All My Shoes

I love to see pictures of other people’s shoe collections, and so I thought I’d post mine on here for other people to see.

My boots are kept in my wardrobe so they are not included here, apart from a couple of 'over flow' pairs.

New Shoes: Keep or eBay?

I got these shoes in a charity shop for £3.50 this morning. They are grey with a cream stripe and are leather. Yes they are old lady-ish but I can’t decide whether it’s in a good way or not. They are brand new and I can’t decide whether to keep them or part with them by selling them on eBay. What do you think?

Outfit: Saturday Errands

I’ve just been doing my Tesco shopping this morning and running various errands on my local high street so something comfortable was necessary. I put my brown cord jacket over this ensemble to go out in.

Pale blue t – Long Tall Sally
Crop jeans – Next (charity shop)
Blue flats – Ethel Austin
Brown cord jacket – Topshop (charity shop)

This Week I Have Been Mostly…

…wearing jeans and tees and a sweater – with trainers
…reading ‘That Extra Half an Inch’ by Victoria Beckham
…watching just the 4 TV channels available in the caravan
…listening to cassettes in the young man’s car
…eating out at the pubs in the village we were staying near
…shopping in a few charity shops – no clothes or shoes though – just a book for the young man and an ABBA LP for me

Outfit: Friday Night Pub

It’s been half term this week so that meant no youth work for me last night. Instead the young man and I headed to our local pub to meet some friends. It was nice to dress up a little and do something different on a Friday night for a change.

Black cami with silver trim – New Look
Red shrug – charity shop
Crop jeans – Next (charity shop)
Red patent flats – Dorothy Perkins
Red bangles – Primark
Red heart necklace – Claire’s

I’m Back

Just a short post to say that I’m back from my hols and will be posting again with tonight’s outfit tomorrow or Sunday. We’ve been in the Lake District and ended up staying away a little longer than planned, hence the prolonged absence. There are no outfit shots from this week as everything I wore was pretty similar – jeans, t shirts and the same black sweater everyday as it turned colder than I thought it would. In a bid to be lower maintenance than usual, I only took 2 pairs of footwear – trainers and my silver flats. The Lake District is a whole other world as far as fashion is concerned. Most people staying there are either camping or at least out walking so there is no need to dress up. Every shop you pass sells walking boots or sports gear. Even in the evenings in the pub, many people are just in walking gear or casual jeans and flat shoes (me). It’s nice to be back in the real world and to make an effort with my outfits once more.

Outfit: Pink and Green

This is a colour combination that I think works really well together. My sister is coming over today and we’re going to look for a photo frame for my mum & dad. We’re framing a photo of their wedding as it is their 30th anniversary.

Teal shrug – Ann Taylor Loft (charity shop)
Green tank – Topshop
Blue jeans – Next (charity shop)
Silver flats – Faith
Pink necklace – Scope
Pink bangles – Gift from a friend

Bank Holiday - And a Week Off!

Just a quick note to let you all know that posting will be sporadic over the next week. It's Spring Bank Holiday on Monday in the UK and I have all of next week booked off work. The young man and I will be heading away for a few days so there will be no posts. I'll try to make up for it when I return.

Outfit: Back to Black

I’ve not worn these shoes yet and they are black so I had to balance them out with something else black. Plus it’s Friday so a fairly simple outfit was in order, especially as I was watching the Eurovision Song Contest semi final whilst trying to plan it, so my mind wasn’t entirely focussed.

Teal shrug – Ann Taylor Loft (charity shop)
Black tank – Cherokee at Tesco
Long & Lean jeans – Gap
Black platform shoes – Ethel Austin
Heart necklace – Scope

DCGF Contest Winner!

Me! I won! I actually won! I never win anything usually so I’m kind of still in shock.

A few weeks back the DC Goodwill Fashionista held a competition on her blog where you had to send in a picture of something you had made out of a pair of thrifted jeans. It could be customisation of those jeans or a whole new item entirely. I sent in this picture. I made this bag a few years back out of a pair of children’s jeans I found in a charity shop. The strap was made from the cut off legs and it’s lined inside with a pink pillow case my mum let me have. Well, mine was one of two entries put to the vote on the DCGF blog and mine won!

