Outfit: Silly Sparkles

Getting ready for the Huddersfield University SU Awards a few weeks ago I wasn't entirely convinced that my year old eBay bodycon midi dress was quite exciting enough, prompting a flurry of uhmming and ahhing in front of my wardrobe and culminating in this picture where I demanded like a true diva that my boyfriend take a picture so I could 'see how the glitter looks on camera.' Move over Beyonce, we have a new drama Queen Bee in the house. Whilst I possess none of her RnB Highness's confidence, fabulous hair or riches, luckily in the end I think we both scrubbed up pretty well.

Happy Feet

Happy Sunday! After almost 6 months of hard work, I finally finished my case study and practical project and couldn't be more relieved. Now, there is only an essay and two features standing between 3 weeks of work experience at NME, lots of exciting summer projects and mini holidays, lots of reading time and perhaps most excitingly, graduation! (more on that in a bit)

With most of the hard work over, Kev and I decided to treat ourselves this weekend. His mum ever so kindly sent us up a sainsbury's voucher to pick ourselves some shopping so we indulged in the ingredients for homemade cocktails and ended up with a delicious concoction of cherry brandy, amaretto and cranberry that tasted just like Cherry Bakewell cakes. I thoroughly recommend! 

On Saturday morning, we got up bright and early for a bit of retail therapy. The sun was shining and we had a lovely long peruse around Huddersfield Market before stopping off for a massive chippy lunch. It always baffles me when so many of my coursemates say they've never visited the market - it really is a treasure trove of all sorts of stuff, from crazy cheap furniture and vinyl records to amazing vintage buys, often sold by lovely Nana's who are up for a chat.  

However, the single best thing about Huddersfield Market has to be what is colloquially known as 'The Topshop Stall'. Basically, it's an amazing stall that sells all manner of out of season items from Topshop, Miss Selfridge and occasionally, H&M. I'm not sure how they do it and it can be hit and miss as to the variety of sizes on offer or the conditions of the garments, but I'm pleased to say that this saturday, they made my shoe dreams come true...

 You guys will have seen me harping on about these on the blog multiple times, but finally they are mine, allllll mine! (evil laugh). They were sat all innocently jumbled along all the massive heels and clutch bags and nobody seemed to be looking at them, but when I saw that flash of white I leapt on them and was ecstatic to find that they were first in a size 6, and second, only £12, a massive £26 less than they were in Topshop last summer. Good things come to those who wait eh? My day with topped off even further when I picked up a beautiful Topshop beaded dress for just four pounds because some of the beading was a little off. It's exactly what I wanted for graduation and as it was selling originally in Topshop for £70, I'm feeling pretty thrifty. Sadly, putting pictures on here of it so many months in advance feels a little like posting your wedding dress before you wear it, so you will all have to wait till July to see that one.

Here are my shoes with a couple of wired hair bows I also picked up from Primark for £1.50 each - I've been planning on buying some for ages. they're a lovely way of girlying up a simple jumper and jeans combo and I love the way the wire holds the bow in place. I'm very happy with how my spring wardrobe is shaping up, and on such a great budget too. You can also see a little polka dot number that I picked up last week from eBay for just 99p - the floaty chiffon will be perfect for pub garden trips or the university awards night I will be attending in the week.

What have you been treating yourself to recently?

September Shopping

Ola readers! How have you been? It's been a bit quiet on the shopping front this month - student loans are still a week or so away and I've been focusing on getting rid of lots of my old stuff on eBay rather than buying. With graduation looming in less than 12 months (eek!) I'm making an even keener effort to put some of my wages aside each month and watch the spends on things I don't really need. Sorry justeat.com, no more saturday night fun for you.

Still, I did make a few purchases this month - little treats or things that I actually could justify as needing!

Collection 2000 Nail Varnishes and Make Up Bag, Poundland - £3 for three lots of each colour, £1 for the make-up bag

One of my favourite things about being at a uni so far away from home means that I don't get to see my parents and brother that often. Wait, I'm not being heartless, stick with me. It means that when I do go home on visits, I get to spend some proper quality time with them and appreciate the time we have together. One of the things I miss most when I'm away is shopping with my mum. We're both savvy shoppers and invariably end up going to town and then coming home four hours later empty handed, but it's the looking and the laughing at how tacky lots of modern clothes are that I love. Luckily on our latest trip, Poundland yielded some true bargains. As we all know, my nail varnish addiction is well and truly alive, so I was thrilled to find some Collecton 2000 bottles (my favourite brand!) in lovely shades of brown ('All That Jazz') pink ('Milkshake') and Grey ('Angel Wings'). Each colour came in a pack of three, so mum and I bought a pack of each colour and split them. 9 varnishes for £3 - can't complain!

Mum also treated me to this satin russian doll make-up bag, which is super roomy for only £1. My old cherry print bag was looking a bit stained and sad so I was desperately in need of a new one. I'm not that big of a make up wearer compared to most girls my age, but I do love a good mascara, eyeliner and of course nail varnish, so it made sense that I had somewhere nice and girly to keep all my bits and bobs. 

Granny Cardigan, Matalan, £22 (£9.20 for me with student discount and a Matalan voucher- winnng!)

