Hotter Shoes- Being Spoilt in Style and Comfort

Hi everyone! As you may be aware, the ethos of my blog is generally all thrift related as I shop mainly at charity shops and boot sales for clothes and accessories. Of course I do indulge in retail therapy at high street stores but with a couple of exceptions I have held no particular allegiances to any brands-well, not until I actually stopped and thought about it.

In Autumn 2012 I was introduced properly to Hotter shoes by my mum who for years now has religiously bought her summer and winter shoes from there with no exceptions. It was back then I was looking for a stylish, comfortable and durable work shoe which would see me through the immediate three seasons of Autumn, Winter and Spring. As an early Christmas present from her I chose a pair of black leather desert style ankle boots and then promptly forgot about it until she let me know they had arrived.

Well fast forward another three seasons of Autumn, Winter and to Spring 2014, those boots are gloves for my feet and unbelievably have not worn down (which I've since learnt is a trademark of Hotter's durable soles). They are still as new and I can wear them all day without a murmur of them being uncomfortable or sore for my feet.

So when I was invited to attend Hotter's press evening dinner and presentation at Toms Kitchen, Somerset House I literally jumped at the opportunity- I can honestly say that without realising it, I've sworn allegiance to a company that really does deserve the recognition of being a quality, comfortable and stylish brand.

The evening started off with complimentary champagne and I was pleased as punch to finally meet my gorgeous blogger friend Sharron of Style At Every Age who has been blogging right around the same time as me-six years and who I'd not had the lovely opportunity of meeting before.

We were shown through to the restaurant where the presentation was being held and where we were dining. The lovely Alex Longmore who is not only Hotter's style ambassador, but a stylist in her own right within the celebrity world gave a super presentation of the brand's history, concept and an intensive styling brief of how Hotter shoes and sandals can be worn and as such are key ingredients of being stylish without compromising on comfort or durablity. Features such as nude tones, florals, metallics and pastels are all part of Hotters amazing collection of summer shoes and sandals in canvas, leather or suede and as most of their footwear are made in the UK in their factory in Lancashire you really are buying into a fabulous British brand which I truly believe beats it's competitors hands down.

I was kindly given the opportunity to review a pair of Hotter shoes and I chose the pewter Singapore wedges, in a wide fitting size 7.5. I've tried them on and of course with the torrential rain we've had I've not had the chance to wear them properly but they fit like a glove and I was desperate to indulge in some metallics for the coming Summer season: 

They feature a gladiator style upper, a mid wedge heel and adjustable strap:

They are a fantastic style to go with boho style dressing, denim or monochromes- I am really chuffed with my choice and judging by my black shoes that I have already I know these will be a keeper for many summers to come.

I met some wonderful ladies and it was great to catch up with my lovely friend Mrs TNMA and to meet hosts Caroline of Wingfield PR and Lisa, Marketing Executive of Hotter Shoes.

Although I met new acquaintances, it was like being with old and dear friends as my dining companions were extremely attentive, chatty and entertaining-I had such a good laugh and indulged in some wonderful conversations it was a shame the evening had to end! 

A massive thank you to Wingfield PR and Hotter Shoes for a truly amazing evening, my wonderful sandals and  more importantly, a realisation that brand allegiance with Hotter shoes really has hooked me- not only do they have a wonderful website to shop from, they have 63 hotter stores nationwide and are available in over 200 independent retailers. With a top style ambassador on board they really are on point with style and comfort in equal measure and honestly need to be worn to appreciate how excellent they are. 

If they're good enough for my mum then they've more than earned my seal of approval!! Whether you're looking for loafers, heels, sandals, boots or trainers I wholly recommend you check out Hotter first- you won't be disappointed!!

Wishing you all a fabulous bank holiday weekend and I hope to catch up with you all very soon too!

