East End Thrift Store Haul

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As part of my birthday antics in London, I finally got to visit The East End Thrift Store. Whilst my job as editor of Judy's Affordable Vintage Mag means I'm pretty loyal to their kilo sales, it's always nice to check out the competition and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found at The East End alternative: a £10 and a £20 sized bag, and the challenge to fill as many as you liked with as many goodies that could fit inside (provided the handles met!)

Warning: this is not a thrift shop for the faint hearted. There was stuff literally EVERYWHERE, and a lot of it was pretty damaged, dirty, smelly or all three. Still, if you fancy a good fixer-upper and are the type of person who enjoys looking for items with potential rather that the finished article, you could do a lot worse than visiting. We stayed for well over an hour sifting through huge jackets, endless flannel and plenty of hipsterlicious t shirts until I found a selection of pastel gems perfect for summer-ising my wardrobe. 

And here's my treasure! A blazer, cardigan, jumper, skirt and a pair of shorts for £10, can't really say fairer than that! Everything is a little crumpled because of how hapharzardly it was thrown in the bins but it's nothing a good iron couldn't sort out - the Blazer in particular came up a treat after my mum ironed it out and scrubbed up the cuffs for me. The shorts may well be my favourite vintage find ever - when Kev pulled them out I loved the colours but wasn't initially sure they'd fit me, but I'm so glad I took the risk because they are amazingly comfy, high waisted enough to be on trend but with a long enough leg that I don't feel as I'm Miley Cyrusing if I wear them without tights. I wish they had a co-ord jacket - Clueless worthy 90s chic.

Have you been vintage hunting recently?

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?

Blue skies are coming...

There is a lot of faffing around in the media at the moment about the gender stereotyping that comes from putting baby boys in blue and girls in pink, but there is no denying that I am through and through a  pink girl. I love all shades, from bubblegum to magenta, and if there is a way of working it into an outfit, I will. Pink nails with a Green Dress? As Drake once said, yolo.

Despite my love affair with the 'girls' colour, I have found myself gravitating to blue a lot more now spring is approaching - I'm practically living in my denim dungadress or chambray polka dot blouse, and my (admittedly hideous) baby blue backpack comes to Uni with me everyday. Maybe it's the connotations it has with cool swimming pools and clear skies, but I feel it really lifts my wardrobe and duck egg shades particularly appeal to my love of shabby chic. Whilst I am definitely lacking in blue dresses, here are a few things I've picked up recently to add my new favourite colour into my wardrobe.

Rimmel Nail Varnish in 'Too Cool To Tango'

Whenever I fancy a new nail colour, its always Rimmel that I turn to. This blue is super highly pigmented and as always with the 60 seconds range, only needs one coat. I'm not sure whether I just picked a bad one or not, but the consistency was a little gloopier and streaky than I normally expected from Rimmel, but still, it's a cheap and cheerful way to modernise a look - it really does look as if you've coloured your nails in with a highlighter, it's that bright!. 

H&M Breton via eBay

Although my breton hunt initially began wanting a basic black and white striped number, that perfect baggy style with a pocket all seem to be super expensive, even on eBay. I blame Alexa Chung - she always looks so effortless in hers that I don't think they'll ever be going out of fashion. Still, I managed to bag this one from an eBay seller for just £2.99, and I actually really love it's distressed colour. I'm looking forward to pairing it with a simple black skater skirt and sandals, under my dungas or with leggings and vans on a lazy day.


A pretty short shop this time, but with only three weeks left to go before I hand in my third year projects and a few christmas vouchers still to spend, I've promised myself a little shopping trip to Leeds very soon. Stay tuned for that!

What colours have you been loving recently?

Kilo Sale Haul Part 1 - Judy's Official Kilo Sale, Leeds

Who doesn't love a bargain? Even better, who doesn't love a VINTAGE bargain? Even seeing the two words together puts a smile on my face.

Having only really got into vintage shopping a year or so ago through eBay, I have grown to love the 'real woman' sizing and lengths, the well made fabric, the ladylikeness, even the musty granny smell, of vintage. I absolutely love the idea of buying a little piece of history and something that you won't see every other person wearing - I like to think of it as creating a 'clothes collection' rather than a wardrobe.

With this in mind, I am still pinching myself that I managed to convince Judy of Judy's Affordable to let me and my coursemates Jack and Johanna create an official Judy magazine for our third year project. To celebrate and to research our first article, we popped down to the brands Leeds Kilo Sale.

If you've never been to a Judy's kilo sale before, the premise is simple: grab a carrier bag, fill it with whatever you like and then pay £15 for every kilo you buy. Averaging at 4-5 items a kilo, that can mean as little as 3 pounds an item. So bargaineous!

