6 year old, all-in for 30s. Much the same things new at a shop which specialises in Scots clothes would cost £6 10s. for the kilt and 35s. each for the trews and sporran.

This column doesn't usually indulge in panegyrics, but these little shops deserve encouragement and a great deal of praise. They also deserve the serious attention of Spectator readers with children and over- drafts.

THE barber's shop in one of the largest hotels in Southampton has a notice on the door saying that it opens at 8.30 a.m. The, other morning a friend of mine went to have a haircut at 8.50 a.m. and found that it was not yet open. At five to nine the barber arrived, said 'Good morning' to my friend and another waiting customer and let himself into his shop. The door closed behind him and they could hear him pre- paring for business. It was not until some minutes later that they persuaded them- selves that they should go in without being invited. They found the barber leaning against his chair waiting for his first customer. When my friend protested, the barber's explanation was that he had not closed the door on them: 'It closes itself.'

When are shopkeepers, restaurant owners and proprietors generally in this country going to learn to be polite or even pleasant? Far too often they are, not openly rude, but rude by omission, by their failure to wel- come those to whom they are trying to sell their goods or services. Why, for example, do they put up stark notices saying 'CLOSED' when they could just as easily say 'OPEN AGAIN AT 2.30' or whatever? The Windmill Theatre has the right approach. It has long advertised itself with the phrase 'We Never Closed.' Others, fortunately, have it too. On the London- Southampton road there are two signs that I have noticed with pleasure. One says: BASINGSTOKE GOLF CLUB.

VISITORS VERY WELCOME.

The other says: BERT'S CAFE BERT'S GONE MAD

FULL BREAKFAST FROM Is. 9d.

CYRIL RAY writes: Opera-goers who have been enjoying Glyndebourne's German wines will be glad to know that the Franconian wine that is so particularly popular there—the 1957 Wurzburger Stein, in its flat flagon-shaped bocksbeutel—is to be had from 0. W. Loeb, at 1 Robert Street, Adelphi, WC2, at 14s. 6d. a bottle (and may well wonder why Glyndebourne has to charge 30s. for it). This is a dry but full-bodied wine, with the characteristic 'earthy' Franconian taste and yellow colour, and goes well with shellfish. The Loeb list is well worth sending for, anyway: its cheap German wines are very good value, the expensive ones are distinguished, and the comments on them are scholarly. Another out-of-the-ordinary white wine to be had at a very reasonable price is the Château de Panisseau that Hedges and Butler of Regent Street are selling at 9s. 3d. (despite their list, which says 10s. 3d.)—the only dry wine from the Dordogne I have come across: a blanc de blancs, which is to say a white wine from white grapes, also with a sort of earthy tang to it, and a fullness of taste that makes it suitable to go with quite rich fish dishes.

There are many books on wine,

and one of the best brief introductions to the subject is to be had free— Harvey's Guide to Wine (from Harveys at 12 Denmark Street, Bristol, I, or 40 King Street, London, SW1). In almost fifty pages it explains—along with much else—how port, madeira and sherry are made; goes deeply enough into clarets to define the difference between the St. Emilions and the Medocs, to list the 1855 classifications and mention some good vintage years; and gives useful information about other French wines, from Alsace, Beaujolais, Burgundy and the Loire, as well as on German, Spanish and Italian wines. All without any advertising, open or concealed. Another useful publication from the trade is the 'Wineograph' chart (Is. post free from 'Wineograph', 1, Crutched Friars, EC3), a complicated but manageable chart that criss-crosses its information, like map references, on which wines go with what food, approximate retail and restaurant prices, and recommended years. Wines shipped by Hallgartens are in bold type which makes the chart look more of an advertising device than it really is, for other wines get a fair look in, and recommenda- tions are sound and unbiased. Between them, these two publications answer a lot of the questions that I am asked by amateurs of wine.