April charity-shop purchases

In April, post-Lent, it seems being abstemious for Lent didn't quell my enthusiasm for charity-shopping.  I hoped it would.  This is sort of my Buyer's Archive for April in a sense which I haven't done for aaaaaaaaages!. I know that we all love seeing what treasures others have picked up at the charity-shops or car boots so voila!

I bought these 3 dresses: The Swan dress, originally from Joy Louche was £4.99 from Oxfam.  It fits very well and I did indeed buy it for this Clara Oswald cosplay.

The middle dress was £6.50 from Cancer Research  and was originally by H by Henry Holland.  It was, I am afraid, all about that collar. I was sorely tempted in that shop- there were about 5 gorgeous-collared dresses I really liked.

The 3rd dress was £6.50 from the same shop, originally Topshop and was one I have admired many times on Ebay.

The final dress from my first purchase in Ipswich and is fairtrade, organic cotton from People Tree.  It fits absolutely perfectly so I am totally pleased with it. It was £6.99 I think.

The black cropped cardigan is Cashmere and was £5.99, I think, from Oxfam- it is a great concert Cardigan. Brand new from Pure.

The middle coat was actually a present from Hazel when we did our day in Ipswich with Sophie.  She knew I liked it as I am sure I made some pointed comment about it on her blog,  (Just checked and I did here... ooops, I offered to buy it! Do you want some money!?!??!) It fits perfectly and I was very happy with it!

The brown leather-look blazer was £3.50 from a charity-shop in Ipswich- Sense maybe?  I admit this was mainly Clara Osward inspired...

The tops:

The spotty blouse on the left was also from the same shop in Ipswich as the leather jacket  and I think it was £3.00.  I have plans to add some cute little Jennie Maisels rainbow patches to the collars of this.

The middle jumper has a darling heart print black collar and was £5 from the same shop as the two dresses at the top.  Very comfy and sweet!

The bunny print blouse was also from an Ipswich charity shop and was £3.50ish, I think.

The final item is either handmade or vintage.  This maxi dress is gorgeous and long enough for my long legs. I've been looking for a nice dark-coloured maxi of this ilk for a while! It was £4.

So, far too many purchases but all of them great!

I also picked up a red Jersey dress for £1.99 from Barnados but a) it doesn't fit and b) I mislaid it so it will be returning from whence it came.

The total spent on charity shop clothes was £51.96. Rather too many items but all of them treasured!

Did you buy any charity shop items this month?
xx

The Buyer's archive July 2016

I have missed this for two month- I just got busy and kept forgetting. Luckily Janet reminded me and as I was sorting out clothes today, I decided to try and remember my purchases.

The Buyer's archive is inspired by Elise's Buyer's Archive project, and involves keeping a record of all clothing purchases in a bid to keep on eye on my purchase, notice any patterns and IDEALLY cut down on my spending. There is a #buyersarchive hashtag on Twitter/Instagram where you can see posts from everyone taking part,  The usual suspects are Elise, Hazel, Janet, Donna, Lucy and Charlotte and perhaps a few more!?

Well, all I can say this month is, I am well and truly ashamed of myself.

Let's get on with it then...

 &Other Stories navy beaded sun dress: £1.99- Barnados
I spotted this dress in Barnados with its £65 price tag on. It's cotton and a really comfy good length. I am really pleased with it.

 Laura Ashley maxi dress £3.69 Barnados
I love Laura Ashley dresses. Barnados were having a half price sale on all clothing so I took a gamble on this for me and my Mum to share on holiday as she adores Laura Ashley dresses. If it doesn't fit her, I will keep it!

 H by Henry Holland collared dress £4, Marie Curie Cancer care
This is one of those dresses I wanted first time! Yay. It's a size 12 but I like it being loose and now fitted. Er- another navy blue patterned dress...

 Jaeger Striped button top £1.99 Barnados-
I have really wanted a high necked sleeveless top or two so this monochrome one is perfect. Not that I need it...

 NW2 Striped top £1.19 Barnados
I like basic striped cotton tops like this, so I picked up this staple for the colder season and for hikes..

 H by Henry Holland collar top- £1.50 Marie Curie
I have this top already in a size 6 which I am constantly worried about it shrinking and being too small for me so for £1.50, I figured was worth a gamble, two sizes bigger.

 River Island dress via Ebay £8.00 + £2.50 postage.
This dress is a Clara Oswald screen accurate dress that I have seen and looked at for ages. And in a moment of weakness, gave in to it...

Bryony and co Lollipop dress £29.99
I picked up this dress in the Sample Sale. I was buying a dress for my niece (£12!) and ended up buying this one as I was paying the postage. Really shouldn't have but this dress was originally £149 (cotton, handmade in England) and again I caved.
I think I need to unsubscribe from some of these websites..

So, on the clothing front, I ended up spending £54,85.  I bought a few accessories too but I will have to check and summarise in another post.
If I can get through August without buying anything, I hope I will feel less guilty.

The Buyer's archive 2- April 2016

Hi there!

Joining with my second edition of the Buyer's archive with Elise and some other lovely ladies!

I thought this would be a good way to make my look at my spending (and hopefully shame me into spending less!). I thought it would but it seems this month, I did worse than last month- I truly and utterly went mad! Honestly don't know what went wrong with me! On the flip side of it, I got some incredible bargains!