Johanna, Jack and I had a great day mingling with bloggers, Judy's fans and Leeds students, snooping on their buys and trying on the most ridiculous things we could find (see picture of me in a massive bear coat!). I particularly was really happy to meet and go for coffee with the very lovely Kate McDougall from Leeds based blog Trends With Benefits (check it out, it's amazing!), who was a lot of help with our article and scored some awesome buys herself.

More on that later, but for now I thought I'd share some of my purchases!

Blue and White Patterned Playsuit - The shorts on this are pretty short and might make this playsuit seem a teensy bit slutty, but worn with tights it's not too bad. I completely fell in love with the big white buttons and the 70's gold heart belt - so tacky but brilliant.

Blue Pinstripe Wiggle Dress - I absolutely fell for this dress and thought it would fit me but alas not, my bottom half has let me down again. I don't know why I always forget that Pencil Skirts are not my friend! Still, I love the top half so am planning a bit of D.I.Y work with a skirt I have in the same shade of denim and then using the pretty blue striped fabric that I cut off to make something else or to add some embellishment.

Black and White Check Dress - Probably my best buy of the day, this dress is so versatile and looks great dressed up with a sweater and frilly socks. The skirt just hits my calf and I feel so ladylike. Probably worth 15 quid on its own!

Floral Skorts - Being a little bit on the pear-shaped side of hourglass figure wise, I never thought skorts would do me any favours but these were a little longer than ones I've seen before and in such a pretty fabric that I thought I'd give them a go, and I'm so glad I did. I think they'll look really nice with thick tights, a simple top, cardi and brogues.

Not bad for £15 eh? If you're feeling a little jealous, head over to http://www.judysvintagefair.co.uk to see when a kilo sale is hitting your town. And stay tuned for another kilo post coming very soon!

August Haul - Bits, Bobs and Sappy Sods

Eh Up! Time for another round up of some of the thrifty bits and bobs I have procured this month. 

Tapestry Vanity Case
First  up was this lovely vanity case, which I got from Lockwood Car Boot for just £1. I used to love a good car boot, and having been inspired by some of the amazing bargains that some of my favourite thrifty bloggers have been picking up, I thought it'd be fun to get started again. Unfortunately for me, my nearest sale was more of a small gathering of grannies than a full blown morning fest, but I thought this would be sweet for holding my sewing projects in, plus it was in perfect condition, with a teeny mirror and pocket inside. I might even add some trays to turn it into a proper sewing box.

Mint Stripe Skater Dress from eBay
We all know I love a good eBay sesh, but I've tried to be good this month and have only bought a couple of things from the money I made selling some old things on there. A very modern form of recycling! First was this toothpaste stripe dress, originally from Miso, which I won for just £2.20. It looks really nice with converse and bare legs, although this doesn't look like much of an option in this rain! I'm hoping it'll still work with a denim jacket and tights as it gets colder. 

Primark Lilac Cardigan from eBay
Next was this Primark cardi that was mine for 99p. I bought it originally to cover in embroidered daisies as a DIY tutorial version of a cardi I saw on Pinterest, but it actually looks really nice as it is and is a great way to brighten up my wardrobe seen as all my other cardigans are either black or grey.

Primark White Converse pumps from eBay
I saw these in store and thought they were a great lookalike to the real thing at only £3, but unfortunately they'd sold out of my size. Luckily, I managed to grab a pair on eBay for £2. They're a really great casual shoe that works well with dresses and I'm loving the ease of low tops having spent the last four years stuffing my feet into my favourite black and pink high top connies. 

Vintage School Teacher Dress from Antiform at Beacons Festival
As mentioned in a previous blog post, I was working at Beacons Festival last weekend (my full review of it can be seen here), and had an amazing time. There were some really cool shopping opportunities there, including Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair and an Urban Outfitters tent with 20% off, but what really caught my eye was the Antiform vintage tea tent. With vintage items starting at just £1, it was ransacked by the time I got there, but I managed to snag this on-trend tartan style dress for a fiver  that will look really nice in autumn with the sleeves rolled up. 

Phillips Headphones
One of the stages at Beacons was sponsored by Phillips, and because of this, every band who played that stage were given a pair of very snazzy looking headphones each. I was pretty jealous watching them get doled out, until my boss Simon sent me one of the leftover pairs in the post as a thankyou for my work. Ultimate blag! The sound quality is pretty cracking and they're a welcome additional to my Journalistic equipment collection, thanks to the comfort of the over-ear cans and the fact that my old skull candy ones were on their last legs.

 Primark Tea Dress
Speaking of Journalism, a very exciting job interview has cropped up for me in London next week, so I decided to treat myself to something smart and office-weary off my Primark lust list for the interview. This tea dress was only £8, which is pretty good value considering it is brand new into store. The material is silky and comfortable, and although the waist is a little baggy in a size 12, it should look really nice with a belt, tights and a hair bow. Wish me luck! 