My prize arrived in the mail today. I won 2 Levi’s t shirts. One is a girl’s shirt, the one I am wearing. I’m not sure if it’s a little short on its own but that is easily remedied by putting a black long sleeve t underneath it. I love the face design on it and the blue colour is perfect for me. The other one is more of a man’s t so I have made a gift of it to the young man. I hope that’s OK Em!

eBay Bargain: Topshop Coat

I won this on eBay a couple of weeks ago for a whole £2.64. It arrived earlier this week but needed ironing and I‘ve only just got around to taking a picture of it. It’s a light weight evening style coat but could be worn in the day for a wedding or just for some drama really. I love the petrol blue colour and hope to get plenty of wear out of it now the weather is warming up again.

Outfit: Feeling Fifties

I was longing to wear my new red skirt and as it is such a full style I thought I’d go all out and create a 50s-esque look. We’re singing various pieces from musicals in my local drama group. Dressed like this I could be an extra in ‘Grease’!

White long sleeve t – Tall Girls
Red & white spot skirt – New Look
Red & white spot scarf – belt from the skirt
Silver belt – Primark
Red patent flats – Dorothy Perkins
Red bangles – Primark
Silver hoop earrings – gift from the young man

Mitch & Co

The purple top I am wearing today is by a company called Mitch & Co. As I had never heard of them when I picked up the top on Friday afternoon, I Googled them to see what I could find out. And the answer is: not a lot. They are part of Tchibo, a company I would have only associated with coffee cups. The top I have has super long sleeves and a very long body so I was wondering whether this might be a new resource for Tall clothing, but it seems not. There is not a separate Mitch & Co website but items from the range can be purchased from the Tchibo site. Sadly (for me) the garments all look to be a normal size. However, they are not expensive and so it’s worth a look if you are not as tall as me. Whether this top was some freakily long second, or whether it has stretched out beyond recognition, I don’t know. I’m just pleased I found it for 99p.

Outfit: Bright Colour

So after concluding yesterday that I wear too much black, a full technicolour-dreamcoat style outfit was in order. Once again it incorporates new items – Becky Bloomwood (in the Shopaholic books) once said that no one would mind going to work if they had something new to wear every day. And she could be right.

Purple wrap top – Mitch & Co (charity shop)
Green t – Long Tall Sally
Long & Lean jeans – Gap
Yellow shoes – New Look (eBay)
Silver glitter belt – local boutique
Silver shoe necklace – Claire’s Accessories
Silver hoop earrings – Gift from the young man

Cat - belongs to the young man's parents

Ethel Austin Update

I posted a few weeks ago about fashion chain Ethel Austin going into administration. Well it seems that the store may have been saved this week with news that Elaine McPherson, former boss of MK One, has bought the chain. The full story is here.

Labelling Finished & What I Have Learned About Colour

A quick glance at the newly finished colour labelling system tells me one thing: I wear too much black! Of the 407 outfit posts, 204 of them include black. I feel a challenge coming on…
And there are a few items I will be getting rid of when I go home – having looked back at all of my previous outfit posts I can see with hindsight when something didn’t work so well as something else.

Outfit: Bargain Boots!

Although it looks nice and sunny outside, the temperature has dipped considerably from what it was last week. And so I decided to grab the opportunity to wear my lastest eBay footwear purchase: these New Look boots that cost me just 99p! They are the same as the brown pair I bought recently, with the fold over top part. The brown ones are so comfortable that when I saw the black pair for sale I just had to bid on them. When they arrived they were not in the good condition the seller had stated but new heel tips and a bit of black marker pen later and they are as good as new.

Black cashmere cardi – Florence + Fred at Tesco
Pink t – Long Tall Sally
Black skirt – Dunnes
Black boots – New Look (eBay)
Pink bangles – gift from a friend

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing my new purchases
…reading the ‘Caitlin’ trilogies – just got the Forever trilogy to finish
…watching whatever I want on Thursday night as the young man is out for the evening
…listening to my Summer 2004 mix CD in my car
…eating flapjack
…shopping for nothing – I bought quite enough at the weekend!

