Thrift Inspiration.....The Boho Hippy Ethnic Style Summer Jacket!!

Hi everyone!! Hurrah, the 'heatwave' is officially here- two days on the trot I've been in short sleeves and not needed a jacket, which is quite ironic considering my post is about them!!

I noticed in my wardrobe that I've plenty of blazers, winter coats and jackets and denim jackets. Upto last week I actually owned just two printed jackets which is my Camo Pepe jacket and my floral River Island jacket which are both for Spring and Summer. The River Island jacket is more of a bolero shape so although I love the pattern and colour, it's not been quite long enough for what I've been after. So cue Pinterest again, to give me an idea of the sort of jacket I would like to add to my wardrobe. I knew I wanted it to be patterned and to include some red or pinks in it.

Here is what I was inspired by:

My first find was on ebay and is actually the pink version of this Jaeger jacket that I found at a vintage fair about three years ago for my birthday present. I subsequently went and sold it on again so I was really pleased to find it's coloured sister!

The styling is very much an Ethnic Ikat pattern and is also 100% wool even though it feels like quilted cotton and it's also lined. It has some minor damage which requires attention, but after selling a jacket on ebay this one has stood me in at £2.33, so any professional repair and cleaning won't add much to the overall cost!

Then earlier this week on a thrifting trip in a neighbouring town I found this gorgeous washed silk, reversible Ethnic jacket by Neeru Kumar:

Neeru Kumar is a renowned Indian fashion and textiles designer and has been in the business for three decades and her clients include Selfridges, V&A Museum, British Museum and Zara Home Spain. She has also had her work featured in Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire. A similar silk jacket in the traditional Kantha work retails at $445 and uses patches of different vintage fabric sewn together, much like the processes of my one above. It's fully reversible and the other side is all red as shown in the cuffs and edging- a real boho authentic Ethnic bargain from the Sense charity shop for only £4!!

So my summer jackets are all sorted for now and when the gorgeous hot weather does cool down- not soon though please- then I'll be wearing these with a little cami vest top and jeans as my go to daily outfit.

What type of jacket is on your Summer wishlist for those cooler days? So many styles are in trend at the moment, from denim to floral bombers to boho chic to monochrome blazers, there's plenty to choose from whatever your own style and budget!

Wishing you all a really lovely weekend whatever you are up to and thanks once again for all your kind and lovely comments and for reading too!! xx

ThriftMyStyle Pictures and Outfits for April

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a great week, sorry for infrequent and sporadic posts, life has been rather hectic and busy and what with work in the mix too blogging has been rather on the back burner.

However I thought I would share some pictures with you from April, starting with a clothes swap event I attended a couple of weeks ago at the East London Fashion Exchange 

Event organisers Elisa and Krissie were on hand to oversee designer, vintage and high street goodies were immediately displayed for instant swapping and whilst I was there a good few ladies came with items to swap, so the rails were constantly being refreshed 

My bargains of the day were a Miss Selfridge floral summer skirt, perfect for pairing with a little vest top and denim waistcoat or jacket for the coming season; I also snaffled this gorgeous tan leather vintage handbag which the lady behind me in the queue had in her items for swapping, I eyed it immediately and couldn't wait to nab it! I've still got a good few stamps left for my next visit at the end of May which I cleverly realised meant I don't have to lug any more clothes next time to get swapping with! 

After leaving the event I had to check out the local charity shop and was so pleased I did, as I found this cute dark apricot broderie anglaise trimmed summer dress by Whistles for just £4.50; up close for a mix of black embroidery and denim, my outfit of the day

Wearing H&M denim waistcoat, thrifted at the boot sale last year; cream tunic with black embroidery from the Salvation Army chairty shop bought a few days before the clothes swap for £2.50; black French Connection capri trousers from my local Sue Ryder charity shop bought about 3 weeks ago for £3 and my trusted orange Birkies. Outfit number two is another charity shop find from March and is an authentic Austrian linen smock blouse for £1 from the St Francis Hospice charity shop, worn with thrifted Gap slim boyfriend jeans found last Autumn from the Salvation Army, £2.99- photobombed by the eldest boy!!

