Second Hand Stylings - Day Two

Onto day two. It rained in quite excessive fashion today and it has been COLD. I was planning on saving this dress for the winter but decided to give it a go today instead, in the vague hopes of keeping warm. Is it really August?

So, today's second hand item is the dress. Provenance - Primark, via the Jospice charity shop. Cost - £1.99. I may not always like Primark but I'll give them their due, the odd lovely item does appear in there. The fabric on this dress is gorgeous, really thick, and it feels quite expensive. Plus it's a pinafore style, yay! I do rather look the school uniform look, I must admit.

It does need taking in and shortening a little as despite being the right size for me, it's way bigger than it should be. A belt was a temporary fix for today but I definitely need to tweak it a bit.

Dress - Primark, via charity shop
Shirt - River Island
Belt - Primark
Shoes - Dorothy Perkins
Crazy hair - all my own

Second Hand Stylings - Day One

A little while ago I challenged Vix to blog a century of style, a decade a day. If you haven't already, go and check out how amazingly well she's doing it. In return, she suggested that I try incorporating an item of second hand clothing or accessory into each outfit for a fortnight. I've been planning a blog post about second hand stuff for a while and this will tie in with it nicely, so Vix, consider it challenge accepted!

I love second hand things. Anything with a story behind it is far more interesting to me than something sterile and brand new. I work in a 16th century building full of antiques and it's bliss. Modern minimalism is just not for me. And while I'm on the subject, I like calling things second hand. I'm not knocking anyone who does use the term but why is everything suddenly classed as "thrifted" now? I like to say the word (all together now - thrrrrriffffffted) but it's not very descriptive. I like to know if someone has rummaged in a jumble sale for that vintage scarf, or if they've found it in a tiny little charity shop, or if they got up at the crack of dawn to beat the queue at a car boot sale. And Antipodean readers, do satisfy my curiousity - what exactly is an opshop? It seems like the term second hand doesn't get used very much any more and it saddens me a tad. Perhaps it's just me. After all, the quickest way to make me giddy with excitement is to say "Look, Alex - a second hand bookshop!"

I don't consider myself much of a second hand success story though. I have nothing but admiration for people like Vix, Helga and Jem who wear fab vintage stuff all the time and make it look so stylish and funky, but I never quite seem to find nice vintage clothes when I look for them. I'll touch more on this in a future outfit post I think - don't want to write a giant essay tonight!

I love charity shops but mainly for books. It's rare that I actually buy clothing from them as I find that it tends to fall into 3 categories. 1) lovely but not in my size. 2) awful, just awful. 3) Nice but hugely overpriced. Yes Oxfam, I mean you. That Primark dress was never more than a tenner brand new so don't try and charge me £14.99 for it now, ok? I'm finding that the more of a "normal" dress size I approach, the more bits I do find and I've got a few bargains recently so I'm sure they'll feature soon.

Car boot sales? I've got some lovely stuff from there this year, mainly courtesy of the very nice lady who has mountains of clothes in my size and charges 50p for everything. But even then, I only go to the car boot sale because it's within walking distance and starts at a reasonable hour for a Saturday morning. I'm not dedicated enough to get up at stupid o'clock and hunt down things.

And I don't have huge amounts of luck with ebay either. But having said all of that, if I can find a bargain or two then anyone can! Hopefully you'll admire a few of the things you see over the next fortnight.


Today's featured item is a rather delightful pair of Irregular Choice heels. I can only indulge my love for IC shoes with the help of ebay as they're a little pricey for my budget to buy brand new as a general rule. I got this pair for about the £20 mark which I was really pleased with as they're in very good nick. And just look at them. Aren't they amazing? Even the men at work (not known for noticing footwear) complimented me on them.

Top - Dorothy Perkins
Skirt - Tesco sale
Shoes - Irregular Choice via ebay
Necklace - ancient, can't remember
Ring - New Look

And seeing as I have an enormous collection of second hand books, here's what I'm reading today (99p from a charity shop btw) It's a lot better than the last one of hers that I read. No great shakes but enjoyable froth nontheless.



