TARDIS Tuesday - Ruby Sunday

Wasn't expecting to be donning this particular TARDIS Tuesday outift in May but there you go!

Last week was COLD and rainy!  My poor tomato plants are not happy in the garden after the battering they received at the hands of the hail and torrential rain!  Last Sunday, I was really cold so I decided to put on a jumper which led me to this outfit worn by Ruby Sunday in the last series of Doctor Who.  She also donned it in an episode called Dot and Bubble. I featured an iteration of it in February 2024 on here.

And here's me:

It was a cosy outfit to wear.

The jumper is from Topshop and I love the big sleeves and cropped length. I bought a size 14 as the smaller sizes were too cropped!  My skirt was a charity-shopped Fatface skirt and my jacket was bought from Primark in 2023 when I went shopping with my niece.  I only tried it on because my niece was trying things on but I really liked it and it was so different from anything I had! I've worn it a lot since! It has a lovely quilted lining.

The boots are no longer mine They are Clarks Men's and I bought them for me a few years beforebut CBC was getting very cold, wet feet last Winter and I wanted him to stay warm.  He'd already 'borrowed' them (without asking!) a few times the previous Winter so this year I told him he could have them and he's had cosy feet since! However, I figured they would be best for this outfit so I put them on for it.  Hmm, they are really nice boots! Ah well, his need was greater!

Lots of promise in the garden this year.  We bought these two fruit trees a few years ago from our local garden centres and had absolutely nothing from them.  There's actually fruit growing on both of them so here's hoping they come to fruition and don't get decimated by the birds like happened to my cherry tree!  The loganberry is covered in Blossom this year after two years of virtually nothing so I have high hopes and our replacement raspberry plants are growing so I'm hoping for the success of previous years.  The strawberries and blueberries have some promise and the apple tree too!

Our Calistemon tree has started producing its fun red flowers again and a runty sad Erysimum plant I bought at the garden centre last year has produced some pretty flowers in my front planter.  The rocket seeds I sowed have started producing, though not as much as I'd have hoped.   Still, better than nothing!

A friend at church gave me SOOOO many beetroot plants today, all sown in a tiny tray! I'm not sure where on earth I will put them!!! There are masses!!!

Nearly all my bean plants have germinated now after a slow start but they are getting very leggy so I really need to put them out soon but I think I need to wait till Thursday! One courgette and one Pattypan squash have germinated too as well as more tomatoes. I do like the growing season even though the watering gets arduous on school days. I am glad we had some rain though as I was starting to shower with a bucket again when the waterbutts got low!

Hope all is well with you!

TARDIS Tuesday - Clara Tiles

 I haven't felt motivated to do TARDIS Tuesday for a couple of weeks. Mainly because I just have felt really tired and not spending much time hunting out clothes and just throwing any old thing on!

This week, I thought I'd return to an old favourite worn last in October 2023- was it really that long? Apparently, I only feature this dress on the blog every 2 years!

It was worn by Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald back in series 8 in multiple episodes. I really love this dress. She wears it with a tan belt, her standard opaques and her Bertie Navy brogues.

I wore it for a dinner out with CBC and his old work colleague who he no longer works with. I like her very much so it was really nice to see her.

This is my newer size 10 in this dress. I used to have an 8 but I wanted it to feel less fitted so I was glad to find this one at a fraction of the cost of the original one I bought! I always feel very feminine and pretty in this dress, plus I always forget that I hide my legs quite often nowadays in baggy trousers or midis/maxis! I should make the most of them!

I sold my brogues so I wore a pair of black Clarks Artisan shoes that I've had a very long time- they are so comfy!

The return to school has been ok- I've had a stonking headache for 2 days that isn't going away which is vexing, particularly as I went to bed early to try and help that yesterday (and planning to after this!).

Tomorrow, I'm taking some children to watch an orchestra concert. This means I don't have a day of Year 2's-which is a bit of a relief but if I have already got a headache, what does this mean for 'School Trip headache?'

One thought for the day.  I LOVE baked beans on toast with melted cheddar cheese on top!

xx

 

TARDIS Tuesday A Smile Promo mix?

