Thrift Inspiration..... Doing it Designer Style for Bags in Neutral Tones

 Leather handbags in beige, ivory or cream that fit the trend for this Winter Season!

Hi everyone! So on my last thrifting trip I bought another handbag- but in my defence, I don't have a neutral beige or ivory bag!

There are some awesone designer bags that fit the bill if you're keen to get a light colour bag for Winter- going neutral means it will go with any colour coat or jacket you choose to wear and makes a perfect change from the traditional black or brown, 

Here are my favourite designer picks:

Wandler bag, Net a Porter

Laurent bag, YSL.com

See by Chloe at Farfetch

I picked up this cute vintage leather mock croc bag for just £3.50 in the charity shop and it's so well made and definitely will go with so many of my coats and jackets for this season:

Liz Clairborne vintage leather cross body bag

I love cross body bags as they're so stylish and versatile and particularly in Winter your hands want to be in your pockets and holding as little as possible!

Is a neutral colour bag on your radar for Winter? What colour accessories are you wearing this season?

Thrift Inspiration....Doing it Isabel Marant style!

 The Tale of my Isabel Marant Manifestation True Story Find, Plus my Marks and Spencer Coat Finds!

Hi everyone! So this is an awesome account of how my weekend went on the coat and thrifting front and how I came upon my latest purchases!

So I'm constantly evaluating, culling and adding to my coat collection- it's certainly an ongoing work in progress as many of you stylish ladies can attest to! 

My eldest son had kindly said he would pay for a coat that I had ordered from H&M for Christmas. It's a camel teddy coat and it was £39.99 in the sale but although it's a gorgeous coat I was constantly in two minds as to whether it actually suited me and eventually decided it didn't. So Friday evening, I packaged it up ready to be returned and then decided I wanted to hunt for a tweed coat or jacket and was busy happily browsing (hunting) eBay for a good few hours until past midnight! 

I remembered that a few years ago I had thrifted- and sadly gave or sold on again- a fabulous tweed coat which was very similar to the Isabel Marant Bator coat- see my post from 2013 here I actually screenshot this picture on Friday night from my blogpost (manifestation starting!) and as it was a Debenhams Classic coat I was stalking eBay for the exact coat- but no joy!

This is the jacket that sadly got away, pictured from my 2013 blogpost:

Well I ended up finding a coat on eBay before I went to bed, although its not in the same kind of style as above it's grey wool herringbone tweed, single breasted and looks great so I went to bed quite happy! I also bought another scarf- so am eagerly awaiting both of these to now arrive!

So Saturday morning I decided to go thrifting in two towns I hadn't been to in a while. So I arrived in the first town and parked up right outside a charity shop. I immediately spotted a beautiful lilac coat in the window and once I was in the shop the lady kindly let me try it on and did a sterling job of selling it to me!

It's by Marks and Spencer from their Autograph range and is a beautiful colour and weight too- as soon as I saw it and tried it on I knew I wanted it!!

My pictures don't do the coat justice, its really so lovely and was a fabulous bargain at £25, so worth the price!

Although £25 might seem fairly high to spend in a charity shop I figured that high street coats are generally £40 upwards anyway and the quality and niceness of this one meant it was well worth paying for, plus it's a decent amount for charity too!

 So I carried on my browsing in the charity shops and ended up visiting the next town, where I found a lovely leather handbag- blogpost to come on that one!

I was queueing to go into one shop but decided to leave it till last and visit two more before returning to queue to get in! So the last rail was the coats and right in front of me was this beautiful brown wool Isabel Marant coat!! Again my photos do not do the coat justice- it's a beautiful find and definitely a forever coat for my winter wardrobe for years to come.

As soon as I saw the label, the size and that it was in immaculate condition I queued to pay and the best part was that is was actually cheaper than my previous coat buy- just £15!!

