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. 

Charity Shop Finds IV

Yes, you guessed it; it’s another Charity Shop Finds post from me! The urge for bargain hunting remains strong as I try to seek out all of the bargains to be found on this island before heading back to the mainland (England) next week. This post features a few things I've found over the past few weeks…

This cute vintage button down dress was £4. It was originally a size 16, unflattering, above-ankle length dress so I whipped the sewing machine out and took in the sides and shortened it to a more flattering length. I absolutely love the print and the style of this dress (reminiscent of some of Motel’s recent cuts) - it will look great with some low denier tights and black boots. (Excuse the poor ironing). 

This silver engraved collar necklace was only £2 and has absolutely beautiful detailing which makes me think it’s probably vintage costume jewellery- perfect for minimal accessorising.

As we all know, winter is now fully on the way and making its presence loud and clear. Never one to shy away from knitwear (more like run round a shop with armfuls) I bought two quite similar high necked wool jumpers in a deep red and cream for £4 and £2. The red one will be great for December and cream really does go with anything so will come in handy for layering. I also got this grey silvery cropped eyelash jumper for £4 (originally from Miss Selfridge) which is on trend for some 90s glam and will be something a little different to my usual leather jacket cover up for evening drinks.

Other recent finds include a See by Chloe blouse £3, boucle pencil skirt £4, black work trousers £2, boxed Pretty Polly stockings £2 (so expensive normally and they ladder so easily!), gold plunge top £3, blue sparkly backless dress £3. 

Charity Shop Finds III

A free September morning meant that I was free to roam around my favourite places once again- the charity shops of Guernsey. Les Bourgs Hospice charity shop had half price on all of their items and so it meant that my picks were even more bargainous than usual. I first started shopping in charity shops when I was at Sixth Form to hunt out one of a kind bargains on a student budget- this shopping mentality saw me right through university, and, although I’ve now graduated, I can’t see bargain hunting becoming any less thrilling as I make the transition from student to (gulp) grown up. 

I managed to buy a TONNE of bits and bobs for about £24 and here they are if you can sit through this post…

On this particular trip I was trying to source more ‘workwear’ friendly clothing and (although being mostly unsuccessful in this department) I found these tops for £1.50 each. The lemon yellow top would be perfect tucked into a smart skirt and the check grid print keeps it on trend. This polo neck (the name ‘turtleneck’ makes me cringe a bit) basic is ribbed and great for layering over winter- you can get the same on ASOS for around 14x the price ;)

This coat is vintage Charlotte Halton for River Island and was £2.50, 50% wool and super cosy. This furry collar was just £1 and can be pinned to any coat or jacket to give it an instant winter update. This Chiltern bag was another vintage find at only £3.

 These Levi jeans were only a measly 50p and are the correct waist measurement for me but are quite an odd length and cut. I’ll cut these off into some shorts or sell them on eBay. These light blue jeans are vintage Next ‘Mom’ style tapered jeans. They’re a little too big for me so I may have to get the sewing machine out! They’ll be great to add some pastel hues to my spring wardrobe next year- these were £2.

I found (surprise) some more velvet delights in the way of this vintage St. Michael (M&S) jacket. This was £1.50 and I decided to jazz it up a bit by sewing some black fringing onto the sleeves. I also found this velvet devore Frank Usher mini dress for £6, it has some serious side splits on it and is a few sizes too big (and is probably meant to be worn as a top!) so falls in a nice swing style- I’ll be wearing this for drinks and on a night out come December.

This red coral embellished dress was something I picked up on a whim to try on in the changing room, but once it was on I absolutely loved it. It’s Libelulu and 100% silk and so would have cost a couple of hundred pounds brand new but this was only £3. In my mind this would be perfect festival wear with a bandeau underneath, boots, belt and a hat (does anyone else have a mental list of would-be Coachella outfits or is this just me?) but would equally look great as evening wear with a belt and some serious cleavage.

Lastly I picked up this beautiful choker necklace for £1, I was unsure about getting this as I’ve not really jumped onto the choker bandwagon but this was too pretty to resist.

That’s about all my bargains. Thank you for reading through them- the charity shopping fairies were seriously helping me out on Saturday! Have you found any goodies in the charity shops recently?

P.S Sorry for the poor quality photos, they're all pink-tinged because the sun was setting and the light wasn't at it's best!