Last purchases of 2009!

The other day I braved the 'January' sales armed with a £10 Topshop voucher. Topshop was shockingly busy - I couldn't even bear to look around the sale rails for too long. I hate it when shops are like that! Eventually I decided to ignore the sale and ended up buying this purse, which has been on my mind since I bought it as a gift for my french friend. Isn't it cute!

Just before Christmas I also treated myself to these patent loafers from Clarks. They're so comfy to walk in, and have the added bonus of a chunky heel so I can stand around without falling over.

These are the last things I bought in 2009. And they'll be the last things I buy in a 'real' shop for another 2 months! All will become clear in my next post...

Happy new year everyone!
(Hasn't this year gone quickly...)

Sadie xxx

A Boxing Day walk

It has to be said - I'm not much of an outdoorsy type. I'd rather be snuggled at home with a cup of tea than roaming around in fields - but as today was Boxing Day I decided to put on my 'sensible' boots and venture into the countryside with my family. I had no idea that the place we visited existed - it's amazing what you can find on your doorstep really!

Anyway, it provided many opportune outfit-photo spots - although I really hate posing for photos with my family behind the lens.

The walk was an excellent chance for me to wear my new thrifted coat. It's made from wool so its ultra warm! The sleeves needed to be taken in a bit to stop it swamping me, but apart from that it was a bargain at £15.

I need to stop buying coats...

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! My parents gave me my own sewing machine! I can't wait to get started on my next project :D.

Sadie xxx

Will it be a white Christmas?

I'm pleased to announce that snow has arrived in my part of England! Its only a smattering, but enough to keep me content. Last year, I had horrible tonsillitis throughout the snow 'week' so I'm glad to be able to catch up on my dose of snow this year.

This is the tartan dress I mentioned - made from exactly the same pattern as the floral dress, but with a fuller skirt section. It's the perfect winter dress!

I styled it up with a patent leather belt and a vintage velvet jacket. Needless to say, I was a just a bit cold when I took these photos...

Have you had any snow where you live?

Sadie xxx

Christmas Present Idea: Upcycled Chair

I was in a chairty shop the other day and overheard a discussion about Christmas presents - the lady in the shop thought that Christmas presents were all a waste of time and money. Her reasoning was that if you buy something for £5 for someone, they could easily have afforded it themselves and got themselves something they actually wanted. Which is probably completely true!

This inspired me to have a go at a 'handmade' Christmas present - something with a little bit of thought and that cannot be bought elsewhere. I bought this rather worse-for-wear chair for a mere £2 (then carried it all the way through town back to my house, trying not to laugh, haha). Then I got some leftover glossy white paint and some spare material to cover the seat, and got cracking on upcycling the chair!

I wanted it to have a 'shabby chic' look, so as the paint was drying I used a slightly damp sponge to rub bits off.

This is going to be my mum's present - we were having a discussion the other day about the huge lack of decorative furniture and ornaments in our house, and I thought it would be a good start on adding a bit of personality to the rooms!

What do you think about giving upcycled or handmade things as presents? Is it stingy, or are they better than conventional gifts?

Sadie xxx

1920s Flapper Dress - Homemade!

After the 1960s, the 1920s are probably my second favourite era. I'm not a big expert on the decade, but my perception of it is that it was an age of liberation - in clothing (Chanel), civil rights (suffragettes and the vote) and the era when women truly began to get a good education.

To me, one of the iconic 20s fashions was the flapper dress. According to Wikipedia, 'The term flapper in the 1920s referred to a "new breed" of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior.' I completely love this image, haha - there's definitely a rebellious side in me! Anyway, I've been looking out for a wearable flapper style dress for a while now - then it suddenly occured to me; why don't I make one!

Criteria: Drop waist, muted colours, sequins, ruffles...

I bought the material for £5 on the market, and the splashed out on the sequins, which were also £5. After spending so much (yes, that's a lot!), I decided that I'd make the dress properly, with lining and everything, which makes a change for my usual slightly 'bodged' jobs. Here's the result of my efforts! I'm rather proud :)

I had enough material left over to make a matching headband - it's not very clear in the photo but it's two 'flowers' attached to a string of black sequins.