A true manifestation of an Isabel Marant coat purchase going on- I was utterly amazed at my fabulous find and not only had I bagged two wonderful bargains, they actually came to the same price as what the H&M coat was! It just goes to show what awesome bargains you still can get from thrifting and at a lesser price than the High Street too.

I'm always amazed at what you can find and there are so many lovely bargains post lockdown that have been donated- I definitely recommend you go thrifting for your winter coats if you haven't done so already!

I headed home and both coats fit like a glove- perfectly just slightly oversized so I can get jumpers underneath and both colour coats I don't already have too. So I'm now definitely taking the H&M coat back and also donating a black faux fur coat I bought in September- sadly it's too big- in my excitement of buying it I didn't really notice how big it was but I'm sure it will go to a good home once I've donated it!

If you haven't already checked out my Instagram feed, you will see another recent lovely coat find that I thought I would share on here too. It's a beautiful alabaster colour and is a Marks and Spencer wool Autograph coat which I found for just £4.50 and it's come up a treat after being dry cleaned too.

The Autograph range at Marks and Spencer are really premium coats and if you can source them preloved these are forever coats that will last forever- I now truly understand why my mum has loved Marks and Spencer for years for her clothes and food!

So I think I'm nicely up to date with my coat purchases for the moment and I have to say the Isabel Marant one has to be up there with one of my best charity shop finds ever!

What coats are on your winter wishlist? I hope you've enjoyed my coat finds and they inspire you to seek your own fabulous finds for this winter season!

Thrift My Style with Summer Linen

My Charity Shop Haul this week including other Summer Items!

Hi everyone! I was so happy to see the opening of the charity shops earlier this week, so with this in mind, I did a declutter and took a few things for donation.

 Now is the ideal time being post lockdown to have a good sort out and to have a trying on session too. I've actually sorted another bag of donations these past couple of days due to not trying stuff on before which now does not fit or is making room for newer pieces I've either thrifted or bought.

I've also put some things on eBay too-check them out if you fancy!!

So on my wishlist has been neutral items for Summer and although I don't need a new bag I really couldn't resist this as it ticks all the boxes- neutral style, linen look inspired and for only £2 it was such a good bargain I couldn't not get it!

It's ideal for shopping trips, beach days or any summer awayday- it's a very versatile size and very lightweight to use- if I go on holiday it will be a perfect travelling companion and can also fit effortlessly into luggage too:

Another couple of bargains from later last week were this pure linen pink Marks and Spencer Blouse for just £3.50 and these white linen Marks and Spencer trousers for £3!!

I always look to size up on linen as it looks so much more classic and chic to be loose fitting- so I was especially happy to find both of these in bigger sizes to oversize my outfit choices:

Linen is a practical and chic option for Summer and if you buy quality items it will last you for summers to come. I do try and thrift good high street pieces for longevity in my wardrobe and you generally can't go wrong with M&S!

Two other finds from earlier in the week were a Laura Ashley linen tee and a pair of tailored linen trousers in traditional linen colours.

The M&S tailored trousers were only £1 from Sense charity shop and again these were a size larger which fit me really well!

I really love this Laura Ashley linen tee- it was £4 and I especially love the embroidery detail too! This will look great dressed up or down with denim for a casual summer chic look.  

Both pieces really launder and iron well- again a good sign of buying quality preloved high street items.

This chambray blouse by TU for Sainsburys was only £1 from Sense and is a piece that will go with shorts, skirts and denim for Summer. Chambray is a perfect Summer option, softer and lighter than traditional denim, it easily goes with anything for an easy Summer outfit choice: 

I do love sportswear pieces and I couldn't leave these Adidas shorts behind from Barnados charity shop for just £4! Ideal for lounging or yoga or walking, these will last for ages and are a timeless piece of sports fashion:

If you check out my Instagram- thriftmystyledotcom then you can also see the cute preloved Topshop black slip dress I found for just £6 too!

It's certainly been a winning week of thrifting and charity shop finds for me! What is on your summer wishlist? I have always tended to gravitate towards floral for Summer but am enjoying looking for different things like plain colours and linen- what is your Summer style?

