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!

Summer Linen- choosing preloved Marks and Spencer

Last of my Thrifted Summer Buys! 

Hi everyone! Last Friday was a lovely afternoon spent with the girls, lunching, then charity shopping and then back to the local Wetherspoon's for afternoon dessert and a needed cup of tea!

My Summer thrifted buys this season have been a lot more thought out as to what can be saved for following summers- I really want to have pieces that will transcend trends and that I will enjoy wearing and will keep me cool and looking stylish too!

This first item I found was in a charity shop where they were doing a 3 for 2 offer. I've mentioned in previous Instagram and blogposts that I really do like finding preloved Marks and Spencer linen  it not only keeps you cool but I do feel it's effortlessly stylish and very practical to wear and if you choose neutral colours then separates such as tops, blouses, shorts and trousers can so easily be mixed and matched for lots of different looks within a capsule summer wardrobe. 

I really like the stripe detail and the self belt nicely cinches the waist without feeling too fussy or tight. This will go with some white linen trousers I thrifted in June, plus cut off denim shorts or one of my denim skirts.Whilst thirfting, I try to envisage if an item will go with at least three items in my wardrobe- if it does then there's a good chance I'll buy it!  Also I find linen really doesn't have great hanger appeal, but once tried on it does look and feel nice!

My next find was a second black linen jacket the first one you can see here in July's post 

The difference between the two is this one is a slightly longer length and is an unstructured, unlined style so I can wear it with shorts or trousers for a more relaxed, casual style:

My last find was this awesome vintage cream linen vintage St Michaels Marks and Spencer dress- I think it's from the 80s- it has a dropped waist, soft pleats and detailed horn style buttons. I was unsure about it in the shop, but decided to buy it anyway and once I had tried it on I was so pleased I had snapped it up. I may not get a chance to wear it this Summer but this is a keeper dress that I know I'll wear in future Summers. It's a classic style, comfortable and I've hankered after a cream dress for a while, so this fits the bill perfectly!

So the grand total for all three was £9.50- a little over £3 per item which for Marks and Spencer items I think is awesome! I've built up a great variety of items for Summer dressing  and preloved Marks and Spencer linen features a lot in it. I've four linen shirts, a couple of jackets, two pairs of trousers and a dress that are preloved M&S and I can safely say that they are definitely items that will have longevity in my summer capsule wardrobe.

I constantly culled my wardrobe this season and the things I had left and bought this season are items that I can mix well with each other for all and any occasions. I have bought a lot of plain neutral things these last few months and as a lover of prints and floral items for Summer, I feel I now have a good variety of colour and style in my current wardrobe!

Have you finished your Summer wardrobe shopping this season? My next blogpost will feature a couple of new buys that will be perfect for transitioning to Autumn- stay tuned!

Thrift My Style Hand Knit Aran Cardigans for Seasonal Styling and Thrift Tips

Getting ready for Autumn and Winter styling!

Hi everyone! Although it's high season Summer at the moment, whenever I go to the charity shops or boot sales I'm always keeping my eyes open for alternative season pieces.

Which leads me nicely to My First Thrift Tip - Shop items that are not for the current season This really applies if they are available to buy in a charity shop or at the boot sale of course! Keep an open mind in the heart of Summer to check out coats, winter jackets and knitwear as it's a great cost effective way of adding to your wardrobe and likewise so is seeking out and buying summer dresses and swimwear in Winter too!

So to my chunky knits! My first hand knit cardigan was a gifted purchase a couple of years ago which was from the clothes market at Columbia Road Flower Market. 

I featured it on my Instagram feed in 2018 and what I really like about it is the longer length and how I can wear it as a 'coatigan' and as you can see I styled it over a denim jacket and skirt- this kind of styling for me is perfect for Autumn and transitional styling:

What drew me to it was the gorgeous olive colour and chunky style, it definitely is a 'keeper' piece in my wardrobe as it is versatile and stylish and who doesn't like a hand knit cardigan in the wardrobe!

I went to the Saturday boot sale yesterday in Chigwell again and there was a massive stall selling all kinds of different clothes which had a small selection of hand knit aran sweaters and cardigans. 

I've been looking for the traditional cream colour for a while now and have always seemed to come across sweaters rather than cardigans in my size.

Anyhow I found this one which also seems as new and unworn and on the same stall I found a vintage football shirt for the boys. 

So armed with my booty I asked how much for both. The reply was a tenner, which of course is pretty good to be fair, but I decided to put my haggling skills to good use and we negotiated and settled at £7!!

It's a real bargain buy and it's a great feeling to find something which you've actually been after for ages too!

This particular cardigan is a shorter length to the olive green one that I have and has laundered up so well- it hasn't shrunk and because of the summer heat has dried naturally very quickly!

So to reiterate on my Second Thrift Tip - Do haggle at boot sales! I tend to if I've got more than one item and I make sure I don't take liberties as I know this can also be someone else's important source of income. Sometimes I don't even haggle, if I really like an item I'll snap it up at the price given!

But it never hurts to ask and I'll always accept a no with grace and a smile, particularly if I want the said item!