A boot sale find from the beginning of April was this moss crepe Celia Birtwell style print vintage 70s dress for just £1- unlabelled but a fine piece of vintage which fits perfectly for Summer

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend ahead, I hope the weather takes a turn for the better and this long awaited heatwave we've been promised starts to materialise.

I also just want to thank all of you for your continued reading and comments on my blog, I really look forward to your thoughts and opinions and I'll be trying my best to come visit you back as soon as I can xx

ThriftMyStyle Keeps Up with The Slogans with Nike, Adidas, J Crew and Comme des Garcons

Hi everyone!! I thought I would share one of my favourite wardrobe staples with you- the slogan tee. Whether I look subconciously or not, I always seem to be drawn to tees with some type of slogan on them-it's the sort of feeling that a lot of bloggers have for their Breton stripes- they can never have too many, whatever the style or detail! 

One of my favourite summer finds last year was this Nike Ken Griffey tee, which was from a neighbouring town's Sue Ryder charity shop for £1.50. It got its first wear earlier in the week with my new-ish H&M skinny distressed jeans which were in the sale in January for £9.99 and my recently thrifted Papillio Birkies:

 The tee is a really soft material and the cut is ideal, fitted but not too tight and not overly loose either. I think the orange Birkenstocks just give the whole casual look a pop of needed colour:

My next tee is a J Crew charity shop find that I've had a while: 

E' Tale Vita aka Such is Life

My next find is from years ago when I first started blogging, I found this Comme des Garcons tee at my local boot sale for just £1:

One, Two Three

This next find was from last year and scratched the itch for a red tee as well as the slogan too

Drink Coca Cola

This last one is a real Adidas original which belonged to my eldest son from around 8 years ago. It has languished in the cupboard and been resurrected by me for Summer to add a pop of colour when worn with my favourite jeans of the day: 

A real Adidas Original

What is the weakest link in your wardrobe? Are you mad over Breton stripes or do you go crazy for the perfect pair of black trousers or the must have grey marl tee, I'd love you to share!!

Wishing you all a really fabulous weekend, whatever you get upto!!

Double Denim Outfit Post, My New Red Handbag and some Vintage Sunglasses

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend-it's great to see Spring is officially here and the sun is shining today even though temperature wise it is cooler than in the week.

On my day off midweek I decided to wear my degrade denim shirt that I got from the Voucher Codes swap shop party last month and I paired it with my 7 For All Mankind indigo straight jeans that I've had for a while (originally thrifted). I think this shirt does work well with a darker denim rather than a bleached or lighter colour denim and I'm wearing my Matalan navy ballet pumps:

Even though ballet pumps are flat shoes and in theory should be comfortable, by the end of the day my ankle and foot was hurting- I believe I can't wear flat to the floor shoes for a long period of time so it's just as well these didn't cost me too much- the shoes themselves are great value for money at £6 a pair but I don't think this style of shoe is a regular for me!!

In one of my previous posts I mentioned how I've been searching for a red handbag. I've looked in charity shops and decided this morning whilst in town to look in the department stores. I went into Dorothy Perkins, River Island, T K Maxx, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer and although I did see a couple of bags I liked, they were either just too small or too much money for non leather. I didn't really want to pay £25 upwards for a bag that isn't leather- I was tempted by a Jasper Conran cross body bag in Debenhams which with their 20% discount would have made it £28, but it was just too little.

On my way back to the car I stopped off in a local handbag and shoe boutique that has been in my town for years but I've never been into. I spied this red quilted bag and reduced down to £10 I knew I had to have it: 

It's rather more of a giant wallet on a chain as the inside has credit card slots, a zipper compartment and 3 clear compartments for keys and phone, definitely big enough for carrying the essentials and style wise it's quite classic and ideal for day or evening.

For a non leather handbag the price was right and just an ideal size too! 

If the weather's nice then I may go to the boot sale tomorrow morning- I managed to pick up a pair of vintage 70s Ted Lapidus sunglasses at last weeks one for just 50p-it's inspired me now to get a cracking little collection like my lovely blogger friend Vix at Vintage Vixen- hers include a few Ted Lapidus, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent so watch this space for future finds!!