Thrift Inspiration..... Back to Black-Hobos for 2016

I. Love. Black. Bags. Yes- whether it's large, medium or small, has gold hardware or silver hardware then I'm drawn like a magnet to them. Even though I've easily got a black bag for every day of the week if my mind is set on obtaining a certain style then I'm on it until a purchase is duly made!!

So my last phase on the black bag front was the oversized tote and I must admit it has been a regular and well used purchase- Primark for just £5 and with a touch of gold hardware its a very cute-and massive- bag. But oversized large is now off the radar in favour of the smaller hobo. I do have a lovely Fendi black Zucca hobo but I prefer not to use it on an everyday basis-a leather one is more ideal.

What I really love about the hobo is if you pick the right size you can get everything but the kitchen sink in it and for regular daily use, it's the perfect go-to. Plus it's such a classic style that never dates and is ideal for any season. So here are my favourite designer picks if money were no object:

Gucci Soho Leather Hobo £1210

 Givenchy Zanzi Obsedia Hobo £1216

Mulberry Tessie Hobo £695

Radley London Bridgewater Hobo £219

So my most recent thrifting trip came up trumps on the bag front with this Tula black leather hobo for just £3.99 in my local Salvation Army charity shop. Barely used and as new it's a welcome addition to my black bag brigade and has been in constant use since I bought it!

I was won over by the chic silver hardware and the classic simplicity of the slouch- and yes everything but the kitchen sink is currently residing in there!

A perfect shoulder bag for daytime that will remain a favourite even when my 'style phase' starts to wane and the next style beckons!!

Are you a fan of hobo bags? What style are you currently using? 

Thanks as always for stopping by and reading and commenting- it is always much appreciated and I look forward to catching up with you all!!

Thrift Inspiration.....Doing it 70s Style for Summer 2015!!

Hi everyone! Like a lot of style bloggers I'm really inspired lately by all things 70s and 70 style- soft tobacco hues in suede and leather for jackets, boots and handbags are the perfect accompaniment for cream crotchet peasant tops and flared denims or the perfect denim 70s style skirt.

So accordingly I've been taking my inspiration from the Spring/Summer designer catwalks, pinterest and fellow bloggers to find the perfect thrifted pieces that will be featured a lot in my Spring and Summer wardrobe this year:

Chloe Spring/Summer 2015

This is a find from last Autumn and is a deliciously soft tobacco suede shirt/jacket from a neighbouring towns St Francis Hospice charity shop and was just an amazing £2. The picture doesn't do it justice really-it's as new and a perfect nod to the 70s style theme of the season:

I'm so loving cream crochet and lace for the summer and two more fairly recent finds inspired by the likes of the ladies below at Milan Fashion Week will see my purchases being worn regularly with the perfect 70s style denim pieces:

This crochet lace peasant top feels like cheesecloth but is a very light jersey and I picked it up just before Christmas from my local Salvation Army charity shop for just £3.99:

This original 70s Marks & Spencer crochet waistcoat was a bargain find last week again from the Salvation Army for £3.99 and I'll wear it as a top with just a couple of the top buttons done up:

Well when I saw this Gucci handbag on pinterest I really swooned- who wouldn't want this in their wardrobe not only for this season but as a forever investment piece-totally and utterly divine!!

So on yesterdays thrifting trip I was really pleased to find this original 70s leather bag for just £5 in the Cancer Research charity shop- this will be my go to bag this Summer for sure, I'm loving the chain belt detail, the colour and how it will go with endless items already in my wardrobe:

I love it when my son comes thrift shopping with me as he's definitely got the eye for it and tends to look in places I've missed-which is just as well because he found my star buy for the year so far- an authentic vintage Gucci belt for only £5!!

