Thrift Inspiration, Corsets Style

I have never owned a corset and the main reason is because of not being blessed in the boobs department. Net-A-Porter do a fabulous range, including offerings by Jean Paul Gaultier for La Perla, Rosamosario and Agent Provocateur

Harri silk plunge corset, Agent Provocateur, £425

On a recent thrifting trip, I picked up this really cute corset for only £5 from the Helen Rollason charity shop in the quaint little village of Ongar in Essex. The cups aren't massive, so I thought I might be in with a chance of it fitting well, which fortunately it does. I love the frillyness and femininity of it and its very well made too.

Its a one off in my wardrobe, but its a pretty little thing. For years I'd always wanted bigger boobs, but since hitting 40 I'm very pleased for what I've been given-no sagging, backaches and I can go bra less in summer too, lol!!

Bodies are never perfect-what part of you have you thought you would like differently given the chance or are you now happy with how you look?

Harvey Nichols and the High Street-Aiding and Abetting gets the better of me!!

Our long awaited lunch date at Harvey Nichols finally came round and it was really great to catch up with the gorgeous Kate of Make Do Style once again.

We both had a very decadent and delicious lunch-I had a golden beetroot salad with figs and walnuts, followed by a passionfruit creme brulee whilst Kate opted for a rare (as in she rarely eats them) Harvey Nicks burger followed by a refreshing sorbet.

We had a lovely laugh and chat and the topic of 'High Street' style came up-well what better way of walking off lunch than having a little browse-no harm can come of that surely!!

Well Kate had to show me the much debated pleated skirt she found at Topshop and when it fitted like a glove I had to nudge her in the right direction-the cash till that is!!

Onwards to Zara, where we found a gorgeous pair of tan leather courts reduced to £14.99-oh they fitted like a glove too, so after pondering the rest of Zaras offerings, she was nudged in the the direction of the cash till yet again.

The reason I didn't indulge in some High Street therapy as I so want the wide legged trousers we both tried on in Topshop, but have seen another print variation online-oh dear, decisions decisions huh!!

All in all, I'm guilty as charged-but had real good fun in the process and I'm sure you'll agree, she broke her High Street rules but it was worth it-doesn't she look fabulous!!

Thrift Inspiration, Ebay Style

The January retail sales and ebay are the time to be picking up bargains, particularly style pieces that are not trend led and will re-emerge season after season.

This black sequinned jacket is now £278, reduced by 51% in the Matches sale, available here:

I spotted this one on Ebay earlier this week and its by Miss Selfridge.

My photo is not very good quality, but the jacket has black and electric blue sequins and has cropped sleeves:

Have you a sequin piece in your wardrobe that is a favourite?

Hope you all have a very nice weekend!

Vintage Versace Ad is My Latest Jeans Find!!

For some reason I do love all things Retro style and on my thrifting visits I do try and keep an open mind for any pieces I can get hold of.

On Saturday myself and Robert went for lunch, a spot of charity shopping and also to spend some of his Birthday money on X Box games. I didn't have high expectations of the trip, as where he used to look through stuff when he was younger, I think he is frankly quite bored and wanted to be in and out as quick as possible, meaning I couldn't rummage as much as I wanted!!

Well the last shop and last item paid dividends, as I came across a pair of cobalt blue (electric blue back in the day) Versace Couture stretchy jeans.

I tried them on and what a perfect fit-they are typically of the era, high waisted but so stretchy and soft and in really good nick too. They were only £4.99 from the Cancer Research shop and I snapped them up.

Doing a search on google, I came across this Versace ad-here are my jeans-the girls are modelling yellow and pink, mine are blue, but are exactly the same fit!!

Versace Ad by Bruce Weber-1991

I've been after a cobalt blue piece from back in the day and to get it in jeans that are a perfect fit have to be my 'wow' find of the month, I'm really pleased with them!

Whats been your most recent best vintage buy so far?

Thrift Inspiration, J Brand LoveStory Style

January is a lean month for spending on clothes, so I thought I'd re-evaluate my wardrobe for what I felt I could use regularly and to make sure I don't spend out on anything unnecessary.

Over the last couple of months I've given a few pairs of jeans away to the charity shop, styles I didn't feel suited me anymore and more importantly those that didn't fit me properly in the waist and leg.

So as a natural jeans lover I was keen to track down some replacements. This season, it seems anything goes in the jeans department-bootcut is back, boyfriend style and skinnies are still in, wideleg and 70s are in trend as is the new skinny flare style.

I have like these for a while, these are J Brands Lovestory, available at Net-A-Porter for £230:

So with some inspiration in mind, I was happy to find these in my local Sue Ryder charity shop midweek on my way to work.

They are Levis jeans and are a low rise, with skinny fit to the knee and a gentle flare to the ankle and in my favourite 34'' length too-for only £4.95 I had to snap them up.

The material is so soft and they have a stretch to them ensuring a perfect fit-these are going to be in my outfit of choice this weekend for sure!!

Its so hard to get a perfect fit in jeans, so these will be a firm favourite of mine and a good basic investment for my wardrobe.

Will you be wearing jeans this season-if so, what style, cut and colour are you going for?