My vintage Ted Lapidus 50p find from last weeks boot sale

Have a great weekend everyone!! 

Operation Summer Clear Out for more Denim Thrift My Style Purchases!!

Hi everyone! I hope you're all having a great month so far-I've been busy working so it's not left a lot of time for regular blogging unfortunately! Like everyone else though, now the weather is getting milder and sunnier I've been wanting to shed some layers and think of wearing some more Spring like items.

 I decided to have a complete sort out of my wardrobe and looked through all my summer and winter items to purge. Funnily enough I didn't find any winter items that I wanted to get rid of, only summer items that I don't envisage wearing again.

So after having a good delve into my wardrobes and big summer chest I managed to clear the following-one jacket, one pair of shorts, one summer blouse, three skirts and four dresses:

Ten items to go to the charity shop and having done 'operation clearout' it's given me a better idea of what items I want to try and get to add to my wardrobe.

It may sound like I'm jumping on the blogger bandwagon, but I really want a denim dress. Choosing the right one is the hard part but I'm going for one that won't date in style and can be worn any time of the year. In my mind I'm thinking of a tunic style, just above the knee. I really like the Topshop dress below:

The reviews say it is quite short so I'm not sure if I'll order this one but I would like something fairly similar. I don't really want a denim shirt dress but if I find a fabulous one thrifting then I would get this style.

Here are what's really ticking the boxes for me from pinterest too:

Love this unique and refreshingly different style,the cut is amazing!

A real summer dress, very cute for a hot hot day

Love this look, I wouldn't mind something like this 

Just adore this last one too, the white embroidery and cut and style overall is a winner for me!

Another item on my wardrobe wishlist is a faded denim Levis jacket. There is one currently in the house which belongs to my older son but it is one of his favourites (out of the zillions he already has- I think he got his jacket obsession from me) and has adamantly refused to hand it over permanently, so the sooner I find my own the better!

Another item I want too is a quality leather red bag- I've been hunting on ebay, in stores and charity shops to no avail. I'm not sure what style I'm after but when I see the right shade and style out there then I'll be snapping it up. It has to be leather though, as again this item will be a long time keeper once it's found.

Have you done a seasonal wardrobe purge yet? What items are you after this coming season, I'd love to know! Wishing you all a lovely weekend whatever you are up to!!

Thrift Inspiration....School Gate Style for the March Charity Challenge

Hi everyone! I've been eagerly awaiting the lovely Avril's March Charity Challenge as you all may be aware that practically 90% of my wardrobe is from the charity shops.

It's the 8th of the month today and because I've been working I hadn't really been thrift shopping this month-well I did have a look in my local town's ones on Thursday but I didn't find anything worth buying. 

As Avril says in her latest post, it's always worth making a beeline to the coats and jackets rails first and for me the bags, shoes and denim are all priority to check out too. 

After dropping hubby at work this morning I headed straight to a neighbouring town for a spot of thrifting-it's the same town where I found my Yves Saint Laurent vintage cheesecloth shirt in my last post. I also went there as they had a shoe menders and I had to put in a couple of pairs of ankle boots to be reheeled (£10 a pair- is that a lot??).

Anyhow, I went into the Richard House Childrens Hospice and immediately hit the coat rail where they were having a sale. I came across a style of jacket that's been on my radar for a while now- a sheepskin biker style jacket and at a bargain £7.50, I couldn't leave it behind:

It's completely sheepskin lined and thankfully is not one of those really heavy jackets either:

I love the sleeves slightly shorter as I can show off my cuffs which is a look I'm really into lately:

Like Avril, I love jeans and this pair of River Island jeans were a charity shop thrift find from last year and are definitely one of my favourite pairs-not only are they super comfy but i just love the acid wash finish too.