Outfit Post & Current ThriftMyStyle Summer Style Obsessions- Lace, Embroidery, Espadrilles and Denim

 Hi everyone! After hearing the weather report on Wednesday evening for Thursday to Saturday I was really ready to embrace summer dressing-bare legs, dress and some summer sun ready to sit out in and enjoy. Alas, the outfit was there on Thursday but definitely no summer sun to radiate in! 

Style obsessions are currently lace, embroidery and denim and in various mixes for good measure. This outfit features a thrift find from last Sunday- a Gap slim fit denim jacket in exactly the shade I've been looking for this coming summer. I was at a local boot sale on Sunday and saw it on a ladies rail, so I asked the price and she said £2. Definitely cheap enough but for some reason I said to her 'Will you take £1.50?' We both burst out laughing at the same time and I'm sure it was because of my cheek but she said yes and off I went!

I'm wearing one of my items from the clothes swap party a couple of months ago, a Topshop blush pink lace dress. It's sleeveless and backless and is an ideal length for me and so perfect as a daytime summer dress if I wear it with denim. I'm also wearing some tan sandals which I thrifted a couple of summers ago- they are Clarks and were from my local Sue Ryder charity shop for around £8:

My new pinterest board, Crafted Style-Embroidery, Lace et Al is quickly expanding with images of everything embroidered, lace and summer boho orientated:

With this inspiration in mind I stopped off in another local town for a spot of charity shop thrifting this morning as the boot sale didn't appeal weatherwise and found this charming embroidered lace cotton camisole by Fat Face in the £1 Sense charity shop:

It's a replacement for one I stupidly put in the charity shop bag a couple of years ago for no good reason and will be perfect under denim jackets and waistcoats and summer blazers too.

Another style inspiration that's been hot on my mind are espadrilles and slides so how chuffed I was to find an unusual mix of the two earlier as well- they are Pare Gabia espadrilles made in France and were in the Sue Ryder charity shop for £3.95:

Brand new too and a much needed addition to my summer wardrobe, these will get worn a lot and will go with so much that I have already.

Unfortunately the sun shows no sign of returning any time soon where I am and my feet are freezing- I may have to get the socks and boots out  ;- (

What is on your style radar at the moment- are you shopping for summer and if so do you have current obsessions of the moment?

Have a lovely Easter weekend and I hope the sun is shining for the rest of you, wherever you are!!

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!!

My Week in Pictures

Hi everyone!! I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the lovely Spring weather at the moment! It's such a nice feeling to venture out without all the obligatory layers of winter and think about lighter jackets and bare ankles!

Last week whilst on a thrifting trip in a town not too far away I was very lucky with footwear finds. The Richard House Childrens Hospice was where I found these:

Adidas Original Stan Smith Brown Weave trainers, £8

Papillio Birkenstock Arizona sandals £5.99

On Saturday my eldest had reserved some items in our local Sue Ryder charity shop and of course I had to have a browse. There is a new manager in there and prices are very reasonable-my star find of the week was an authentic Belstaff blouson jacket for just £5.

Next day of course was Mothers Day and a joint card from my beautiful boys and a lovely summer tee was my present from them both.

Sunday afternoon was spent with my mum as we wined and dined at a newly found favourite Mediterranean restaurant of mine which I couldn't wait for my mum to try. We both had a shared Mezes starter, grilled sea bass, mashed potato and mixed vegetables for our main meal and for desert I had stuffed apricots and my mum had baklava.

My mum bought me some perfume for Mothers Day, Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden, one she has worn for decades. 

I'm still being rather a bookworm at the moment and my spare time has been spent reading Martina Cole's The Faithless- well with my home town being mentioned, I knew it would be a must read and having finished it last night I'll sonn be on the look out for a suitable replacement when back at work-the joy of working in a library is I get to indulge my sneaky peeks of every different kind of book and my library card is constantly in use.

Wishing you all a lovely week and I hope all of you lovely mums had a wonderful Mothers Day too!!

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!