Don't you just love it when..

Everyone loves a bargain, but it’s even better when the bargain turns out to be even more of a bargain than you originally thought. This happened to me just the other week.

We’d gone down to London for a family party and that packing gremlin had come with us*.  My carefully thought out party outfit was completely inappropriate. Never mind, I thought, perfect excuse for a trip to the shops. I left the children with their grandparents and went up the road to the High Street for a mooch round the shops. I had a lovely time; I really enjoyed being able to take my time in each shop and not having to look in the toy section. It’s always interesting going to charity shops in a different place and there were some great bargains to be found. One shop was selling Whistles and Jigsaw trousers for a pound a pair! Not my size sadly but I did pick up a pair of Gap trousers for £1.50. But I didn’t find anything suitable for the party. By this point the sun had come out and it was turning into a glorious afternoon, making my already inappropriate outfit even more so.

I popped into Sainsburys for some ground cumin and there in the clothes section on the sale rail, looking a bit sorry for itself as it was the only one of its kind left, was a dress. Not just any dress but a dress in a style I really like – that is, it had a collar and wasn’t too short – at half price, and amazingly, in my size. I grabbed it and went to search for the cumin. I then had a battle with myself. Even at half price it was still more than I’d normally pay for a dress and it wasn’t as if I really needed a new one. Shopping in charity shops really does give you a skewed view of the cost of things. I then told myself to stop being so stupid (still while looking for cumin) so by the time I got to the till I was ok with it again. So imagine my absolute delight when I put it through the self-service scanner and it had been reduced further – it was only £5.40! If you are thinking that “absolute delight” is a bit strong then this has never happened to you. It really is a great feeling. I carried on my way with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

So my original party outfit was cast aside in favour of my new dress which looked even better on. (It’s good when it happens that way round.) Even my husband said it looked nice! It will come as no surprise that I just so happened to have a cardigan with me that went with it perfectly. Of course I did.

Sophie x

*If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about see my earlier post “I hate packing”

The dress. Admittedly it doesn't look great on the hanger, but it is lovely, honestly.

Refashionista!

Our little blog is now a whole year old! Where has that time gone? 
Well if you asked my husband the time has gone into me spending time buying lots and lots of clothes from charity shops and getting giddy about it. I would say it has gone into helping me be a better shopper and having some amazing clothes at the fraction of the shop price.

Both Sophie and I have also made a lot of mistakes, I have clothes in my wardrobe that I wonder what made me buy them. Was it the fabric, the cut, the name, the price who knows? I am often encouraged by my nearest and dearest to have a big old clear out but as you know I love to hoard. So it was with great delight I found I had another reason to hoard and potentially up cycle. For my birthday, my husband bought me a fantastic book called “The Refashion Handbook” by my new hero Beth Huntington. What a fabulous book full of ideas on how to make clothes fit better and brilliantly refashion and make look like a different item of clothing. 


A few weeks ago I mentioned in the blog about two dresses I had worn to death last year but didn’t really work this year. Well as I love the fabric on one of them I have big plans on making the dress into a maxi skirt for my holibobs. Watch this space.

It also got me thinking about a halter neck denim maxi dress, which I bought years ago from a charity shop and for some reason didn’t really get on with it. It might have been that it had an enormous amount of fabric and was a bit much for the early days of maxi dresses. Earlier this year I went all drastic and shortened it, well in my terms chopped the bottom off and hemmed it. It was a revelation! I loved my new summer dress until I started wearing it. It would seem the frock had a simple problem of it not really fitting on the top as I think the elastic was on its way out. I had to tie the halter neck so tight to keep it from sagging at the back I ended up walking with a stoop. So then, what to do? Well hello new book! Why not chop the halter off and make a mid length denim skirt? Hurrah, a challenge indeed especially when denim is everywhere at the moment (yes I’ve actually read Grazia and that’s what they say!).

Well its under way and I think it looks ok, I’m planning on buying some funky ribbon to sew along the bottom. Any ideas though would be much appreciated. The length is a bit of an odd one but I’m continuing to play around with it so hopefully I’ll have a nice A line denim skirt v soon.

I’ll keep you posted on my refashioning ups and downs as I’m sure there will be many! Now where are those frocks……

And the survey says......

Thank you to everyone who has completed our little survey. It has been great to get an idea of other peoples wardrobes and how many peeps like their heels and who prefers their trainers.

My favourite question was the one that asked “What is the most expensive item you have ever bought?” I can’t actually think what to answer for this one, I think it was probably a Hobbs dress for a very good friends wedding which was about £200. This was purchased in the heady days of working on Regent Street and going to lots of weddings!