Also on the rail this morning was a vintage black faux fur Opera style coat by makers Glenn Models Ltd-the coat was made in the UK and I'm guessing is from the 60s, possibly 70s:

It's in a faux Astrakhan textured material and is not overly thick, so perfect for Spring with a sweatshirt underneath:

This was reduced to £10 so again it had to come home with me and is a perfect fit. I've been after a black vintage coat for a while now, so this one fits the bill perfectly and is ideal for wearing with skinny jeans during the day and is lovely for evening dressing too:

Of course I will be linking upto Avrils challenge for the month with this post and it would be great if you also can link up any fabulous charity shop finds to her post here

After a long absence I'm also linking up to the lovely Claire Justine for her weekend blog hop here and she is also showing off her charity shop find too, do check out if you get the chance!

Wishing you a fabulous weekend whatever you get upto, my shopping budget for the week has been all spent up today what with my boots needing to be repaired so the rest of this weekend will involve catching up with housework, rest and relaxation, reading and catching up with lovely bloggers!

Thrift Inspiration....Singing The Blues in All Saints, Reiss and Vintage Yves Saint Laurent

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a great week so far-my day today has been so up and down, I don't know if I've been coming or going! Firstly this morning saw me running late for work, completely run out of petrol on the way, problems parking which led to me being late and then on my return to the car park later a parking ticket! I was rather stressed by the time I got home early afternoon but it got better with a meet up with girlfriends for a meal and catch up at a local restaurant and with hubby cooking and washing up for himself and younger son I feel like I'm now fully calmed down, hehe!!

I was really chuffed to have been nominated for 'best thrifty blog' by The MAD Blog Awards for Mums and dads 2014 this weekend. I've displayed a 'Nominate Me' badge on my sidebar and would deeply appreciate it if you could take time out to nominate me please! IF I get through to the next stage then more voting is required and I could be in with a chance of attending a lovely finalist awards evening and winning an iPad Air, woo hoo! Anyhow, it's been lovely to have been nominated and any further nominations and votes will be much appreciated!!

Back to style matters in hand, I thought I would show you some fairly recent thrift finds that seem to be very much on a recurring theme-blue to be precise.

As you all may be aware I am very much a denim enthusiast-ok, addict might be a better word if 25+ pairs of jeans is slightly more than the norm! I'm thinking that it's not so much jeans I'm into but the colour more so? I pretty much love denim jackets, waistcoats, skirts shirts and jeans and all in different shades of blue but particularly this year faded blue has definitely been on my style radar a lot, very evident on my denim inspiration pinterest board if you fancy taking a look!

My latest thrift finds were from a couple of Saturdays ago- I found this fabulous vintage cheesecloth Yves Saint Laurent mens shirt in a neighbouring town's St Francis Hospice charity shop for just £2.50!!

It's such a great fit and is definitely my current favourite go to shirt for summer, to be paired with faded jeans, cut offs and white jeans (if I find a pair that I like):

My next find that day was in the afternoon at my own local Sue Ryder charity shop, which was a pair of Reiss high waisted skinny zip ankle jeans for a bargainous £1 in their sale!! In my size too and another pair of perfectly shaded blue jeans that I can't wait to start wearing!

The middle pair are some Gap boyfriend jeans that I thrifted in January for just £3.99-again the perfect distressed lighter shade of blue that will be perfect once ankles can be shown in warmer weather!!

The 3rd pair are some Levis demi curve straight leg jeans which if I can remember were also less than £2, thrifted last year in Autumn from a neighbouring towns Sue Ryder charity shop:

Left to Right: Reiss, Gap, Levis

The last picture features more shirts that I've thrifted and been gifted since Autumn last year:

From top to bottom: All Saints checked shirt, £2 from the St Francis Hospice,  River Island acid light wash shirt from the DEBRA charity shop for £3.99, my gifted degrade denim shirt from the swap shop party and dark wash thrifted H&M chambray shirt from the Sense charity shop for £3.50.

So you've seen a sneaky peek into my denim obsession and what sort of items are making their way and staying in my wardrobe.

What style and items are actually making their way into your wardrobe this season? Please share I'd love to know! 

