Suede Love

I 'liked' this photo of Suki Waterhouse a few weeks ago on Instagram as I loved the overall styling of this  look but mainly the shape of this sleek leather jacket. I took a print screen and decided to go on a quest to find something similar.

From previous posts you will know that I've fully embraced all things seventies, particularly suede in any form. I was browsing suede jackets online on eBay and found this 100% leather suede jacket in exactly the same style as the Instagram photo!

Luckily for me it was a Sunday morning auction and so with some dedication (it ended at 9am!) I managed to swoop in and snap it up for just £10. I know I'll wear this with anything and everything and I can't wait to style it with a turtleneck top and a messy beehive a la Suki.

Next on my list is something in that earthy orange tan suede like this gorgeous Urban Outfitters bomber jacket...

Charity & Vintage Shopping in Manchester- Cheadle

My wonderful flatmate and fellow bargain hunter Becky  and I have recently moved to Manchester and, naturally, the first thing on our agenda was to seek out the best charity shops in the area. After a quick google search we decided that Cheadle was a safe bet to find a few shops in one place- we were not disappointed. With around 10 charity shops to choose from on the high street we were spoilt for choice, especially as Cheadle is home to the only exclusively vintage Barnado's store, easily one of my favourite shops I've ever been into, (but more on that later, I've saved the best till last!)

Our first port of call was St Ann's Hospice shop which is directly opposite the bus stop (get the X51 from Piccadilly Gardens in Central Manchester and it will take you around 40  mins). This was a well laid out and colour coordinated store, Becky picked up a '70s style tan button up skirt and there were plenty of fashion forward pieces to chose from. But we really were in for a surprise when we spotted the sign for a vintage section upstairs.... 

The vintage section was completely surprising and had a gorgeous interior, look at that ceiling! The 'bar' area was topped with copper with French posters on the walls, glass and crystal ware on the shelves, and mirrors everywhere. There was some definite hints of art deco pieces dotted around which would look amazing in the right home. I found a 100% suede slouchy jacket here for £14, I fell in love with it but sadly it just didn't fit correctly on me. 

Our next stop was a Barnardo's store, in which most items were £1.99, the quality of some of the garments reflected this but there were still many a bargain to be found in here. I found this cropped, ribbed top with a keyhole detail on the front which will look great with a pair of denim shorts for a simple summer look.

Next up was the British Heart Foundation, the shop was jammed with loads of colour and prints for summer, there was plenty of good quality clothing here and you could easily deck yourself out for a holiday after a quick browse through their rails. The prices are a little expensive for some items but this is due to the fantastic condition of every item. Becky found a '90s meets '70s mesh crop top here with bell sleeves.

PDSA is a chain I've not often come across before but they had a great range of higher end high street brands such as Oasis and Marks and Spencer as well as a lovely homeware collection of their own.

Both Becky and I struck gold at Cancer Research, each snapping up French Connection dresses for less than a fiver, this is a small shop but with a large range of dresses, jackets and blouses. I love the neckline of this dress that I picked up, I've been after one for ages and this is just the ticket.

Drum roll please... Our favourite store by far was this vintage Barnardo's, it is the only vintage Barbado's in the UK, previously there were stores based in Edinburgh and Glasgow but I'm so pleased that we are lucky enough to have the only one left right on our doorstep. The store is beautifully laid out as you can see by the pictures with racks of real vintage clothes, homeware, haberdashery, records, books and even toys and dolls. The best part is, everything is genuine, quality vintage for fantastically reasonable prices.

The furniture was gorgeous inside and had knick knacks over every surface- look at this beautiful cabinet filled with cameras! On the left hand shelving there was also a shelf dedicated to vintage brassware- I was in heaven!

I loved the arrangement of these lampshades on top of the sewing and haberdashery area- how cute is the baby blue sewing machine?!

A whole corner of the store was dedicated to vinyl and vintage books, I have recently bought a record player so will be shuffling through these boxes on my next trip. 

