Roses

This is my favourite skirt at the moment! It seems to go with just about anything, which is very handy when I'm in a rush to get dressed for school. Today I wore it with this rose print top which I bought on eBay (I'm becoming increasingly addicted to eBay - you know it has got to a worrying stage when you regularly meet your 'watched items' limit...).

I WAS going to give the t-shirt my 'cutting a new neckline' treatment but I have decided that I like it the way it is.

T-shirt - H&M (ebay)
Skirt - Topshop (ebay)

Cardigan - H&M
Belt - Vintage
Shoes - Hush Puppies

Anyway, I desperately need some help and advice from all of you knowledgable photographers. My 18th birthday is coming up, and my parents have kindly offered to buy me my own camera! But I don't have a clue what to buy. I was thinking of going down the Digital SLR route, or the bridge camera route, but then I thought that perhaps they'd be too bulky to carry around - and normal pocket sized digital cameras are pretty good nowadays. My budget is about £300 at maximum. Are DSLRs worth the extra weight and cost?

Heeelp!

Sadie xxx

To Be Adored

I was walking around the boutique section of Urban Outfitters the other day when I came across this beauty! I immediately fell in love with its cute collar & little black buttons, and of course its air of 1960s chic! It was from TBA or ‘To Be Adored’, a brand I hadn’t heard of before. When I got home I looked them up and found even more gorgeous clothes to fall in love with!

Unfortunately they’re a bit too expensive for a poor student like me, but at least they’re something nice to lust over.

Here are some more pictures from their A/W collection...

How cool do those white tights look?

You can buy TBA at Urban Outfitters or ASOS, or go to their website to see the whole collection!

Sadie xxx

P.S. Florence and the Machine were brilliant on Friday! Definitely go and see them if you get the opportunity, you won't be disappointed.

Lace

Just a quick post really, because I'm about to leave to go and see Florence and the Machine and Dizzee Rascal in a field somewhere! (that explains the wellies). I thought it would be the ideal opportunity to wear this lace top, which you may recognise from a previous post.

And these are my beautiful new jeans that I bought when I was in London! They're the most comfy jeans in the world. ♥

Lace top - Charity shop
Jeans - Topshop
Wellies - Camping shop!

Ooh and an update on my driving - I passed my test! Hooray! I love my new found freedom :D

Sadie xxx

Modifying my eBay dress

I was very excited yesterday after receiving a nice parcel in the post containing this dress! I won it on eBay for £3.20 (bargain!). Unfortunately, when I tried it on it came down past my knees and desperately needed a bit of modification. As usual, I cut it off way too short and extremely wonky, so I decided the only way to save it was to add this black band around the bottom.

I quite like the effect, and I think/hope it has made the dress look a lot more expensive.

I was going to wear it with mustard yellow tights but I was a bit unsure. What do you think?

My mum's old watch. You have to wind it up every day!

I am completely in love with my new shoes. It's amazing how much extra confidence a small heel can give you!

Sadie xxx

Homemade keyrings!

Does anyone remember using 'Shrinkles' as a child? I have many fond memories of sitting in my best friend's kitchen colouring in fairy pictures and turning them into little plastic fridge magnets.

For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, Shrinkles are little craft kits containing sheets of special paper. You draw whatever you want on the paper, put it in the oven for a few minutes and it shrinks 7 times smaller, and becomes 7 times thicker! You can make keyrings, necklace pendants, magnets and decorations out of them.

I went on a bit of a nostalgic trip and bought some shrinkle paper on eBay, and used it to make this personalised keyring :D. I have 5 sheets left. What shall I make next?

When they came out of the oven

For anyone who wants to buy some Shrinkles (or Shrinkies - they seem to have two names), you can try eBay or look here!

I'm sad to say that the holidays are drawing to a close, which means (as predicted) I have a huge mountain of holiday work to complete before going back to school. And I have a driving test on wednesday, scary!