Outfit: Homage to Spiragirl & Boutique Girl

This outfit was conceived last week by Boutique Girl of Things A Boutique Owner Sees. Spiragirl of School Gate Chic paid homage to her with her own version of the outfit, and so I thought it would be fun to do my take on it, as another Brit blogger. And then pass it on to another blogger if anyone else wants to take up the thread and post their version of it. Let me know if you do!

Of course I wanted to wear one of my new items so my shirt is actually a t shirt but that’s just my spin on it.

White t – New Look
Long & Lean jeans – Gap
Brown belt – Dorothy Perkins
Brown shoes – Roberto Vianni (Debenhams)

However, it is not as warm today as it was when the other two ladies did this outfit last week so I have had to add a brown shrug to the mix.



Brown shrug – Ann Taylor Loft (charity shop)

And it’s so chilly in my office that I’m still wearing my Topshop brown cord blazer and my M&Co brown silk scarf/wrap until I warm up a bit.

Saturday Shopping – Long Tall Sally

I had a gift voucher left over from my birthday to spend so I managed to get quite a haul. There was an offer on where if you bought 3 items you got a fourth free so I’m currently wearing my free top and feeling quite smug about it.

Black long sleeve t

Pink t

Green t (this is a far brighter, almost turquoisey green in reality than it looks here)

Blue t

Skirt

Cargo trousers

Saturday Shopping – New Look

As I mentioned in the post below, I was so excited to find that the Tall range is now stocked in the Leeds branch of New Look. And so I had to mark the occasion by buying something.

Red spotted skirt


Black cami



White t

Weekend Recap

Yesterday I spent the day shopping in Leeds with a friend. I was so happy when we went into the first shop of the day, New Look, and discovered that the Leeds branch now stocks the Tall range. My friend possibly thought I was slightly insane, as I said ‘I cannot tell you how excited I am about this’ and was running round, checking it all out. I ended up buying a few items but everything is so cheap in there compared to Topshop or Long Tall Sally. Details of my purchases coming up in the next post. We also visited Long Tall Sally as I had a voucher to spend from my birthday. I did not buy any shoes (much to the relief of the young man, I’m sure) but my friend went home with 3 pairs. I wore dark skinny jeans from Gap, a white cami from Dorothy Perkins, a pink shrug from Gharani Strok (charity shop), my pink frock coat from Debenhams and my silver flat shoes from Faith.
Last night we went for a Mongolian meal with my sister & her hubby & my cousin & his wife. I wore dark Long & Lean jeans from Gap, a green/khaki lace trim cami from Long Tall Sally, teal shrug from Ann Taylor Loft (charity shop) and my pink round toe courts from Faith.
This morning we went to church for the first time in ages, and then went for a walk this afternoon.

Sunday morning:

Dark skinny jeans – Topshop
Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Pink shoes – Faith
Pink necklace – Scope



Sunday afternoon:

Long & Lean jeans – Gap
Pink ‘Look, shoes’ t – Zara
Black long sleeve t – Long Tall Sally

Charity Shop Bargain!

It’s been a while since I had one of these hasn’t it? I had not even intended going round the charity shops on Friday afternoon but I went to drop off a pair of boots for reheeling and the lady in the cobblers asked when I wanted them for. When I explained that I would not be in town again until next Friday and that my parents are away so couldn’t pick them up (as I usually get them to do), she said did I want them that afternoon? So with half an hour to kill, what else could I do but trawl the many charity shops? And in the ‘everything 99p or less’ St Gemma’s Hospice shop I found this top. It’s very long in the body and has incredibly long sleeves. And it was only 99p! It’s by Mitch & Co, of whom I have never heard. The photos don’t really do the colour justice – it’s a deep royal purple. It is a faux wrap style and has buttons on the join, as you can see.

Labelling – A Mammoth Task!

I’ve been thinking a bit about colour recently and so I’ve decided to go back and re-label all my outfit posts with the colours of the items. This is as much for my benefit as anyone else’s, to make it easier for me to find certain items to see how I wore them or when. But if you want to see how to wear a certain colour you can now use the labels at the side to find what you need. As you will appreciate this is something that will take a while to complete as there are currently 404 outfit posts on here. I’m about a third of the way through though and hope to be finished by early next week.

