If you go thrifting be sure for a big surprise!

Let's get one thing straight I'm no charity shop or thrifting type gal. Why for a make do style type I'm particularly rubbish and had to enlist the expertise of Style Bubble earlier this year to discuss the matter.Having enjoyed the successful finds of SharonRose-Vintage I've thought about thrifting second hand shops but haven't done anything about it. So yesterday I needed to get my bike checked over and took it to the best cycle shop in South London - Smith Brothers. Thinking I'd be leaving my bike at the shop to be repaired I took my card and about £5 in shrapnel to go for a rummage in a charity shop.

It was a very hot day and by the time I'd pushed my bike up the hill I thought I'd go straight back home rather than any shop visiting. Luckily my bike issue turned out to be a loose valve rather than yet another puncture.

Suitably cheered I decided to pop into the Oxfam shop in Wimbledon Village. I flicked through a few rails and had my worse fears confirmed with items that left me cold mainly from Marks & Spencer. I decided to look through one last rail before getting on my bike and looking forward to the breeze whilst going down the hill. That was my downfall or luck depending on how you look at it. My £5 in coins was useless. Because I stumbled on a lovely black satin Gerard Darel jacket - bingo at £15.99. I quickly ran my through the rest of the rail and my tally of three items went with me into the changing room. The black jacket was perfect.

The YSL Rive Gauche jacket was too big and very Dynasty with the shoulder pads but a great cut. Then I tried my find on - a Jean Patou two piece. The coat was perfect. A wonderful pistachio green. I tried hard to date it by the cut, which was impossible so then the length suggested 1950s, 1970s or 1980s - a wide span I know but sometimes great items are timeless and difficult to place. I knew Mr Patou wouldn't have designed it having died in 1936 but my heart fluttered given Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gaultier had all done time at the House of Jean Patou. There was I resplendent in my Fax Carla Bruni-Sarkozy moment and there was the price tag of £79.99. This was not the thrifiting I'd envisaged a la Sharon Rose.

I paraded a few times in the shop to get the measure of the coat. Beautiful quality and so swish. Just what I needed to wear with my Roger Vivier shoes. The dress had seen better times and was either never finished or had lost the lining. One of the shop ladies said how fantastic it was and I sighed ah but the price, it then all went like this:

-yes but its a two piece and vintage.

- ah but the dress is ruined. Anyway its too expensive.

-are you buying it for a wedding?

-no I generally like to dress up (sigh as I put it back on hanger)

-would you buy it for £40?

- yes.

-I'll speak to the manager.

Off she trots downstairs and I wait expectantly by the till with the Gerard Darel jacket. Back she pops handing coat over to till lady

-charge this at £39.99, she says.

- oh here's my other item, sing I, handing over card not coins.

- look at this lovely Vivienne Westwood skirt, is her next line as she puts it on the rail (myself and other shop ladies all coo at this point, particularly at the bustle detail. I hold it up against me.)

-such a shame it needs a slimmer frame, I say (silence, tumbleweed and no response from the two Irish shop ladies, not even a Mrs Doyle 'go on, go on'). So I hung the £29.99 VW skirt back on rail.

The net result of my thrift was a £55 spend, a tad over budget. Hardly the bargain browse I was hoping for.

All things updated!

Ages and ages ago I ran a style makeover comp and I'm off to Birmingham today to meet with Rachel and it should be fun! Here's a few pics of before and I'll take ones as we go along to post over weekend. The first photo is a party dress pic and the second is a wedding outfit. Rachel is from New Zealand and was working in Australia before arriving in West Wales - the purpose of the make over is to UK (ise) her, style wise!

Plus I reached a decision about my bag, you would not believe how many satchels I examined on ebay or how many I spotted in the streets of London apres my post. Why even in Topshop I saw a satchelesque bag in tan and brown.

However, I had a make do style eureka moment when I combined all the comments and all my thoughts into a bubble, comic style and came up with a solution. I'm going to use my Gucci shopper. I figured it was a good size for bags, not too heavy to start with (thank you Savvy Mode for your top tip regarding leather bags and books being too heavy), it was also sitting gathering dust in it's dust bag because I was saving it for...um best? I need a bag for two days a week to take books and one notebook in plus a few other items so why spend the cash when I've got a lovely bag that needs to be used.

Which means the brilliant Skylark and Son gifted me a new charge card for nowt!

But.. if it was the real McCoy then I'd spend it on these....I still love these little critters! In a twist of tagging you can pinch my card and exhibit your one blow the budget wear!

Back to school

It's that time of year again and I'm in need of a satchel or bag for my books and papers. Queen Michelle of Kingdom of Style bagged a vintage satchel a few weeks ago for £4. Now I've been hunting but no joy to date.

I've sourced a few options one is rather masculine satchel from Amazon at £70.99, which then made me think about popping to Ted Baker to look at their boys selection of bags. But then do I want to spend much at all - which makes H&M look the best price option with their cheapie £15 holdalls.

Do I opt for the prof look and buy a leather item or do I really make do with a lesser number?

I need your views and suggestions!

Girlynomics

I was so proud of myself today when I went to the library and managed to snag two typically 'trashy' holiday books for my forthcoming vacation.

Chasing Harry Winston:Lauren Weisberger and

Celebutantes: Ruthanna Hopper & Amanda Goldberg.

Having saved my purse the princely sum of £13.98, I fell into a girlynomics trap. What is a girlynomics trap - well it's that rationale that defies the considered economic minds such as John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman.

It's the place in your mind that considers the wonderful savings made and instead of a good old pat on the back, a light comes on that gives you permission to spend said savings.