Hi there,

It's the eve of going back to school! We had an INSET day today. I was doing online training which was painful as everything was so slow- they were all watching videos and everything was buffering so much so it took so long! But it was still lovely not to have to get the train in so I got a bit of a lie-in (got up at 8.15am) and then got to go to my local market at lunchtime (I rarely get to go as a Tuesday and I'm usually away. I bought vegetables without plastic, fish  and prawns without plastic, samosas olives without plastic (I provided all my own containers!) and then some other products from the 'close to the sell by date (which I now realise I AM MISSING something from! Where did it go???).

Anyway, I've given TARDIS Tuesday a miss for a few weeks mainly as I was away, didn't have time to think of anything and didn't quite get around to it.

So I'm back today with an outfit from 10th Doctor Companion, Bill Potts.

It was worn in promo photos for series 10 and features 2 outfits worn in episodes but not actually worn together in the actual episode:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Potts_%28Doctor_Who%29

 

https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2019/06/09/celebrating-bill-potts-and-doctor-who-series-10/

Image borrowed from The Gallifrey Times

I first wore this on the blog in June 2019 and then wore a variation on it in 2022 from the episode Smile.

As it was so sunny today, it was the perfect outfit for wearing at home:

And here I am:

The bodysuit and reversible jacket are both from Topshop, both purchased second hand years ago and very comfortable to wear. Are they are a weird combination?  Do they go?

I added this sari silk headband which I bought last year in Well-Next-To-The-Sea it sort of looks like Bill's now I compare it.

I also just added my Clarks Funny Dream shoes for the picture as I couldn't be bothered to search for trainers.

Hope all is well with you!

xx

 

TARDIS Tuesday- Yasmin Khan from the Flux promo and Eve of the Daleka

 For TARDIS Tuesday this week, I taking a look at a simple work look that Yasmin Khan wears in the episode, Eve of the Daleks and from the series 13 promo materials.  I last featured it in 2021 and I read the post as I was looking for the link. It was at the time when I was still without my music room and I'd had a difficult day in terms of that. I am so unbelievably glad to have my own room back and I think it's important to remember when things were so much harder and that things can and do get better at different times in life!

Anyway, today, I felt like I was happy to return to this outfit.  Shall we take a look at it?

Image borrowed from:
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/doctor-who-season-13-synopsis-5807252 

https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2021/12/29/mandip-gill-eve-of-the-daleks-is-the-funniest-episode-weve-done/

It consists of a dark shirt with red/orange splotches- there's a question as whether it is an Oasis shirt or a Topshop one.

She wears one of her idiosyncratic All saints Leather jackets- black or brown it seems

black high-waisted trousers, black high biker boots (Dr Martens we think) and then a brown belt plus her Alex Monroe Posy loop necklace.

Here I am:

I am going to state that I am wearing all the same as last time but I chose different boots.

My charity-shopped £3 fake leather jacket is starting to fall apart which is a shame but it still does its job.

I wore my Clarks brogue boots this time as I think they are more like Yaz's ones.

I did actually downsize on this shirt. I found this one, same as my old one, in my local charity shop and it was 2 sizes smaller which worked better for me. I love the big sleeves on it.

Wearing my same ASOS trousers and my Mum's brown belt.  Sadly, you can't really see my beautiful necklace so well.

Hope all is well with you!

Kezzie xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Face the Raven

 Is it really 6 years since I last shared this cosplay? I'm staggered I've not shared it if so!

It was worn by Clara Oswald in her 'final' episodes (actually- she made two more appearances after her death, but in both, wearing this jumper!)

The jumper is an all-in-one from Topshop, her jeans, Topshop probably and her trainers from Ash.

Image borrowed from BlogtorWho

And here is my 2025 iteration:

I wore this for school today (with different shoes!) and realised I had a twin- one of the girls was wearing an identical outfit and her hair is pretty similar to me- not sure why she was wearing it as it's not our school uniform at all! It's actually a really comfortable outfit to wear and quite smart too as well as easy to wear given that the shirt and jumper are all in one.

It's not been the best day for various reasons.  But, I got through it.

I am grateful for:

1. Having made a big vat of veg stew out of the mouldering things we had in the house yesterday, it meant we had dinner ready for tonight (plus some garlic bread and new kale) and already put some in soup flasks for tomorrow night too.  