Not only did I need a black belt, I've wanted a Gucci belt for such a long time but finding a preloved or vintage one in the right size has been like finding a needle in a haystack but my boy came up trumps! Can't wait to wear this with some perfect denim flares and a yet to be purchased 70s style denim skirt!!

So as usual denim is on my radar for this season, I really want to find the perfect style skirt and I'm lucky that I've already got some fabulous Topshop thrifted flares and some French Connection ones that I thrifted in my local Sue Ryder charity shop last Autumn for under a fiver!!

So is 70s style on your shopping list this Summer- what pieces are inspiring you and where are getting inspiration from- I'd love you to share!

Wishing you a lovely week and look forward to receiving your lovely comments too!

Thrift Inspiration.......Autumn Check Shirts plus Valentino and Marks and Spencer thrift finds

Hi everyone! I hope you've had a really good week- the weather here has been quite up and down- not much rain, fairly mild and some sun- all quite 'ordinary' for September really, which makes for layering.

As I stated in previous posts I've become quite taken with the shirt- summer saw stripes and checks and now Autumn has arrived I'm continuing the theme with checks and am loving flannel, with three now in my hopefully to be extended collection. Although this is a silk number, it would be my number one choice if money were no object, I really love it:

Equipment silk check shirt at MyTheresa, £332

For those of us with budgets in mind you can't go too far wrong with Uniqlo. A real autumnal must visit store, I'm sure a lot of us will be quite taken with either their merino or cashmere knits, the winter jackets, the collaborations- for me I'm loving their check shirts in a fabulous variety of different colourways: 

Flannel shirt, Uniqlo £19.99

Really love this and could be very tempted to indulge, Uniqlo £19.99

I featured my Uniqlo thrift find a few posts ago- a flannel shirt bought in hot and sunny August seemed rather premature but now the weather is cooler, I wouldn't be without it. It was a bargain £2.99 from the British Heart Foundation: 

I was really inspired by the Equipment outfit above to team my shirt with all black, so I wore my Dune ankle studded boots gifted to me last year, River Island thrifted skinny jeans from last year (recently dyed to get them jet black again- I highly recommend this for any faded black items you're tempted to part with purely over the lack of black in them), my Primark thrifted leather biker jacket which is a few years old now and my black Celine style cross body bag: 

So this morning saw a thrifting trip on the bus to a neighbouring town to see what goodies I could try and snap up. The first shop off the bus was the Sue Ryder charity shop who had a £1 rail outside the front of the shop and I immediately picked up this Marks and Spencer flannel shirt:

Love the blue/black colour combo, this will be so easy to wear with blue or black jeans and like wise any style jacket too.

Before I actually caught the bus I went into my local Sue Ryder charity shop to check out their offerings. This charity shop has been extremely good to me over the years- I've found an Ossie Clark dress, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Stella McCartney, Belstaff as well as top quality high street too. Today was no exception as I found this fabulous navy collarless coat by Valentino Red for just £7.95. It is raincoat material so will be perfect for milder autumn days for smartening up a jeans and shirt:

Not a very good picture unfortunately, but it's really nice in the flesh and also unworn with the tag still attached. I  reserved it and picked it up at the end of my travels- a shirt and coat for less than a tenner can't be bad for a morning out! 

What style of items are you drifting towards this season? I know the oversize cardigan is very popular and I for one am looking out for the right one! Do share what items are on your autumn style wish list! 

Thank you as always for your continued support, reading and commenting- it really is very much appreciated and welcomed and I hope to visit you all back as soon as I can, have a great weekend and a good week ahead too, lovely people!!