Normally I stay with the smug savings feeling but today I had time on my hands whilst waiting to pick up shoes from cobbler. That time lead me to just pop into TK Maxx and just happen to perchance upon a Vera Wang navy blue dress and just happen to purchase said item for £16.99.

It is technically a size too big but again it sort of works anyway as it doesn't need to be tight - ok I'll stop there and just admit to giddiness and delight at finding said item. I cycled to town and back saving a further £2.20 in bus tickets, so in girlynomics world the dress actually cost 81p - bargain!

Grown up choices

Now if I'd been a smarter shopper this year and planned my wardrobe better then I would be whooping for joy and parting with my hard earned pennies for this little number.

DKNY Pleated cummerbund dress £210

The Net-a- Porter description is pure grown up delight 'Navy instantly gives an air of elegance and combined with the intricate pleating and cummerbund this is a classy cocktail dress that can be pared down with sandals for a chic grown-up day look. Exchange the cummerbund for a belt to add color.'

If I had the funds to purchase this dress then I wouldn't be sharing with you!

This would fall into the 50 essential wardrobe buys probably under the category of day dress or understated evening dress for gallery opening invitation (as if!)

Fingers crossed

The trouble with hurting your back is that you really are stuffed! Honestly I've spent the last two days shuffling about and morphing into Britney Spears. Seriously, I went to the supermarket today in tracksuit pants, t-shirt and cardigan. It was not a good look. I stocked up on painkillers in the hope that oesteopath visit and drugs will enable me to work tomorrow and Thursday.


The other problem is I need a dress for a style presentation to a group of women and fashion journalists from the dailies. My plan was to get one today but I've resorted to internet purchase instead. After a good trawl I finally made my selection from matchesfashion.com. It is a Max Mara number and it was price and colour that sold it to me. I've got three presentation events coming up from now until August where I have to inspire others to all things stylish. I'm hoping the colour will detract from the blah! Plus I can't get away with anything cheap and cheerful. Hence large spend on one item......

However I really hope it fits as I've got no time to get another one.
Which is why I tend to try and buy usually.

This internet shopping thing isn't a good idea as I also went one step further and bought a gorgeous towelling ponco for my little boy as well....I want one too!

Boy's sail strip towelling poncho £24 http://www.thewhitecompany.com/

I'll not be buying anything else from now until October as I've blown the budget.

False economy

You know the bit about new financial year, good habits, pennies and punds etc....all those good bits of advice and clever budgeting to make savings......well all I can say is don't set foot out of the door! I've been in a bit of a bubble and thought a mid week evening out would do me good.

My usual modicome of awareness, sensibleness does seem to have had a dip. In fact a Met Bar bill of £29.25 and a Claridges bar bill of £31.08 dip in that order. Ok the Met Bar bill was worth it - the Claridges's one wasn't - more of this later.

The evening started so well, a jolly jaunt down South Molton street to the Kurt Geiger/Stella (Telegraph magazine) 20% off evening. Some refreshing pomegranate juice followed by a light champagne cocktail and the purchase of afore mentioned sandals (in white, navy has been withdrawn?). It was fun to encourage others in the purchase of a lovely azure blue Marc by Marc Jacobs large envelope clutch bag. It was all girlie and delightful and with my 20% off I should have skipped home.

But no...I'd brought a pal along, an American who is new to London and lovin' it! She's done the Jack the Ripper tour a few times already. So I though it would be nice for her to see Mayfair perhaps a little tipple at the Met Bar and then home.

Two martinis later I'm really ready to go home but my friend is only just starting. I've had nothing to eat and set about demolishing the wasabi peas and olives. I thought the wasabi peas were cheesy peas at first - and that was before the first martini. We vacate our bar stools at the Met and grab a taxi to Claridges bar as pal not been before. I'm happy to accomadate but point out pubs/restaurants on Shepard Street to no avail.

Taxi driver decides to pull up right outside Claridges Hotel and my friend and I get full on papped! I'm afraid it is my arse that gets the flash treatment as I pay cabbie - who along with other cabbie chums likes to sport with paps hence drop off outside hotel not bar entrance. It soon stopped when our nobody status was determined but if you do see an arse shot of wide legged denim jeans and black J Crew blazer then you know I've been a butt double for someone.

Then the joys of hotel bars were forced upon me - as in no joy only trouble. A few years ago a friend and I had innocently walked into the Harvey Nicks bar after a light supper in their cafe. It took us one drink and a few unwelcome stares from single women for us to realise that we'd inadvertently entered a hookers den. Ok, the old business men types should have alerted us as well, but a nice cocktail after burger and fat chips was all that was on our minds. Having never ventured back - obviously - I don't know what the newly refurbed Harvey Nicks bar is like now......but if it has changed, then then the girls have plonked themselves firmly in Claridges.

Again, it took one drink for me to get the measure of the place, the hard stares of single women and a rather old pinstripe number in our direction! Granted, there were some other groups, mainly men, one couple (they too were innocents abroad), Rupert the bear (foppish velvet jacket clad man who feigned Brideshead Revisited aura) and the staff. American friend was in mood to pour forth in between ordering drinks and asking me 'what those bitches were staring at' - full on American accent required.

By which time my pal was trollied and in for the night. I resigned myself to coffee, feigning indifference and keeping my fingers crossed. When two guys got too friendly I called for the bill/check and gathered giggling, crumpled friend up and firmly escorted her out of hotel via the foyer. This is the sanitised version believe me!

Moral of the story, choose Sky+ on a Wednesday night and a cup of coco - you'll be wealthier and less wise about the ways of the world. Mind you love the sandals!