Easing into Autumn with some August Thrift Finds- It's all shirts, blouses and shirts!!

Hi everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying your bank holiday weekend and the summer holidays in general! The weather in the UK has definitely become cooler and more sporadic outbreaks of sun are now more regular than the summer heatwave we experienced only a couple of weeks back.

I'm slowly laundering and packing away my summer items, I've a drawer left of skirts, shorts and dresses that is staying put just a while longer in case we have an Indian summer over the next few weeks, you never know! In the meantime my latest thrift finds are for wearing now and the next season-shirts and blouses.

I have never really been a big shirt or blouse wearer over the years, but over the last few seasons I've noticed that carefully picking the right designs can mean longevity, versatility and ease of choice when picking pieces for casual or smart outfits.

I love wearing jeans and having a multiple choice of blouses or shirts that I can wear on rotation means having a nicely growing collection is perfect for all seasons for me, especially the in between ones. My most recent find of which I've been searching for a while is the perfect check shirt. I've seen many on thrifting trips and have come across many variations of little checks, big checks, monochrome and coloured but this one by legendary jeans manufacturer Lee (a real 70s favourite) was the 'one'. It is the perfect fit, colourway and has lovely detailing across the bust and for just £3.99 from the PDSA charity shop it's one I'm wearing already and is perfect for the milder weather:

 I love how it sits under a jacket too and a real requirement for me now the weather has turned cooler is to have a collar on at least one of the items I wear as I'm not a fan of an exposed neck whilst wearing a top and jacket:

This buy was a really perfect Autumnal find and the bird print and blue and brown colourway is just a real stylish classic that will be a permanent fixture in my wardrobe for years to come:

I've always been a fan of Liberty print and this was a must have for just £5.30 from the British Heart Foundation charity shop last week. In the same shop I found this Uniqlo flannel shirt for just £2.99, another perfect shirt for wearing come Autumn:

In the thrifting trip at the PDSA I also found this lovely London Fashion Week stalwart designer Paul Costelloe silky style blouse for just £2.99. I love the colours-again, perfect for a chic daytime look with jeans or dressed up with some smart black trousers for a stylish evening outfit:

Another item which I just had to have too was this cute fine gauzy boho style blouse by Monsoon- at £2.99 it was a real steal and is again a versatile piece ideal for day or evening wear:

I know a lot of bloggers have not been spending too much in August- I admit to indulging in quite a few items which were mainly summer wear at the start of the month when I was away in Worthing and in the last couple of weeks my spending has been mainly on the shirts and blouses for now and later seasons. I'm very pleased though as I've picked up five quality items for less than £19- I'd be hard pushed to even get one of the above for that in any of their original shops- all hail charity shopping I say!!!

What is on your Autumn style wish list? Have you started buying any clothes or accessories to update your wardrobe or are you saving for bigger items, such as coats or boots- I'd love to hear!!

As always, I value your continued support with reading and commenting-thanks so much for stopping by and I look forward to visiting you all as soon as I can-wishing you all a great week ahead!!

Outfit Pics and Holiday Snaps!!

 Hi everyone!! I hope you are all having a fabulous holiday summer season! The weather in the UK recently has just been glorious and thankfully we didn't have any wet days out for our holiday breakaway this week to Worthing, West Sussex. As you can tell below, I've caught the sun and as today was also so hot and summery I wore an outfit today that didn't get worn whilst I was away. It's a coral Primark vest (£2), swap shopped Miss Selfridge summer skirt, Per Una thrifted yellow bag found on Wednesday in a Worthing charity shop for £2 and thrifted Marks and Spencer pewter slides which were £2.50 bought a couple of months ago from the Cancer Research charity shop:

It's been so nice venturing out without a jacket and I still have the holiday vibe going on!!

I've not stayed in Worthing before and was pleasantly surprised and pleased with what a lovely town it is. The beach is a pebble one but gorgeous all the same:

My youngest son observing the high sea:

My oldest son chillaxing:

Our time was spent playing mini golf:

Frequenting the local snooker and pool house:

Exploring the town:

Our view from the hotel front steps:

Having the beach across the road from the hotel was such a luxury and the Pier can be seen in the distance:

Blue skies and blue sea, we couldn't ask for more!!