I will warn you all that I'm away this weekend visiting pals and then next weekend at my cousin's wedding so the blog entries may incorporate more than one outfit but I will do my best to keep the updates nice and regular. I'm looking forward to this challenge!

What A Worrier

Do you ever get that feeling that an outfit looks one way, only to have things totally contradicted by how the photos turn out? I was quite shocked when I saw the results of today's hasty photo shoot, but in a good way. I must admit it more often than not happens the other way round (ie I go round all day feeling fine but am then doomstricken by the horror of the photos) but it's jolly nice when it does happen this way. I don't think I look particularly great or anything but my niggly little worries have definitely been eased.

Dress - New Look via the Newlife shop
Cardi - Hawkshead
Shoes - Schuh via car boot sale

And the causes of today's outfit related worries? Hair, dress AND shoes. Dear me, it's a wonder I leave the house some days.

I started the day off with a twizzy sort of plaited and pinned up-do. I saw it on a girl in Birmingham the other day and it looked gorgeous on her but not so good when I tried it. I think perhaps I need shorter hair, or the sort of nice highlighted blonde hair that she had. It ended up looking more demented milkmaid than sexy Heidi so I unpinned it all and whacked it back in a bun. Considering it was desperate for a wash I don't think it looked too shabby.

I wasn't quite happy all day with the dress and shoes. Don't get me wrong, I love this dress. I just catch sight of myself sometimes when wearing it and think I look a little boxy on top. Should the neckline be a little lower? And the shoes. Do they look right? Is it weird to wear espadrille type things with tights? I didn't really think about that this morning, I just shoved them on because they had red in them and I haven't worn them yet. Well my final verdict is that they probably don't look quite right but I like them anyway. Same goes with the dress. I don't look completely square so what's the problem?

So there's a little insight into my stupid worrying brain. I hope the rest of you don't go through this self questioning process as often as I do; it's quite tiring. I'm now worrying slightly that this is a rather rambly pointless sort of blog post because it's late and I'm tired, but hopefully you've stuck with me this far.

Moral of the story? I need to stop being such a stresspot. Things are fine.

ps - I'm gallivanting quite a lot in August and September. Do any of you wonderful lot fancy guest posting on here? I've got a few posts to schedule but some help to fill the gaps would be much appreciated. Just drop me an email if you're interested.

Inspired by Superted?

For anyone who isn't British and within the age range of about 25-30, that reference has probably whooshed straight past you. Check out the intro to one of my all time favourite cartoons for more details:

Never let it be said that I pass up an opportunity to wear polka dots! Whilst I don't have the requisite red mohawk and the colour palette isn't exactly right, there's something about this jumper that makes me feel very like Spotty. It's certainly an 80s-tastic sort of ensemble anyway.

Jumper - H&M

Leggings - People Tree

Pumps - Dorothy Perkins

Ring - New Look

The Results

I put all the names of the entrants to my giveaway into a hat and picked out 3 winners. And they are...

*drumroll*

Jem from Calamity Jem's Vintage Vaudeville.

Maggie from Lifesize Paperdoll

Em from Passion for Fashion

Congratulations ladies! Let me know where I'm posting them to (my email addy is up on the right hand side) and I'll get them to you as soon as possible.

Shoe Storage & A Giveaway Reminder

I just wanted to start off by saying a huge and heartfelt thank you to you all for your comments on the weight loss post. I should have done it in yesterday's post but the laptop decided to publish what I was writing instead of saving it when I was half way through and I was too busy going "aarrgghhh!!!" and finishing it at top speed to remember to put a thank you in! Anyway, technological malfunctions aside, it really meant an awful lot to me to read such wonderful comments. Utter sap that I am, some of them brought a tear to my eye. It was a bit scary to write it and click the publish post button; I really wasn't expecting such lovely things to be said.

Moving onto other business, Sharron asked for a peek at my shoe storage. I've recently got rid of quite a few pairs that were either irredeemably tatty or just didn't fit and it made me realise that I wasn't wearing half the pairs I did have, simply because they were piled up and I couldn't see them.