My Round Up: Outfit Post, More Thrifted MaxMara and Total Spends for January

Hi everyone! I hope your weekend was a good one, I spent Saturday afternoon in a neighbouring local town thrifting and yesterday afternoon I finally managed to track down a pair of skinny distressed jeans- I had planned to splurge and get the Always Skinny distressed jeans from Gap instore, but when I went in to try them I wasn't impressed with how they had distressed them. Around the distressing was squares of white stitching (?) which to me really spoils the appearance of the overall look- I checked the website earlier and zoomed in on the picture and there is definitely shapes of stitching around the distressing of the jeans online too. So these jeans were ruled out before I even tried them on! I decided to check out River Island and H&M and was pleased to find my pair on the sale rail, reduced from £24.99 to £9.99- I'm sure they will appear on the blog sometime soon!

My outfit of choice on Saturday was my oversized Hype grey sweatshirt which was a Christmas present and I wore them with my Levi's boyfriend jeans and Dune biker ankle boots:

I have a real thing about distressed jeans at the moment, my newly found interest of Pinterest has a dedicated Denim Inspiration board which is chocka full of distressed jeans! I also made my distressed rips and holes a bit larger on these jeans on Saturday too: 

My favourite go to this season, a grey sweatshirt goes with anything and the fleecy lining keeps me just snug too:

Going to town on Saturday the weather was lovely-all sunny and dry. Midway through though, the clouds blackened and the heavens opened-the rain was torrential so it was lucky I had a lift back home! 

My thrift trip was quite successful- I found two items that will be lovingly worn and used and this first one was on my style wishlist for a while too. As soon as I saw this wool blended steel grey blazer by Maxmara from Barnado's charity shop and in my size too, I knew I had to have it:

It's ideal for Spring and Summer and the just the right shade of grey too-not too dark:

It's my kind of perfect jacket to go with all my jeans regardless of the style and colour-with a tee underneath and my footwear of choice this will feature a lot in future outfits- I may already have a lot of jackets but I haven't got a grey blazer so it was definitely worth me getting it.

My second item was a Gap dusky pink leather mini slouch bag for £1 which is just perfect for Spring and will provide a pop of colour with neutral styled outfits.

So with the end of January in sight, I've bought the DKNY bag (£3.99) faux fur collar (£2.49), black bobble hat (-50p), necklace (£3) and earrings (£3) from TU, Windsmoor longline jacket (£10), Gap slim boyfriend jeans (£3.99), a white shirt (£1), Primark checked scarf (£4), MaxMara jacket (£6.99), Gap bag (£1), H&M jeans (£9.99) TOTAL £48.95 for 12 items. 7 Thrifted, 5 Shop Bought.

Would I be without any of the above? I am quite happy with all my purchases and I'm pretty sure they are buys that will fit in with what I already own- I am trying to make sure that any purchases I get will be instantly wearable with pieces I already have and are not one season wonders either. If they don't get used this season, then I would want them to roll over to the following appropriate season and not be too trend led that it could easily go out of style.

How has your style spending been going this month-have you managed to stay on track with your budget and did you buy items that will truly fit into your existing wardrobe, regardless of how much you paid for it?

I hope you all have a good week ahead, I'm working most of the week from tomorrow, so I hope to catch up with you all soon!

Windsmoor Grey Longline Jacket Find.......Thrift Mission Accomplished!!

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a great week so far, I don't have to work until Friday but I'm currently busy with my younger son and hospital and dentist appointments this week. Monday and Tuesday were fairly free days so I decided to go a thrifting in 2 or 3 local towns. 

I was looking for a grey longline tailored jacket/coat which had so far eluded me and I've come across plenty of grey blazers and jackets which wasn't really what I wanted. Ever since the Isabel Marant/H&M collection was launched and I saw their version of tailored grey jackets, I knew I wanted something similar but not so masculine styled. Also from looking around I came to realise that plain grey was not really flattering on me-it's funny how we envision how much we want something in particular but when trying on the said item it doesn't quite live up to expectations! Here are pictures of what's inspired me lately:

I love this next look-the coat is not too oversized and the whole outfit is simply casual yet chic-my type of look!

