My Recipe for Successful Thrifting and Recent Finds: Zara, Topshop and Church's Shoes

Hi everyone!! I've been pretty quiet on showing my thrift finds recently and also having regular 'bloggers block' bouts lately too where I've been not sure what direction my blog is going in and what I want to regularly post about really hasn't helped. Thankfully I've had a 'lightbulb' moment in that my blog is ThriftMyStyle so I should really go back to my roots and get back to sharing my finds with you all, so hopefully you gain some thrift inspiration for future purchases and get an idea of what 'thrifting' is all about.

 Searching out decent pieces at the boot sales and charity shops seems to be getting increasingly harder, but not impossible and I hope my finds will inspire you to get to your local boot sales or charity shops and check out what's on offer. 

When I go on my thrifting trips I try to stick to an agenda of things I want to get-like normal shopping, it's still important to have an idea of pieces that will compliment and enhance your wardrobe so you don't end up coming home with carrier bags of clothes just because they were cheap. When I am on the hunt for things my main priorities are quality and potential: whether it's a vintage, high street or designer item it has to be right for me and not just bought because of the label attached to it- I've knocked back plenty of designer pieces on my travels-just because it's got a Chloe or Roberto Cavalli label in it if it's not my style or doesn't suit me, then it's not coming home- I'd rather go away empty handed then spend money on items that I know I don't completely love. In the same breath, be prepared to keep your eyes open, rummage and expect the unexpected to pop up as you never know when you're going to come across that 'right' item for you.

After searching for weeks and weeks in early Spring for denim shirts and coming up with nothing I've now found about three which will be real staples in my wardrobe. This particular one by Zara was £2 at the boot sale a couple of weeks ago and is a nice longer length to wear over cami tops and tees open in the summer:

It also has some lycra content so it's nice and comfortable for wearing as a casual piece this Summer and I love the short sleeves and navy popper detailing too:

My other thrift find from last week is this pair of mock croc leather heeled shoes from the legendary shoemaker Church's English Shoes which is a brand with such heritage and quality, it was actually taken over by Prada in 1999. These were from my local Sue Ryder charity shop and the person who had them before me had actually newly reheeled them- bearing in mind this normally costs about £6 now, the shoes were worth buying for just £5.75 and in my size too:

They are a timeless, classic design and will go perfectly with jeans so they don't look too matronly or mumsy. I love the gold gilt chain and the little heel is the perfect height for me:

This Topshop gold and silver lurex tee was from the boot sale a few weeks ago for just £2. It is actually more gold in colour with a silvery thread running through and is my nod to the metallics trend this Summer:

It has a real slouchy relaxed feel to it but being metallic it can easily be dressed up or down-the down side of the top is the glitter comes off it a bit, but for the money if it lasts the summer it was worth buying:

Even though it is currently sales season, boot sales across the country are now in full swing with plenty of ladies of all ages trying to sell their quality unwanted items-so for a Sunday morning change go and take a browse and try and bag yourself a bargain, after all it's the cheapest and easiest way to tap into a particular trend for the coming season without breaking the bank!!

Outfit Post: Red Stripes and Denim and The Rough Guide to Vintage London

Hi everyone! Yet another hectic week, the time is flying by and it's been mainly filled with work and home priorities but I thought I would sneak in an outfit post from last week.

This red and white striped Breton tee was only £1 at the booty a couple of months ago but has been a real staple in my wardrobe as it goes with everything. I paired it with another thrift find, my Gap denim jacket from the PDSA charity shop bought earlier this year and my black wet look ruched leggings. I am also wearing my new Topshop cream western style shoes that I bought earlier this year- they are perfect with leggings and jeans and I'll be wearing them a lot this season:

The weather has gone back to being windy, rainy and rather un-Spring like and it's so frustrating that summer pieces have still not been worn yet. I tend to be less adventurous stylewise when the sun isn't shining (or is it just laziness!!) but I still haven't fully adapted to dressing for Summer yet.

I was sent The Rough Guide to Vintage London last month and it's an invaluable guide for anyone wanting to know where to shop, eat and drink with a vintage vibe going on, whether you're in the North, South, East or West part of London. The guide also features specialists through the decades gone by, as well as where to go for vintage fairs, festivals, museums and nights out. There is also detailed maps so you can't get lost trying to find that special place on your agenda. The book's consulting editor is Wayne Hemingway, who originally founded Red or Dead and who now organises the The Vintage festival which will be in Glasgow this year.

I definitely recommend it, not just because I am featured in the websites section, hehe, but it really is a useful and well documented book on all things vintage in London.

