My star donations

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post. It's been a very busy few weeks for me.
I visited Leicester, spent a day in London and also reviewed my wardrobe to make room for new items. I didn't buy much although I've seen a few fantastic items.

Although I managed to visit a few shops in Leicester, nothing really stood out. London was much more exciting so I'll be writing a post about my trip.

I donated quite a few items recently but want to highlight my 'star' donations - itens that could probably be sold on eBay easily but they were given to a charity shop instead.

I'm obsessed with charity shopping because of such finds and I want to continue giving this feeling of excitement to other people.

Anyway, after long considerations I decided to guve away my Ralph Lauren boots in fabulous condition. I realised that I won't be wearing them simply because they don't fit my lifestyle. Otherwise they are like new. Hopefully they've now found a new home.

Another item is a lovely CC silk scarf. Perhaps not as warm but very pretty. Great for festive season. I wore it probably once, never knew how/when to wear it so gave it away.

I'll be giving away more items soon, almost all of them will be warm jumpers, just in time for winter. You probably noticed charity shops are now selling lots of festive clothing as well as warm items. So if you have jumpers that you dont wear anymore - it's a perfect time to donate them! 

Hull: first impressions and my picks

So I've spent one day in Hull and my first impressions of this town are really positive. I loved the architecture of this town, it reminded me of seaside resorts in Yorkshire, like Scarborough or Saltburn-by-the-Sea. I'm glad I had a chance to visit this town. Anyway, I also managed to visit three charity shops.

Hull has some beautiful buildings

The shops I visited didn't disappoint me either. I actually made purchases in all three shops. I was especially impressed by the British Red Cross shop - it's a very well looked after shop, spacious and well organised. I was pleasantly surprised by a wide range of clothing for sizes 14 and higher. It was also very easy to navigate through the rails as the shop staff separated their clothes by colour. I didn't see many items of upper market however the shop has such a variety of styles and colours that you could renew your whole wardrobe there! I also noticed a few very nice dresses. In the end I purchased a pair green (-ish) Massimo Dutti trousers. I'll be writing about them in my next post.

 26-30 Brook St, Hull HU2 8LA

Apparently the British Red Cross shops have their own loyalty programme so I was given a card and was told that I would collect points for each purchase in any of their stores! What a brilliant idea! I don't see many of their stores in the UK though.  It's the first one I've been to outside London. However, there's one in Sheffield as well.

Next stop - the BHF. It's a nice little shop with lots of quality items. I love their shops for the fact that you can get absolute bargains on quality items. This time I purchased a leather Gap shopper bag for £6.

51 Jameson St, Hull HU1 3JQ

Finally, Barnados. I loved the atmosphere in the shop. The shop floor was spacious and bright. It was neat and easy to navigate. In the end I purchased a pair of Autograph loafers (£5) and a Per Una boiled wool biker jacked (£9).

74 Prospect St, Hull HU2 8PW

These three items (loafers, the bag and the jacket), combined with my other items, will make a great casual Friday look for the office environment.

What a productive day I had! I hope to come back to Hull once again and explore it properly.

My Casual Friday look, all items purchased from various charity shops:
- Autograph loafers
- Per Una boiled wool jacket
- Ted Baker jeans and a leather belt
- Primrose Park cashmere jumper
- Gap leather shopper

Three days in Leeds: silk, leather and all things nice

So I was Leeds for 3 days and couldn't miss the chance to visit my favourite shops! First of all, I found out that the PDSA shop in the city centre has moved! Luckily there's still BHF and Cancer Research nearby.

Anyway, I thought I would pick a few pricey items and luxurious fabrics from Cancer Research. Like this beautiful pure silk shirt size 8, it feels incredible!

They also have a Max Mara dress size 12 and a Michael Kors grey top size 12.

Also, have a look at their leather items as  they have quite a few at the moment.

Colour clashing and colour blocking

Woohoo, it's Sunday! I finally have a bit more than 10 minutes to write a post. It was a busy Sunday for me. Had to wake up at 6 am to get to a local carboot sale early. I know, I know, it's not charity shopping. Well, at least all proceedings from selling pitches are going to the Sheffield Children Hospital!