Note to Self

Paint your nails more often, they look fab! Today’s shade is Pink Shocker from the Boots 17 range and matches my shoes and my bag and my phone.

Outfit: A Touch of Pink

It’s time for a break from the blue – as one commenter pointed out yesterday I do actually suit other colours as well. So here’s some pink to brighten up Friday.

Pink & orange spot dress – H&M (charity shop)
Dark skinny jeans – Gap
Grey tank – Cherokee @ Tesco
Grey cashmere cardi – Marks & Spencer (eBay)
Pink pendant – Scope
Pink & silver bangles – gift from a friend
Pink patent flats – Ethel Austin

New Shoes!

So I finally made it this afternoon to Ethel Austin’s closing down sale. And luckily there were still some bargains to be had. I snagged two pairs of slippers for £1 each and of course I had to look at the shoes. These black platforms were just £3.50 and although the ankle strap is removable, I feel I may need it for support at that height!

I have been looking for a pair of pink flats for a while now, ever since my last pair got beyond help and were relegated to being driving shoes. These patent pink flats were £5 and fit the bill nicely.

eBay Bargain: Winter Coat

As I think I posted a while ago, I decided at completely the wrong time of year that I wanted a new winter coat. Well it turns out that perhaps it was the right time of year after all as a few evenings trawling eBay turned up this gem – for £11.50! It’s in near-perfect condition and originally hailed from the Tall range at Dorothy Perkins. Next winter will certainly be a colourful one!

Make Up Offer

If you want to try out a shimmery make up look on the cheap, get yourself to your local Boots store. They currently have 6 selected Collection 2000 products on special offer – 2 products for £5. These include a lipstick, mascara, bronzer, eye pencil and Dazzle Dust eye colour. All of these products are sparkly, shimmery or gloss enhancing in some way or another. I already have the only colour of the lipstick that I liked and as I had set out to try the bronzer, I chose that and a blue sparkly eye pencil. And the bonus is that you get Advantage Card points to spend at the same time.

Why I Love: Peep Toe Shoes

I don’t know why I didn’t get into peep toe shoes earlier. They’ve been around for a few seasons now but I only purchased my first pair towards the end of last summer. And with all the rain, I don’t think I got to wear them until this spring. All 3 pairs I own are from a charity shop so I suppose I’m still testing out the look really, but I have to say, I’m loving it! I think what I like so much about peep toes is that they are a kind of compromise between a sandal and a shoe. You still get the glamour of a high heel, and support around your heel, yet the toe is open and your feet can breathe.

I believe I had some peep toe shoes back in about 1986/87 when I was 7 or 8. I can definitely remember wearing them at Brownies because another girl in the pack had the same ones. I think they were white slip ons and may have had a tiny wedge heel. They definitely had a peep toe. I also remember having some sling backs with a peep toe when I was a bit older. I think they were brightly coloured (bright yellow featured prominently if I recall correctly) but the elastic at the back was so tight it tried to shove your whole foot through the peep toe and rendered the shoes unwearable.

And so we fast forward to this summer when I am thoroughly enjoying wearing my current pairs of peep toe shoes, and showing off the brightly coloured nail polish on my toes at the same time!

Outfit: ‘Cool’ Thursday

The weather forecast on Radio 2 this morning said there will be rain in the south and it will be cool everywhere. Hence the post title.
I spent the whole day yesterday being cold and so before I went out to my church meeting last night I changed into a sweater. Being lazy I just recycled last night’s outfit today and if it’s going to be as ‘cool’ as the forecast says, a sweater will be a good choice. I think these shoes are becoming my new favourites – for the spring/summer at least.

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Dark skinny jeans – Topshop
Turquoise shoes – New Look (charity shop)
Turquoise beads – Accessorize
Turquoise earrings – Accessorize
Turquoise & silver bangles – Oxfam
Turquoise leather belt (holding my jeans up!) – H&M

Outfit: Wednesday Blues

I wanted to stick with my theme of dresses today but I also wanted to wear jeans as I don’t think it’s going to be as warm as it has been. So I went for a bold pattern, and flip flops as a nod to the sunshine, even if it is not that hot today. I’ve had this shrug since my student days back in 1999 so does that make it vintage yet?