I hope you all have a really good weekend, I am hoping to do a boot sale this weekend-depending on the weather that is and generally just chill out. Have a good one, whatever you get up to!!

MyStyle Outfit Post: A Christian Dior and Coca Cola Kinda Day

Hi everyone! I apologize for my lack of regular posts on here and my other style blog Live To Love Denim but there has been a lot going on in my family and personal life which obviously takes priority- hopefully when things start to calm down a bit I will get back in to my regular posting and reading of all my lovely blogger friends. Until then, I will try and do blogposts fairly regularly and come around to read your blogs even if I don't leave a comment.

This particular outfit is from last week and features my current favourite tee and is a thrift find from last month. I don't have a plain red tee and when I saw this Coca Cola one in a local Sense charity shop for £3.45, I snapped it up. I love the 'right' kind of slogan tee and this is slightly oversized and fits perfectly under my leather biker jackets, denim jackets and blazers. It's a great piece to style with anything too and I'm wearing my River Island dark denim pencil skirt which I bought from my local PDSA charity shop a few months ago for less than £4: 

I also decided to wear my lovely Christian Dior clip on earrings which have been the perfect jewellery piece to wear at the moment and were a present from my mother in law:

I am sure I will be wearing this outfit a lot this Summer, the denim skirt makes a fresh change from jeans and the tee gives the whole outfit a relaxed vibe:

Unfortunately the white sandals which I've had for quite a few years decided to snap later on that day which means I really do need to start looking out for a replacement pair of flat white or metallic sandals.

I am linking this post to the lovely Patti at Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday. 

I hope you all have a great week ahead and here's hoping to continued glorious sunshine wherever you may be! A big thank you to all my lovely readers and followers too, your viewing and commenting is so much appreciated xxx

Found- A casual hat for those bad hair days!!

Hi everyone! I've noticed a continued thread on a lot of my posts in that I've been doing a fair bit of shopping  for accessories in Primark over the last few weeks.

Price wise, it's been great picking up trend led and stylish pieces for well under £10 and this cap I'm wearing is no exception. I was on a hunt for clothes for my younger son-promise!-but made a slight detour, still keeping in the men's section to the accessories where I spied this hat-only a bargainous £3!! But what I like most about it is it doesn't have the traditional 5 panels that a lot of baseball and trucker caps have and from trying on my eldest sons evergrowing collection of caps, I knew this was a style I had to steer clear of as it really doesn't suit me or look right either. This particular style has just a couple of panels and a fairly curved peak-not dead straight and not too curved-for the money I am pleased that I've actually found one that I really like:

This look just has to be worn casually, so I wore my black leather biker jacket, grey marl top and grey River Island skinny jeans:

Hmm, some more Primark here too- these 3 necklaces were a set for less than £2, but style wise, just perfect for me- I do love a touch of skull and diamante!!

Plus I'm wearing my large neon hoop earrings-also from Primark!! I must admit that I do like a lot of their items, but I do have to hunt for the pieces that are right for me and make sure that I ignore a lot of the lesser quality and overly trendy things that are really not my cup of tea at all.

Wishing you all a great week ahead, the weather here in the South East of England is positively glorious and I'm trying to make the most of it by being out and about as much as possible, here's hoping you get a chance to do the same!!

Thrift inspiration.......Doing it Commes des Garcon Style via Primark!

Hi everyone!! Well I'm still so much into accessories as you can see from my recent previous postings. In particular I am really loving bags and my favourite style of bag for summer is either a tote bag or a clutch.

When I saw the Commes des Garcon embossed black clutch I was immediately smitten- it ticks all the boxes for style, originality and versatility and coming in at just under three figures is not too badly priced either. It is currently available at My-wardrobe.com and also comes in a fluoro orange and pale blue too:

 Commes des Garcons flower embossed leather pouch, £97

So suitably inspired by this one I decided I did need an equivalent-but being a 'Thrifty Ms' I wanted something that ticked all the above boxes but came in at single rather than double digits, pricewise.

I found this black skull embossed clutch which has the added bonus of a wrist strap and silver charms:

It's another find from Primark and came in at budget for just £6. I've used it solidly for two weeks now, so cost per wear is just under 50p per day, not bad, huh!!

For a low cost item I've received lots of compliments on it and it goes amazingly well with a different variety of outfits, whether it's smart, casual, jeans, leather or dresses:

I liked it so much I popped back into Primark last week and got a grey suedette one with a diamante skull on the front. I don't have a grey bag so this again will be another worthwhile buy to see me through the summer whilst alternating with the black one!

What has been inspiring you style wise lately?