2.  Got back from Northumberland and realised that, because the Milk and More website wasn't working on Tuesday, hadn't cancelled the milk. It sat out on our doorstep from Tuesday to Saturday night (plus Saturday's milk) and DIDN'T GO OFF! 

3.  Lovely old colleague came back to help me take the choir to our concert rehearsal today. I love her- she's so fun and positive!

4. My choir got a shout out for confidently singing our harmony part in the No Worries mashup- was super proud of them.

5.  I have a warm home.

6.  Nice stranger put my chain back on to my derailleur on the train.  He got his hands all covered in grease doing it. He was nice to chat to.

Sometimes, you have to just try and make your own sunshine. Even if it's a vague bit of brightness through a fog. 

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Into the Dalek- the final outfit winterised

 In Into the Dalek, Clara spends most of the episode wearing her creepy eye-shirt (which I last cosplayed in September 2024 but just at the end, she changes into an alternative outfit.

I last featured it here in November 2022, so that's over 2 years ago, so I thought I'd feature it again

Let's have a look at it:

• Topshop red ladder-stitch red cropped jumper
• ASOS reclaimed Check jacket
• Topshop black Scallop shorts
• Topshop 'All Mine' boots
• Black Deena and Ozzy satchel
• UO double circle necklace

For this February iteration, I decided to go less accurate and dress for the weather!

I had no desire to root around for tights or even less desire to wear them OR shorts so I decided to substitute the black shorts for a pair of my black ASOS trousers (not the cycle-ripped ones, but the other, baggier pair).

I also decided not to wear my more accurate, vintage jacket, but the Urban Outfitters cooperative bomber jacket that has the same print.  It's a lovely little cosy cardigan to wear (I wore it with 2 coats over the top to cycle!) plus my Topshop All Mine boots.

I forgot how cosy this red Topshop jumper is 

The final touch are the two gold ring necklaces which I bought from eBay a long time ago.

I felt very satisfied with this outfit.

Today and yesterday, I have done quite a few things:

Saturday:

Washing, 

Reading

Booked train tickets for Northumberland

Started packing for Northumberland

Marking (I marked about 400 pieces of work yesterday)

Went to Cinema to see Bridget Jones

Had dinner at Sababa in Southend (review to come soon)

Typed up some poems.

Wrote 2 new poems

Sunday:

Church

(Got chatting to lovely couple who have recently started coming to our church, one of whom used to work with CBC)

Drew tabards for World Book Day

Watched a lot of Classic Dotor Who

Marked about 450 pieces of work- FINISHED all my marking

Made an 80th birthday card for my Godmother

Made dinner of Crispy tofu

Put washing in.

Hung up washing.

Put away other washing

I've got about 540 report grades to get done this week so I've got to take my computer and assessment sheets with me plus a few other bits of admin work to do but I hope we can have a nice break in Hexham too.

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Tileprint alternatives!

 Is it really true that I haven't featured this Clara outfit since August 2021?  The time before that was 2019- so it seems a biennual appearance is its regular spot!

Well, it's due a repeat as it was one of my original favourite Clara outfits!

Topshop tile print dress and navy Bertie Brogues plus navy tights.

Let's have a look at my rendition.

It was worn for school on  Tuesday in September.

You might be forgiven for thinking, Hmmm, this looks a slightly different colour and print. No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. For whilst I DO have the accurate colour, Topshop made an alternative nude-coloured version.

My lovely size 8 version was getting a bit tight on me and I found it hard to locate another one in a larger size.  My friend Laura was selling her size 12 alt coloured one and I was selling a Yaz Khan top she wanted. So we swapped!

I MUCH prefer a larger version. I subsequently found the green one in a 10 so I sold on my Green one.

Worn with the too-small navy brogues. This is their last appearance on the blog because I have sold them! Realised there was no point in having them as they were too small and I didn't want to wear them because they hurt. So they are winging their way to Canada.  I could have sold them at a profit but I just sold both my pairs at the same price which meant I basically made what I had sold them for.

Bye, bye brogues!

However, I have seen that Clarks had a lovely Hamble Oak pair of brogues which are quite similar so if I ever see those at a bargain price, I may replace..and I won't be scared to ruin them!

The print is really pretty. Not sure I've ever shown you it up close before.

This was a good dress to wear for the slightly cooler but still warm weather we had in September.

