Go for Gold!!

Gold is an obvious investment and this Mulberry Mabel bag, £876 from Net-A-Porter, is a seriously blingly investment item, if you can afford to splash the cash. Gold, silver or bronze handbags never go out of fashion and are ideal for this time of the year and the height of summer, to really lift an outfit. Earlier this year, I bought this J for Jasper Conran gold leather bag for £38. I've only just started using it, as it really lifts an outfit in the gloomy wet and cold weather. It will also be ideal for trips out in summer too, with vintage summer dresses.

Do you go for gold with your accessories this season?

Call the Feds!!

I do love hats and this is my brown tweed fedora, which I've paired with my trusty sheepskin jacket which is from the Salvation Army a couple of winters back for £7. My Missoni scarf was from All Aboard Charity shop last year for £2.

Do you like hats? I think they are a great winter accessory, especially on a bad hair day, LOL!!

Thrift Inspiration, doing it the Jumpsuit way!

Well a trend that is bang on for Summer 2009 is jumpsuits-again. They never cease to be in and out of fashion and I for one wanted to track one down for next summer.

DKNY

Marc for Marc Jacobs

Well, thanks to my lovely mother in law, she tracked down this vintage Biba 80s jumpsuit for 50p for me!! It fits just right and I can't wait to wear it in summer!!


MaxMara


Betsey Johnson


LaCoste

Matthew Williamson

Rick Owens

TopShop Unique

All images (except me!) are from Style.com, click on this link to see all the major designers ready to wear collections for jumpsuits for Summer 2009.

I know the lovely Skye has also leapt into this trend-will you for next year?

Boxing Day Sales!!

So, I decided to brave the sales in town and older son Chris came as well with his Christmas money. It was extremely cold and windy, so my faux fur J for Jasper Conran jacket came in handy, although it didn't keep the cold out completely, haha!! Still, it was only £2 at an East London boot sale a few winters back, so a great bargain indeed!

I had a good look around. I have been after a brown leather across body/shoulder bag for a long while now, vintage or modern but hadn't found anything I liked. I went in Debenhams and found this lovely 'Ibiza' Matthew Williamson for Debenhams bag. It ticks all the boxes-its an all season bag, it will go with a lot of my vintage summer dresses and also my jacket above and its a perfect style and size too.

It was not in the sale, but for £35, a great bargain anyway. Chris did really well, he got Guitar Hero on playstation 3 plus the guitar for half price in HMV, so the boys have been strumming their stuff all afternoon, haha!! I also got a red leopardprint pashmina scarf from my cheap Asian scarf shop in the High Road for only £2, so overall a good day for buys.


Hope you are enjoying the holidays-have you picked up any bargains so far?

Happy Holidays!!

Hi everyone!! Happy Holidays to you all!!

We all had a lovely Christmas yesterday and as we were at home for the day, I decided to wear my new Topshop shiny snakeskin leggings, my black merino wool boyfriend cardi, vintage silver belt and 'Animal' is peeking through too!

I'm debating whether to hit the sales today, I am off for another week, so no great rush if I end up just lounging around instead, with scrumptious food to keep me company!

A lot of online retailers have some fantastic bargains-it is nice to browse without all the walking around!! Harvey Nichols and Matches were very tempting with their Marc Jacob bags on sale, but I'm not sure what I really want!! Hope you bag a bargain, its certainly worth browsing, either online or to the shops!!

A Very Happy Christmas to you All!!

I'd just like to wish everyone who visits my blog a very Happy Christmas to you and your families and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year and 2009!

Take care and enjoy the holidays!!

I should Coco!!

The Mail on Sunday have done a delightful article on Coco Chanel and how inspirational she has been on the fashion world. It goes without saying she is a true icon and her style is just so influential and inspirational for all of us as time goes by.

My most favourite purchase of the year was undoubtedly my Chanel Jacket from Mrs Stings designer sale and I had my bestest day too with the gorgeous WendyB. Its great when you pick up a really gorgeous must have item and every time I look at that jacket, I have such wonderful memories of the day I had too.

My other Chanel purchase of the year was the red bag below, from Always Authentic, a reliable seller of genuine designer bags.

I adore my jacket-I haven't worn it yet, but it is certainly the most favourite item I have in my wardrobe. To own a Chanel piece is a great pleasure and if a bag or jacket is financially out of reach, then a Chanel lipstick, nail polish or perfume would be an ideal Christmas present for yourself or a loved one. Be inspired by Chanel and link over to the article above, its a great inspirational read!!

