St Katherine's Dock and Tower Bridge, MyStyle Out and About

Hi everyone! Today I thought I would share some pictures from last month when the weather was especially hot and sunny where I live. We decided to visit St Katherine's Dock and Tower Bridge, which is our favourite choice for either a spot of weekend breakfast, a mint or fennel tea pit stop or just for an afternoon browse taking in the sights, soaking up the sun and a spot of people watching.

Stylewise, I was a tad overdressed for all the sunshine- I wore Wrangler tan boots, Zara bleached jeans, grey Whistles tee-both thrifted and a new Primark scarf:

I really love this part of London-to me, it can't be beaten when you want to have a chilled out, relaxing time in the sun for a while and with it only being a 15 minute drive from where we live we do tend to visit fairly frequently:

Everytime we visit I always say that when I win the lottery, I'll be buying an apartment in one of these blocks!!

The Marina has some awesome yachts and sailing boats, sigh.....

A gorgeous view of the Thames, the Shard and Tower Bridge

This was the flotilla used in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations last year

My full outfit of choice for the day!!

What is your first choice destination for getting out and about in the Sun this Summer?

London Collections:Men 2013 Hunger TV Backstage by ChrisSearle.com

Hi everyone!! Today I thought I would share with you the excellent work and photos that my eldest son Chris took at the London Collections: Men 2013 last week for Hunger TV magazine

This is his second time of covering the event and you can check out his whole portfolio on his webpage Chrissearle.com To say I am proud of his achievements to date is an understatement-he only left college this time last year and he has regularly worked and contributed photography for Hypebeast and i-D Magazine online as well as working full time in London for a men's fashion PR company-phew, he is one busy bee!!

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do and please feel free to check out his work too !!

High Heels, Wedges or Sandals-Take Your Pick!!

With the weather so intermittent lately, it's really hard to try and put together any chosen summer pieces or outfits without layering up a little. So it's great news that footwear from Heels Republic have some fabulous styles of sandals and shoes here which will all be perfect for dressing an outfit up during the day or for choosing a night time stylish look that doesn't have to be weather reliant.

Whether you opt for heels, wedges or sandals this Summer, there are different styles to suit all occasions and budgets and they come in a lovely variety of different colours too. I've picked a selection of my favourites, which are not only ideal for Summer and evening wear, but can transcend the seasons through rain or shine:

Black strappy heels, 69$

Low Summer Wedges 59$

Multi colour wedges, 79$

Grey platform heels, 59$

Here's hoping these styles will inspire you on your next shoes or sandals purchase!!

Wimbledon-Inspired Fashion

Wimbledon Tennis is just round the corner, and so too is the annual courtside catwalk. Sharapova and Serena showdowns aside, the fiercest competition surrounds fashion. It’s little wonder, with Kate Middleton (royalty) and Anna Wintour (fashion royalty) as regular attendees. Place all bets now for this year’s champion–my money is on Mrs Beckham!

Whether you’ve bagged yourself centre court tickets or you just plan on drinking Pimms in the beer garden, there’s no excuse not to get into the festive spirit with a Wimbledon-inspired outfit. You don’t need to don all-over tennis whites to sport a preppy cool look however. This pleated Cromer dress from Fever ticks all the boxes, and the navy body means spilt strawberries and cream won’t ruin your fashion moment. Nor will grass stains if you’re cheering on Britain from Murray Mount.  Plus, its vintage feel is a sure way to stand out from the floral maxi-dress wearing crowd.

Team with pumps for a sportily chic trifecta of pleats, plimsolls and patriotic colour, and take inspiration from the umpires with a blazer thrown on top.  Keep hair down to avoid overkill – you don’t actually want to be mistaken for an umpire – but make sure it’s in good condition. Last year was the battle of the blow-dries between Kate Middleton and Andy Murray’s girlfriend Kim Sears, and this year is sure to all about bouncy hair and sun-kissed highlights again. I’ll be slathering on a deep conditioning mask and popping my hair in heated rollers for Wimbledon-worthy hair.

If you’re looking for something a bit more glam, the dress can be dolled up with wedges – a Wimbledon style staple – and a red lip for effortless summer gorgeousness.  For the brave or those who are not going to be traipsing around the lawn club all day, this season’s pointed-toe skinny heel will look equally amazing. Cover up with an elegant cardigan, and you’ll be fit to go from day to night effortlessly. What’s more, you’ll have Roger Federer look-a-likes swooning in no time. Who knows, you might even catch the eye of the man himself! We can dream.

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!!