Most of the shoe collection while I was in the midst of shuffling them all round. It took a little while to get sorted but I find that kind of tidying up much more satisfying than normal housework. Now it all looks like this:

The older of the two shoe racks lives in the bottom of my wardrobe. It's not a big wardrobe but the rack just fits in with an inch or two to spare. I think the packaging says that it's meant to hold 8 pairs - ha! It's quite a useful size as flats and sandals can fit underneath it, so I can cram more in the space available. There just wasn't room for everything in there though so I popped to Ikea and bought another one (it's from the Portis range).

And now all my Irregular Choice shoes that don't have boxes, plus a few pairs of brogues, are on display at the bottom of my bed. I think they brighten up the room beautifully.

As for the IC shoes that do have boxes, they live on one of the wardrobe shelves with some other boxed up shoes and my boots. The wardrobe may be pathetically small but the shelves are awfully useful, even if I do have to stand on a chair to reach them!

If you haven't done so already, make sure you enter my giveaway - it closes tomorrow night.

Fairtrade Fashion

Perhaps I'm just tight with my money but I can't countenance spending all my disposable income on clothes. I do like the occasional splurge but always within a budget.

So what's a girl to do when faced with the problem of shopping ethically? I try hard but I think I'm just as bad as anyone else in a lot of ways. I have a bit of a quandry when it comes to Primark. Sometimes I just can't resist going a bit mad in there but the effect that it, and similar shops, have had on the general shopping mentality really isn't good. I find myself baulking at paying normal prices in other shops because I know it can be got cheaper elsewhere. Yet how cheap can clothes get? There's a basic price to fabric, design and manufacture. Someone's got to make them and I hate the thought that by mindlessly seeking out a dirt-cheap deal I'm somehow condoning paying someone halfway across the world a pittance.


I think that perhaps the way forward for me is to stop the impulse buying and think about what I actually need. I'm not the world's worst offender but if I don't buy so much random stuff then perhaps I'll be able to up the amount I can spend on individual pieces and I can start to shop more with companies that are trying to make a real difference. And it doesn't limit my shopping so much because I don't own that many clothes so there's still a fair bit to buy. Plus there's always still second-hand shopping (more to follow on this later in the week).

But in the meantime, I'm still easily persuaded by a good deal. My latest purchase is from People Tree. I'm probably way behind the times when it comes to learning about this brand (as per usual!) and think I only discovered it a few months ago when searching for a cricket sweater. The Emma Watson designed one on their website was a little beyond my price range (£90? Ouch!) but I had a browse through the rest of the site and there was some lovely stuff on there. Plus their ethical policies are so impressive - Fairtrade, organic cotton and they seem really dedicated to helping their suppliers.

I spotted a deal on the MSE forums last week, pondered over it for ooh, 5 minutes and then bought it. There's a goody bag offer in their sale - £30 for a goody bag containing 4 or 5 items of clothing worth £100. (For extra money saving-ness, I used a 10% off and free delivery code and went through Quidco for cashback). Pick your size and wait eagerly to see what turns up! The feedback on the forums is a little mixed but I suppose that's always going to be the case when it comes to buying sight unseen. I was more than happy with mine. I would have liked a dress or two - some people are getting gorgeous silk dresses and beaded pieces - but I got a lovely green tshirt, a black long sleeved top/tunic with really interesting tucks and tweaks, some navy leggings and a chunky knit cardi. Plus this beauty which I would happily have spent the £30 on just by itself! It feels gorgeous - such nice fabric.


My autumn/winter mission is to get more tweed and classic English styling in my wardrobe so I think the only thing they could have sent me that I'd have got more excited by would have been the aforementioned cricket sweater.

I'm now pondering whether to use up my limited clothing spends for the rest of the month on one or two more bits and bobs from their site. I'm going shopping in Birmingham tomorrow - can I resist the lure of cheap, short-life stuff Primark in favour of buying one or two well made and eco-friendly dresses? I'm currently leaning towards a madly striped number and something a little plainer

And just to state, I'm not doing this as advertising or anything, I'm just really quite excited about what turned up! No-one in "real life" shares my occasional giddiness when it comes to clothing.