Net-a-Porter-Sale Goodies!!

Fancy treating yourself after all that hard work of sorting everyone elses pressies out? Well, Net-A-Porter have all these lovely pieces in their sale-I adore this Anna Sui jacket and the Rick Owens top. Click on my title link to check out the rest of their other gorgeous pieces currently on sale: Anna Sui jacket, £238.50

Rick Owens top, £70.47

Marc Jacobs cardi, £58.80

Maison Martin Margiela dress, £70.47

Vivienne Westwood blouse, £91.50

Thank You ALL!!

Hi Everyone,

A big thanks for all your kind wishes this week.

They are very much appreciated and I'm slowly feeling better-hope to venture out in the next couple of days to try and catch up with everything, haha!!

Have a lovely weekend everyone and I wish you all well too!

Hope I do too!!

Looking this good in my 50s, that is!! Looking through Vogue for January 2009, I just had to show these pictures of Jo Wood, aged 53, sporting her Les Chiffoniers leather leggings.

I think she looks soo gorgeous and gives 20, 30 and 40 somethings a run for their money in the style stakes.

Similiarly, Carine Roitfeld, 50 also looks super fabulous, rocking in her denim skirt ensemble.

It just goes to show, style is for all ages-its the attitude you have that says it all, however old or young you are or feel!!

Off with Flu :-(

Hi everyone,

A short note to say, I've flu and am off work so won't be around for a few days.

Take care everyone and keep warm, healthy and cosy!!

My thrift finds this week

Well, winter is well and truly here for a lot of us and for me in England, its been very cold and chilly this week. I've been sort of keeping my eyes out for another winter coat or jacket, but was only going to buy something if it was just right for me. So, on the way to work yesterday, I passed my local charity shop and lo and behold, on the rack waiting for me was the perfect black fur vintage pre-owned jacket!

I haven't owned real fur before, I have 3 faux fur jackets and 5 leather jackets. Its not that I'm anti fur (well I enjoy my meat and leather jackets too much!), I just hadn't seen one I liked enough I suppose, to buy. Anyhow, this one was only £5.75 and it fits like a glove!

I couldn't wait to pair it with my other find of the week, my black denim jean/leggings, which were from the Salvation Army for £3.99. They are from Primark and have a zip ankle and ruch at the ankles too. They are so comfy and I thought they would go well with my black biker boots.

I'm also wearing a grey chunky polo neck (Marks & Spencer-thrifted) and my sequin black denim waistcoat. During and after this photo shoot, it was relentlessly wet, windy and cold, so when I went to town to do shopping for my mum, I had to put on my black padded parka with the hood up. I still came back like a drowned rat, LOL!!

I'm very pleased with the jacket, as it will go with so much and keep me lovely and warm too-as long as its dry enough to wear it!!

Oh, yes, when I went back into my local charity shop, the gold boob tube was there, as well as a lovely vintage sequin jacket. Thanks so very much for all the yays on my previous post about the boob tube, but when I saw the sequins again, I just decided I'm more than happy with the sequins I have. So, someone else can nab these bargains, haha!!

Top Jackets from Topshop

Red and black are great colours for winter-here are my favourite jackets from Topshop.com

Red jacket, £40

Black Studded jacket, £55

Zebra Tuxedo jacket, £65

Have a lovely weekend everyone!!

Thrift Inspiration, doing it Balenciaga Style!

Last year, I stumbled across a company called Lush. They are an American company and they sell gorgeous leather bags similiar to top designers. I had the the red biker version bought for me as a birthday present last year via Ebay and really love the style and weight and colour of it.

Browsing Ebay last week, I came across a young lady selling her black biker version from Lush (available at the moment), for a buy it now price of £40!! I quickly snapped it up and it came today!! Play spot the difference of the Lush bags and the Balenciaga bags:

Click on my pictures to find out whos who!!

Black Balenciaga Giant City $1695

Black Lush Medium Biker $129.99

Red Lush Medium Biker $99.99

Red Balenciaga first $1195

Lush's bags are replicas and they have a disclaimer to state the following:

Although our products are comparable in style and quality to the original name brands, we DO NOT represent them to be original, nor do we represent that they are exact copies. Therefore, they do not violate any copyright laws.

I'm really chuffed with both my bags and if you like what you see, click on my title to browse or shop-I'm sure you'll be swooning over one or two, haha!!

Sequin Top-Update

Hi there!!

