High Street Hoarder to Charity Shop Chic

Welcome to my very own X Factor style 'journey'; From High Street Shopper to Vintage Lover.

 

As vintage has gradually infiltrated my wardrobe, I have had to come to terms with the fact that I can't afford nor justify filling my wardrobe full of reproduction or expensive vintage. Half of the fun of bargain hunting is bending everyone's ear with quite HOW cheap it actually was, so here goes...

 When I finally gained the confidence to brave full vintage attire,  I was desperate to kit my wardrobe out with amazing golden era clothing. This meant I was frantically hunting them down as it just felt so good to be wearing the clothes that I had wanted to for years. I remember the feeling of disbelief when I discovered the Collectif and Dollydagger websites!

 

How did I not know this was out there?! Because I had been hell bent, splashing the cash on fashion magazines and in high street stores in an attempt to 'keep up' with the ever changing trends. Another top, dress or pair of shoes that was always 'nice' but I never got that sense of pride for finding it, and could still never find anything to wear in my wardrobe.

 

WARNING: Old pictures alert...

 

Above I was beginning to brave something a little bit different...

 

And above is my very first venture into trying to vintage myself up. I remember watching a CherryDollFace tutorial and it taking me about 3 hours to do! This photo really does make me want a fringe!

 

I feel that I have gradually changed my perspective. I am now a keen bargain hunter, and proud to tell people that actually, my outfit did only cost £20! No longer do I continually buy magazines, I gain so much inspiration from reading other blogs, chatting on Twitter or watching films and learning about history. I really have turned a full circle to now; I am determined to see how good I can get for as little as possible, rather than proudly showing off a pair of £80 jeans or a top from All Saints. Both of which end up being thrown out. 

 

Here are some of my favourite pieces that I have found or made over the last few months:

 

I made this Rockabilly style top

Top: Oxfam £4.99

 Skirt: Vivienne of Holloway from eBay £20

 Shoes: Ebay £10

 Necklace Oxfam £1

£8 from Brighton Racecourse Boot Sale

 

Stork £4 and Coffee Set £5, both from Martlets on Western Road

 

I recently wrote a blog post about some of my favourite Charity Shops in Brighton, you can read it here!

 

Hannah xxx

 

Day Six! A cheap and chic Christmas present idea!

Hello everyone!

So I have just rushed back from a very fun Lindy Hop lesson and just going to do a quick post for this evening. Tonight we put together all of the steps that we have learnt so far, and it actually felt brilliant and I was pleased that I can do it! Next week we are learning how to add some fun moves into the steps which will be fun and really make us look like we know what we are doing!

I received quite a few parcels in the post today (yay I love parcels!) for Christmas presents that I am planning. To encorporate a bit of my recent thrify ventures, I have decided to make some of these...

 

My plan is to go to a few local Charity shops and purchase some gorgeous china cups and saucers, and then make candles in them to give a very kitsch and cheap present! I managed to find a candle making set on Ebay, from seller 'randallscandles' who sells a set that makes 4 teacup candles, with your choice of scented and coloured wax for £6!Here the package is before I begin making...

Really great, detailed instructions are also included so on Saturday I plan to get making! I will tweet my end results so keep your eyes peeled @ABrightonBelle_!

 

 

To finish off my indulgent present I have decided to include some sweet treats alongside the teacup candles that adds to the pampering that this present can give...

 

 

Whilst these may look like delicious treats, perfect alongside a cup of tea, they are in fact soaps to pamper yourself with in the bath.  I got these for 95p each from Ditzy Doll, who have an online store. They are scented with a range of luxurious smells, such as Oat and Honey, Strawberry and Dark Chocolate. I am planning on putting on or two on the side of my teacup candle, so an afternoon tea can turn into a relaxing bathtime...what is better than that in winter, I don't know!

 

 

I will keep you all posted on Twitter with my making process on Saturday, which is where this plan could all go wrong and things go slightly pear shaped. Fingers crossed it all goes well!

 

With lots of love,

 

Hannah xxx