Plaid Skirt Another Way

Jumper Debenhams
Scarf Market Stall
Skirt Charity Shop
Shoes Next

I wore my plaid midi skirt again the other day for college. I decided to go for a more lady like look this time teaming it with a grey jumper, scarf and patent lace up shoes. I am sorry for the crappy camera phone picture. I temporarily misplaced my camera.

Plaid Midi Skirt

Jacket and Skirt Charity Shops
Boots Dorothy Perkins

Charity shops are excellent places to find midi length skirts. I bought this plaid high waisted one for just £1.70! Worn with my leather jacket, also from a charity shop, Dorothy Perkins boots, thick cotton tights and black socks, as it's still pretty cold over here.

The Forgotten Shirt

Shirt Charity Shop
Bandeau Top Peacocks
Jeans Dorothy Perkins very old and too short so I only wear them rolled up
Shoes ASOS

I can't believe I never posted this mens shirt as one of my charity shop finds! I've had it years, since before I went to Kazakhstan, when plaid shirts were fashionable on the high street. It's probably one of the things that I've bought in a charity shop that I have worn the most. It's 100% wool so it's really warm and I find myself wearing like a coat throughout spring and autum.

p.s. The shoes are new from ASOS and super high but I love them! Not actually tried to walk outside of my own house in them yet though.

McCall's 5647 © 1991

Dropped the song titles as post titles idea already. It's just not always appropriate.

The charity shop where I previously found some vintage sewing patterns (see the post here) had another basket load in. They were just 50p each. I bought six! Which was pretty much every one that was in my size, I'm still not confident/bothered enough to do grading.

With these and grandma's stash to go through it is taking me quite a while to date the patterns and check that all the pieces are present and correct so I'll most likely be posting them one at a time.

This one was easy to date, The copyright date was on the envelope! I love the big swing coat, which was mainly what I bought it for but I also like the simple skirt and trousers. The top looks cute in the drawing with the skirt but looking at the pattern pieces I think it would actually be really large and shapeless so I'll probably give that one a miss.

I talk to God as much as I talk to Satan cause I want to hear both sides

Yes I have become one of those bloggers who uses song lyrics as post titles. 'Another Charity Shop Find' or 'Beige Jacket' just started to seem too boring. The song is by Biffy Clyro. I have been listening to them so much recently though god knows why the lead singer decided to do this to himself.

Anyway, my latest charity shop find is this beige jacket. It set me back £4.95 from the Sue Ryder charity shop. It's originally Per Una. Similar unlined jackets to this retail at around £45!

Jacket, Cardigan and Dress all various charity shops
Socks Next
Boots Dorothy Perkins
Necklaces Gun and Rocking horse charms from esty and strung on random chains

I chose this picture because I'm continually pushing my hair back off my face. It's nice to catch the action.

Summer seems to have officially passed around here but at least I was able to break out these new boots and try out the boots and socks look. I'm wearing nude coloured tights too. I got the boots on sale recently in Dorothy Perkins. I was surprised to find them on sale as minus a bit of shearling they are very this season, not that I'm complaining.

OMG! A New Post?

I'm back! Sorry again for the lack of content over the past couple of weeks, as I explained I went on holiday then I was stewarding at Reading Festival. Then I got sick and all down about the prospect of applying for graduate jobs again. Anyway I'm hoping to get back into some kind of routine with the blog so lets get started.

I bought these shoes back in July from the Break Charity shop but only just got round to posting them. You know how it is, for one thing I never seemed to have decently polished toe nails when I thought of photographing them. On that note I'm not sure that green, ever, is a good toe nail colour. I'm thinking mine have ended up look slightly fungal, but at least I match my wallpaper. These shoes are really not my usual style, I tend to prefer more substantial styles, but they seemed such a bargain at £5 I figured I could make them work. It's also nice to have a few more lower heels in my wardrobe. They are originally Dorothy Perkins and are clearly a sale purchase that was never worn. The hint was the sale sticker left on one of the inner soles.

Yet More Fabric For My Stash

A couple more fabrics that I've picked up in charity shops. The navy fabric is a double duvet cover that I bought for £2.50 I'm planning on making yet another simple shift dress but with added details such as a peter pan collar and a strip of lace down the front.

This red fabric was £5 for a couple of meters which is more than I would usually spend but I loved the sea gull print. With this I'm planning to make an open back dress in the style of Vivat Veritas.

Charity Shop Jewellery

Pearl Necklace £1.50, It's pretty short so I plan on using the beads to make a longer necklace.
Green Glass Pendant on Triple Chain £2.00
Cross Pendant on Chain £2.00
Triple Bar Pendant with Chain £1.00
Both Gold Necklaces £2.00 each

I'm supposed to be expanding my collection of rings and bracelets but I just can't resist a secondhand necklace.