Unfortunately, its a nay for the moment, as I'm not able to get back to get the purchase!! Things are hectic at home, as all male members of the family are sick and off school, I've been doing chores for my mum where she is still recouperating from a broken ankle and our car is out of action-temporarily but maybe permanently if we can't get it fixed.

With so much going on, if I get back to the charity shop this week, I'll be lucky if its still there-watch this space, haha!

But, if it is, the ideas I've had are better than the original that I had planned:

Cal suggested wearing it with a cardi over the top like Sal at Always Pretty or with a thick scarf

Marian suggested wearing it under a floaty dress, or with a chiffon blouse and tailored slacks, or like she did, with a leather jacket over the top and a vintage satin skirt.

Couture Allure Vintage fashion suggested wearing it as a wide belt too!!

Thanks for all your suggestions, I'll let you know if I strike lucky with one soon!

DIY sequin top-Yay or Nay?

Whilst walking to work today, in my local charity shop there was a gold sequin boob tube for about £3. I did like it, but wasn't sure how I would wear it, as I don't go out socially very much (how sad, haha!!)

Anyhow, whilst surfing the 'net, I saw this lovely dress from Antik Batik for £369 and it got me to thinking whether I could wear the boob tube over a t-shirt like the look of this dress?

What do you think-a yay or nay? I suppose it would be a glammy top for Christmas day, but I want some opinions first!!

Fringe benefits and Blog loving!!

I was awarded the 'E' for excellent award by the gorgeous Cath and Lauren of Asian Cajuns a little while ago and have finally got round to posting the award-cheers, gals!!

The lovely duo are currently into the fringe trend and I commented on that post how I adore this trend and I would work it if I get a fringey item-well, I had totally forgotton about the fringey earrings hubby bought for me a few months ago!

I'll be wearing these over Christmas!!

The lovely 'Odd Girl Diaries' also awarded me an 'I love your blog' award-thanks so much to all the gals for both of them, much appreciated!

I would like to pass these on to all my bloglist-I love you all and think you're all Excellent-so there you go!!

Cute Knits at Topshop.com

Here are some of my favourites knits from Topshop.com

Louise Goldin, £160
Simone Shailes, £200

Unique, £85

Louise Goldin, £160

Have a wonderful weekend everyone-keep cosy and stylish!!

Louis Vuitton International Wallet cum Shoulder Bag

Early on this year, we went to Stephenson's Farm boot sale and I scored a genuine Louis Vuitton 'International' wallet for the princely sum of £1. The girl who was selling it said because it was worn and battered, she just wasn't interested in keeping it, despite it being the real deal (they are currently £270!).

Obviously, I don't trifle in such whims, as long as something is serviceable, I'm happy and I knew if I left it behind someone else would soon have it.

Well, its just been sitting with my other purses doing nothing, until I thought of some very easy customisation for it. I added my blingy chain to it and voila, a lovely little posh shoulder bag which will hold money, cards and a key.

I used to have a couple of Louis Vuitton bags, but I sold them a couple of years ago on Ebay. I've just given away some bags I didn't want anymore, I've scaled right back on my bags and only kept the ones I really love. Now, I'm back on a bag buzz and can't stop browsing on Gucci and Louis Vuittons e-shopping sites!! This custom job will have to fulfill my designer itch for the moment!!

Yummy offerings from Tasty Vintage

Harriet at Tasty Vintage has these and other gorgeous offerings from all eras of vintage clothing. I bought an Ossie Clark dress from her last year, so I do check in every now and then to see what she has available

Original 50s Princess seamed 'New Look' coat, £95

Original 1920s heavily beaded crepe Flapper dress, £350

Bag A Bargain for World Aids Day

What better way of bagging a lovely colourful bag for winter and giving to charity in the process?

Available from 6 December at Gap, Oxford Street is this gorgeous flannel red Mulberry Bayswater bag for £95, AND a whopping 50% goes to help AIDS/HIV sufferers as part of World Aids Day-click on my title to see the Times article for more information

Go on, brighten up your winter, its soo gorgeous!!!

Thrift Inspiration, doing it Baker Boy Style!

Now winters finally here, its all about cosy fashion accessories. The lovely mother in law got me a grey velour, silky style baker boy hat a couple of months ago, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I teamed it with my Topshop gilet, Warehouse knit dress and cosy boots and tights. I must admit, I prefer my black beanie from H&M, but its fun to try different styles.

Sienna Miller in hers

Doesn't Madonna rock in hers!!


La Lohan showing off in hers

What accessories will you be rocking this wintertime?