Blue print dress – Internaçionale (charity shop)
Dark skinny jeans – Gap
Turquoise shrug – Dorothy Perkins
Navy flip flops – Primark
Turquoise beads – Accessorize
Turquoise & silver bangles – Oxfam

Outfit: Red, White & Blue Remix

A late post for yesterday as I foolishly left my phone at work on Monday afternoon and so was unable to get a picture Tuesday morning. The good weather is tailing off a bit this week, it was forecast to be cooler today and so I needed layers just in case. The forecast turned out to be accurate and I was comfortable in my outfit. I just love this dress!

Navy dress – Next
White rib cami – Topshop
Red shrug – charity shop
Red shoes – Next
Red glitter bangles – Primark
Red heart pendant – Claire’s

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing dresses
…reading the ‘Caitlin’ trilogies. Yes, I know these books are pure trash teenage fiction but if you spend some time reading The Dairi Burger and 1Bruce1, you’ll understand why I wanted to revisit the books of my youth.
…watching about as little TV as I have in the last few weeks – if the good weather holds I’ll be outside
…listening to Ace of Base – the ‘Flowers’ album
…eating caramel shortbread if I get round to making some this week
…shopping to spend my birthday money and Long Tall Sally vouchers

Outfit: Sunny Monday

I could be in my jeans today as I now have a third day (Mondays) per week at the second, more casual, office. But since it promises to be another sunny day I deceided a dress would be more appropriate and dressed accordingly.

Brown & turquoise pattern dress – Next (charity shop)

Turquoise cami - Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise shoes – New Look (charity shop)
Turquoise & silver bangles – Oxfam
Turquoise beads – Accessorize

Weekend Recap

On Saturday evening the young man and I went to a dinner dance with the drama group. It was kind of the after show party and was great fun. We had a fantastic evening – the food was good and the music was cheesy, just the way I like it! This was my outfit for the evening:



Blue dress – Wallis (charity shop)
Silver glitter belt – local boutique
Blue metallic shoes – Office
Blue necklace – BhS

Blue & silver bangles - Oxfam


Yesterday dawned hot and sunny again so in the morning we got out our bikes and went for a cycle. I wore crop jeans (Next), a blue vest top (Topshop) and blue suede trainers (Brantano). After dinner we went for a walk to a pub and I switched my jeans for a blue patterned skirt from Topshop and the trainers for my pale blue shoes from Moda in Pelle. When we came home we had another BBQ to make the most of the weather.

Outfit: Lazy Saturday

It’s another lovely warm and sunny day and I am spending it at home, in the garden. No, not gardening, just in the garden. I have done 3 loads of washing, cleaned the bathroom, painted my nails and now I’m having a well deserved rest and thinking about getting some dinner. I did something to my foot on Monday; it’s been hurting all week, so I’m resting it up ready for this evening. This evening we are out at a dinner dance with some of my drama group and I don’t want to be in too much pain to join in the dancing! Fortunately my foot is worse in flat shoes, it seems OK in heels and so I should be alright. I just have to figure out what to wear now…
I’m in the same shoes as yesterday because they are leather inside and out and kept my feet cool all day.

Black & blue dress – Dorothy Perkins
Blue flats – Ethel Austin
Blue & silver bangles – Oxfam
Blue heart pendant – Scope

Outfit: A Deeper Shade Of Blue

I do love my blue! I wasn’t sure what to wear today and then I remembered this Dunnes top that I’ve not had on for ages. It was really cheap, about £8 I think and I used to love it. But for some reason it’s not been worn for a while. And I still haven’t got round to going bargain hunting in Ethel Austin!

Blue bardot top – Dunnes
Blue vest – Topshop
Blue jeans – Next (charity shop)
Blue shoes – Ethel Austin
Blue beads – Scope
Blue & silver bangles – Oxfam

Outfit: Red, White & Blue!

The hot sunny weather continues. The young man and I have a BBQ planned for this evening so it will be into the flip flops when I get home. However, as flip flops are not really appropriate office footwear, it was time to bring out the fabulous red wedges. It’s bright colours all the way this week!