I do wish though that the survey wasn’t completely anonymous as I would love to know who owns the Jimmy Choo’s, Laboutin and Prada shoes! (Are they size 5 and if so can I borrow them please?!).  Quite a few people mentioned that their most expensive items were bought for weddings. Just goes to show we like to splash out for those big occasions.

When we decided on the survey it was partly to justify our own buying but it would seem both Sophie and I have the similar amount of clothes compared to lots of others. This will be used in future conversations with peeps who suggest I need a clear out…..

I would say that many of you like your flats and trainers more than your heels, I wonder if I’d asked the question 10 years ago whether that would still have been to case. We all like a frock for going out which does go with your favourite heels (once the cobwebs have been blown off if you’re anything like me!). The one question which did surprise me was that 50% of respondents had 5 or less pairs of jeans. I think I mentioned I have about 12. Maybe it’s a sign I should get rid of the ones I’m unlikely to get in again, well maybe not….

It would seem that the skirt is not that popular these days, maybe all those tops you have are to go with your jeans? Who knows.

One thing we all agree on is that we don’t like to give things away, even if they are not being worn. A whopping 88% of peeps said they have clothes which they don’t wear but can’t bear to part with. As a big fan of charity shops I suppose I should be disappointed but I'm actually delighted to be surrounded by fellow hoarders!!

How many do you have?

Sophie has inspired me to write about a question that has been brewing with me for a few weeks. Sophie is now renowned for her love of the cardigan and her Imelda Marcos number of them. It made me think whether we are the norm and whether people (well women) have large number of their favourite things. With me, its jeans, white trainers (as my husband kindly documented on Facebook) and frocks – I have one for every occasion and some for no occasions at all.

It would be great if you could help me with this question by answering a few questions. None of them are particularly taxing but they may involve you heading to your wardrobe and having a sneaky peak.  

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCTKH5M

My husband often says have too many of all of these and questions my purchases every time I get home from a bit of charity shopping. “Do you need another jacket?” “That’s nice is it new? haven’t you already got one like that?” are often the queries I get. I normally bat them off with “well it was only £4 and its John Rocha” or he heard this one a lot “Its an L K Bennett dress and it was only £9!!!” well I think everyone I know heard me say that about 400 times.

I did have a bit of a clear out when my skirt collection hit 13! I’ve decided I need to recycle a bit more and clear out my wardrobe a bit. Yes only a bit. I’m still hard pressed to release my hold on my 8 pairs of jeans, I have black ones for going out (too long unless I’m wearing heels) my gardening jeans (worn twice a year), my January jeans which are a bit big and v comfy for the heavier beginning of the year and my lovely skinny jeans which I never thought I would like but now love.

I also have countless pairs of feet munching heels, I don’t wear heels as much as I used to but I love having a choice when I do go out. This often depends how much standing up I will be doing, whether any dancing or walking will be involved. As for my trainers, well they are just ace. Oh and did I mention my ballet pumps too?

So how many is enough? I’ll let you know when the survey results come in. And yes, I will be saying “And the survey says!”

xx

While the kids are away....

Over the holidays the boys went to stay with their grandparents in London for nearly a week. This is by far the longest time they have been away from us and after I got over my initial apprehension I was quite excited about it. “It’ll be great” I said to my husband, “just think how much more time we’ll have. We can go out for dinner or just pop to the pub.” “No” he replied “we’re decorating the kitchen.

So my child free time was not as relaxing as I was hoping for but I was able to have an unaccompanied potter around the charity shops. Since starting work I’ve not had much opportunity to do this and I’ve found myself making excuses to go into town just so I can get my fix. “I just need to pop to the post office” I’ll say, and then “the queues were dreadful” when I return much later than expected. So I jumped at the opportunity to have a more leisurely trip to the shops.

If I don’t have much time I just do Barnardos and the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army shop has overtaken Barnardos as my favourite as it has a much better layout and a fabulous sale rail. On this trip I picked up a French Connection Bretton style top, an emerald green Top Shop top and an M&S cardi – all 50p each! So I’ve may have taken my cardigan tally up to 23, but as it is lovely periwinkle blue colour and (did I mention?) only fifty pence, how could I not?

I did ask in a previous post what was a normal amount of clothing for a woman. I heard on the radio yesterday that the average woman owns seven pairs of jeans, so at four pairs I am way below average. I’ll be sure to mention this the next time my husband complains about all the clothes I have. I will, of course, fail to point out that I rarely wear jeans and I certainly won’t be mentioning the cardigans.

