Thrift My Style Perfect Handbag Finds- When Fendi costs the same as Debenhams!!

Hi everyone!! I hope you are all keeping well- I'm sorry for being such a rubbish blogger of late, I seem to be having so much 'life priorities' that blogging has been taking a back seat but I will be trying my best to visit you all so soon!

I had to do a blog post today as I was so lucky on my thrift trip earlier today. Like many fashion and style bloggers I admit to having more than my fair share of handbags in my wardrobe, ranging from small to mid to large size in an array of different colours but I suppose a quarter to a third of them are black.

But why is it when you know you've over half a dozen black bags you still hanker after 'the right one'? Examining my handbags in my wardrobe in more detail this morning revealed that I had only two with silver hardware- one is a DKNY tiny cross body bag and the other is just a bit too fiddly (but still lovely) to be used on a regular basis. I know the gorgeous Michelle at MyFashionable40s had a similar dilemma- I won't call it a problem in the great scheme of things!! I was very impressed with her research and if I had not have found this mornings finds I would have been seriously contemplating buying a black mid size Longchamp bag. So here is what I found this morning:

This first bag was from the Help The Aged charity shop for £6.99 and is a black leather Debenhams Classic handbag. It is actually more mini than mid size but as it has lots of compartments it's not too much of a problem and of course it has the obligatory silver hardware that I was after- I just won't be able to shove a brolley in it, hehe!!

Then my second find was in the Cancer Research charity shop and as soon as I saw it on the shelf, I nabbed it quickly. Of course I didn't want to examine it too closely in the shop but on a quick assessment the overall quality reassured me it was genuine and I'm guessing at least five to ten years old too:

A classic Fendi Zucca hobo bag which when I checked on my journey home has the serial number and authenticity label but having been around fakes and authentic bags for years and knowing that quality is a key indicator I am more than happy that my find is genuine- not bad for £6.99 too! It is mid size and has the silver hardware too and is big enough for a brolley!!

I'm so thrilled with my finds because I knew in my head before I went out this morning what I wanted but I didn't dream I'd stumble across a designer goody! I've always loved Fendi and I know this particular bag will be used so much!

Did you have 'mission accomplished' with sales finds so far this season? Or if you're a thrifter like me have you found items that were on your style list?

Thanking you as always for you continued support, lovely comments and kind words- even though I'm so slow in responding I really do appreciate you all giving me the time and effort by stopping by.

Wishing you all a lovely week ahead!!

Outfit Post and A Couple of Thrifted & Gifted Autumn/Winter Investment Pieces

Hi everyone! How has your week been going? I'm in the middle of a working week but am trying to multi task like every other blogger mum with housework and food shopping duties, as well as making sure my family's summer break to the South Coast is all booked up and paid for! I had a great weekend of socialising with good friends and family and due to limited funds this coming weekend will be a much more relaxed and low key affair! 

My outfit choice earlier this week featured my thrifted River Island boho jacket that I featured a couple of posts back- I teamed it with a new Primark peach vest tee and my trusty Gap boyfriend cut offs which are proving to be a definite too regular go to for easy casual dressing lately!

 I'm wearing my tan leather satchel bag from the swap party I went to a couple of months ago and my black leather gladiator sandals which were thrifted a couple of years ago:

I had a removable canvas strap from a bag that has since gone on to the charity shop and decided it would work really well on the tan bag, as I'm not overkeen on carrying bags much, I prefer a cross body bag or shoulder bag for versatility. I've been pleased with it as I can wear light colour summer clothes and not have a dark colour strap across me.

A few months ago my eldest son who works in mens fashion pr attended the Clarks press day for Autumn/Winter 2014 and for my birthday present he gave me the voucher for a free pair of any of their new range footwear from the new season collection. I've been wanting a pair of flat lace up mid length black boots for a long while now and when I saw the Minster Lance boots on their website I knew they would be perfect for Autumn/Winter as I can wear them with all my skinny jeans and winter jackets:

Another item that I wasn't looking out for but found on a recent trip to a local towns Scope charity shop was this H&M black leather biker jacket, which I really liked for it's unusually longer style length and collarless feature:

It's a true matt black and will be the perfect pairing with my new boots, so that's me off to a flying start for the next season ahead-although I'm certainly not wishing it to come too quickly, lol!!

I thank you all as always for your kind and lovely comments- I love reading your thoughts and I am trying my best to come back to you whenever I get the chance. Wishing you a lovely week and a great weekend to come!!

Thrift My Style Inspiration for Summer Boho Tunic Blouses

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely weekend! The weather has been really nice and sunny and I've been able to wear a recent thrift find that I know is going to be a firm favourite this summer- a boho tunic blouse. I was fortunate to find it at the beginning of the week and was hoping I would be able to wear it this weekend. I've been drawn to this style of top as it's not only stylish, but having different colours in it makes it so versatile for wearing day or night. Here are my Net-A-Porter picks which gave me real thrift inspiration whilst hunting down my perfect blouse:

Matthew Williamson £346

Kate Moss for Topshop £60

Etro £555

Diane Von Furstenberg Bryn £240

Diane Von Furstenberg Syrah £144

Diane Von Furstenberg Jana £203

As you can see, my newly thrifted blouse is heavily influenced by the Diane Von Furstenberg styles, so when I found my Monsoon patterned chiffon tunic blouse in a neighbouring towns Sense Charity shop for £6, I eagerly snapped it up! I wanted a chiffon style so it would be lovely and cool in the hot weather: 

 

I really love Monsoon pieces, I thrifted a patchwork print tunic top a couple of months ago and because of the mix of colours which are predominantly peach, blue and brown, it also goes with a lot in my existing wardrobe. I did a spot of denim diy last week on my Gap slim boyfriend jeans and turned them into cut offs, so I now have a couple in rotation.