Office Mary Jane Shoes
Which brings me on very nicely to the last item in my August Haul. Avid readers will probably have noticed several mentions of a certain boy across my posts. Said certain boy (Kevin) and I recently celebrated our first year together whilst at Beacons Festival, but decided to do something special once we got home. I was quite happy with a cooked dinner, bit of wine and catching up with Made In Chelsea, and thought nothing more of it. Still, sneaky boy had to go to Manchester for the day to pick up some paperwork, and rang me to say that he was going to Office to buy a pair of trainers he was after, and did I want anything from town. I sent him off to pick up the aforementioned Primark dress, feeling a little mean for sending a boy into a MASSIVE girls shop, but hey ho. When Kev returned with my dress and an Office bag and told me to take a peek, I assumed he wanted to show me his new shoes. But OH NO. Out fell these bad boys. 

As you can see, WAY better than the Topshop pair I have been lusting after for months and bending Kev's ear about how I was going to buy them when student loans came in, not to mention perfect for my interview. Even three days later, I am in awe of how easily tricked I am and how thoughtful a boyfriend I have. I mean hey, any boy who buys you shoes has got to be a keeper right? Even after a year, every day feels like our first together (in a good way) and I have to regularly check he is not some sort of super-perfect cyborg person built purely for my happiness. Sickening, I know. Don't worry, his present is coming too! I won't mention it on here just in case he decides to take a sneaky peek at this blog. 

That should tide me over for the rest of summer and early Autumn! Definitely no more dress or shoe buying for now - winter woolies and layers will have to come out soon! What have you been buying (or been gifted!) this month?

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.

How To: Frilly Lace Socks

I love socks, I love frills. Inevitable combo for a tutorial? I think so. Ever since Topshop introduced the various beauties you can see above, plus plenty more besides, frilly socks have been a must have accessory  Jellie Shoes, Mary Janes, Wedges, Heels... you name it, they work with it. Teamed with a cute dress and satchel, they are the epitome of schoolgirl chic that manage to cover up those pesky holes in the toes of your tights with ease.

However, I for one refuse to pay £3.50 for one humble pair of socks. Sorry Topshop. Call me a tight wad, but I am a student, and £3.50 is equivalent to two ready meals and half a malibu and cranberry on student night.

With that in mind, and having been inspired by various sock DIY's on blogger and pinterest, I thought I'd try my hand at making my own whimsical foot friends. Armed with some plain coloured socks from Primark (£2.00 for 5 pairs in assorted colours) and a bit of lace I had knocking around in my sewing box, here is what I came up with.

Not bad eh? Without further edo, here is my step-by-step tutorial. Geddit?

You Will Need:

• 1 pair of socks (whatever colours you fancy, I went with a bluey/purple to complement the blue lace I was using)
• Lace trim (The lace I used here was just what I had in my sewing box, and with hindsight, it would have looked better if it was a bit fatter. Aim for lace trim that is about 15-20mm wide. Crochet trim would also work well. You will need less than 50cm but buy a metre, because these are super easy to make and you will get addicted!
• Pint Glass (to stretch your sock around to make sure you don't rip the seams when you put the socks on. If you are sewing the socks using a sewing machine, skip this step - you can use the sewing machines built in arm)
• Needle and Thread/Sewing Machine
• Pins - to keep your lace in place (in the face space base... the rap career starts here)

1)Gather your material together for an instagram worthy 'before' picture

2) Stretch the sock over a pint glass - this will keep the ankle nice and wide whilst you attach the frill, which will help it bunch nicely when you wear the socks, without splitting the seams.

3)Pin the lace into place (still rhyming!) - you want to get it perfectly in line with the top of the sock, with the frilly scallops facing downwards.

4)Use a simple loop stitch to sew the lace onto the sock, making sure to pull the thread nice and tight. Sew all the way round and fasten

5)Repeat steps 2-4 until you have two matching socks

6)Pull 'em over your tootsies and get wearing! Can't say I'd go out wearing these colours socks with my red Topshop shoes (clash overload) but you get the idea.

So, as you can see, there are only three real steps to this and the whole thing takes less than 20 minutes by hand - hardly brain busting. With eBay boasting crazy amounts and types of lace, ribbon and crochet for next to nothing, and trusty Primark offering a myriad of multi-coloured multipack socks, there really is no excuse to skip the high street versions. I love Topshop even more than the next person, but when the alternative is this easy, I'd rather have creative control over my ankles.

Bargain Hunting in Manchester - Judy's Affordable Vintage Kilo Sale!

