Thrift Inspiration...... Isabel Marant Bator Tweed Coat Style!

Hi everyone!! I do hope all of you have had a fabulous week and most importantly, now looking forward to the weekend, yay!! It was definitely jacket and umbrella weather today and I'm not really sure what to expect for the coming weekend-I haven't packed away summer clothes just yet, so here's hoping we have an Indian summer for a few weeks yet!

One item that I've been after for the past few winters is a black and white tweed oversized coat. Many people have their versions and here are my favourite picks which I find most inspirational and well styled for the colder weather to come:

This last photo is from Golestaneh street style blog- I really love her style here, such a casual chic and cosy look!! Her Isabel Marant Bator coat is from a few seasons ago but this style is so timeless and versatile and looks good with any type of chunky knit, white, blue or coloured skinny jeans and leather skinny jeans too.

 The stylish and timeless Isabel Marant Bator coat

I really did not need another winter coat but after nipping in to my local Sue Ryder charity shop earlier this week I just had to nab this wool mix version-pictured below which is by Debenhams and was a wonderful £8.99. It also meant I got more stamps and reached the end on my Sue Ryder loyalty card, so my next visit gives me £5 to spend for free!!

I also bought a few weeks ago some faux leather jeans from Primark-actually they are the only pair of Primark jeans that have ever fitted me properly and I can't wait to wear the coat and jeans together with a chunky knit when the weather cools. The coat is the perfect length and although it is my size it has room for a knit to go underneath just nicely:

I knew if I didn't snap it up I would regret it, for me it's a perfect Autumnal jacket and I now just need to invest in a black wool polo neck and also a wine colour handbag!!

What style of coat will you be wearing or hoping to buy this coming season?

(All photos: google images)

Outfit Post: New Jeans and a boyfriend cardigan for Autumn

Hi everyone!! Well, it's back to school week and summer is still with us-yay!! The weather has been glorious this week but for me a cardigan is still necessary first thing in the mornings and in the shade!

We took another stroll at a different local park yesterday afternoon and it looked like the majority of children were back at school, it was quite tranquil and peaceful for around 4 in the afternoon!!

Yesterday's outfit of choice was a cotton paisley printed top that is a Dorothy Perkins thrift find from the charity shop a couple of months ago.  I really love the colour of it as it's a perfect transitional piece from Summer to Autumn as it can be worn under a cardigan, jacket or denim shirt:

My boyfriend cardigan is from All Saints and was also a thrift find from the boot sale which is a at least a year old now-I'm sure it was just £1. It's in light grey merino wool with 3/4 sleeves, again a perfect item for in between weather:

My new jeans are from River Island and were in the sale-reduced from £45 to £15! As soon as I saw them in my size I knew I had to get these as they have such a lovely side Aztec embroidery detail featuring Autumn's new colour, wine:

To complete the look I wore some metallic sandals-similar styles can be found at HushHush  and they will easily be replaced in Autumn with my wine colour Chelsea boots from Zara which I thrifted at the boot sale a couple of seasons ago for just £2.

Have you started to incorporate new season clothes into your outfits yet?

Parklife

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a great weekend, for me yesterday was spent in a rather hungover state after a little party on Saturday evening that resulted in me having that extra glass of wine that left the room spinning when I eventually went to bed. The last time I was like that was on New Years Eve, so twice a year is more than enough for me-staying in bed virtually all day next day as a result is not how I would plan my Sundays, but never mind!! 

These pictures are from early last week and were meant for Friday's post, but as you well know, the Chanel Jacket Find took precedent!! We had a lovely afternoon feeding the squirrels and having a stroll around our local park. My outfit of choice was a thrifted red Breton stripe tee which was a £1 from the boot sale earlier this year, my TU for Sainsburys khaki animal print skinny jeans. thrifted leather gladiator sandals that were bought unworn from the boot sale for £3 and a gifted DKNY mini bag:

There is nothing more calming than heading for the park and walking in the opposite direction to everyone else- we tend to stay around the wooded area and the lake, rather than join in the hustle and bustle of the centre of the park where the playground, tennis courts, bandstand and boating lake are. Here are my favourite snaps of the afternoon:

My favourite- 5 little ducks being led by their mama, how cute!!

The Old English Garden-featuring a vast spread of lavender 

Not quite sure who or what this Mr or Mrs is- is it a bird, a hen, a cockerel or a duck? A mix of, I think!!

So much wildlife!!!

I am linking this post to the lovely Claire Justine for her Creative Mondays blog hop. Do take a look, it's a great chance to view other gorgeous ladies sharing their posts and providing some excellent inspired ideas!

Wishing you all a great week ahead!

Thrifty Finds: Chanel, Valentino, Vintage Celine, Burberry and DVF-My Charity Shop Haul!!