I also think it is a good teacher look too. Out of some of Clara's slightly less school appropriate outfits, this one rates higher!

Hope you have an enjoyable day!

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Into the Dalek Clara

Good evening!

I hope you are well! I am well.  Today, for TARDIS Tuesday, I am sharing an outfit worn by Clara Oswald in series 8 episode, Into the Dalek. I can't believe I last shared this outfit last in April 2019-almost 3 years ago!

Let's look at it!

The outfit is worn I thought would be perfect for Remembrance Sunday...with a slight modification!

It consists of:

• Topshop red ladder-stitch red cropped jumper
• ASOS reclaimed Check jacket
• Topshop black Scallop shorts
• Topshop 'All Mine' boots
• Black Deena and Ozzy satchel
• UO double circle necklace

And here it is.

This practically identical to the last time I wore it. It needed no adjustments*.

The Topshop sweater is really warm and comfortable to wear- it hugs you really well but, because of the ladder-stitch, isn't too hot.  My jacket is one of my best Charity shop Clara finds as it is vintage, not the same brand as hers but looks identical from a distance. It cost me £4 and I spied it from a moving car when I was driving up Battle Hill in Hexham in the window of the Sue Ryder charity shop!

Not much to say about the shorts and boots other than- not appropriate for school!

*Speaking of inappropriate for school- I slightly modified this outfit for church. The shorts are too tight and too short for me to wear in public so I swapped them for my new black cropped corduroy trousers from Seasalt. Also easier to cycle in!

Here's a close-up on my double circle necklaces AND the remembrance addition to this outfit (which I think is perfect for this outfit- Clara's needs it!)

Apart from the fitted shorts, the outfit is super comfortable and smart for many occasions. If only the shorts were longer and a bit looser!

I played piano for the first time at the church I've started going to on Sunday morning. I do NOT enjoy playing piano in public - even Singing Assembly at school or School concerts is not in my comfort zone (even though I've done it for 16 years).  BUT, the regular lady who plays piano had a nasty fall a few weeks ago and broke her shoulder (and really smacked up her eye and face) and I really wanted to help out so I  offered to help out when I was able to.  It went ok- there were a few Les Dawson moments and I had a couple of blanks just before starting about WHERE I was going to start an introduction but it was ok.  As I wasn't singing at the same time (because that makes it harder to get it all right)- I did teacherly nods to show when it was time to come in, just in case!

After church, I did something else really cool but that's for another day!

xxx

TARDIS Tuesday meets Style Imitating Art- The Caretaker

 Hello there,

I missed TARDIS Tuesday AND Style Imitating Art these past two weeks and I thought I'd combine them today.

Let's look at both inspirations:

Here is the Style Imitating Art piece chosen by Salazar:

Gunta Stölzl‘s tapestry “Cows in Landscape

Here's my Doctor Who Inspiration:

Clara Oswald in The Caretaker

And here is my outfit:

The reasons I chose this outfit for both posts is that the art piece is a tapestry piece and the star of this piece is the Topshop tapestry skirt.  Also, a lot of the colours of the skirt are in the tapestry inspiration piece. There are touches of burgundy in the tapestry which are the colour of my shirt. Also, I am wearing black tights and shoes and the edging of the tapestry features black.  It may be a tenuous link but there are lots of circle/spots on the tapestry and perhaps that could be the moon collar-clips I am wearing.  What do you think? Are you convinced by my explanation???

I love this Clara outfit but it is very unforgiving to wear- the skirt has NO give whatsoever.  I wore this outfit tonight to go out for a Thai meal with my Mother in Law and Brother in Law.  I felt smart and comfortable until I ate too much food!!!

My mother in Law is staying with us for 3 nights...she was supposed to be staying in a hotel by the seafront but she hurt herself turning on the high bed and got a bit scared so she came to stay with us...which I'm not sure why she didn't do in the first place.  Anyway, I got a text from CBC telling me she was going to come and stay as I returned home from school, exhausted after a long day and staff training. I was dismayed...the house was an utter tip and really in need of a clean! Honestly, the worst it could be. It was a frantic hour of cleaning and tidying and further background cleaning before and after she arrived.  And then more later. And our bedroom has a massive spread of stuff thrown in there across the floor. But it is nice to have her here with us.  Hurrah!