Anyone who follows matalan on twitter will know that they do something called #fashionfriday, where they give away £10 vouchers to their followers who come up with the best way of spending the money instore. I was lucky enough to win one a few weeks back for my summery festival suggestion of their adorable gingham cropped trousers and an ice cream coloured vest. Sadly for me, the beautiful summery weather has taken a bit of a dive, so rather than buy my suggested outfit I put the £10 towards a well needed autumn cardi. With four shades to choose from, I went for this lovely faun which goes perfectly with dresses or jeans. Don't expect me to be taking it off any time soon!

Rimmel 60 Seconds Varnish in Lilac, B&M Bargains, £1

I know what you're thinking - another bloody nail varnish! Still, I have been searching for a lilac one for ages and now my pastel collection is complete, I feel I can give it a bit of a rest. What can I say, I love varnish - painting my nail is one of the my favourite therapeutic things to do and it's a great way to modernise an old outfit.

Filofax Diary Pages, WH Smiths, £5.50

A pretty boring way to spend £5.50, but much needed. My friend Georgie bought me a beautiful Filofax when I started University and I decided that the start of third year was the time to do it. Now I've got all my lectures, work hours, gigs, journalism deadlines and little note-to-selfs all safely and neatly jotted down in one place, and I've got to admit, I love feeling this organised. 

Dresses, £5 total, Huddersfield Market

These were a little but naughty, but hey, freshers week is coming up and as it's my last I'm determined to go out. This means party dresses! Anybody who lives in Huddersfield knows that the go to place for bargains is the market, and my favourite stall is the one that sells the most amazing old or damaged Arcadia stock at next to nothing. Both of these dresses are Topshop (the Aztec was originally £30 in store, the mustard £46), but I got them for just £4 and £1 each! The mustard maxi dress was £4 but only has a really tiny rip in the strap, nothing I couldn't easily stitch up. Despite being a really summery dress I think it'll look lovely this winter with warm leggings underneath, a jumper and some boots. The Aztec dress was £1 due to a broken zip, but considering that it won't cost me more than a fiver to buy a replacement I think it has to win as best bargain of my blog so far! It looks really cute worn as a pinafore over a band tee with converse - ideal for lectures or a casual night out.

What have you been buying recently?

Market Bargain: Jack Wills Dress

When I started this blog, I thought it would be a fun place to share all my bargain finds, crafty tutorials and things that I buy. However, I really struggle with spending money without feeling guilty and sometimes I forget to put little purchases up here because it reminds me how I'm meant to be saving! I am definitely a thrifty blogger and a girly girl when it comes to clothes, and I have very little other indulgences in my student budget, so maybe I should just stop beating myself up and accept that I deserve a little treat every now and then.

My latest dress bargain actually happened a few months ago but I forgot to put it up here - that still counts as new right? Basically, I have a wonderful magpie of a boyfriend who has been trained into recognising a 'Jenessa' dress when he sees one, and also happens to be pretty darn thoughtful. I was sleeping away at our student house when he came home from work and woke me up with a surprise that he had bought me from Huddersfield market, which turned out to be this -

Straight away it was right up my street- floaty with a lace ruffle lining, a delicate floral pattern and a good, thick fabric. However, when I noticed that the label stated Jack Wills I turned a little bit pale and had to ask Kev how much he paid for it. With a beaming smile that knows my bargain loving way a little too well, he announced "£7!"

SEVEN POUNDS! A quick hunt of ebay found this dress, which turned out to be a Jack Wills 'mornier' print to be selling for just over £50, way nearer to its actual original retail price. Although I have always admired Jack Wills womenswear I have only ever been able to afford a polo shirt from them, so having one of their dresses is just delightful. I feel very british!

So, the moral of the story... don't underestimate your local market! And secondly, don't be afraid to take your boyfriend shopping.

Bargain Hunting in Huddersfield!

On top of all my uni work and with payday fast approaching, I decided to pop into Huddersfield town a few weeks ago for a bit of bargain hunting. I was armed with £20 and my able assistant Charlotte, who has a certain eye for picking out things that you think are just average, coercing you into buying them and they fast become staples of your wardrobe.

I love a good dress, and today yielded two beauties. First was this pepper grey jersey bodycon from Huddersfield markets best clothing stall, which essentially resells old Topshop stock. I'm a massive sucker for tight dresses with full length arms: I think the fit gives you a confidence of a night out whilst still retaining some class and elegance in the long sleeve.The collar just topped it off, as did the £10 price tag and the smaller-than-i-normally-buy fit. Result! And even better, it's still selling on the topshop website - for £38!

I'm looking forward to experimenting with layers- I saw someone in Huddersfield town centre wearing the dress with a big slubby cardigan over the top which looked really nice. Shall have to give it a go, especially with the near freezing weather outside! Until then, here I am  with my friend Johanna, wearing it at my housemate Will's birthday party -

Second was an even better bargain,courtesy of the British Heart Foundation.There is a million and one charity stores in Huddersfield, most of them full of overpriced tat or things in massive sizes, but today I hit the jackpot with this floral full length dress made by none other than Laura Ashley. Having lusted after LAshley dresses on ebay for months but always seeming to lose out at the last minute, I was amazed to find this beauty in perfect condition at the lowly price of £5 and simply had to buy. With the hem shortened a little or folded over under a belt, I can't wait for the weather to cheer up a little so I can wear it with a hair bow, my denim jacket and DM's. 

What do you think?