I might wear this as my prom dress!

Sadie xxx

TheWellingtonBoot.com Giveaway Winner!

Just a short post to announce the lucky winner of the £10 e-voucher for The Wellington Boot online jewellery store!

The winner was comment number 9:

Harriet, from the blog Inevitably Modful!

Sadie xxx

Dress #2!

On my giant charity shopping spree the other week I made some time for a quick (...long) visit to a material shop. After 40 minutes I emerged from the shop with some green tartan, some grey suiting material and this spectacular, reversible, floral fabric!

This post is named 'Dress #2' because the dress is made with exactly the same pattern as the tweed one. I plan to make yet another one with the grey suiting material - to be my 'business dress' for university, haha. And today I finished making a slightly adapted version out of the green tartan fabric (I'll show you that one later!). They're the simplest thing ever to make - two identical panels sewn together, with little 'princess' sleeves (I traced the sleeves roughly from one of my shirts). Who knows, I might even make my prom dress using the same pattern!

In keeping with the 80s style fabric, I styled the dress with my denim jacket and thrifted purple belt. And voila - an outfit suitable for day and night :).

Anyway, I've been thinking - this blog has started to focus a lot more on thrifting & sewing in recent months. And so I was wondering what you'd like to see more of! Style icons, how-to guides, photoshoots, debates (!), film reviews, giveaways, favourite designers - or more of the 'what I wore' ones?
What are your favourite things to read about? Tell me what you think - I'm listening :D.

Sadie xxx

P.S. To any UK residents... Keep entering the giveaway for a £10 voucher for TheWellingtonBoot.com!! You have until Friday 11th!

Christmas Giveaway: Win a £10 e-voucher for TheWellingtonBoot.com!

We’re now in the run up to Christmas and no doubt you’re all busy shopping for presents and putting together Christmas wish lists! Personally, I’m always on the lookout for quirky handmade jewellery – and the beautiful creations in The Wellington Boot online jewellery store definitely fit the bill!

Fern, the jewellery designer, launched The Wellington Boot earlier in 2009 – and since then she has been selling a wide range of hand made jewellery styles, offering an alternative to the mass produced options on the high street. The jewellery contains anything from fabric flowers to vintage brass charms, and from Swarovski crystals to freshwater pearls.

And the best thing is, they’re all at affordable prices, with free postage to anywhere in the UK!

Some of my personal favourites from the shop are this Classic Cameo Necklace, Rose Stud Earrings, and the Choo Choo Necklace (isn’t it adorable!).

How to enter the giveaway

To be in with a chance of winning the £10 e-voucher, all you need to do is visit The Wellington Boot, then leave a comment on this blog post telling me which item is your favourite! Simple!

I’ll randomly select the winner on Friday, 11th December. Make sure you leave some way of contacting you in your entry – blog address/email is fine! - competition now closed!

Please note: The competition is open to UK residents only!

Good luck :)

Sadie xxx

Mod ♥

I am absolutely delighted with my most recent charity shop 'haul'! It included this gorgeous red coat (extra happy because its nearly the same style as the one I fell in love with back in this post!!). It has a cute peter-pan collar, a flattering shape, and gold buttons - & you definitely can't go wrong with gold buttons! All for a mere £6.50. Kerching.

And I also found this 60s style tunic for £3. When I saw it hanging there in all of its silky geometric glory, I knew it had to be mine. ♥

I am so attracted to the 60s mod look. There is just something about it that makes me want to purge my wardrobe of anything modern and replace it with A-line mini dresses and patterned shirts.

^ This was the view out of my window when I woke up a few mornings ago. Despite my half asleep state, I just HAD to take a picture of it. I've never seen the sky like this in the morning - although that might be because I'm usually asleep!

Sadie xxx

P.S. I've got an amazing Christmas giveaway coming up in the next post!!