Please excuse my attempt at being artistic with my photography.

Demin Skirt

Shirt Arthritis Research Charity Shop, originally Next
Skirt Warehouse
Shoes New Look
Bag So old I can't remember
Silver Necklace Gift

When I bought this shirt in my charity shopping spree I said that I wanted to make a high wasited demin skirt or pair of shorts to wear with it. Well I still hadn't got round to that so when I saw this skirt on sale in Warehouse I had to have it. At under £15 I probably couldn't have bought all the fabric and notions I would have needed to make anything anyway. I finally have an outfit, yay!

Blue Shoes

My latest obsession is shoes, incase you hadn't noticed. It's a rather more expensive obsessionthan my last one with tights and socks. To keep costs down I've been doing my best to see what I can find in charity shops.

T-Shirt Dorothy Perkins
Jeans very old Dorothy Perkins
Shoes Sue Ryder Charity Shop

I bought these blue shoes, originally New Look, for £3 from Sue Ryder then when I got them home realised that they didn't match anything in my wardrobe. Then the other day I decided to use them to add a pop of colour to a grey tee and jeans.

Ring Dorothy Perkins
Angel Wing Necklace Made by Me, Charm from Cards & Craft UK
Religious Charm I don't remember getting this but my mother says that I took a fancy to it in a shop in Ely when I was younger.

I bought this chunky ring in the sale from Dorothy Perkins (seem to be shopping there a lot recently since I feel that the quality of some other high street shops in the UK has declined) for £2. It is meant to be the start of me wearing more jewellery other than necklaces.

New Shorts

Picked up these shorts at the Sue Ryder charity shop for just £1. They are originally M&S.

I'm wearing them rolled up in both these photos, might iron the turn ups in as currently they are held up by a number of safety pins, and I think they are much more flattering rolled up. Unrolled they come to about 3" above my knee.

I don't often wear them with a top tucked in like the first photo. Though I love the high waist, the fabric is quite see through and anything other than a nude colour top shows through. So I just pull the top over them like in this photo. Love how I am doing almost exactly the same pose here.

Charity Shopping

I actually bought this lot ages ago but I've only just got round to posting it, you know how it is.

I now own three leather jackets but this is the only one that is really leather. I couldn't believe my luck when I felt the soft leather in among the linen jackets and anoraks. Then I looked at the price, £6.50!?! It couldn't be real leather, could it? I searched for a label and yes it was! It looked small but I tried it on and it fitted just prefectly. Not getting much wear out of it at the moment as England has finally decided to give us some proper summer weather but certainly one of my better finds.

The skirt I'm wearing in the first picture (and on the pictures of my lacy shoulders top) is another charity shop purchase. When I bought it it had these massive buttons on the front, as seen above, which just looked odd so I whipped them straight off and they went into one of my many sewing boxes for possible use in some future project. Originally River island, £3.95.

This sheer blouse is Jasper Conran. It's not my usual style but makes a good summer cover up. £4.25.

And finally a couple of pieces of jewellery, pendant and earrings both £1.25 each.

Charity Shopping

Bought this dress for £4 around a week ago as well as a pair of blue shoes that I have yet to document.

Dress Sue Ryder Charity Shop
Shoes Belle & Mimi via Dorothy Perkins
Bag Fiorelli via Debenhams

It's actually four sizes too big for me but I fell in love with the print ages ago when I saw in store; it's from New Look originally. Even though it's too big I think it works with the waist tie, just looks like it's meant to be a loose fit. Am I right or completely deluded?

Pleated Skirt Refashion

I bought this skirt ages ago in a charity shopping spree intending to refashion it as part of my wardrobe refashion pledge. That didn't happen but I have finally got around to it.

Here's a reminder of the original skirt.

Shirt Marks & Spencers
Skirt Refashioned by Me

I cut it off above the knee and rehemmed it. Not as easy as usual given the pleats. Hemming and ironing pleats, not a great deal of fun, but it turned out better than expected.

T-Shirt Dorothy Perkins
Skirt Refashioned by Me
Shoes New Look
Necklace Can't remember

Above are a couple of ways I might wear it. A work wear inspired look and a bright and colourful one. The one thing I definiately don't want to do is go teaming it with a t-shirt and trainers. Not unless I want to look like my old gym teacher who lived in her netball skirts. What do you think? Does it work or do I look like I've come straight from a P.E. lesson?

Brown Brogues Baby

I love brogue style shoes. I already have a pair of flats and a pair of heels in black but have been on the hunt for some more colours for a while now. So just imagine my delight when I found this unworn Clarks pair hiding at the bottom of the shoe rack partially covered by long old dresses in the British Heart Foundation charity shop for £5.99 in my size.♥

Summer Dress

I bought this dress during my pledge for £3.95 from the Sue Ryder charity shop. It's originally from Primark so probably not one of the best bargins that can be had in a charity shop but I thought that it would make a nice summer dress and I'll pretty much buy anything if it is green.

