The Salvation Army Charity Shop Reward Scheme

Hi everyone!! As you all may be aware, I shop A LOT at my local and neighbouring town's charity shops. For me not only are you donating to a good cause but of course you are doing your bit for the environment by buying secondhand goods.

To be rewarded for charity shopping is a real incentive and as I regularly shop at my local Salvation Army it makes sense to collect their reward cards. As it says on one side of the card, for every £5 spent you receive a stamp and once you receive 10 stamps YOU get a free £5 to spend-what's not to love!!

On the other side of the card is the donation side of being rewarded-buy a re:bag instore for just 99p and everytime you fill it up and donate the contents you can get your card stamped with a £2 credit. Fill up x 5 and you've a massive £10 to spend, so in total you can get a whopping £15 back! 

Each re:bag which has it's contents donated is equivalent to around £20 to the Salvation Army and could help provide a week’s support for a rough sleeper, a day’s vocational training at a Salvation Army day centre for 10 people to help them pursue new careers, or a much needed box of food for a family struggling with poverty at Christmas. In context it really shows how far your bag of unwanted goods can go and it really does make a difference to people around the UK:

Even if you don't necessarily buy clothes from charity shops you can still pick up lovely accessories, costume jewellery, handbags, DVDs, CDs, books and general bric a brac, some of which is still new and can make ideal stocking fillers for Christmas.

There are over 140 shops participating in the scheme and if you click here you can find your local branch plus further information on the schemes.

Of course I had to show you what I managed to get with my £5 reward this week:

A ladies Levi's denim shirt which is perfectly in my size:

A pair of chino's by Gap which are from Spring 2012 and once laundered, pressed and put away will be perfect daytime trousers for Spring next year. You can see they were reduced, I presume because they are discounting the summer items:

So for me I received 2 items for £5 and they will both definitely be worn too-regardless of how cheap items are in charity shops I still don't buy for the sake of it, the item still has to be first wanted and then worn.

I hope this inspires you to check out your local Salvation Army-it is definitely a worthwhile charity to donate to and buy from especially as all profits go to different causes within the UK.

PS- This isn't a sponsored post, just a post from a very satisfied customer!!

Wishing you a really lovely weekend!

Thrift Inspiration, The Square Route Way-According to Vogue!!

Hi everyone! Now October is here, so is the onset of traditional British weather-wet, cold, windy, intermittently sunny and if we're lucky dry and not too nippy!

It's definitely warmer jacket weather and according to Vogue's catwalk edit for Autumn/Winter 13, 'The Square Route'- that is another pseudonym for all things plaid, tartan, checked and weaved into these said patterns is definitely the way to go this season.

Last season saw monochrome as a key look but this season all plaid colours are go-and into anything from coats to jackets to gowns to dresses to skirts to trousers!!

In Spring I acquired a couple of jackets that sit very nicely for this Autumn. My first jacket is a pure wool tweed vintage jacket which my mum brought from South Africa which had been her sisters:

Perfect for wearing with a roll neck jumper and boot flare jeans this will keep me stylish and cosy this Autumn:

 My second acquisition was this lovely houndstooth indigo blue and cream jacket by Jaeger which I picked up in my local British Heart Foundation charity shop for just £8.99:

I love the dark blue colour, it really is perfect with indigo jeans and the fringing around the lapels, cuffs and hem of the jacket is so Chanel-esque.

It always pays to nab bargains all year round even if they're not for the season you're currently in. Thrifting is a really cheap and accessible way to find bargains, such as coats and boots in the heart of summer and summer dresses when it's freezing cold winter!

What style of jackets will you be wearing this season? Will tartans and plaids feature in your wardrobe or are you hunting for leather or leopardprint?

Make the Most of your Summer Wardrobe this Winter

If like many of us, you saw the sun come out in June and dashed out to buy a whole new wardrobe full of ditsy print dresses, short shorts and sparkles don’t despair when you look out your windows and watch as summer draws to a close.

While we may not have had much opportunity to make the most of our new wardrobe investments with the erratic British weather and your busy schedule means there’s no time for that last minute holiday to Menorca to take advantage of their long summers, that doesn’t mean our new clothes need to go to waste.

While it’s nice to buy a whole new wardrobe each season, financial constraints mean that’s just not such a viable option for many of us. With that in mind, here are some ideas on how to utilise your summer clothes for winter trends.

