Summer dresses on a budget

Since doing a huuuuge clear out of my clothes and getting rid of dresses I haven't worn since my 15th birthday party, I felt now was high time to inject a bit of new life into my newly spacious wardrobe ;)

However, since I live in England (where we get sun for about 20 days of the whole year) I can never really justify spending lots on summer clothes that I know I will rarely get a chance to wear. I also happen to be a big fan of scouring charity shops for hidden gems.

Put 'em together and what have you got? Bippity bappity BARGAINS!

From left to right: £4.50, £3, £7.99, £6.50, £2.50

I find charity shops a brilliant way to get some unique outfits for next to nothing... and you can smile knowing your money has gone to a good cause!

 As you can see, my most expensive dress still left me with decent change from a tenner, with my cheapest being not much more than a book of stamps. ;)

I love this dress because it has quite a vintage feel to it, but has a tie at the waist so is still very flattering :) 

I also thought it could look quite good in winter with a pair of tights, a retro cardi and some chunky boots!

I wasn't sure about this dress when it was off the hanger as I thought it looked a bit like it should be on a 10 year old haha, but luckily I tried it on and it fitted so well! It's quite a thick material so the skirt flares out when it's on, and leaves you looking teeny tiny at the waist :) 

The only thing that did make me sad with this dress was that it clearly is supposed to come with a belt and the belt wasn't there :( so I will never know what the desired effect was! It still looks good on its own though and I'm sure picking up an alternative to fit the bill would be easy enough.

Again, this picture doesn't do the dress justice! It's very cute and vintage. It was a little too big for me round the waist which was a shame because I think it's designed to be quite fitted :( but it looks fab with a belt to draw it in :)

This is quite possibly my favourite dress I found! It definitely won't be to everyone's taste as it's quite unusual at the hem, but I thought it was really unique and would definitely stand out at a party :)

Only problem is, it IS pretty short... maybe I'll do some squats before I brave this one in public ;)

Finally, I found this little baby!

I can see from the label it's actually a Topshop dress, so I was pretty chuffed that I had found it at probably more than a tenth of what its original price would have been.

It's not something I maybe would have picked up in a shop, but when I put it on it fitted SO nicely! Plus it's nice to step out of the old comfort zone at times :)

It's definitely more an evening dress than daytime as its pretty tight, but it feels like swimsuit material so its very light & would be perfect for a summer night out.

So there we have it, 5 dresses for under £25!

If there's one thing I love more than dress shopping, it's finding bargains when I'm dress shopping ;)

General week chit-chat

This post isn't a particularly exciting or even particularly well thought out one, but I just wanted to share what I've been up to over the past few days which has stopped me posting :)

Saturday & Sunday 

I worked ALL DAY BOTH DAYS. I work in a residential home for young people with special needs and challenging behaviours which I absolutely love love love, but after two full-on days I was quite ready for a hot chocolate and bed.

Monday

Even though it was my day off I got up early & went into Norwich, the city nearest to where I live (I'm a country bumpkin through and through) with my mother bear. The main reason I wanted to go into Norwich was to make a cheeky purchase of a new camera (!). I decided I didn't want anything too fancy, because quite frankly I would NOT know how to use it, and they can be a lot of money to spend on something whose buttons and knobs would bamboozle a camera newbie. After talking to the sales assistant in John Lewis, who was so lovely and helpful, I decided that a bridge camera was probably the most suitable option for me at the moment, and opted for the Samsung WB1100F. I haven't really had a proper chance to play with my new toy so my opinions are on hold so far! But I particularly liked the fact it had a Wi-Fi connection so I could put pictures on my laptop easily, so get ready for some very picture-heavy blog posts. ;)

After making my very exciting purchase, we went for lunch. We have a bit of a tradition, and always go to the same place - a burger joint called Captain America's. If anyone is ever in Norwich I'd definitely recommend paying it a visit, if you like all things 60's and USA then it's almost certainly for you! We also had a mooch round some of the charity shops. There is a huge British Heart Foundation store that was full of furniture, and I fell a bit in love with a gorgeous dresser. Sadly I drive a Nissan Micra, not a van, so we said our goodbyes. 

Since we were in the city and had both read the book, my mum and I decided then to go and see The Fault in Our Stars. It was so, SO good, and definitely lived up to the book! We both cried our eyes out, as did everyone in the cinema. After the film ended we went to the toilets to get some tissues, and saw at least 10 other people from that screening doing the same haha.

Tuesday

I had work again on Tuesday, so a fair bit of my day was taken up with paperwork and other such delights. However, in the evening I went back into the city and met up with my gorgeous friend Sara. After pondering long and hard about where to go for dinner (our friendship is partly based on how much we hate decisions!) we decided to go to T.G.I's round the corner. We both had ribs and a bottomless coke, and it was DELICIOUS. Even more lovely was when we finished off the evening with Earl Grey tea and catch ups back in Sara's flat. Dinner and chats is definitely my idea of a perfect evening.

