The Best Thing I Ever Thrifted With Lucinda Chambers

The longtime British Vogue fashion director shares her best vintage finds

Lucinda Chambers photographed by Rachael Smith

Lucinda Chambers needs no introduction — though I’ll of course extoll her virtues anyway. She is best known as the former longtime fashion director of British Vogue (a title she held for 25 years) and has also worked as a creative consultant and stylist for everyone from Prada to H&M. She also co-founded the website Collagerie, which offers a fun edit of fashion finds and a really great art shop.

Lucinda’s style is impeccable. She has a knack for pairing high street and low street, old and new, well-worn and shiny.

I had to find out more about her knack for sourcing vintage and, of course, ask about her favorite secondhand finds of all time. As a bonus, Lucinda shared her tips on how to style a gallery wall using both new and old pieces, below.

So, without further ado, Lucinda Chambers.

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Lucinda photographed by Kensington Leverne

“I am very fortunate that in my career I have traveled so much, often to far-flung places and one of the first things I do, before I have even unpacked, is to find out where the local flea markets are!

So, my house is really full of things that I have managed to wrangle back one way or another. My children were mortified when I wore a lampshade on my head because it was just too large to go into any suitcase.

However, two things stick in my mind as my best finds ever. One, a beautiful 1950’s Murano glass lamp with its original shade. It’s huge and heavy, stands about four feet tall, and was in perfect condition. I spied it in a vintage market in NYC about 20 years ago and it was $25. It’s milky and beautiful with gold flecks running through it. It’s just such an elegant shape and I had never seen one like it.

Lucinda’s Murano glass lamp

I carried it back on the plane on the journey to London from NYC on my lap. And we are not talking Club Class! I sat bolt upright for 7 hours. It was worth it!

Can I be greedy and talk about another closer to home? It’s a painting. I saw it in a car boot in London [ed. note: British slang for a flea market] and it caught my eye firstly because of the colors. I am very drawn to greens and yellows and the girl in the picture feels both mysterious and present. I loved it straight away and it now hangs in our dining room. It’s not signed and I wish I knew the artist. I’m guessing from the frame it could be 1970’s, but not sure, but I know when I look at it, it just brings me joy. It was £50, I didn’t haggle!

Lucinda’s vintage painting

So, our house is full of treasures from travels cheek by jowl with newer pieces because it is all about the mix. Some bring back memories, some are meaningful in another way, but they all have the happy experience of seeking and finding. The joy is often in the hunt and when I am confronted by a vintage fair or a flea market, my heart beats a little bit faster. In another life, I would write a book about Marketing Around the World!”

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Lucinda Chambers’ Tips for Styling a Gallery Wall

From top, left to right: Shiri Phillips thick impasto abstract, 1980s expressionist painting, Meredith Walker abstract bird on raw canvas, “Bounding in Blue” by Georgia Beaumont, Destro, “Top Gun” casette photo, David Hockney 1972 Olympics poster, Jason DeMeo, “Eternal Sunsets” pink and orange painting, "Sunflower" by Cecilia Carlstedt, Natalia Borisenko figure of a woman

• Plan ahead. “I used to pop pictures up without thought, but now, if I have painted a wall or a room, I lay out all the various paintings and prints on the floor, play around with the layout, and re-jig and re-work until I am happy with it. I’m not precious about what I buy, it’s the composition that counts. Recently I bought a 1970’s poster for £15 and the colors are just great, but the trick is to frame everything well and with differences, it can really elevate what you have bought and take it somewhere else.”

• Hang things in groupings. “I also love ‘series’ of things. For instance, I bought recently about 20 hand-painted egg prints, I bought very simple and inexpensive Ikea white frames and then painted them with Annie Sloane’s Chalk paint, to give them a tiny bit of texture and depth. I still have to find the right wall for them as they are calm and still and need to sit in an uncluttered space, challenging for me!”

• Think beyond traditional art. “I started to collect vintage wallpaper samples from Portobello Market every Friday morning, one at a time, for years. I had them all framed and then one of the best investments I made was to have a professional picture hanger come over, as there are about 25 of them. Money so well spent! I could never have done that myself, it needed so much precision! Not my forte. So, a tip is to collect, rearrange, play around with scale and colours, think long and hard about the framing and don’t rush.”

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ODDS & ENDS

• Freja sent me their gorgeous new vegan “exotic” handbag in the most perfect berry color. It’s so chic and the color goes with everything but I’m having fun with mine by stringing this beaded charm on the handles. (You can use the code VIRGINIA15 for 15% off any of the charms or keychains on that website, btw.)

• I want everything from ME+EM’s latest collection — specifically, the mesh flats and this crochet mini dress.

• My go-to bra and panty brand is having a killer July 4 sale and it starts tomorrow (up to 40% off sitewide, no code needed). I just got this sheer lace set, which I love, but the relief bra is the gold standard.

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