Clapham Delights

On a recent lunch break charity shop session, I was lucky enough to find these two pretty dresses in Save the Children store on Clapham High Street. Both will be perfect for when the warmer weather arrives, which will be soon I hope!

The first dress is a cute cotton shirt dress in purple tones, bought for £4.99. It fits perfectly and the colour is nice change from my usual pastel pinks!

The second is a peach floral dress, originally from Pull and Bear, and bought in mint condition for £4.99. It’s super cute and will look even better with some sun kissed skin 🙂

Spring shirts

Work was pretty crazy at the start of the year and I rarely left the office before 7pm, let alone took a lunch break, but things have quietened down now and I am really making the most of my hour long lunch breaks. That means exploring the area for new charity shops 🙂  Last week on a lunch trip I bought this lovely floral shirt, bought from Barnardos in Brixton for £4.99. It’s super light and the bright colours are perfect for spring. I’ve worn it here with some simple black jeans.

Easter Treats

Happy Easter blog readers! Who doesn’t love a 4 day weekend and a guilt free license to eat yourself into a chocolate coma?! Like many of you I’m sure, I took this weekend as an opportunity to go home and visit the family, and as you will know by now a trip home means  charity shop mecca! I picked up lots of wonderful treats this time, all of them tops, which makes categorising this post pretty simple 🙂

The first item is this simple but cute New Look top, found in Cancer Research for £2.75. I’m a big fan of ‘basic’ tops but I find having to spend £10+ on each item a bore. So coming across something in a charity shop that I know will become a staple is always a bonus, and the red colour is gorgeous too.

 

 

I also found this next item in Cancer Research – a very cute Topshop sleeveless vest with tie bottom and rose print, bought for £3.75. This will be perfect for my up coming America holiday, can’t wait to wear it!

One of the best finds of the day is this adorable pastel French Connection jumper, bought in Age UK for £4.99. I love the slightly cropped length and the aztec-esk pattern. It will look great over a dress during the summer evenings this year 🙂

Finally, came across this super cute gypsy style top from New Look, in British Heart Foundation. Bought for £2.80 this was a real bargain and will look great with a pair of denim shorts in the summer. Note the sweet tassel tie up at the front too.

 

Puuurdy Presents

My best friend and housemate Kirsty bought me this wonderful dress for Christmas, bought from a charity shop in Glasgow. A keen charity shopper as well, she can’t remember which one, and obviously I don’t know how much it cost, but I just LOVE it. The colour is so lovely, and the white buttons are cute too. best of all it has Daisies on it, my favourite flower.

Thanks Kirsty!

Dresses, dresses, dresses

I have collected so many dresses from charity shops over the last few years I am losing count! And getting them all up on this blog has been on my to do list for pretty much the whole of 2013….so now we are in a new year and there is no better time than now.

To help I bought myself a present, a dress makers bust! Now I can take pictures of all my fabulous charity shop purchases more easily, and without looking like a total goon in them too.

This post is all about floral (surprised?) dresses, some vintage, some Primark rejects, but all bought for a mere few pounds.

The first is a lovely pale green/grey number originally from H&M, but bought in a Cancer Research shop in Welshpool for £3.

The next one is a primark number, bought from Scope in Hackney for £5. I absolutely love this dress, the cut is gorgeous and it has these lovely little buttons on the bust.

This one is a Topshop number, and is a great summer dress, with very cute detailing on the back. Also bought from a Hackney charity shop for £5.

The next is a gorgeous silky dress, originally from Next, bought for £6 from Helen and Douglas house in Didcot. the autumnal colours are lovely, and the fit is perfect. I wore this out to an afternoon tea with my housemates Kirsty and Fee.

This next one is another primark number, but I just fell in love with it. Another purchase from Scope in Hackney for £6, it is a little tight on me, but I couldn’t help myself. The pattern is so cute, and the lattice detailing on the back gives it a little something extra.

This dress was bought from Mind in Stoke Newington for £9. I love the floral pattern and that it could also be worn as  a smart dress for work.

This next dress is an international purchase, bought in a jumble sale for 1 euro in Ceglie Messapica, Itlay. Bought at the same time of one my other favourite dresses, this looks lovely in the summer worn with a brown waist belt.

Lastly, this dress is one of my all time favourites. Not actually bought from a charity shop, but from a garden sale in Clapton, Hackney, for £5. The length and cut is gorgeous and I wore it several time last summer, including posing on a Vespa in Brighton 🙂

Pencil Skirts and Blouses

This autumn/winter I’m loving two things: pencil skirts and blouses. Preferably together, as demonstrated below..

This first outfit is one of my current favourites, and is kind of christmassy as well, so perfect for the winter season! The red pencil skirt with an adorbale bow at the front, was bought from one of all time favourites, Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton for a mere £4.99. It’s a bit of oldie actually, but for some reason I never put it up on here. The white t shirt blouse was bought quite recently from an Oxfam in the little welsh town of Carmarthen. Tom and I went away for a week to get out of London and hide away in a woodland lodge, but that didn’t stop me from seeking out some charity shops and snapping up some great welsh bargains. This textured white top was bought for an amazing 99p, and looks fab with a pair of jeans, or with this skirt!

This second outfit is something I wore today for a meeting at work. The navy blue cotton pencil skirt is again from Compton Hospice for about £3.99. Another oldie, but I got it out of the wardrobe this morning to wear with another welsh bargain – a gorgeous faux silk floral blouse, bought for £4.99 in Oxfam, Camarthen, I just LOVE the autumnal floral pattern and often wear it with black skinny jeans and my favourite pair of converse trainers. Here though I teamed it with this pencil skirt for  a smart/casual look.

Daisy daisy

Surprise surprise, another floral item here. Thankfully it’s not a dress, but this time a very pretty knee length silk skirt in a daisy pattern. Bought from Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton, this lovely skirt has made quite a few appearances this summer. Here I have worn it fairly casual with a plain grey t-shirt, but last weekend I teamed it with a white lace vest top and my new favourite pink platform heels, for a cousins 30th birthday party. Can’t complain for £5!

Bella Blouse

Picked up this lovely silk shirt/blouse from Oxfam in Dalston at the weekend. Hungover from a night out on the other side of the river in Deptford, I got off the overground and despite my bed beckoning, I thought I would pop in and see if any bargains were to be had. And I’m glad I did! I love this blouse – but then I am a sucker for anything floral! Today I wore it to work with my wine jeans and a plain grey top, but it will go great with a plain black or colour dress as well. And, at £2.99 it was an absolute bargain!

Carnival

Coincidentally, both the dress and the jacket here were both bought from charity shops, but not by me. The dress was a gift from my boyfriend’s Sister, and the jacket was from my mum who found it in one of Didcot’s many charity shops. The dress is one of my all time favourites. Again, it was much longer when I was given it, so I took it up and sewed in a new hem (albeit a slightly dodgy one!) It is a silk dress, with a high neck line and a pleated skirt, and is simply glorious to wear. Here I have teamed it up with a denim shirt and trainers, to wear to Notting Hill Carnival.