Tomorrow night I have a rehearsal with my flute trio for our recital on Friday (hurrah, I've been granted the day off school) ...isn't my September musical!

Hope you are well!

xx

P.S.  If you haven't looked at my Colourscape post and you love beautiful bright colours, please take a look!  It's my last post!

TARDIS Tuesday- Clara Oswald in The Caretaker

Hi there,

I missed TARDIS Tuesday for the last couple of weeks due to lack of organisation and no obvious ideas about what to wear but I'm back this week with an old favourite updated and upgraded.  I last dressed up as this iteration of Clara in July 2018 here and originally back in around 2014-17 sometime...can't find the post.

Let's have a look at it:

https://claraoswaldcosplay.dreamconnect.de/?p=625

Clara wears a very Topshop-heavy outfit here for her day at school during The Caretaker, series 8.

She wears a cream diamond-print shirt with black scalloped shorts and a green mac with Checked lining.  In addition, she wears a split triangle necklace in silver and gold and then wears black wing-tipped heels from Dune and a black satchel from Urban Outfitters.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/561683384753280130/ 

https://thegeekiary.com/doctor-who-8x6-review-the-caretaker/17316

And here's the 2021 iteration of it:

Pretty sure I could have found a similar background in my school but alas, I was wearing this on a Saturday!

It's been upgraded in 4 ways since last time.

 but what is the same?

Well, the blouse!  It was my first Screen accurate Clara Oswald item and it will always been a bit special for me.

And everything else has been upgraded.

Let's start with the shorts.  I had the screen-accurate ones but they were Very Tight.  Luckily, I managed to sell them and found a size larger, a 12, so they are a *little* bit more decent and feel more comfy.

I added my Screen Accurate Dune brogues which I bought a couple of years ago but didn't have last time I wore this outfit.  They're quite a rare item so this is satisfying!

The final item visible in this outfit is the satchel. I have the same satchel but in brown and again, I count myself as lucky as managing to have bought this at a reasonable price- I saw someone flogging it at £60!

In this picture, you can see the final new addition which is the necklace.  It is pretty similar to the screen version but mine is split into 3 pieces rather than 2 and cost me £2 from eBay.

As is often fun to do, I tried to recreate a few poses including the watering can one where Clara is spying on the Doctor talking to her boyfriend Danny.

I think I actually might have a screen accurate plant as they look quite similar  but sadly, this is not berry season so most of them had fallen off. Watering can is also a different colour, ha!

Hope you are well!

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Bill Potts promo and Extremis.

Hello there!
TARDIS Tuesday has been a little Clara heavy for the last few weeks.  So...today, I thought I would share her successor companion from the TARDIS- the inquisitive Bill Potts

When we first heard about Bill Potts, she was seen in a trailer.  Immediately, lots of people tried to ID and recreate her outfit, very successfully.  Then we were treated to some promo-pics from the series.

Image borrowed from The Gallifrey Times

Again, many people IDed the items in the outfit quickly and put together outfits featuring the screen accurate items above.  The satin reversible bomber jacket and the stripy body-suit come from Topshop, Topshop jeans and the trainers are Vans.  She also wears a silver Guitar necklace and a yellow tie-dyed hairscarf.

Image borrowed from The BBC website

This is probably the most iconic Bill outfit of them all but the garments above don't all feature in the same outfit actually on the show until the episode Extremis.  Bill also wears the bomber jacket several times in the series and she wears the rest of this outfit with a denim jacket in an episode called Smile!

And here's me posing with the TARDIS bird-feeder!

So, as you can see, I found the bomber jacket and the top!  This was an episode I never planned to put together originally.  But, I saw the bomber jacket being sold very expensively on a several occasions but when I saw it for £7.00 which no one else noticed, I ended up buying it- mainly because I LOVE reversible garments!!! I wore it with its pink side here.  The bodysuit was a more difficult matter.  It was only when @billpottsuniverse on instagram told me about a £5 for sale in a size 12, that I caved and bought it!  And I am glad I did as it is unbelievably comfortable without that annoyance I get, as a pear-shaped girl, where vest tops roll up from my larger sized hips to sausage around my smaller waist!  I just wore it with some cropped blue jeans as I didn't want to wear my fitted black trousers for a hot day. To recreate Bill's guitar necklace, I remembered a pair of silver guitar earrings I own and I hung one of them from a different necklace chain.  Oh and tied my hair up in a messy bun.