Wednesday 

Yesterday I woke up early and made a start at Sorting My Bedroom. Since my boyfriend was coming down from Leeds to stay that evening, I felt I couldn't leave it in the state it was currently in (I honestly can't express the horrorful state. Even I must admit it was VILE). So armed with bin bags and boxes, I enlisted the help of my dad and got cracking. There's definitely still heaps and heaps to do and sort, but at least now I don't have to perform an elegant deer-like leap to get across to my desk. 

After a morning of "sorting", I was thoroughly ready for a break, so I went on over to my friend Anna's house. Since she goes to Uni away as well I only get to see her in holidays :( she is definitely one of the most lovely and funny friends I have, so it was great to see her and catch up with her :) especially when it's over a mini-milk.

After I left my boyfriend told me his train would be late, I popped over to my friend Josh's house to see him. Our tradition when we see each other goes as follows: I pick Josh up from his house, we go to Tesco's, buy some salted microwave popcorn, Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream, and chocolate fudge brownie Frijj milkshake. We then take our feast back to his house, and put on a horror film. The only change to our tradition last night was that Josh had already been to Tesco and had the goods already ;) what a good boy *pat on head for Josh*. After scrutinising IMDB for horrors (most of which at least one of us had seen - the good ones anyway!) we decided to go for A Serbian Film, which neither of us had seen. I had to leave to pick up my fella from the station before it ended, but it was HORRIBLE. I'm tempted to google the ending, but quite frankly I don't think I even want to know where that film was leading. Is it possible to un-see things?!

Thursday

Aaaaand that brings us to today, folks! Ben is currently fast asleep still so I left him to his fly-catching and snuck back to my laptop to write this. I'm not sure what we're doing this weekend yet (today I have the second half of root canal treatment so I think fun might have to be postponed until tomorrow, boo hiss). Whatever we end up doing though, I'll be sure to christen my new camera ;)

"Can we go thrift shopping?!"

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t love a bargain. And anyone who says they don’t is clearly a fibber and cannot be trusted. However, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start for a true bargain. So, as a seasoned bargain hunter myself, I thought I would share 5 quick pearls of wisdom…

1.   CHARITY SHOPS!

Anyone who knows me knows I am absolutely OBSESSED with charity shops. Once you get over the stigma (one of my housemates last year seemed unable to hear the word “charity shop” without informing me that my someone will have died in my latest purchase… sigh) then a world of bargainous beauties awaits! If you have a “granny chic” style, which I do, they are incredible. I have more cosy cardigans than I would dare to count from charity shops, which people always compliment and assume I spent £45 on in Urban Outfitters or Topshop. Try £4.99 from British Heart Foundation! They are also amazing if you can’t decide whether or not you should buy that yellow polka dot dress… even if you wear it once and decide it’s not for you, it will probably have only been a few pounds to a good cause! You can also find some amazing designer goodies if you look hard enough. I have a Dolce and Gabbana sweater (£5.99), a Vivienne Westwood jacket (more expensive at £50, but still not a bad price for a jacket – and 10x less than what you’d pay in Selfridges!) just to name a couple!

2.   Designer outlets

Unlike charity shops, which are all over the place, you might have to have a bit of a drive to an outlet. But often they are really nicely laid out, and you can make a nice day of it! Since I go to University in Manchester, one of my favourite outlets is Cheshire Oaks. It’s set out like a huge square around the carpark, so you’re almost following the yellow brick road of shopping – and it means you don’t miss anywhere! They have an amazing range of shops, from Next to H&M to Burberry. Last time I went with my boyfriend, my bargain of the day was finding a classic Burberry mac, reduced from £995 to £250! Nearly 75% off! Luckily it was coming up to my 21^st birthday ;). Designer outlets are like charity shops – you just have to have a good rootle!

Cheshire Oaks - it's so pretty!

3.   Swap clothes with friends

This is an option that doesn’t involve spending ANY MONEY. So it may be veering off a bit, but I thought I’d slip it in anyway because I just did this with one of my best friends J Sometimes your friends clothes that you might love, they will have worn one too many times and got bored of, so it’s time for a switcheroo! It leaves you some room in your wardrobe, as well as giving you new bits for FREE J

4.   Take advantage of promotional offers

Moving slightly away from fashion to beauty, it’s always a good idea to stock up while there’s an offer on. If you’re a fan of drugstore beauty, it sounds obvious but stock up when there’s a 3 for 2! If you’re more into high end bits, sign up to Debenhams and House of Fraser. They often have 10% off for a week, which makes a big difference at some of those prices (I’m talking about you, Chanel.) Alternatively, often counters like Lancome and Clinique have offers where you get a goody bag when you buy 2 or more products. Sometimes the goody bag will be worth more than what you’ve bought! However, don’t be suckered in and buy something just for the sake of getting the freebie… I speak from so, so much experience.

5.   Car boot sales

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Yes, car boot sales can be full of old tat, but if you scour hard enough you can find some incredible bargains! I’ve found brand new make up bits and bobs before, as well as no end of trinkets for my bedroom that just brighten it up. It will add an individual streak to your house as well :) and you never know.. you might accidentally  grab a piece of value!

Where do you find the best bargains? Have you got any tips?

Let me know!

- Jacintha xxxxxx