Buying Better

I’d describe myself as quite money-savvy. I don’t like to waste my cash - I work hard for it and my purchases have to work hard for me or I end up begrudging them. My credit card is there for emergencies and those occasions where Section 75 protection is useful and I pay it off in full asap. My savings accounts (yes, plural) are in a healthy state and I put money aside every month for car stuff, presents and holidays as well as in my general savings. I’ve finally got round to joining the pension scheme at work too. Gulp.

I’m definitely getting old, aren’t I? I’ve even gone off Primark. Not that I was ever a massive splurger in there anyway but uck, I’m so sick of wasting money on shoddy clothing that is overpriced in the first place and then looks tatty after two washes. Overall I don’t shop as much as I used to and I’m quite happy with that. As you can tell from recent outfit posts, everything is getting reworn a lot more. New stuff is thin on the ground.

Being savvy doesn’t mean being stingy though. Everyone has dream items and I’m firmly of the opinion that if you can afford them and you definitely want and will use them, you should go ahead and buy them. I have always wanted Dubarry boots and a really posh tweed coat but life is what it is. I can’t afford to spend £299 on a pair of boots or £400+ for a coat and although I could eventually save up that much, my thrifty soul shudders at the thought of doing that just to buy clothes. Plus, as it turns out, neither of these much swooned over items actually look that good on me. Such are the blessings of being short and sturdy!



With a bit of compromise, a bit of knowing the right people and a bit of good fortune, I’ve ended up with both boots and coat. Not the dream versions but better than that. It just took patience.

You can read the tale of how I got my lovely, lovely tweedy coat here.

As for the boots, one of the perks of being a Blenheim volunteer last year was a very substantial discount on selected Ariat products. I nearly fell off the sofa in sheer delight when I found out. My Ariat Trent boots (which I paid full price for) are great and well worth their price tag, especially in terms of fitting the aforementioned sturdy calves, and they’re still going strong after more than a year of regular wear. But the Ariat Windermere boots (pictured above) that I bought myself are very like the lovely Dubarry ones and they come in wide fit and they were pretty much half price courtesy of the special offer.

Hurrah for patience and money-saving!

Coats and Cupboards

I love keeping a diary.  I write it every night and although it sometimes seems like a bit of a chore when I'm desperate to go to sleep, it's really interesting to look back through it every now and then.  I was doing that very thing last night to try and pull out a list of which films I'd seen at the cinema this year (26 so far...) and came across an entry from last April raving about the vintage coat I'd found in an antiques shop in Hay on Wye.  Said coat has been lurking in the understairs cupboard for months and I'd genuinely forgotten about it.  This may sound odd but if you have a coat cupboard, you will know what I mean.  They are dark and mysterious places.

I went in for a rummage for it this morning, got my foot stuck through the handle of a jute bag and managed to temporarily blind myself by hooking a waterproof coat over my own face.  Actually, make that dark, mysterious and dangerous places.  But I came out safely in the end, triumphantly bearing my beautiful coat.

On such a chilly day it has been the perfect thing to sling over my clothes.  I always forget quite how much I enjoy a good coat.  Sounds a bit mad that, doesn't it?  I own enough of them: I must like them!  They just don't have that immediate, obvious joy that comes with snuggling into a big cosy jumper or catching sight of your feet when you have a sparkly pair of shoes on.  But they do have their own special magic though.  Some make you feel cool, some inject a bit of colour into winter days.  This particular one possesses the ability to make me feel very pulled together and smart and that's something usually very much lacking in my life.

Even if I do then ruin the effect by boinging around waiting for the camera to click into action...

Coat - vintage Aquascutum

Blouse - vintage St Michaels

Skirt - bought at a vintage fair. It's West German

Ring - charity shop

Shoes - Primark

It didn't occur to me until I wrote this that everything bar the shoes was vintage.  Didn't plan it that way...