What style of top or blouse are you favouring for summer? Last week whilst in Primark I bought a bright pink and a ribbed grey vest, both £2 each which are also proving their worth to my existing wardrobe- you can never have too many of these!

Thanks as always for your lovely comments and reading, as always it's much appreciated and I'll be trying my best to visit you as soon as I can- wishing you a lovely weekend, whatever you are upto!!

ThriftMyStyle for Patterned Floral Cropped Jackets this Summer

Hi everyone! How was your weekend? From heatwave Friday, it was sullen Saturday and Sunday and miserable Monday- no sun on the horizon so it's definitely back to jackets and summer scarves for the forseeable future I think!

On a thrifting trip a few weeks ago I came across a style of jacket that I really didn't think was me, but it intrigued me enough to try it on. Summer jackets in floral designs aren't my 'go to' style of jacket, but having seen what's out there, they are definitely growing on me as a style alternative to a denim, camo, quilted or kimono jacket. Here are my favourite picks of what's available at the moment, both on the High Street and designer:

Dolce & Gabbana £1860 at Net-A-Porter

Biyan, £1755 at Net-A-Porter

ASOS, £50

Jonathan Saunders, £690 at Net-A-Porter

ASOS, £55

So here is my thrifted alternative that I found at my local PDSA charity shop for £6.99. It's by River Island and is a linen cotton mix and feels much like denim. I was drawn to it as I thought it would be ideal to pair with blue, white, black or coloured denim this summer and I really liked the cropped style to it, both in the arms and the length:

It does have a slight boho vibe to it and I've already worn it a couple of times. It is one of the items that had zero hanger appeal to me but once on actually is much preferable! It goes great with skinny jeans and denim skirts and it's definitely a style of jacket that's grown on me and I'm now happy to have!

What style of jacket is on your Summer style list? Are you after something patterned or floral or are plain light colours more your style, I'd love to know!

Have a great week to you all and thanks so much to you all for your continued support and reading!

Thrift Inspiration....Doing it Net-A-Porter Style in Thrifted Gap Dresses

Hi everyone!! I hope you are all well and having a lovely weekend! My week has been filled with working, general housework and being around for my youngest who is currently sitting some of his GCES and end of year exams. He has been working extremely hard and with the World Cup on the horizon this is a much welcome distraction for enjoying his downtime! 

My blogging reading and posting has been very sporadic due to a major life change imminently on the horizon which of course is taking top priority at the moment. I do try my best to read your blogs even if I'm not leaving comments and to try and get my own life back into a normal routine I am hoping that I'll eventually be able to start blog posting and thrifting more regularly too, so do please bear with me!!

Anyhow, back to all things style and this post has been in the making for a couple of months as both items that I've thrifted were found this Spring season. Like everyone else I love Summer style and each year I always eagerly look out for dresses as my main outfits of choice. Being such an avid jeans lover for the other three seasons means I'll favour either a vintage or modern, designer or high street dress that over the years has tended to follow one main theme- floral or patterned.

When the trends for Summer were being shown in winter, one particular item caught my interest which was the denim/chambray summer dress. I already have a chambray denim maxi dress thrifted from last year but as the new year came in I really wanted to find 'the' denim dress. 

Inspiration wise there are so many fabulous chambray and denim dresses around for Summer, not just in a variety of different washes ranging from bleached to indigo, but styles range from shift to belted to cowboy to corset. Here are my favourite that I've picked from Net-A-Porter if money were no object and are pretty indicative of the styles that I like to thrift too:

ACNE Studios, £400

Sea, £340

Current/Elliott, £280

See by Chloe, £240

R13, £430

Theyskens' Theory, £320

So here are the dresses I found which I've already started wearing and are proving to be well worth the buy!! This first one is a very light blue chambray linen blend thrifted Gap shift style dress which is actually even lighter in colour than the photo suggests and was from the Sense charity shop for £3.40:

I first wore it for my lovely blogger meet with Michelle a few weeks back and funnily enough whilst we were eating lunch I managed to drip garlic butter on it-oh noo!! Thankfully a dose of fairy liquid and vanish got rid of the big blob in question and now laundered and pressed is ready for action again!!

This next purchase was from the boot sale back in March or April and is a dark indigo western style denim dress by Gap and was only £2:

It's quite a slim fitting dress and comes just above the knees, but again is a perfect summer day dress and with both dresses coming in at just over a fiver they are my perfect denim style investment pieces this summer!

Did you indulge in a chambray or denim dress for this coming season? I'd love to know what style of summer dress you are currently favouring, be it plain or patterned, floral or stripes, shift or fitted, do share!!

Thank you as usual for stopping by with your wonderful comments, opinions and observations- they are so welcomed and appreciated and I do look forward to catching up with you even if it's later rather than sooner!

Wishing you all a great week ahead and enjoy the sunshine if you're lucky to have it with you at the moment!!