The boys are home now and the kitchen is decorated. I also managed to have a bit of clear out while they were away and guess who’ll be volunteering to take the bag of discards to the charity shop…

Sophie x

Thank goodness for charity shop books

Yes, the summer holidays are well and truly underway and the kids are off, I’m sure I’m not the only mum thinking what on earth am I going to do to keep the little loves busy?

Our town is great for activities for kids, the library reading challenge is always a favourite, we often spend a day in town having a wander round the charity shops maybe a quick trip to Weightwatchers (depending on how much wine I’ve had to drink at the weekend) and then head to the library to borrow some books and take part in the reading challenge.

I love borrowing books, the library has a great range and there is something really nice about being part of a library. I do like to own books too, we have a great big bookcase full of favourites, mine are Patricia Cornwell and Gray’s are football autobiographies – never to be read again.Our two kids do like reading and this summer my son has really got into The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and loves a bit of Roald Dahl.  We went for a mooch around the charity shops to find some books to keep him occupied and low and behold in The British Heart Foundation there was loads to chose from all for £1.35 each,I was delighted! I also go some nice books for Amber to take on holiday so a total of 9 books for £17!

I often buy my holiday books from charity shops and the British Heart Foundation is perfect for this. They have such a great range of chick lit to keep me entertained for those long quiet days whilst the kids play nicely together and the sun shines (who am I kidding!).

So if you see me in town carrying a massive, heavy shopping bag you’ll know what I’ve been buying.

x

Festival time

1. 

   When I texted Ingrid she replied with this photo. She, too, had been to a festival with a second hand stall.

   The boys in their festival hats.
2. 
   
3. Following on from my last post - we had a brilliant time at the festival. It did rain constantly on the Friday,not easing off once and no amount of waterproofs could have kept us dry. We were, literally, soaked to the skin. So we certainly got the authentic festival experience. The boys were very good though and didn’t complain and the little one loved the consequent mud.
4. For once I did manage to pack correctly, and my outfits were spot on. A bit too spot on, in fact. We walked past one lady and my husband did a double take. “She’s dressed exactly like you” he said “even her hair is the same”. She wasn’t the only one and they were all middle aged mums. So I’ve finally managed to nail a look, maybe not quite the one I was going for.

   As an aside, what age is classed as being middle aged? At 40, am I? Or is it a state of mind? In which case, with my love of cord and cardigans, I have been since I was 15.

   On the Saturday the sun shone and we were able to peel our kagouls off. As we were wandering around, taking in the sights and sounds, what should I spot but an Oxfam tent. I couldn’t believe it, a charity shop at a festival! I excitedly texted Ingrid. We headed in and I got chatting to the lady (we’d arrived there via the real ale tent). She said that they do festivals a lot these days, especially ones that market themselves as being eco-friendly. They also tailor the stock for the particular festival. Animal print goes down well at Womad, apparently. I couldn’t help but think that it was a great idea. Festivals are the perfect place for charity shops – it’s not only great promotion for the particular charity but actually serves a real need. I’ve been so wet and muddy at a festival before that buying new ones seemed like the only option. A charity stall would have been perfect, I could have bought a whole new outfit. Festivals are full of clothes stalls that are a bit “different”, but second hand clothes really are. Why produce more clothes when you could have pre-loved ones, it’s just good re-cycling. And what’s more, if you were so inclined, you could do some charity shopping with a pint in your hand!

   There was a big box of hats which we had a rummage through and found some lovely ones for the boys – along with wellies and a kag a festival hat is a must have. They loved them.

I hate packing

Muddy wellies.

I hate packing

I really dislike packing. I find it very frustrating as I always put a lot of thought into it, spending far more time than necessary choosing clothes that all go with each other and give me a variety of choices of outfit. Then something weird happens to my bag in transit. I reach my destination, open it up and find a jumble of mis-matched clothes and I’ve always forgotten something vital. How does this happen?

It is easy packing for the children, though I still loathe it, I just pack enough trousers and tops to last the time we’re away with a few extras for accidents. Being boys all their tops match their bottoms, you can’t really get it wrong. But I can. So I was not at all looking forward to packing for going to a festival, which is silly really as it’s the one place where anything goes. But I’ve been dressed inappropriately at festivals before and it’s miserable. It doesn’t matter how pretty your outfit is if you’re cold and wet. So packing properly was vital, it could be the difference between having a great or an awful time. So what should I wear? Jeans are usually a safe bet but wet jeans are horrible and flared ones get caked in mud. Shorts are good as legs are easier to dry than clothes, but the weather wasn’t meant to be that warm. At least I didn’t have to think about shoes, it had to be wellies.