Thrift Inspiration....Autumn Classic Must Haves, The Brogue

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend and what a mix of weather we are having at the moment! The sun is out in spurts and it's really quite nice and warm- those extra layers have been held at bay for the foreseeable future. So when layers are not necessarily needed the next logical style step to think of is footwear. After indulging in some skate shoes and wearing these in between trainers and sandals, I was really pleased to find some long lusted after pair of  shoes last week which are ideal for all seasons- the classic black brogue. Here are my picks of the best this season:

Saint Laurent patent leather, £530

TODS, £270

ASOS Millionaire leather brogues, £35

ASOS brogues, £25

Here are my version- they are vintage Loakes, bought as new and unworn in my local Salvation Army charity shop for just £15. Brogues are such a versatile and stylish alternative to a trainer or skate shoe and can so easily smarten up a jeans and jacket combination too:

To what I wore one day last week for a day out in London- my newly thrifted Monsoon blouse in one of my recent posts, some Reiss skinny jeans which were thrifted last year from my local Sue Ryder charity shop for just £1 in their sale and my Primark skate shoes:

I can't believe how comfortable skate shoes can be, if I'd realised I definitely would have bought some in Spring, but better late than never, huh!

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead and I do thank you for your continued reading, support and comments- they are so much appreciated and I look forward to visiting you as soon as I can! 

Easing into Autumn with some August Thrift Finds- It's all shirts, blouses and shirts!!

Hi everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying your bank holiday weekend and the summer holidays in general! The weather in the UK has definitely become cooler and more sporadic outbreaks of sun are now more regular than the summer heatwave we experienced only a couple of weeks back.

I'm slowly laundering and packing away my summer items, I've a drawer left of skirts, shorts and dresses that is staying put just a while longer in case we have an Indian summer over the next few weeks, you never know! In the meantime my latest thrift finds are for wearing now and the next season-shirts and blouses.

I have never really been a big shirt or blouse wearer over the years, but over the last few seasons I've noticed that carefully picking the right designs can mean longevity, versatility and ease of choice when picking pieces for casual or smart outfits.

I love wearing jeans and having a multiple choice of blouses or shirts that I can wear on rotation means having a nicely growing collection is perfect for all seasons for me, especially the in between ones. My most recent find of which I've been searching for a while is the perfect check shirt. I've seen many on thrifting trips and have come across many variations of little checks, big checks, monochrome and coloured but this one by legendary jeans manufacturer Lee (a real 70s favourite) was the 'one'. It is the perfect fit, colourway and has lovely detailing across the bust and for just £3.99 from the PDSA charity shop it's one I'm wearing already and is perfect for the milder weather:

 I love how it sits under a jacket too and a real requirement for me now the weather has turned cooler is to have a collar on at least one of the items I wear as I'm not a fan of an exposed neck whilst wearing a top and jacket:

This buy was a really perfect Autumnal find and the bird print and blue and brown colourway is just a real stylish classic that will be a permanent fixture in my wardrobe for years to come:

I've always been a fan of Liberty print and this was a must have for just £5.30 from the British Heart Foundation charity shop last week. In the same shop I found this Uniqlo flannel shirt for just £2.99, another perfect shirt for wearing come Autumn:

In the thrifting trip at the PDSA I also found this lovely London Fashion Week stalwart designer Paul Costelloe silky style blouse for just £2.99. I love the colours-again, perfect for a chic daytime look with jeans or dressed up with some smart black trousers for a stylish evening outfit:

Another item which I just had to have too was this cute fine gauzy boho style blouse by Monsoon- at £2.99 it was a real steal and is again a versatile piece ideal for day or evening wear:

I know a lot of bloggers have not been spending too much in August- I admit to indulging in quite a few items which were mainly summer wear at the start of the month when I was away in Worthing and in the last couple of weeks my spending has been mainly on the shirts and blouses for now and later seasons. I'm very pleased though as I've picked up five quality items for less than £19- I'd be hard pushed to even get one of the above for that in any of their original shops- all hail charity shopping I say!!!

What is on your Autumn style wish list? Have you started buying any clothes or accessories to update your wardrobe or are you saving for bigger items, such as coats or boots- I'd love to hear!!

As always, I value your continued support with reading and commenting-thanks so much for stopping by and I look forward to visiting you all as soon as I can-wishing you all a great week ahead!!