Hello and welcome to my first blog for The-Thrift! We all know that you can dress well for a lot less at Barnardo’s charity shops. I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could pull off dressing like my favourite celebrities, using only pre-loved items from Barnardo’s.

Fearne Cotton was my first pick when choosing a look to emulate, as I’ve followed her style for years. I love the quirky, creative and unusual looks she puts together. She has a way of presenting herself as effortlessly fashionable, but with a very individual interpretation of trends so with this in mind; I spent a few happy hours on Google looking for the perfect outfit to re-create.

I settled on this colourful purple, red and yellow ensemble as it encapsulated her style perfectly and I loved how she had made an everyday outfit so vibrant, colourful and unique.

I imagined I’d have to visit several Barnardo’s stores to get the whole look and couldn’t hide my surprise when I got most of it in one shop! I started out at the Smithdown Road branch in Liverpool where they often have a huge range of items for £1.99. I picked up this red long-sleeved Laura Ashley polo top, a purple Primark dress and yellow George cardigan, all for £1.99 each!

Inspired by my early success, I hunted around for accessories and found this awesome black patent style handbag with silver hardware detail for £2.99 and a super-cute little silver and diamante necklace similar to Fearne’s which was also a bargain at £2.99.

I was determined to get sunglasses and boots to match so I headed off a little further down the road to Barnardo’s on Allerton Road to see if I could complete my challenge there.

I was in luck! They had one pair of sunglasses in stock.; I snapped them up for £1.50 in some considerable disbelief, as they were in mint condition from River Island. Moments later, I spotted some amazing burgundy leather Marks and Spencer’s ankle boots for £5.99. The boots were in fantastic condition. I couldn’t believe they were in my size and just waiting to be included in my life and this blog! Although they are not an exact match for Fearne’s, they certainly work with the whole outfit and possibly complement the black bag more than a tan boot would.

I can’t even tell you how excited I was to score this whole Fearne Cotton look in a mere two Barnardo’s stores and it proved to me that you don’t need a celebrity salary to dress well and show off your style. For £19.94 I had an entire outfit with accessories and boots. If it were possible to pat yourself on the back, I certainly would have done it!

Of course, as well as completing my challenge successfully, it was wonderful to support Barnardo’s stores in their charity fundraising efforts to transform the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children.

So instead of envying the celebs in their designer gear, why not head down to your local Barnardo’s store and see what surprises you can pick up?

If you enjoyed this blog and would like to see more celebrity challenges, do let me know in the comments and I’ll pick the most popular suggestion and re-create it next time!

For more of my fashion blogs you can subscribe to my website lauraroche.co.uk or follow me on Twitter @flyingkipper and Instagram @ladylaurajaneroche

Want to share your top Barnardo’s looks with us and feature on The-Thrift? Comment below and we’ll get in touch!