And then I got it. I bought a denim dress from the Salvation Army shop which I’ve worn a lot, so when we had the swishing night and there was another denim dress, I snaffled it up quick. These dresses are great as you can put layers under and over them but are cool too if it’s hot. I wore them over leggings, cropped for the day (from Lidl) and long for the evening, and, of course, wellies.

As we were getting ready to leave, later than planned, armed with waterproofs and snacks, I was still thinking that I hadn’t enough warm clothes with me. I hate being cold. Then I remembered a lovely Boden coat that Ingrid passed on to me which is not only waterproof, but warm and patterned with purple flowers, so pretty too. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before.

So off I went to my first festival with the kids, rocking the charity shop/pass me down look and we all had a brilliant time, despite the rain. I’ll tell you all about that in my next post, and yes, I can make it relevant to charity shops.

Can a girl have too many clothes?

Hello, Sophie here, you’ve not heard from me in a while, mainly as I’ve not had much of a chance to go charity shopping of late, which is probably a good thing – my wardrobe is fit to burst! 

An inevitable side effect of a charity shop addiction is that I have a lot of clothes. For the most part this is a good thing. I like having lots of choice when it comes to clothes and tire of wearing the same thing everyday. Also, it can be practical. When our washing machine broke down and took an absolute age to fix, we had to do emergency loads of washing in neighbours’ washing machines for my husbands and kids’ clothes but I was fine. Fortunately it was mended before I had to resort to wearing my wedding dress on the school run.

But it does have its down sides – it can take a long time to get dressed in the morning as I have too much choice and space is an ongoing problem. I don’t think my husband is willing to hand over any more of his wardrobe space. To counter this I’m currently operating a one in one out policy but with limited success. I have a clear out and take my bag of clothes to a charity shop or a swishing party, but you can see the flaw here, I come back with more.

Sometimes I think that it would be better to just splash out on a few decent items of clothing that I really like, it would probably cost the same in the long run, but where’s the fun in that? Also, although the minimal does appeal to me, I know I wouldn’t be able to do it. I went travelling a few years back and travelled very lightly. Consequently I wore the same two pairs of trousers for three months (yes, I washed them). As soon as I got home I went out and bought impractical but pretty short skirts and I never wore those trousers again.

So I’m sticking with the lots of clothes an overflowing wardrobe and a grumpy husband.

But there is one real problem with having lots of clothes and that’s packing to go away. Last week I had to pack to go to a festival and I’ll tell you all about that in my next post.

While writing this I thought do I really have a lot of clothes? I know I have loads more than my husband but is it a normal amount for a woman? So I went up to my wardrobe and counted. I have four pairs of jeans. That sounds like a normal amount to me. But then I started on my cardigans. I counted twenty two! And I’m sure there must be more hidden around the house. That’s surely excessive, even for a librarian, but at least I’m keeping the stereotype alive and well.

40 and wearing shorts – what was I thinking?

It was recently our Rock Choir summer party. These do’s are always really good fun and mostly very boozy. This years theme was 4th July, so, red white and blue with a bit of line dancing to boot, I couldn’t wait! Although I’m not a fan of fancy dress, I do like to dress up so a bit of a country and western outfit was a proper charity shopping challenge.
I am a massive fan of red so this wasn’t a problem, I soon bought a checked shirt featuring all colours but soon realised it was actually a bit small – a theme which then continued. I was really keen to buy myself some cowboy boots but it turns out even second hand proper ones are a bit beyond what I wanted to spend.

I think I had an idea in mind that I would look like Daisy Duke from Dukes of Hazard but in reality I was more likely to look like Grandma Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies.

So my search continued, I popped into the Cats Protection League charity shop and stumbled across a fab red and white checked shirt, albeit a small mans, I thought I’d be able to tie it in the middle and it would be just the ticket. Now here is where I went really racy. I bought shorts. Yes real life short shorts, pins out and everything. I was nearly there, I put it all together with a cowboy hat I already owned and it actually looked ok. Well the shirt didn’t quite tie, in fact it didn’t really fasten and I do wonder how small a man who shops in Topman actually is. The shorts looked ok (once a bucket of fake tan had been applied) and I wore a pair of white wedges and away we go. It turns out Line dancing is brilliant fun well once I’d figured out how to do it! The shoes didn’t stay on for long and were replaced with one of my many pairs of converse.

Yet again Charity shops have helped me out and my outfit was a success. Norfolk be warned, I may well be getting my pins out again as I’m now quite attached to my shorts.