Onto the shame:

 I went to TK Maxx with my sister after going out for dinner at the end of the Easter holidays and bought her some running gear as a birthday present. As I was looking, I spied this light denim shirt by SH Denim which was reduced to £13.00.  I also bought this shirt in the Helen Rollason charity shop for £4.25 from Next that week. Didn't need either but have already worn both a few times. Both fit really well.

The next few items were all bought in old my local Barnado's - they ALWAYS have really nice things in there- that's where I bought my tap shoes.

 The Newlook white collared top was £2.49 and I thought it was a great staple top for work in the summer when I want to wear a skirt with a sleeveless top (we're not allowed to wear strappy tops). I lack basics for summer like this as I always go for patterns.
To demonstrate the above point, this George floral and polka dot top was £1.99.

 I made a bee-line for these polka-dots. I can spot a me-pattern a mile off,hidden amongst items. This skirt was so pretty- mint polka dots, coral scalloped hem, red waist-band AND pockets- brand new with tags. Only £1.99!

The next item was probably my item of the month. I saw this Emily & Fin dress hiding amongst a whole selection of beautiful Monsoon dresses and I was so excited as I had loved this dress when I saw it on A Million Dresses blog. Emily & Fin dresses are made of 100% cotton, fully lined with pockets.I already have this dress in a different print. I couldn't believe it still had its £65 price-tag on. At £9.99, it was more than an average charity-shop dress price but it was a great saving on the original price!

As I was paying, I saw this necklace hanging on the pin-board and I saw it as something I could butcherize into a cute set of punctuation brooches! I don't wear big chunky chains like this but 99p for 5 potentially cute brooches-hurrah! They are all sparkly or mirrored!

 I thought that was it for the month.  I wish I hadn't been so weak..

That was the end of my Barnados splurge!

 The next item was from Age Concern and I really didn't need it. It still had its £17.99 price tag and cost £4.99. I thought this one was a better dupe for my Caretaker Clara cosplay so bought it. Probably shouldn't have but they let me in after they weren't supposed to and I felt somewhat obliged to buy something!

I'd totally forgotten about this purchase. I bought this Deer Arrow set of brooches for £4.50 + £2.00P&P from Ebay.

The last purchase was from Donna's instagram- a brand new Lindy-bop dress covered in retro TV's and radios. £18 posted.

The total is not as bad as I thought at  £64.19 but when you are saving for a house (and you have WAY too many clothes), it's much more than I should have.  Plus I bought a fair few books which I'll share in another post.

What have you bought this month?

If you head over to Elise's blog, she will let you know who is taking part in the Buyer's archive.

Here's Hazel's .  By the way, I am aware that I am somehow indirectly responsible for other participants' purchases this month! Oops, sorry Donna and Hazel!!

xx

The Buyer's Archive March 2016

I have wanted to join in with this for a while. I love having a nosey when Donna, Janet and Elise do this. (Elise is the brains behind this brilliant idea!!!)  I haven't got my act together to do it and also, dreaded having to see what I had wasted my money on!! I keep meaning to STOP buying clothes but I don't seem to have stopped! Last month (February) I was terrible with my birthday purchases! Luckily, I forgot to take pictures, so you can't see the guilty list! I think if I publish this, the mere guilt of it will hopefully deter me from buying too much!

Anyway, this month's purchases all came from charity shops.  I haven't included accessories because I can't remember what I bought when! But there were a few brooches too, most of which were less than £1!!!

The first was this brand new Jasper Conran at Debenhams top, bought for £3.50 at Mind in Maldon.
I loved the scalloped frilly er-lines and I thought I'd like a purple top.  A lot of the long-sleeved tops, that are not jumpers, that I own, are rather scruffy or faded.  I didn't try it on but it fits ok.

 This Monsoon Striped knitted dress was also from Mind, Maldon and cost £3.99. A frustrating example of, 'Should have tried it on'- the shape is not flattering to me as it clings to the bottom half which is not a good look for me.  I don't live near Maldon, nor drive, so it's unlikely I would be able to get back in time to take this back.  I like the little knitted brooch feature and stripes but this is one I will be passing on!

 The next item was from Helen Rollason Cancer Care and cost £3.99. It was also brand new with tags. I was rather excited to find this as I wanted a knitted checked skirt like this for a Clara Oswald cosplay for TARDIS Tuesday. It fits really well and is rather flattering. Result!!

 The penultimate item was £1.99 from Barnados and is a Dorothy Perkins heart-print skirt. I really love this one- it has POCKETS ladies!  It fits very well and it is a nice shade of orange, which I liked.

 The final item was this adorable Topshop sailor jumper which was a bit more steep at £7.99.  I am afraid that my heart leaps when I see a sailor item of clothing and despite it being a size 6, I had to have it. The fit is great and it is a good early Spring jumper.

All in all, I spent £20.96.  I didn't NEED any of these items, so I shouldn't have bought any, but at least I spent less than last month (by about £100)!!! It's a shame about the stripy dress, but I hope I can pass it on.

What have you bought this month?

I am joining in the Buyer's archive with Elise (the founder and brain child of this along with Donna, Charlotte and Janet, Hazel and Lucy)

xx