With summer finally in my clutches, like some sort of nefarious over worked villain, I thought I'd reward myself for getting a First in my second year of uni with a little trip to Manchester. Having been to a few Judy's Affordable Vintage events in the past, I jumped for joy a few months ago when the Leeds based comapny announced that they would be bringing their legendary Kilo Sale to Manchester's People's History Museum.

For anybody who isn't accustomed to Judy's work, what they do is admirable and completely fair-focused. They tour the country with their vintage wares, all within student friendly budgets, in an attempt to share the wonderful world of sequins, peter pan collars and circle skirts with vintage fans all over the country. As somebody with a build slightly bigger than your average Topshop model, I have always loved vintage clothing - dresses from the 50s and 60s were made with the average, realistically sized women in mind, meaning plenty of space for a few extra inches on the waist. What Judy's are doing breaks down the elitism that sometimes surrounds vintage shopping, suddenly making it something affordable.

Whilst Judy's run 'normal' vintage fairs, their kilo sales are a different beast entirely. Based on a principle of paying £15 per kilo of clothes that you pick up, they are not for the faint hearted - after queuing to collect my Judy's carrier and pay my entrance fee of £1, I entered a hall that had ten enormous storage tubs on the floor, with effortlessly cool girls and boys alike crowding around like wise men at the nativity. Well, maybe slightly more ruthless versions of wise men, anyway. All grabbing items, holding them up, bagging some and discarding others, only for somebody else to leap on their relegated piles in search of a bargain. Carnage.

Despite the competitive native of magpie-like searching, the camaraderie in the room was amazing. Three seperate times I picked something up only for a complete stranger to smile at me and say 'buy it, it'd look amazing on you!'. Totally heartwarming, and not something you get in normal changing rooms. I myself took great deligh in helping other sort their piles, and coax the more reluctant of shoppers into buying that item that fitted them perfectly.

So what did I buy, I hear you cry? I went to the fair with the intention of buying some summery things to brighten up my wardrobe, and I think I managed to meet my goal. After just over an hours work and endless soul searching over whether or not that gingham skirt really did look like a tablecloth, I ended up with the following - 

Rainbow Stripe Euro Club Blouse (styled with my already owned dungarees and a white tee)

Whilst this was in one of the men's tubs, I fell in love with it's pastelicious stripes - very Vampire Weekend prep! There is a teeny stain on the front but I'm hoping that'll wash out with a bit of luck. I'm hoping to wear it to the festivals this summer with my dungarees or buttoned to the neck and tucked into a bodycon skirt.

Take Nine Red Button Down Dress

This dress was sized as a small maternity, but I didn't let that put me off. One of the things about vintage fairs is that they often require a bit of creative vision - the fabric is often more important that the size if you think you can do some alterations. This dress was actually floor length, but having faffed around in front of the mirror I think I'm going to cut it to just above the knee to give it a more summery feel, and whip out the shoulder pads too. Paired with a denim jacket, a skinny belt and my topshop red patent mary janes, I think it'll make a nice casual day look.

Wurzer Dirnl Green Patterned Prom Dress

This was the dress that a fellow shopper told me I had to buy, and I'm so glad I did! It's super heavy, I absolutely love the length, the way the skirt falls and the colour - forest green is one of my favourite tones to wear. I'm actually wearing the dress back to front in this picture, but I quite like it - the actual front is a very low square with a hook fastening (I think from this and the brandname it must be some sort of german design) but I think it makes a much more elegant back that means I don't have to show too much barmaid-esque boob! With a little round neck cardi and a satchel I think this dress will be great for uni or shopping weekends.

Deus yellow floral summer dress

I was a bit wary of trying to pull off Yellow to start with, but I simply couldn't resist the prettiness of this dress. It also fits perfectly, so was a good find in amongst the jumble! Like the red dress, I think I'm going to lop off the bottom, make it knee length and then have some fabric left over to make a matching hair bow. I might also swap the buttons on the top half to blue, to match the flowers. I think this dress is the perfect excuse for me to buy some summer coloured converse... I've had my eye on a duck egg blue pair for a while that would co-ordinate just right.

Lisa Jo Floral Pearl Dress

Last but not least, probably my favourite print of the day. Thanks to the lace up back, this dress also fits perfectly, and I don't think I'm even going to shorten it. This has gone right to the top of my list of potential festival outfits, so I might test drive it at Parklife next weekend with black tights, dm's and my light parka over the top, just in case it rains...

So that concludes my lovely selection from Judy's Kilo Sale, which I am delighted to say came to the lowly price of £20! With all of the items in really good condition, I couldn't recommend a rummage more. Sure, it requires a bit of patience, but the potential for wardrobe rejuvenation on a budget is simply too good to pass up! 

For more information on Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair or Judy's Kilo Sale, visit http://www.judysvintagefair.co.uk/

What do you think of my outfits? Have you been to any of Judy's events recently?