Anyway. This time I wanted to write a little bit about colour blocking. I'm obsessed with this trend. It looks like a summer or spring trend, however I like adding such bright colours during winter seasons when the sunrise is at 7.30 am and greys rule everywhere. I think the main rule here is to keep the balance and not overdo it. So there should be a neutral item in the look that would balance two complimentary colours.

Also, it looks really good if colours are right opposite each on the colour wheel. So, for example, blue will be enhanced by orange while purple will standout even more when it's combined with green.

I picked a look from the current Carolina Herrera collection and used it as inspiration. I want to get more bright items soon and add to my collection. Armani too like playing around with colours so I decided to include some of their ad campaigns in this blog.

I picked several items from my collection that I found in charity shops. I picked:

- Per Una red polyester jacket
- Anthology orange polyester jacket
- Jaeger blue wool skirt
- Jaeger sleeveless white silk top
- Sonia Rykiel wool top
- Per Una khaki maxi skirt

Black Next trousers aren't from a charity shop. They were my emergency trousers when I ripped my very nice wool trousers at work! Devastating as these were Saba trousers and I really liked them...anyway..moving on..

Sooo, here's the Carolina Herrera's look.

and here're some of the Armani's past campaigns

Here're the combos I created using mentioned items

As you can see if you have such a bright and colourful item like this Sonia Rykiel top, it's better to combine it with a more subdued and plain item. Although, I should try and combine it with that blue Jaeger skirt!

Anyway. I'm on my way to colour block and experiment with more combos and colours! Happy Sunday!

10 minutes to spare: Age UK, Sheffield

So today I only had 10 minutes to spare and invade a nearby charity shop before it closed its doors for the day. Age UK currently stock really nice pieces. This is one of my favourite shops because it consistently offers higher quality brands. Currently they have a very nice Jigsaw jacket size 10 that would look amazing with relaxed jeans or office trousers, and a bright green Hobbs jacket. I also noticed a very pretty Reiss skirt in a subdued foresty green with a very cute bow at the back. And if you want to add some serious colour to your look , check out this super red Monsoon coat (size 10 or 12)!

They also have a couple of evening black and white dresses. One thing worth noting is that they don't have a changing room. They used to have but not anymore.  It looks like a trend these days, I wonder why?

In the end I bought a pair of office Van Dal shoes and a black Autograph top to go with my jackets. If you're in the area please check this shop out, they stock quite a few quality designer items.

Shop'n'roll

 A few weeks ago I went to St Luke's in the Crystal Peaks shopping centre. To my surprise they started doing theme days - dressed their shop floor according to a rock theme and they called it Rocktober. What a brilliant idea! Shopping experience is much more fun when it's done in a playful way.

They had all things rock'n'roll:
- accessories with spikes and metal
- lots of black leather
- rock music
- drums as a shop prop!

I think what should be highlighted is the effort and thoughtfulness that were invested in this shop revamp.

I totally loved this idea and I think other charity shops can try and do a similar thing and see what customers say. I may not know much about their policies, but I believe that charity shops may have a little bit of freedom in terms of making their shop stand out.

Update 28.10.2018. I went there again yesterday. I didn't realise that the items with a price tag that says 'Rocktober' are half price! So I grabbed a Mint Velvet forest green top with silk panelling and paid only £2.25 for it!!

Inbetween trains: Birmingham

So I happenned to have some free time in Birmingham before catching my train back home. I've visited Cancer Research and BHF on Corporation street.
Cancer research had a nice atmosphere and cool music. Loved that they separated their clothes by colour. I've found a few cool pieces:
-beige Victor&Rolf (!!!) dress for £30 (ouch), size 12. I didn't buy it so check it out if you're in the area.
-lovely silk jacket in forest green (super trendy right now), size xs or s
-silk Joseph sleeveless top which I bought
-very nice J crew office trousers in size 8 which happened to have some serious markings at the bottom. It looks like the markings can be washed off easily with water. It's a real shame because these trousers were dry cleaned.

The BHF unfortunately wasn't as insipiring. They don't even have a changing room. I struggled to see anything interesting apart from a classic beige jacket which can be a staple in any wardrobe.