Turning August Into Autumn

In the autumn, a fashion blogger's fancy turns to thoughts of layers*.  And tights.  And knits.  And scarves, hats, boots and all the other deliciously cosy things that have been neatly packed away in vintage suitcases since April.

We class autumn as September-November, don't we?  It may technically still be summer now but I've already given up on it.  It's been warm enough for bare legs about three times all year and I'm officially pronouncing it time to start donning tights and jackets again.  I don't care if it still says August on the calendar.

Now I'm not one of those people who dives headlong into look books at this time of year and starts fantasising about the squillions of pounds they're going to spend on new knitwear.  Mainly because I don't have squillions of pounds.  Partly because I don't have that big a wardrobe/house either.  I mostly have to make do with what I've already got, with the addition of a few nice new bits and bobs.

I've been saying this for months now, I know, but I really am trying to buy better.  That means tracking down things I actually need and filling gaps in my wardrobe rather than adding to my enormous collection of grey jumpers.  Instead of indulging my love for Irregular Choice and buying these, I was practical and bought these .  Actual sensible, waterproof footwear.  Go me.

The one obvious gap in my wardrobe was leather jacket shaped, so when French Connection emailed me and asked if I'd like to review something from their A/W range I knew exactly what to go for. 

I absolutely love it.  Why have I never owned one before?  I did this with shorts: was absolutely convinced they were not for me, tried them, loved them.  Perhaps I need to expand my clothing horizons a bit more.  Anyway, back to the jacket.  I trust you know I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't truly think it (my opinion is not for sale) but it's beautiful.  Feels fantastic, looks wonderful, makes me feel considerably cooler than usual.  What's not to love?

Jacket - c/o French Connection

Dress - People Tree sale

Boots -  Aldo via ASOS sale

Ring - Primark

Necklace - belonged to my Grandma

*apologies for mangling Tennyson

Coats

Today I am thinking coats. Also, having typed the word a lot, am thinking what a weird word it actually is. Coat. Coat. Coat. Coat. Coat. Hmmm.

Anyway, would you believe that I only used to have one? It was black, it was from Asda, it cost about £20. Not that any of those things are necessarily bad - it was a good coat, just not very interesting. This is it (back in the fatter days, obviously...):

I seem to have developed quite the collection over the past year. It's probably very modest by a lot of people's standards but considering that I used to be restricted to just the one, it feels like a lot to me!

There's the Monsoon one that I sort of regret buying because it was expensive and I've only worn it twice. So pretty though...

And the super bargainous H&M jacket (£10 in the sale) which I love to bits:


I hereby share with you my top tip for coat purchasing: stalk ebay in the summer. There might not be as many winter coats listed but because not many people are thinking that far ahead, there will be fewer bidders and you will get bargains. I'm far too tight to spend a fortune every year on a coat - the ASOS and Topshop ones might look lovely but the prices make my eyes water. Unless it's going to last years and - let's face it, they never do - I'm not going to spend a lot on it (Um, Monsoon coat shall be the exception. I was under shopping pressure that day).

This H&M coat was about a fiver off ebay and still had the tags in:


Another H&M coat that came off ebay. This is the closest thing to a mac you'll ever see me in; I don't like flasher type coats.



So that's the bases covered really. Red coat, green coat, lightweight coats, frivolous velvet coat, work fleece, sensible waterproof Regatta coat and a whole heap of jackets (should probably do a separate post on them at some point).

The only thing lacking was a smartish dark coat. I know I was in need of one but as you've probably realised by now, I get very bored shopping for sensible basics. So when the lovely people at Very got in touch, I went "Yoicks!" and chose this very pretty herringbone coat with velvet trim and buttons. Even better, it came in petite as well as normal so I didn't have the usual hassle of flappy long sleeves. Super cute, yes?

ps - a great big helloooooo to all the new followers who have appeared recently. Tell your friends! When I'm up to 400 I'll pull together some sort of marvellous giveaway.

pps - I have guest posted on Where Are My Knees? Read, enjoy, see me in my scanties...