Third Thrift Tip - The Early Bird catches the Good Items! I was at the boot sale before 7am yesterday and it's good to be able to browse whilst sellers have just set up their stall and you know you are one of the first to view their wares!

Fourth Thrift Tip - Buy Quality whatever the price!  So the cardigan stood me in at £3.50 which I was very pleased about- I wouldn't be able to get a cardigan on the High Street for this price plus I'm all for items that promote slow sustainable fashion, that are also preloved and also will have a long term future in my wardrobe!

I remember buying a couple of jumpers in the Primark sale a couple of years ago for £5 each and they didn't hold up well at all, so that was £10 wasted as they didn't last a full winter season.

Fifth Thrift Tip-  Get Charity Shopping now! The charity shops are all beginning to reopen now after lockdown and with donations being received thick and fast in their shops and a limited amount of people being allowed in for social distance reasons, now really is the perfect time to be checking out a new thift bargain- whether it's for this season or for Autumn and Winter! 

HAPPY THRIFT SHOPPING! 

ThriftMyStyle with Vintage and Preloved Jackets and Blazers

Summer and Transitional Jackets and Blazers in key basic neutral colours for a perfect capsule wardrobe 

Hi everyone! I think this post is a long overdue one from me- I really do love a blazer!

My Summer favourite, year in and year out ALWAYS consists of a good quality blazer or jacket- preferably vintage or preloved in a key colour that I know will last me for seasons to come. You can't go wrong with having a few in your wardrobe- they can either transition for Autumn or be kept again for the following Summer!

This first blazer is one I found eleven years ago- check my original post 'Ferretti and Frills' from August 2009! Its definitely one of my all time favourite finds and I always wear it every Summer. A navy blazer is a must and this one by Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti has stood the test of time in quality and style in my wardrobe for sure! I really love the longer length and double breasted style and this style never dates, so timeless and classic in cut and colour:

This next blazer was bought a couple of years ago and was found in the same Salvation Army charity shop as the one above, its a Calvin Klein steel grey light wool blazer and was £3.99.

When I thrift a blazer I always try and source either designer names or brands with a high natural material content, such as wool, silk or linen.

If you can find a good quality well made jacket that covers these bases you will have a piece that will have longevity in your wardrobe and be a keeper for many years to come! This Calvin Klein one has a white striped lining on the arms so I do like to fold them up sometimes for that relaxed 90s Summer vibe!

This Jaeger beige linen vintage blazer was also £3.99 and I found this in a charity shop last year. It's a go to jacket for wearing with shorts or a mini skirt as it is a longer length style and again I like to wear it with the sleeves pushed up. This one is unlined and a perfect cover up over a cami or a new trend season vest top and I do think a neutral colour is a must for any Summer wardrobe.

Viewers of my Instagram page will know that I purchased this Gerry Weber tobacco brown linen blazer from ebay earlier this month. I've never really worn brown much, but have really embraced this tonal colour this season and it really is a great colour to have in a neutral colour capsule wardrobe as it goes with so much. This classic single breasted style works well with jeans and floral or plain coloured summer dresses. I love ebay for preloved items- this was just £4.99 with postage and a key tip for finding a bargain is to check 'ending soonest' in your chosen colour and size, that's how I won this one!

This last jacket was a fabulous find a couple of weeks ago from my local Cancer Research charity shop- it was on the 50p rail! I love the shorter length of this black linen jacket from Marks and Spencer, it makes a change from the oversized or longer length jackets that I already have in my wardrobe. I do actually own a few black jackets but I didn't have a linen one, so for 50p I couldn't leave it behind!

A good quality blazer really does pull an outfit together and it's amazing what can be found in your local charity or thrift shops and also from the boot sale too! As I've said before, look for ones with a high natural material content, that is a neutral colour and style and choose styles that are either longer and shorter to mix and match well with pieces already in your wardrobe!

What are your favourite Summer styles, are jackets on your radar too? 

Thrift Inspiration - Vintage Preloved Jewellery from eBay

Thrifted Preloved Jewellery 

Hi everyone! I really love costume jewellery and generally I enjoy sourcing pieces from boot sales and charity shops. Obviously I haven't been able to do this recently so I decided to check out what eBay have had to offer.

There are some great vintage costume jewellery brands around from the 80s and 90s and eBay is the ideal place to source preloved or secondhand pieces for really good prices, either by auction or through buy it now.

I've wanted a rope chain necklace for a very long time and a recent search brought up this great find- real good vintage finds stand the test of time and this necklace is by a brand called Trifari, who do some lovely items and are such good quality:

It has a good weight to it and it has not discoloured in any way- if you are going to invest in vintage costume jewellery then choose a reputable, established brand and your item will last a long time.

I also sourced this cute diamante necklace which is also a Trifari find and it was less than £10 so a real bargain which I really enjoy wearing:

Vintage Diamante Necklace

This is how the Trifari triple rope necklace looks like- I think it will also work really well with sweaters and jumpers in Autumn and Winter. 