Sadly, because I had to go and get a train we only had about 5 minutes to run around this shop in awe and so didn't get a proper chance to look through everything and make some purchases! I can't wait for my next visit though and I'm sure I will come away with armfuls of beautiful old treasures. I couldn't recommend this store enough with it's wonderful layout and unique items. The store can be followed on Instagram and Twitter @vintagecheadle.

If you're looking to charity shop in Manchester, Cheadle is definitely the place to go! 

P.S Vintage Cheadle Barnado's has recently updated their window for the summer and I am in love. The chair, the white suitcase, the floral dress- it's all too much! Head down on Saturday for their fundraising event with the chance to win some prizes.

The Jumpsuit Game

At a pint-sized 5"3 I've often shied away from trousers and long-length clothing because most (all) of the time I have to either roll the legs up or get the hem altered to make them fit. However, after purchasing my first jumpsuit earlier this year, I'm a full on trouser fiend. To me, ASOS currently have the best offerings by a mile. 

When Queen Chung wore this navy utility jumpsuit on The Great British Bake Off for Comic Relief, I knew I had to find a similar outfit. (Mary and Alexa in the same photo! It's too much!) 

(Source: Comic Relief)

I personally favor a more slinky alternative to a chunkier cotton boiler suit, these are both beautiful.

Vila (via. ASOS) £28

Whistles (via. ASOS) £225

ASOS have also fully immersed themselves in the wide leg trouser and brought them into jumpsuits. I particularly like all the cut out detailing which I think counteracts the wide legs to make for a more flattering silhouette. This black number is my favourite...  

ASOS, £50 

The wide leg culotte is not something I will be embracing myself but I think they look amazing on the taller ladies out there and admire those who are giving them a test drive- how gorgeous is this denim all in one?

ASOS, £50

ASOS, £25

Little Blue Dress- Chung Style

I like to think that having a few 'Little Dresses' that never fail to make you feel a million bucks will set you up for most occasions that life will throw at you....Little Black Dresses are perfect for any occasion, particularly for a special evening.... A Little White Dress for elegant summer days...And finally I have found a new addition to my reliable collection, The Little Blue Dress. After seeing the Alexa Chung for AG Jeans collection I absolutely loved the blue denim dresses that are featured. However, for my tight purse strings an ACxAG dress was always set to remain a dream. 

(Images from www.net-a-porter.com)

I then found this blue chambray oversized dress for £6 in a charity shop. I always think of chambray as a lighter alternative to denim, it's a lighter material and better suited to the Spring (yes, I'm already counting down the days 'til Spring!) I altered this dress to suit my shape a little more as when I originally bought it was near ankle length and very oversized which I personally find to be a bit swamping. I did the alterations by taking it in a few inches at the sides on the sewing machine and then hemming it to a mini length. I think this item mirrors 'The Julie' by Chung with the sweet pintucked detailing to the front and back which adds a bit more interest to a simple button down. 

(Sorry for the poor quality images here, dark rainy days and no laptop at the moment! The iPhone has had to suffice here) 

The Best Of... Suede Skirts

I’ve been absolutely loving the 70s accents in collections for the upcoming season and at the moment a gorgeous suede skirt is at the top of my list.

ASOS has the best selection in loads of colours- I want them all! They have versions in an A-line style or a mini style- the only problem is deciding on which one you want! A-line zip up is £65, Mini is £50.

MINKPINK has a dark brown patchwork option, £45.

TOPSHOP is vibing the 70s with this button down number; it’s toned down a little by the colour making it very versatile, £75.

H&M has this faux suede, faux leather combination skirt if you would rather not go all out; it’s the most affordable out of these options at just £14.99.

How are you styling the 70s this Spring?

Top Sales Picks

As we near the end of January the sales are for the most part over and so I thought a top sales picks round up was in order. Although, there are further reductions in most stores so you might be able to snap up even more bargains in the coming weeks.

My best advice for bargain hunting is to go out with an idea in mind of what you want to find, this avoids impulse buys when you are faced with hundreds of items on the rails (or webpage). Try and think about things that you have loved in store that were a little too pricey at the time, or things that you genuinely need in your wardrobe or basics that could do with replacing.