Thinking about it, this was a very cheap outfit for me, because most of it is second hand. The cami was bought new and was £1.50 because it was on the BOGOF sale rail for £3. The total cost of everything listed below was about £15. Not bad eh?

Red shrug – charity shop
White cami – Dorothy Perkins
Blue jeans – Next (charity shop)
Red wedges – New Look (charity shop)
Red beads – eBay
Red glitter bangles – Primark

Outfit: Spring Colour

It’s going to be warm (hot even) and sunny again today and that kind of weather calls for a brightly coloured outfit. So what better than one consisting of different shades of blue and turquoise?

Blue jeans (worn cuffed and cropped) – Next (charity shop)
Turquoise shrug – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise cami – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise shoes – New Look (charity shop)
Turquoise beads – Accessorize

Turquoise & silver bangles - Oxfam

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing spring/summer outfits – it’s finally warm and sunny
…reading ‘Love Rules’ by Freya North
…watching whatever is on TV around 10pm
…listening to the ‘Les Miserables’ sound track, featuring the dream cast from the 1995 concert version
…eating chocolate brownie
…not shopping

Outfit: Sunny Tuesday

Firstly, please excuse the dark photo. We have not finished reassembling the spare room after having our friends to stay for the weekend, and I have no idea where the young man put my lamp when he was tidying up on Friday night. I suspect it may be in the loft.

Secondly, I am a little sunburned from yesterday but due to the poor lighting, I don’t think it is too noticeable in the picture. I am taking no chances today and have factor 25 on.

Black & cream wrap dress – Dorothy Perkins
Red cami – New Look
Red shoes – Next

Weekend Recap

It was a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, hence my absence yesterday. On Saturday we met some friends in Harrogate. The lads went off to the coast to have a fire on the beach, and the girls and children (ages 3 & ½ and almost 1) went to the parks and the shops. It was glorious sunny day and I regretted wearing a long sleeve black top and dark jeans. We had ice cream in the park, played Pooh Sticks on various bridges over a stream and played on two different playgrounds. In the evening the children were bathed and put to bed and the adults enjoyed take out from Pizza Hut.

Sunday dawn wet and rainy and so we all headed to Eureka, the museum for children in Halifax. I can highly recommend it for kids big and small, even the young man got in on the fun pretending to drive an old British Leyland lorry.

Yesterday the young man and I went to explore Withernsea and Hornsea on the east coast. I imagine Withernsea would be pretty depressing in the winter, but on a warm sunny day it was pleasant, and quiet. Hornsea had more about it but unfortunately all the shops were closed as it was a bank holiday. I wore a green rib vest top, crop jeans, black cardi, silver flats and silver belt. And I forgot the sunscreen so I have the sunburn to remind me how warm it was.

Ethel Austin

Ethel Austin have gone into administration. This is a shame because they had some great shoes at equally great prices. And when there was a sale on it was just down right cheap. My local store is still open, having a closing down sale so I’ll have to pop along next week and see whether there are any bargains to be had.

Outfit: Friday Flats

Skinny jeans – Gap
Blue sweater – Dorothy Perkins
White t – Dorothy Perkins
Blue silk scarf – Florence + Fred at Tesco
Blue flats – Ethel Austin

Outfit: Thursday Blues (Thrifted)

I wore this outfit last night for choir practice because it was bucketing down with rain (just for a change!). I think that crop jeans over boots look more spring/summer than jeans tucked into boots, but it still keeps your feet and bottom of your jeans dry. So being the lazy person I am, recycling last night’s outfit saved me from thinking up a whole new one today. I added the cardi this morning as it was cold in my house. I have had the belt years but don’t wear it often as it is too wide for most jeans. These jeans have super wide belt loops so it fits them perfectly. I think I bought it in a jeans store somewhere but I can’t remember.

Blue/grey cardi – Firetrap (charity shop)
White v neck long sleeve t – Long Tall Sally
Blue jeans (turned up to make crops) – Next (charity shop)
Blue & silver scarf – charity shop
Blue leather belt with silver studs – don’t know
Brown boots – Faith