The sartorial gene in our family definitely went to my sister Judy, who owns a personal styling business, a clothes-swapping website, and a vintage fashion fair that travels all over the UK

I can’t stand shopping of any kind, least of all for clothes. So it comes as something of a relief to have a member of the family who, in the space of an afternoon, can kit me out with half a dozen items of clothing.

Better still, I don’t even have to deal with hunting through clothes racks and dealing with salespeople. She takes care of all of that. If I’m lucky, all I have to do is stand in the changing room while she flings shirts and trousers over the door.

Every time Judy visits New York, we take a trip to the Brooklyn Flea and the growing number of vintage fashion stores in the borough.

Last week, Judy styled a vintage fashion photo shoot for the UK’s Big Issue newspaper and one of the dresses she picked up during a previous visit to the Flea, and a pair of earrings she found in a Brooklyn vintage store, made it into the spread. There are more pics on my sister’s blog.