My favourite items that I picked in the sales are as follows:

TOPSHOP

Topshop ended up being the best store for sales this year. I had my eye on this black velvet jumpsuit before it went into the sale so at just £20 it went straight into my basket!

This berry coloured teddy nightie was something that I hadn’t spotted before. It’s got some gorgeous lace detailing and a lovely low back in a woven material that’s perfect for sleeping in. It’s a great replacement for constantly sleeping in my boyfriend’s PJ bottoms and old uni tshirts.

I also ordered a simple black bikini which I need for my holiday next month which I can mix and match with other items. (I’m still trying to build up a new collection of bikinis after leaving them in a hotel room a couple of years ago! Always check your drawers before leaving the hotel, guys).

ASOS

I ordered these Ridley skinny jeans with a ripped knee as I’d been looking for some ripped knee jeans for a while and these went down to £16. The only problem with these was that after I wore them a few times, they were a bit baggier and I should have sized down which is what I would recommend with these jeans.

KURT GEIGER

These were some of my pricier buys but they are great quality and I needed both black boots and black flats after mine had started falling apart.

I got these Slice boots that I had been admiring for a while which were down to £69.99 from £150. They are gorgeously soft leather and are worth every penny for the quality.

These flats were down to £25 from £50, they’re a great shape and the patent finish adds a little more interest to the shoes.

Those are my main sale picks- have you found any gems in the sales? 

Tartan for Christmas

I'm back home for the holidays and whilst here had my usual snoop round the charity shops to see if I could pick anything up for the party season (all my sparkles and winter clothing is still in storage since leaving uni, boo). When I was browsing I saw this gorgeous cream and red tartan peeking out at me on a rail, I pulled on the skirt and realised it was ankle length and a fair few sizes too large. However because of the amazing quality of the wool and the shape it was easy to take in the sides and make into a shorter length on the sewing machine, this was just £3 and I'm going to use the extra material to make a cushion cover for when Becky and I move into our new home in a few months time.

I was particularly thrilled with this tartan pattern because I've always loved F.R.I.E.N.D.S and particularly some of the looks Rachel is seen wearing in the first couple of seasons (first aired in the early 90s). I've always wanted to recreate this tartan skirt look with a cream and red patterned skirt and this skirt is just the ticket! 

I also paired the skirt with this cream velvety top with a flattering sweetheart neckline (also a vintage find- St. Michel) which I also found on my trip to the charity shop for just £1. What did you wear this Christmas? 

On Point

Despite my many posts on charity shopping, I will happily splash the cash on high quality and long lasting footwear (after the sole of a boot fell off whilst I was scaling a wire fence in Berlin last year and I had to hobble back to the train station in the rain). I always gravitate towards black shoes and so I will always make sure I have a nice pair of leather low heel boots, leather heeled boots and leather flats in black. It's come to a time where I need to spend some dollar on a nice pair of new flats.

This season I am in love with the pointy loafers that have graced many a catwalk. Reminiscent of mens winkle picker style shoes, the pointed loafer offers a durable winter shoe and adds a bit of edge to any outfit. My favourites are as follows...

Phillip Lim 

Proenza Schouler

Ivanka Trump

Acne

H&M

River Island

That's my round up of my favourites, (I tried to add a smattering of non-black shoes to the equation), I personally adore the Acne suede loafers- with just a hint of a heel and almost completely enclosed upper these are perfect for the winter, the $500 price tag is a bit of a down side though... 

Proenza Schouler was my absolute favourite label when I was about seventeen or eighteen and I used to borrow inspiration from their clothes all the time. A few years later and I am still enamoured with their collections. Their ponyskin cross over shoes are gorgeous, and, although highly impractical for the puddle-ridden streets of England, would add some gorgeous texture to any outfit. 

Luckily there are some other less pricey options such as these River Island and H&M beauties. Although these shoes are likely to only last a season quality wise, they'll put you at the front of the fashion forward and are a great alternative to the classic pump.