Admittedly, it is a bit of a strange outfit- I'd never choose to pair these items together but it kind of works.

What do you think?

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Clara's Tile Print dress again!

Hi there,

THANK YOU so much for your messages on my yesterday's post. I appreciate your prayers and thoughts. I am seeing the Doctor in the morning about my blood test results so I hope that then I might know what is going on or what needs to happen next. Trying NOT to think about it too much apart from the fervent prayer and anxious thoughts.

I'm going to share a Doctor Who outfit I wore on Saturday.   I've worn this particular dress for two previous TARDIS Tuesdays and I have also made an alternative version of it before so it is quite a prolific outfit for me.  BUT....I had some shoes I wanted to wear with it differently from before!


So Clara wore this particular outfit for two episodes and promo shots and the pretty tile-print shirt dress comes from Topshop originally.  She wears it with a brown belt and some navy brogues with wooden heels that come from Bertie.

Image borrowed from ClaraOswaldcosplay.com

And here's how I wore it on Saturday for watching a concert.

For me, this was one of the Clara items I loved and wanted the most - it's the combination of collared shirt dress and a pretty print plus the colours that appealed to me.

And I finally managed to get the Bertie heels (though her alternative ones she wears with lots of other outfits!) in my size if you remember I had a pair of Size 5's that I bought the wrong size for.  A fellow instagram Clara fan really wants this size and I told her she could have mine if she found me Size 8's - which she did and they are wending their way to her in the US hopefully tomorrow! This is one of those outfits that I feel pretty in (in the words of Maria!).  

The funny thing was, at the concert, I was sitting there in my Clara outfit and one of the songs started and the accompaniment at the start was the EXACT same note pattern in terms of pitch and rhythm as Clara's theme from the incidental music from Doctor Who!

I delightedly leaned over to CBC and said, "It's Clara's theme!" . Since his string group at school had been playing a version of it in their last concert and thus he knew it, he conceded that it was indeed just like Clara's theme!  I felt so special!

What do you think of this outfit?  Do you ever notice that music sounds like other pieces?  I am terrible for noticing this! I remember playing Stravinsky's  Symphony in 3 movements and playing a bit that reminded me of 'Catch the Pigeon' (Dastardly Dan and Mutley!)  and giggling every time! And Ralph Vaughn-Williams' London Symphony is blatantly, "The Phaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaantom of the Opera- HAVE a banana!"  Anyway, I digress...

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Clara's elusive dress

Hello there!

I missed TARDIS Tuesday last week due to a weekend camping and having a manic week at school so I am back with a favourite!

I think we all know by now that Clara Oswald, played by Jenna Coleman is my favourite New Who character.  Something about a brown-haired teacher I think who wears nice collars!

Anyway, all the promotional materials for Series 8 had this image of Clara in a Topshop tile-print dress.  We ended up seeing it in two episodes- The Caretaker (in which Clara wears a million outfits!) and in Dark Water, the penultimate episode of the series.

I've cosplayed this outfit before, back in TARDIS Tuesday January 2015 here with a similar silky material shirt dress but somehow, I have sought the original dress on Ebay for years!!!

 And as you can see, I finally got it.  Tried to go for a direct copy of the pose- phone & post-it not included!

 She's wearing Oxford shoes and I am wearing some Topshop boots that Clara wears in another episode.  These will feature then!

 The dress is very comfortable and nice to wear but I wouldn't want to be chasing any aliens in it- it's a little too short, especially if you're extra tall!

 CBC saw me clopping around in these and asked, "What on earth are you wearing such high boots for?  He then realised and said, "Is it Clara Tuesday?" and retorted that they made me way too tall and much taller than Clara which is true- she is absolutely miniature!

If you too are seeking this dress, it is called the Topshop tileprint dress and there are several VERY expensive ones on Ebay. Mine didn't come cheap but they certainly didn't cost that!

What do you think?

xx

11 top charity shopped items of the year.