Hi everyone!! Well what an amazing few days I've had!! On my way home from volunteering on Wednesday afternoon, I had a few things to do and my last port of call was the local Salvation Army charity shop. I was going in there to see if I could track down a black wool polo neck or turtle neck-which I actually did, even though I've not shown it here. It's a Marks & Spencer lambswool turtle neck which was £2.99, so am now sorted on that for Autumn and Winter. Well I first saw a couple of Ralph Lauren blazers which I picked up to try on, but they were left in the end as they were too short in the sleeves. Then I picked up a paisley dress (which didn't even get a try on due to the forthcoming excitement and also the shop was due to close, so it was hurry hurry hurry!).

THEN I PICKED UP MY NEXT ITEM-LOOKED IN AWE AND SHOCK AT IT AND MADE A BEELINE STRAIGHT FOR THE CHANGING ROOMS.........

Yes, a Chanel cardigan jacket AND in my size too!! This is from the Autumn collection in 2005, you can see the date code on the label 05 (year) A (Autumn) 42 UK 12

 Of course the detailing is just wonderful, there are cute little pockets, ribbon threaded throughout with boucle knit trimming, a double C zip pull and 3/4 length sleeves:

It's a wool, cashmere and angora blend-so soft and warm

The main detailing which I didn't see until I get home is the silver chain around the bottom of the jacket to weight it down.

The price? As you could see in the first picture- an unbelievable £4.99!!! I'm sure the staff must have thought it was a fake to have sold it for so cheap. Having already my 90's Chanel jacket, I could compare the two and the labeling and the quality are just top notch and 100% genuine:

This is definitely a keeper- I've regretted selling finds in the past and this is up with my Ossie Clark find which was in 2006 and got sold a couple of years later to help pay for bills. I'll always have bills, but I won't always find Chanel jackets in the charity shops!!

The interior of the jacket does not show any of the ribbon stitching which just goes to show what exquisite quality Chanel pieces really are:

My photos are not good quality though, so please excuse how some of them have come out! I could not believe my luck and that wasn't all, I also found this gorgeous dark green olive leather gilet by Valentino which I bought and was my 2nd bargain of the evening- also priced at £4.99 and a perfect fit too!!

The gold chain detailing is totally gorgeous and I can't wait to start wearing this!!

 So as I had found these treasures just before the shop closed I was itching to check it out again first thing yesterday morning and did I came up trumps yet again- a vintage Celine wool skirt suit, in my size for £9.99:

THE perfect colour for this coming Autumn and Winter and I'll enjoy wearing them more as separates

The tailoring and attention to detail is superb, the buckle on the skirt band has the double C and is also engraved with Celine

I pulled this bucket hat out of the £1 basket-it's a fully reversible Burberry one which is plain beige on the other side:

Here is the Diane Von Furstenberg dress which I snaffled too, it's in tissue paper fine silk and unfortunately when I washed it, it caught on something else and  there is a little rip in it, but I should be able to mend it. Another summer dress for a wonderful £4.99:

So it really looks like someone had the job of sorting out their own or someone else's designer wardrobe and thankfully it came to me via the charity shop.  It just goes to show that there are things to be found if you're prepared to be patient and look hard enough too. I really love my finds and very thankful I am for them!!

I hope you've enjoy viewing them and that it also gives you real inspiration to seek and find your next designer bargain-you never know what you will find so be sure never to miss out on giving your local charity shop a visit!

Marks & Spencer, Thrift Style-Another Thrifty Summer Dress Find

Hi everyone! I thought I would show you another of my summer dress thrift finds-this one is from the newly opened St Francis Hospice in my local town and I bought this about a month ago and wore it for the first time last week. It's by Marks & Spencer and was only £2.50-and it's only a size 10!!!

I really love the colours, the cut and the fit-it is so floaty and light and is a real dressy dress-but as I've no occasions as such this summer I thought I would wear it on a shopping trip with my youngest son to Westfield shopping mall to get a few things for him. I did look in Marks & Spencer as I'd seen a couple of sweatshirts that I had wanted to try on, but on seeing them on I decided they were not for me.

I used a new clutch that I bought a couple of months ago from Primark-it's a grey suedette one with diamante studding and was only £6:

It's a perfect neutral bag to wear when you haven't got a certain colour in mind to go with a chosen outfit and it will be ideal to use this coming Autumn too. The way the weather has been recently may be the last of my summer dress wearing, but I'm pleased to say that I've worn all the thrifted ones I've bought this summer bar one, so that's not bad going at all!!

I hope you are all having a great week so far and it's now countdown to back to school and Autumn-my, summer has gone so fast but it's been great to have had such glorious weather!!