Dress Sue Ryder charity shop
Shoes New Look
Earrings New Look
Sunglasses £1 from the university lost property sale

Fabrics

One of the main aims of my pledge was to reduce my stash. FAIL! If anything it is bigger. As fast as I refashioned items I added new ones to it and couldn't stop myself buying old bed covers in charity shops in the hope that one day soon I would turn them all into pretty summer dresses. Here is a selection of fabrics that I purchsed during my pledge and remain in my stash dreaming of becoming a dress someday.

The fabric on the left is a single duvet cover that I purchased from Break charity shop for £2.50. The fabric is pretty thin so whatever I make I will have to line it. The one on the right is a double duvet cover with four matching pillow cases. It cost me £3.25 from Sue Ryder Care.

Both of these were £3 each. Since I bought the single duvet cover on the left I decided that I don't really like the odd yellowy/green leaves but I will use it to make a muslin of something. The fabric on the right is a double valance sheet and is actually a very dark green colour which I just couldn't get to show in my photographs.

Both of these fabrics were remnants. The top grey polka dot fabric was £6.24 for about 2 meters. I'm planning to make a blouse from it. The one below was £2.25 for 1 meter. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. That embroidery and beading will make it really difficult to cut. I don't want to have to cut through any of them so I will have to find a way to work around them.

Little Bird in the Garden - A Jewellery Post

My original plan for this piece had been to use a watch face as the pendant. It was going to be called 'flying on time' or something like that but I couldn't find any that I liked. I ended up finding this locket with floral cameo in the Break charity shop for £2. The swallow connector is from WinterRoseDesigns on Esty and the chain, findings and glass pearls are from The Bead Shop. I think it is a very pretty little piece though maybe a little fussy for some.

Week Eight Refashions

I've been on fire this week (compared to the last few weeks at least). Not only have I completed my reasonably happy mistake top, I have done two refashions and sewn a slip from scratch.
Behold.

I picked up this skirt in my charity shopping spree just before the start of my pledge for £1.

Top Dorothy Perkins
Skirt Refashioned by Me
Socks Boots
Shoes New Look
Short Necklace Vintage from my Grandmother
Long Necklace 'Do You Love Me?' Made by Me

All it needed was a good ironing and a significant amount hacked off the hem to make it a cute high waisted floral skirt. The hem is pretty wonky as I did this refashion in just half and hour. Luckily it doesn't notice when I'm wearing it as far as I can tell.

This is another item that I picked up in my spree. It was £4 from Sense. Originally St. Michaels (or M & S).

Dress Refashioned by Me
Necklace Scissors charm on silver chain
Shoes Dorothy Perkins

I removed the shoulder pads, rehemmed it a lot shorter and ruched the sleeves by sewing three lines of running stitch in them (two at the top and one under the arm), gathering them and then sewing in place by hand. I also added another eyelet to the belt. It wasn't really needed by I just wanted to find out how to do it. This is my favourite refashion that I have done so far.

I also made myself this slip. It is specifically designed to go under this dress as the front always rides up on my tights. I decided it would be a good time to practice a new technique...

...That is a french seam people. One area where my sewing has improved a lot since I first started is the neatness on the 'unseen' parts of garments. I used to not even bother turning the hem over twice and how spend half my time cutting loose fibers out of my earlier projects.

Week Seven Refashions

I bought this blue jumper, seen here, from a charity shop around christmas time. I thought that the beading was christmasy, which it was, I wore it to our christmas family gathering but post christmas it wasn't getting a lot of wear so I took all the beading off with my trusty stitch unpick and now I have a plain electric blue jumper. I put in a blue hair piece, just seen in my pony tail, to match. Probably should have like brushed my hair and put some make up on or something before taking a picture.

Jumper Originally charity shop, Refashioned by Me
Jeggings Dorothy Perkins
Necklace 'Peas in a Pod' Made by Me, to feature in a up coming jewellery post
Hair Piece Claire's Accessories

Still haven't finshed the top I was working on last week. Life has been getting in the way of sewing recently. With under 2 weeks left of my Wardrobe Refashion pledge I can't see myself achieving my aim of reducing my stash in any significant way, especially with all the old floral sheets and duvet covers I keep picking up in charity shops. The pledge has however given me the opportunity to reflect on my shopping and consumption habits. Shopping is definitely a bigger part of my life than I had realised. In fact I cheated a little this week buying underwear and shoes on a shopping trip with my best friend as those items are 'allowed'.