I failed with the Buyer's archive for the latter part of the year so I thought I'd share my top 10 charity-shopped items from 2017 as we all love a good nosy.  Most of these you must have seen, some you may remember, some you may have forgotten. Some you will have never seen,,,

1.  Sheepskin jacket.

This featured in yesterday's post.  I have wanted a sheepskin jacket for such a long time but they are very expensive and hard to fit to narrow shoulders. This beauty was £25 in the Dogs Trust charity shop.  I should point out that it is completely lined in sheepkin, not just the collar- utterly sublime to wear!

2.  Cath Kidston- Stop Thief bag

This was £7.99 from Sue Ryder. Brand new with tags though and I already have the dress to match so I was glad to give the money to the shop in exchange for it. That said, that Charity shop has always been expensive but they must have realised that they didn't do too well since they seem to have priced things more reasonably recently..Anyway, it has been my school bag since September and is an improvement on my older, non-waterproof attempts!

3.  Topshop Contrast lined mac

Image from Topshop.com

I have used the Topshop photo for this as it is really hard to photograph in the awful light at home! This was £7.99 in my local charity shop. I really like it as it is a light cotton jacket but with a hood.  Also, it is the screen accurate design for a Clara Oswald outfit from Doctor Who although in black rather than green and that item is rather rare and difficult to find so I was rather chuffed to find one in the charity shop. If I get bored of it, I could probably sell it!

4. Emily and Fin floral dress

Wearing my floral dress at Rainham marshes

It IS lethal having charity shops within walking distance of the house. Soooo easy to nip into the charity shop onto the way to the supermarket, station, library, swimming pool, post office...  However, I was really chuffed to find this Emily and Fin cotton dress for £6.99.  100% cotton, lined, pockets...

5.  1970's black and pink dress

1970's dress in September sunshine

The elusive cotton 1970's maxi!  I longed for such a garment for so long, having seen Vix picking them up like I pick up bags of crisps. Not in Essex. Until one day.  This beauty was mine for £5.99 I think plus it has a belt! Long enough for me!

6.  Blue cowled dress

Blue cowl dress for a summer concert

This was an absolute gem at £1.99 from my local Barnados. I have a few problems with light summer maxi-dresses generally: firstly, they are inevitably too short on long-limbed moi and so they look ridiculous. The other problem is that a lot of them are obscenely low cut, often like a bra with long material hanging down which I absolutely abhor. This darling is lacking in neither department as well as ebing really pretty and elegant with lace and a cowl back. In addition, it is a crinkly material which requires no ironing so I can legitimately be creased rather than lazily creased.  A good holiday smart dress...

7. And other stories navy beaded dress

Navy blue dress in Brighton

This dress was £1.99 from my wonderful Barnados and still had its £65.00 price-tags on.  It really is the perfect summer dress for a hot day as it has really low arm holes (so no horrible armpit issues) and it has a really pretty low back.   This was my lazy slouching dress in South Africa as well as most of last Summer!

8. H by Henry Holland navy collared dress

Collared dress.

I am an absolute glutton for a decorative collar and this one was one I had admired first time round.  £2.49 in Marie Curie Cancer Care. It was a size 12 I think so plenty of room.

9.  Henry Holland Sailor collar top

Collared top

I confessed this in the Buyer's Archive but I already have this top in a Size 6 and I love it but permanently worry about it shrinking so I  bought this size 12 one and for only £1.49, didn't break the bank...

10.  Topshop sailor jumper

Aye aye captain in the Spring.

The Topshop sailor sweater was a no brainer. It did cost £7.99 from Sue Ryder I think but if a sailor item turns up in a charity shop, I am powerless to resist..

10. Emily and Fin fireworks dress

A dress I saw on a blog and liked...

This Emily and Fin dress was located in Barnados back in April for £9.99. But it did have its £65 pricetag on it so I didn't mind particularly as it was one I'd seen and wanted. 100% cotton, lined and pockets ladies!

I guess. whilst the downside of living where I do is that house prices are ridiculously expensive, the type of goods people donate their books to charity shops is great so I am glad there are SOME upsides for living in the South East,


Oh and here's my favourite pile of charity-shopped books of the year.  All this lot for £6 and some real brilliant ones here

10 books for £6

What were your top 10 (or 11 if you can't narrow it down like me) charity-shopped or indeed, non-charity-shopped items this year?

xxx