Of course a trip away couldn't be without visiting the local charity shops where I picked up a lovely Indian made coral embroidered summer dress and this fabulous Limited Collection (Marks and Spencer) neon snakeskin print dress, both £5.99 each: 

My evening outfits consisted of summer dresses, the one on the left is a Marks and Spencer thrifted one which was £5 and the one on the right is a swap shopped Topshop one:

This outfit was what I wore yesterday but the photo is from a couple of weeks ago and features a grey marl Primark tee and thrifted Dorothy Perkins skirt from the Salvation Army charity shop bought a couple of months ago for £2.99:

 I'm linking up to the weekend blog hop with the lovely Claire Justine, I hope you get a chance to check out her fabulous blog and join in too!

Wishing you a great weekend and thanking you all as always for your continued reading, comments and support- it's so very much appreciated!! 

Outfit of the Day and Today's Buys

Hi everyone!! I hope you are all having a really good start to the week, I've had a great weekend as I met up with my good blogger friend Michelle over at MyFashionable40s. We had such an amazing time despite the weather being torrential rain during the start and middle of the day and from then onward's brilliant sunshine! The day consisted of shopping, eating and drinking- no photos which seems to be our usual ploy as we are normally so busy enjoying ourselves. We both managed to bag some bargains which I'll share in later outfit posts!

Today saw a visit to the hospital to get my younger son's wrist recast as he broke it last week in his sports day. We then went for a buffet lunch in town and a spot of shopping afterwards in Primark. Myself and Michelle had checked out her hometowns new Primark on Saturday but I didn't find anything I liked.

My youngest son managed to pick a few lovely pieces out for our forthcoming holiday and I picked up a sporty style tee in the sale for £1 and a summer parka for £9, which is thin and is in a silky material as opposed to traditional starchy cagoule style material:

My outfit today is a thrifted Gap black blouse which I got a couple of months ago in a neighbouring towns Sense charity shop for £2.99, I'm wearing it with my Gap boyfriend jeans from a couple of years ago from the Gap outlet store at Ashford and my silver Hotter sandals:

I'm trying to grow my fringe out-I'm really not sure if I want to or not-watch the next post to see if it's been chopped back in!!

Due to also running the Race for Life last week things have been so hectic so I've still not been able to get back to regular posting. I do still stop by to read your blogs even if I'm not leaving comments, so I do thank you for your continued reading and commenting too.

I do hope you have a good week ahead and here's to more sunshine ahead!!

Comfortable In Fashion

 It doesn't matter if you're on the red carpet or if you're having a fancy photo session with a Los Angeles commercial photographer. At the end of the day, being comfortable is what matters the most. That's the main source of confidence and freshness. When it comes to fashion, some people think that being comfortable is not that necessary, that looks are the ones that really matter. That’s not really okay because thousands of women are right now going to romantic dates feeling super uncomfortable because of their high heels and super tight skirts.

   Fashion has to feel comfortable and if it takes you more than one minute to put on those jeans, just leave them. There are so many styles of clothes out there that choosing outfits that do not fit well is simply a silly decision. It's also not looking great at all. When you wear something that makes you feel good and your feet do not hurt, you look gorgeous, just because of the attitude you've got. We need to breathe while wearing a dress and we need to move, while wearing high heels.

    If you feel like pulling the hem of the dress every 5 minutes and you are constantly adjusting the neckline of the collar of your shirt it means that the clothes are just not working for you. Once a piece of clothing is making you feel uncomfortable, there really is no proper 'feel' for it.

    However the right pair of high heels can straighten you up and the right chic dress can make you feel like you’re the queen of the world. This is why, feeling good in a certain type of outfit is mandatory, when choosing it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you have to wear yoga pants and sneakers at every birthday party or romantic date. You can find really fancy and elegant clothes that feel just like the leggings and the sporty shoes you love so much. You have to search for it, because eventually you’ll find it. And you will not only feel amazing but you will also look gorgeous. Ultimately there is nothing hotter than a woman who looks and feels good for herself and for others.

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!!