Sadie xxx

New shoes :D

I bought these gorgeous gorgeous shoes at a carboot a few months ago for 50p. They match all of my criteria for what makes a great shoe! However, I was very upset to discover that it'll cost £30 to re-heel and re-sole them because they're so old (I think thats a bit too expensive, especially when theres no guarantee it'll make them wearable). So I decided to invest in a brand new pair!

I’ve been eyeing up several similar designs for a while now. I wanted a nice pair for school, that aren’t too high and won’t be too hazardous (I’m quite clumsy). And I thought black was probably a more practical colour for me, as I basically always have black tights on.

I came across the perfect pair today, these Hush Puppies from Schuh (£54.99). They're really comfy and just the right height! Tadaa!

Some of the 'shortlisted' shoes:

Tunic - Topshop
Belt - Accessorize
Cardigan - Topshop
Scarf - Vintage
Shoes - Schuh
Bag - Monsoon

The tunic was one of my London purchases. I LOVE the topshop tunics, I have three, all in different colours!!

Sadie xxx

Vintage Umbrella

This umbrella has been in the cupboard under the stairs for as long as I can remember. It's made out of a really thick waxy material, and has a lovely wooden handle. I thought today would be the perfect day to bring it out, as it's raining here in England. (That's the sad thing about summer here... it's just the same as winter).

I'm enjoying a nice cup of tea right now. There is something so beautiful about drinking a cup of tea and watching it rain outside - does anyone else agree?

Cardigan - La Redoute
Tights - Topshop
Belt - Vintage (I seem to wear this belt ALL the time)
Dress - Not sure!

I'm quite excited because I just won some dresses on eBay! I'll take some photos when they arrive :D.

Sadie xxx

Car-boot Guide

I wish I bought these - they were £1!

Many of you have asked for advice on bargain hunting at car-boots, so I thought I’d make a short guide!

• It’s best to get there early so you can snap up items before everyone else sees them.
  
• That said, the bargains are usually found at the end! This is when everyone is desperate to get rid of the last things – and they’ll accept very low offers.
  
• If you’re looking for vintage clothes, you can spot bright 80s prints from a long way away. This usually indicates that there are other old treasures on the same stall.
  
• Be imaginative! That long skirt may not look very nice now, but if you chop a few inches off and rehem it, it could turn into something great! (this applies to charity shops too).
  
• If you fall in love with something, buy it – you’ll probably never see it again.
  
• And the most important thing - always always haggle! You’ll be surprised how much cheaper you can get things.

For UK residents looking for a carboot sale location, there are many helpful carboot directories on Google. I found this site and this site quite useful.

Happy car-booting!

Sadie xxx

Checked Dress

I just found this dress at the back of my wardrobe and it was feeling a bit neglected. I made it last year during the Dolce & Gabanna-influenced checked 'country' clothing craze. It's made out of a duvet cover! (cheap source of fabric). I used a pattern to do the main bit then added the halterneck and the bow myself because I thought it was a bit too plain.

It's one of those dresses that are really hard to accessorize, so I thought I'd keep it very simple with a brown bag and shoes. It might be ok in winter with a nice long brown coat - or maybe it'd look good with a denim shirt and a more casual look? What does everyone think?

Dress - Homemade
Shoes - Clarks
Bag - Vintage shop in Brighton

I seem to have a huge collection of these 50s/60s style frame bags! I think this one is my favourite though - it has a gorgeous orangey brown colour.

Sadie xxx

Red

Just to clarify - I'd never have confidence to actually wear this outfit out! It was more an opportunity to show off my new thrifted finds :D.

I went to the carboot this morning (a 6am start, aaah). This time, I was actually a seller, and I got rid of some old stuff that has been sitting in my cupboards for years. And I made a grand total of £13.90, just enough to cover the pitch fee! Oh well, at least I have more space now.

I did however manage to steal an hour for a bargain hunt, and came across this burgundy vanity case for £3. Isn't it cute? I found the bowler hat for 50p at another carboot, and the dress is a charity shop find. The shoes and cardi are 'thrifted' from my sister (shh).

Not quite sure what's going on in the second picture...



I feel a bit like a character from the film Madeline - did anyone watch it as a child?



Sadie xxx