Same dress.. three careful lady owners

Have you ever picked up a second-hand item and wondered who owned it before you? Lynne McCrossan did and decided to find out. With the help of a new friend, she discovered one of her favourite dresses had had three very different owners. The only thing that they all had in common is they loved the late-1960s chiffon and sequin Frank Usher hand-beaded tunic

FIRST OWNER

Roberta Gordon, 62, lives in Gullane with her husband and is a spiritual minister and working medium.

BOUGHT: Jenners, Edinburgh.

WHEN: 1969

AGE: 22

COST: £9, 19 shillings and 11 pence.

BINNED: 1994

In 1969 Roberta had a wee flutter on the pools, betting Rangers would win a match. Don't ask her who Rangers were playing because she doesn't remember. The bet cost Mrs Gordon a shilling and she ended up bagging £100!

With her winnings burning a hole in her pocket she hit the shops – Jenners to be exact. Inside she came across the most beautiful sequined tunic and fell in love. There was a dance coming up in a few weeks and she knew she'd be the bees knees in it.

"This was my special-occasion outfit. I wore it with fishnets and patent leather shoes. I had it for 25 years before deciding it was time for it to move on. It went with a whole heap of stuff to a charity shop in Stockbridge and when I watched it go to a young girl in her 20s I knew getting rid of it had been the right move."


SECOND OWNER

Roz Coltart, 35, lives in Blackhall, and runs an online boutique selling black clothes called Black Essentials.

BOUGHT: Charity shop, Stockbridge.

WHEN: 1994

AGE: 21

COST: £4.50

BINNED: 2007

In 1994 Roz had just returned from working in Portugal as a holiday rep. It was a quick stop before packing her bags and heading for pastures new running Richard Branson's Neckar Island. She was walking past a charity shop in Stockbridge when she saw a couple of people putting the most amazing black sequin dress on a mannequin. She knew it would be the perfect dress to dance the night away in on the island so she had to have it.

"I never go into charity shops because I never see anything I like, but this day was different. Roberta hadn't even left the shop and we got chatting about the dress. I wore it all the time on the island, dressed up in the evening or kaftan style over my bikinis."

Even in her 20s before Black Essentials there was something about special black items that caught her eye. But when she moved into her new home in 2007 Roz had a clear out on eBay and got rid of the dress.

"I loved the dress but it was part of my past, I was moving into a new home and starting a new business so it was out with the old."


THIRD OWNER

Lynne McCrossan, 25, lives in Gorgie and is a writer, presenter and vintage collector.

BOUGHT: eBay

WHEN: 2007

AGE: 23

COST: Winning bid £10.20

BINNED: Are you mad? I'll never part with it.

In 2007 I was discovering the joys of vintage shopping online. Having an unhealthy obsession for all things vintage, eBay was providing me with the perfect fix.

While I was meant to be producing a radio show I was happily shopping online, and that is when I came across the Frank Usher top. The pictures were not fantastic but I could see the sequins had been handstitched and that was it, bidding commenced.

I sat by the computer until I won. I wear it with everything from jeans to bare leg, but right now my favourite tag team for it is my super-skinny wet-look leggings and heels so high I fear nose bleeds.

Since the dress was in Edinburgh Roz and I met up to exchange money and the dress. Ever since then we've been Saturday coffee mates, a welcome break from my current research for a guide book on the best places to buy vintage clothes around the world.

But the day Roz wants her dress back the friendship is over.