Vintage Gold Rope Necklace

Do you enjoy wearing vintage jewellery? Where are your favourite finds sourced from?

I hope you've enjoyed this and it's inspired you to pick good quality, preloved and stylish pieces from places like eBay!

ThriftMyStyle Favourite Trend- The Sweatshirt, Plus Some Carine Roitfeld x Uniqlo

Hi everyone! Its a lovely winters morning and with that in mind it brings me on to what my signature daytime style for this season is gravitating to. I've been finding of late that I have indeed adopted a 'style uniform' which my lovely blogger friend Michelle at My Fashionable 40s mentioned in her fabulous post on 'Wise Style Words' and certainly for me it's all about the sweatshirt, jeans, trainers and chosen winter coat or jacket on top.

  So my recent thrifting trips have seen me adding to my growing sweatshirt collection this week with a couple more finds as seen below:

I already had the black DRMTM sweatshirt (new from a couple of years ago) and the United Colors of Benetton one (recent thrift find), which are both firm favourites and worn regularly. The Swedish Cheap Monday sweatshirt was a find from the Cancer Research charity shop for just £4.20 and literally 10 minutes later I found the grey cropped style Gap sweatshirt in the British Heart Foundation charity shop for just £4.30!! 

The Cheap Monday sweat is ideal for wearing right now-a darker shade of grey for winter and I'm really loving logo tops as they work so effortlessly with jeans and trainers for a stylish, on the go outfit that is pretty comfortable too!! The light grey Gap sweatshirt is an ideal Spring/Summer one which I'm sure will be a regular wear.

A new sweatshirt which my lovely son got for me is this logo sweat by Nicce London- it has a lovely fleecy lining and is a crop style which works well with higher waisted jeans. 

Sweatshirts never date and fpr me are a real style essential- the Benetton I found last month is an original 90s one which has stood the test of time and I'll be on the look out for other retro sweatshirts or T-shirts this year on my thrifting trips!!

Onto some more style inspiration from the First Lady of Parisian Fashion-Carine Roitfeld who has brought a chic collab with Uniqlo- hooray!!

I'm lusting over the blouson jackets-the reversible ones are gorgeous and the camo pieces are also on my radar too!! 

A really stylish and amazing collection which is so chic, wearable and on point for this season- are you tempted to indulge in any of the pieces??

What is currently in your daytime wardrobe this season- do you have a signature style for daytime or do you like a different look every day? Thank you so much for stopping by to read and comment too- its so very much appreciated especially when my posts are quite sporadic and irregular- I'm hoping to post more in general so please do continue to "watch this space!!"

Welcome to a Stylish 2016- Favourite Trends and Buys for January So Far!!

Happy January to You All!! Its great to see in a new year and I really hope I'm going to contribute to my blog on a fairly regular basis this year- style inspiration permitting of course! It goes without saying that I hope to catch up again soon with you on either your blogs, instagram, twitter and pinterest too! I admit to being a more regular contributor to instagram as its so easy and slightly obsessional to interact this way-if not a tad lazy though!!

Anyhow I've been inspired by stripes- from mutual bloggers, friends, style magazines, social media and mainly the fact I've always had a 'thing' for stripes-Breton in particular. Navy or red  in any style combination works great for me and I seem to be constantly adding to my ever growing collection.

Here are some pictures (credit: pinterest, google) that have really piqued my interest- you really can't beat a red, navy and white combination!!

Love how Kate is rocking this red cardi/jacket over her Breton top!!

One of my favourite striped looks, I recently shared this pinterest on instagram. A reverse of above really!!

A red bag is an essential with navy stripes if a red jacket is unavailable this coming season!!

Love the crop top and those sleeves are just soo cute!!

So here are my new Adidas Pro Model high tops that I snagged in the sale a few weeks ago- I purposely was looking for some Nikes or Adidas that could scratch the red stripe itch and these fit the bill perfectly!! I also caved in to my renewed vintage bag obsession, starting this year with a new to me Louis Vuitton Speedy 25!!!

I defintely needed (ok-wanted badly) a red and white striped Breton so this lovely new Armor Lux version is going to be seeing a lot of action!! 

So slightly off topic on stripes but going back to the bag itch- I hunted for an oversize black tote and found this perfect one for me in Primark in the sale for £5!! Perfect for work and afterwards when you've forgotten to put a few plastic bags in your handbag for those last minute grocery purchases!!

So onto a really coveted thrift find- I do love a logo sweater so I was really pleased to score this 90s original Benetton sweatshirt in a local Cancer Research for just £6.99!! Perfectly my size and a year round item that can be worn with anything- I love it!!

Onto another Primark find, these new pleather fronted leggings which were only £10 and perfect for daytime wearing  with a sweater and trainers during the day or with a structured jacket in the evening

I admit to another striped top and more Louis Vuitton but I'll share that another time!! So what is inspiring you this January- have you indulged in any purchases that will be seen regularly?!! I look forward to seeing your new items for 2016 in action!!

Thanks as always for stopping by, reading, commenting and remebering I'm still here too!! Wishing you all a fabulous 2016!!

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!