Looking a million dollars need not cost a fortune as Fashion Editor Jacqui Ramsey reveals

As the recession bites and the high street struggles with sales,the charity shop is holding its own. “They offer the only opportunity for many people to buy high quality goods without spending a fortune” says Warren Alexander, Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association.

And with the current trend for vintage and that one-off piece, there is everything to recommend the perusal of your high street charity store for a unique fashion experience, at a bargain price.

THE CHARITY THAT BEGAN AT HOME

Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond

St John Hankin (1869-1909) is a playwright who deserves to be better known, but only the Orange Tree so far seems willing to revive him. They have already had success with two of his plays, The Prodigal Son and The Cassilis Engagement.

Even if you didn’t know that Director Vincente Minnelli was to marry his leading lady, 22-year-old Judy Garland, a year after the release of Meet Me in St. Louis, movie, you’d suspect as much. The camera loves her and, for the first time, her hair and make up were designed to show her off as a dazzling leading lady with all the best songs. Moreover, love and marriage are central to the story, with the attempts of the two older Smith girls (Garland and Lucille Bremer) to capture their respective man. In the winter of 1944 millions flocked to see this bright, joyous Technicolor dream in which the plot’s feather light conflict is quickly resolved: A St Louis family risks missing the 1904 World Fair – and a couple of weddings – when the father‘s job is transferred to New York.  

SEPARATION (Artificial Eye). Impressive Iranian film. A husband (Peyman Moaadi) is accused of pushing a servant down stairs and causing her to fall and have a miscarriage. A series of verbal and physical confrontations between the two families - one middle-class, the other working-class – follows, tearing them apart. Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? This Iranian domestic drama, directed by Asghar Farhadi, is totally involving. It is the moral complexity and the fascinating insights into Islamic legal process and justice which makes the film so engrossing. Moaadi is extremely convincing.

NOISES OFF

Old Vic

There are four farces on in London at the moment: The Comedy of Errors at the National, The Ladykillers at the Gielgud, One Man, Two Guvnors at the Adelphi, and funniest of them all, Michael Frayn’s Noises Off at the Old Vic, the best backstage farce I have ever seen. I haven’t laughed so much in years – well, not since I last saw Noises Off.

Top Eight After Dinner Red Wines of 2011 this week. That’s more than the promised five as a late surge in great tasting and great value wines was found to match the cheese and nuts course. All eight are deeply fruity and contain more alcohol than is usual in red wine - which describes exactly what Ruby and Tawny ports are about. But ports aren’t the only choice for after dinner reds.