I soon realised that going for something texturised might be better suited for me as my black and white tweed coat that I'm always wearing is a real favourite and I love the mix of colouring more than just one plain colour.

With this in mind I was really pleased to find this Windsmoor wool longline jacket yesterday for £10. Windsmoor is an English company that has been going since 1939 and was always synomynous with traditional tailoring using quality woollen textiles in British mills. The company is now owned by the Jacques Vert group, who also own Jacques Vert, Precis, Planet and Windsmoor.

 My very first work coat was bought in our local town's department store from the Windsmoor label and was pillar box red in a longline cocoon shape. The brand has a strong British Heritage that is still popular in major department stores now, such as House of Fraser.

Back to the jacket, it runs true to size and is quite a good fit-the material is a virgin wool mix in a black and white textured tweed style. It is not coat thick but will be so ideal for layering with a grey or black tee (or black merino wool sweater) and a denim shirt or jacket- I might even experiment with a leather jacket or black tailored jacket underneath. Of course my bottoms of choice will be my favourite jeans of the moment! 

So one item ticked off my wishlist- I'm now hunting the perfect pair of bleached distressed skinny jeans and so far my favourite store find has been from Gap, so I'm either going to treat myself next month or hold out for a thrift find for something similar!

Thanks as always for your continued reading and leaving comments, it goes without saying that it's much appreciated and even though I am not commenting as much, I am certainly reading and catching up with your blogs via bloglovin. Enjoy the rest of your week!! 

Thrift Inspiration.....My Version of The Maxmara Carrara Coat, aka The Teddy Bear Coat

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas and Boxing Day, ours was very relaxing with a lot of good food and drink, films and Christmas TV thrown in! Thank you all for your lovely Christmas wishes-they were so much appreciated and I hope your holidays have been all you wanted them to be and if Santa didn't bring you that elusive pressie you've been after then hopefully you may be able to track it down in the sales that are all on at the moment!

I thought I would share a find from the summer holidays with you that is my inspirational version of the gorgeous and most covetable coat of the moment, the MaxMara Carrara coat, which I know is Carine Roitfeld and Kim Kardashian's winter coat of choice:

MaxMara Carrara Coat

It's just like a blanket coat, enveloping you like a big fluffy dressing gown and making you feel like a teddy bear-thus giving the coat it's nickname of the 'teddy bear coat'

I have a feeling the coat is sold out now, but it certainly is such an inspiring look and style- I love the casual wraparound vibe, the gorgeous caramel colour and of course the thought of the feeling you would get wearing a coat like this, I don't think you'd want to take it off!! 

So here is my inspired version- it's a vintage faux fur coat by Tissavel of France, a very renowned but now sadly defunct, faux fur manafacturer established in 1953. I have owned a couple of Tissavel coats in the past which were such fabulous quality, but this one is defintely my favourite. My favourite features of the coat are it's wide collar, the 'no buttons' style so you have to wear it in a wraparound style and of course, the length-this coat is definitely keeping all chills at bay!!

The true life colour is more as shown in the second picture, a 'caramel camel' colour and it was the perfect coat of choice to wear at the weekend for a brisk walk around St Katherines Dock- which was a very brisk and short one as we decided to go for a drive and enjoy a forthcoming coffee out at Cafe Nero.

I'm wearing a lurex pom pom beanie from Primark last winter, River Island faux leather panel leggings, ankle boots from PrettyLittleThing.com, a Marks and Spencer thrifted black merino wool polo sweater and a Chanel inspired black leather quilted chain bag:

Because of the wraparound style I just felt like hugging myself and of course you have to with this sort of coat as it comes apart otherwise!!

I bought this in the heart of summer from a local towns Sense charity shop which sells everything for a £1- so this is definitely my cheapest coat bargain of the year! 

Have you found your perfect winter coat yet? Do you love vintage or will you be seeking a bargain in the sales? I'd love to see how you're all styling up your chosen winter coat this season!! I am linking this post to the lovely Claire Justine for her weekend blog hop, I hope you get a chance to check out her fabulous blog! Wishing you all a very happy weekend and happy sales shopping too!