Tights

The sartorial saviour of any outfit! You can get much more wear out of your summer dresses if you simply team them with woolly tights, an oversized cardigan and winter boots. If you bought in to the cut-out trends and are worried about the chill getting in then simply add an extra layer. Go for a cute preppy look with a smart and crisp button down shirt or relaxed and effortless with a jersey T-shirt underneath.

The same goes for your shorts, dress them up with an oversized blazer and team with tights and loafers.

Leather

Leather is a big trend every A/W and 2013 see’s this fabric make a big comeback. However, it’s not the cheapest to buy into, but with a bit of crafty thinking you can achieve the desired effect. Adding a leather trim can jazz up any old outfit and add a tougher edge to your floral dresses.  Get creative with pockets, shoulders, collars and even waistbands. If you can’t afford real leather some faux-leather is just as good and a fraction of the price, meaning you get more for your money.

Metallic

Luckily this is one of those trends that just rolls on from the previous season so if you bought metallic this summer keep hold of it because it will be big in winter. It really is simply all about styling to suit the season. Juxtapose a hard shine with soft knits or toughen up delicate organza with biker jackets or oversized coats.

With the money you save by not spending on new clothes you could even book a cheap holiday to top up your tan and really make the most of your summer styles.

Dope Plaid Shirt, My New to Me Autumn Shirt

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a good weekend, I'm trying my best to have a semi self imposed shopping ban in that I've thrifted (and bought) quite a few items over this month and now it's come to  the end of the month I'd like to start wearing all my new and existing items that I have in my Autumnal wardrobe.

The shirt that I am wearing below is 'new to me'. My eldest son is not only a freelance photographer he also works full time in a London men's PR fashion company, so does come home every now and then with new items for his own wardrobe. He actually brought this shirt home earlier on in the year and when I realised it would be ideal to have a flannel plaid shirt for the coming season I decided to swipe it and put it in my wardrobe!!

The shirt is by a Los Angeles street wear brand called Dope Couture and is in red and black brushed 

cotton, perfect for wearing by itself or as a layering piece over tees and under jackets. I'm wearing the shirt with my trusty All Saint's boyfriend style skinny jeans, claret Zara chelsea boots and a black Primark tee:

To be perfectly honest, although plaid, check and tartan are totally on trend for this season, I doubt if I would have gone and bought an item in these- I like the trend, but don't love it. For me the best way to adopt this trend was to 'steal' the look from the nearest men's wardrobe and as myself and my eldest are pretty much the same size, I dipped into his!!

Do you borrow items from the men in your life's wardrobes? Some items are ideal to 'borrow or steal' to create a different stylish look- a cosy wool knit is a great piece to have and is perfect with skinny jeans or faux leather leggings!

Wishing you all a great week ahead!

Thrift Inspiration.....Day Birger Et Mikkelsen and Dune Way!!

Hi everyone!! Over the last few weeks I haven't been visiting the boot sales as often as I have done in the past, so on Sunday I decided to visit my local one as inevitably boot sale season will be coming to a close shortly. I do love Autumn as I'm most happiest in jeans, jackets and boots which are my three favourite items that I can have in my wardrobe. I was fortunate to be gifted some flat ankle boots from T K Maxx which I showed you all at the beginning of the week and I was inspired by Vogues Spy section in choosing them.

Well my latest boot sale trip provided dividends as I was rewarded with this pair of black leather riding boots by Dune, which I so love and can't wait to start wearing:

They're knee height and being flat are perfect additions to my wardrobe as I've far too many heeled shoes and boots that rarely get worn:

As you can see, riding boots are very much on trend this season and not cheap either- to shop Dune for their current riding boots you're looking at an eye watering £250 and Ralph Lauren's are an even more unbelievable four figure amount of £1050-gulp!!

Which is why I love to see what is on trend for coming seasons and try to thrift accordingly!! My Dune pair were a bargainous £3- a lady spotted them before I did, tried them on and slung them aside and I just pounced and paid my money for them without any hesitations! If these are my last boot sale bargain of the year, I shall be most pleased!!

My second bargain over the weekend was this stunning cotton and silk peasant blouse by Day Birger et Mikkelsen a Scandinavian company which produce really unique covetable pieces and can be found at the likes of Net-A-Porter and My-Wardrobe:

The colour is very much plum/grape which is a perfect Autumn colour and will work easily with existing jeans, trousers and jackets in my wardrobe already and the price from my local Sue Ryder charity shop? A wonderful £3.25, less than a bottle of wine and a perfect weekend self treat!!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend whatever you get upto!! I've been a bit behind updating my other blog, LiveToLoveDenim.com, but I've just put a new post up-it would be great if you get a chance to check it out!!