Hi my name is Naomi. I’m so happy that I’ve been chosen to write another blog post for the Thrift, just in time for Christmas!
Tag: bargain
College chic – Looking fashionable on a budget
Hi there! My name is Imali and I’m a student blogger from the Midlands. If you are a student, or even if you’re not, I’m sure you can relate to the fact that clothes are expensive. It’s easy to spend £100 on accessories alone, and that’s before the clothes and makeup! As a full-time student, I just don’t have that kind of money but doesn’t mean I have to compromise on my style.
My Barnardo’s Lookbook
So, I’ll start off by saying a huge hello and thank you to everyone that’s taking the time to read this blog post I’ve put together for Barnardo’s. I’ve created a look book featuring some of my favourite Barnardo’s finds and how I style them to create some of my favourite looks.
I started charity shopping when I was just 13. I picked up a black pinstripe blazer for just £1.99 and it quickly because a wardrobe staple of mine. Since October 2017 I started to re-embrace the slow fashion movement. I have been browsing weekly to collect some fabulous finds, initially wearing a mix of high street and vintage, but now wearing full-on charity shop looks. Lucky for me, we have not one, but two Barnardo’s stores in Worksop. The 99p store is always my first point of call!
Chazza Shopping with Barnardo’s
For The Love Of Coats
When Barnardo’s got in touch about guest blogging for The Thrift, I immediately said yes! I couldn’t wait for an excuse to have a browse through the racks of pre-loved clothes at my local Barnardo’s in Tunbridge Wells.
One of the things I love about Barnado’s is that they colour co-ordinate their rails. It allows you to look at things in other sizes that you might not usually choose, or give a second thought to. You just never know what you will find. I’ve picked up some real gems over the years.
The Art Of Charity Shopping
Not so long ago I read a post on my friend India’s blog about charity shopping, and essentially how to be the best at ‘thrifting’. After giving it a good read, I realised that over the years I’ve picked up some absolutely amazing pre-loved bargains so I thought I’d share a few as well as giving a few tips on how to find the best stuff!
The reason I started to thrift/charity shop was mainly that I had very little money at the time! I was so surprised to see the kind of clothes people would give to charity. On pretty much every trip I’d find goodies such as Ralph Lauren shirts, Levis jeans, and the occasional band t shirt. As I started to earn more money I’d shop more on the high street but I found that the quality was lacking and my thrifted items would last longer in my wardrobe than my high street pick-ups.
As well as charity shops, I’ve found car boot sales, pop up vintage stalls and eBay to be just as nifty! Over the years I’ve managed to pick up a Levis denim jacket for £5, a faux suede bomber jacket for £1.75, countless Ben Sherman shirts and a fair few Fred Perry polos!
Thrifty Celebs
Celebrities may have loads of money, but that doesn’t stop them from browsing for unique pieces and bagging a bargain in thrift shops! We take a look at some celebrities who regularly thrift…
We love Dame Helen Mirren – she’s an international star with A-list friends yet still loves a thrifty bargain…
“The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop. And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn’t know which was which.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves! Also, think of all the high-street and designer labels you find in Charity shops. No-one would be any wiser about whether you bought it in store or from Barnardo’s, but of course, you can’t help but share the fact that you bought it for such an amazing price!
And then, of course, there’s this statement:
Never too old for a stocking by Craftee Fox
No matter what their age, everyone deserves to have a stocking full of presents at Christmas. So when a colleague asked me to make her Dad a stocking, I was happy to rise to the challenge.
The challenge was finding a piece of clothing at my local Barnardo’s store that I thought would be suitable for a man, and would make an attractive stocking. After having a good look through the stock, we found a skirt that was perfect for the stocking. We had a lovely chat with the staff in the shop about how we were going to create a stocking using the skirt. At first they weren’t quite sure but by the end I think we convinced them!
Once the skirt was home I took it apart and used the brown satin lining of the skirt to line the stocking. I then found some dark red cotton material to make the top of the stocking and the reindeer. The red cotton matched the red in the tweed and added a little more of a Christmas touch. With a little ribbon sewn onto the back to hang the stocking up, a man’s Christmas stocking was made. I have to say I’m rather pleased with it. Read More »