Thrifty outfit No.1 - Carboot and charity shop finds

This part of my blog will aims to illustrate some of the fab things you can find in charity shops and at jumble and carboot sales. I love to rummage through clothes and get a bargain so second hand shopping is ideal for me! However I know it isn't for everyone so I thought I would share my finds so that people can possibly be inspired to give second hand/vintage/reused/recycled items a go.


Thrifty outfit No. 1 - Work wear

Thrifty outfit No. 1 - Chiffon blouse & Tweed Style skirt
This outfit is great for work as it is my typical "uniform" of choice. The blouse came from a carboot sale and was 50p (I can tell where it is from as the label is faded) I had been looking for something similar for ages as the shops were full of pretty chiffon blouses and shirts which I couldn't justify spending the money on when I knew I had seen similar things in the charity shops so I figured it was just a case of biding my time!

 

The skirt is originally from next and was £3.50 from the PDSA charity shop in Colchester, Essex. The great thing about this skirt is it was brand new and had the belt that originally came with the skirt.

 

So an outfit, fit for work for £4.50! You can't argue with that!

 

Worn here with a white vest underneath the shirt and lovely brown suede Monsoon heels (which I purchased in the sale one year for £22.50)  

DIY Bow Tie - Tried and tested

I always found myself quite drawn to ties when I was younger and even went as far as to complain to my mum that wearing a tie wasn't part of my high school uniform as I felt like I was missing out somehow. Perhaps the fact that I didn't have to wear one growing up is part of the reason why I am so willing to wear them now?

Anyway I have a few that I wear mainly in the winter so I can layer up i.e. shirt, tie and tank top and then look a little less like I am in fancy dress and more a mixture of power dressing (80's style but minus the shoulder pads!) and office wear combined. Recently I have formed an affection for bow ties though and found a brilliant old post on Honestly...WTF (click here for link) showing you how to make your own, like the one below. For the tutorial all you need is material, a safety pin or broach pin, glue gun, a ruler and a pen, I made my own from memory and a bit of adaptation of the tutorial but only because I didn't have my computer to hand so had to improvise as I didn't want to wait!

Image taken from 'DIY Bow tie - Honestly WTF'

I used what I had to hand  that evening which was some checked material which was once a pair of pyjama bottoms and set to work! The fruits of my labour can be seen below.

 

Old pyjama bottoms cut and
rectangle of fabric
ready to fold in half

gather fabric in the centre
secure ribbon around
 

Glue gun pin to back
and it is ready to wear
 

 


I now have plans to use some velvet material that I have to make another slightly larger one more like the one in the post linked to above but I have to say I was pretty pleased with myself and got some great comments at work AND they are great for putting in your hair too!

Highstreet hits - Fashion Picks (River Island, Zara and Oasis)

I was having a little browse at lunch and came across some really nice pieces in some of my favourite high street shops. There is a complete miss match of items, but all lovely and things that caught my eye and certainly things that I would like to see in my wardrobe!

 

1. Heart Jumper - Great jumper for the Winter to wear with jeans/skinny jeans and chunky boots.



Heart jumper from Chelsea Girl @ River Island
Click here for link
 

2. Amazing tapestry print shorts - These would look great with coloured tights, a plain top/jumper and again chunky black boots.



Black tapestry print Chelsea Girl shorts @ River Island
Click here for link
 

3. Lace trousers - If you look closely these trousers appear to actually be lace rather than a lace print. I think they are so smart and elegant and typical of what Zara consistently pleases me with! Should be worn exactly as below!

 

Guipere lace trousers - Zara
Click here for link

 4. Shirt collar - so pretty and chic and one of the best ones I have seen (putting my home made attempts to shame!).  

Shirt collar with stones - Zara
Click here for link
 

5. Lace dress - I love the colour of this dress and think it would be fab for the up coming festive party season. Heels I think would be best, I love the structured detail on the front.


Gothic lace dress - Oasis
Click here for link

 6. Pretty colour block dress - I love the look created here with the colour blocking even down to the shoes. The colours of the dress are great and there is something really effortless about this look but it seemed to stand out to me so I was compelled to share it...

Border foulard dress - Oasis
Click here for link

 

DIY Peter Pan collar - Tried and tested

I really like the Peter Pan collar trend that is doing the rounds at the moment. I saw a little of it last season but it really seems to have taken over the high street this season. The trend seems to have extended beyond clothing to accessorise with really cute collar style necklaces which I really like the idea of an decided I would make my own collar necklace. So set about doing a little research on the internet to get some tips. I found a really good tutorial for a scalloped edge DIY Peter Pan style collar on a blog I follow called  'Honestly...WTF' (DIY Peter Pan collar - posted by Erica on 25/10/12) and have just completed my first one.

The tutorial can be found via this link. I used this as my base point but wanted to make it a bit more dressy so I decided to use buttons (as is standard with me!) beads and ribbon to decorate the collar and achieve a bit more of a vintage look.

For my collar I used peach coloured felt, assorted buttons, some small pearly white beads, cream coloured ribbon for the fastening and white cotton to sew it all together.



Cutting out my template

 

Placing the buttons on which I then edged with beads



Finished collar with ribbon to fasten

I am really pleased with the finished item and have already just out the base for a denim version, what do you think?