Why?

Why is the weather doing this to me? It’s been bright and sunny all morning and then 10 minutes before I want to go out to the post office, It starts drizzling. Not proper rain, but that fine Yorkshire mist-like drizzle that will soak you to the bone before you know where you are.

Also: why does it take Royal Mail 2 days to return my item to the sorting office so I can collect it? And why can I have it delivered to an alternative address in my postcode area for free, but to have it delivered to the Post Office, in my postcode area, will cost me 50p? Logic Royal Mail?

Outfit: Blue Tuesday

Today is St Swithun’s Day so fingers crossed it will stay dry. Otherwise it’s 40 days of rain for the rest of the summer.
My sister told me my dad was worried I’d shunned blue as my favourite in favour of the yellow I was wearing when I saw him on Friday. Well fret not dear father, the blue is back today. I can even see some blue sky amongst the clouds.

Blue cardi – Ethel Austin
Blue & white dress – New Look
White tank – Topshop
Blue patent shoes – New Look

Total Est. Cost £26

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing jeans
…reading Company & Cosmopolitan magazines
…watching Mamma Mia the Movie
…listening to ‘Galore’ – Kirsty MacColl’s Greatest Hits album
…eating strawberry cheesecake
…shopping for no more clothes or shoes until I go to New York in October

Outfit: New Jeans Part 3

The third and final pair of new jeans gets its first outing today. I am all leg today. Even with one of my highest pairs of heels, these jeans are still dragging on the floor meaning they are around a 38” or 39” leg, and not the 34” they purport to be. I had to add the shrug as I was cold in this office all last week. Hopefully it will warm up later on.

Brown shrug – Marks & Spencer (charity shop)
White t – New Look
Blue jeans – Gap
Brown shoes – New Look (eBay)
Brown belt – Dorothy Perkins
Brown necklace – Scope
Brown & silver bangles – Dorothy Perkins

Total Est. Cost £22

Outfit: Sunday Night Pub

We headed up to the local pub last night to meet some friends for a couple of drinks and a game of pool. It was a lovely warm evening, perfect for walking there and back.

Black tank – Cherokee at Tesco
Jeans – Gap
Silver belt – Primark
Black flats – Priceless Shoes
Red beads – eBay
Silver bangles – Scope

Total Est. Cost £58

Outfit: Church On Sunday

I wasn’t sure how warm it would be out this morning and the church is often chilly anyway, so I put a sweater on just in case. It was lovely & sunny out so much warmer than forecast, but I was just right in church. I’ve changed into cropped jeans and a t shirt now.
I’m not sure if you can make out my new ‘statement’ earrings on this picture. I got them yesterday for £3 in Claire’s. They are silver and very long, with little blue stones in them. This is the first outing for my new jeans too.

Blue sweater – Long Tall Sally
Dark jeans – Dorothy Perkins
Leopard print shoes – New Look (eBay)

Total Est. Cost £43

Boots Update

The DM boots arrived but they are too tight so I’m sending them back. This afternoon in Harrogate I got these cowboy style boot instead. They are from New Look and are a darker colour than the ones pictured, but that colour has disappeared off the website for some reason.

Outfit: Saturday

I went over to see my sister today and we ended up doing a little shopping in Harrogate. For some reason I had it in my head that these jeans didn't fit, but when I tried them on the other night, they did fit. Result!

Blue cardi – Ethel Austin
Grey tank – Cherokee at Tesco
Jeans – Topshop

Total Est. Cost £48

Outfit: Friday Night

This was my penultimate Friday night of doing youth work. I have loved running the youth club at my church but after 12 years I’m packing it in. Since I moved house last year I now live at the other side of the city and am looking forward to reclaiming my Friday evenings.

Brown shrug – Marks & Spencer (charity shop)
Turquoise dress – charity shop
Jeans – Gap
Mustard flats – Cherokee at Tesco

Total Est. Cost £23

A New Way For An Old Cardi

Bored of wearing your old cardi in the same old way? Turn it into a shrug in seconds – no cutting or sewing required! I’ll let the fabulous Rostitchery explain her genius idea. I tried it with a couple of cardis last night and it works perfectly.

Jewellery Sale at Dorothy Perkins

There are some fantastic jewellery bargains to be had at Dorothy Perkins right now. When I was there yesterday they had 2 stands of jewellery and hair accessories with 75% off. I got the turquoise necklace I have on today for £2.25 (it's far brighter than this picture makes it look) and some huge (they are massive) silver coloured hoop earrings for £1.25. I will be wearing those this evening if my ears can take the weight!

Outfit: Dull Friday

It’s grey & dull outside so what else is a girl to do but wear something bright in contrast? Second outing for this dress in a week, but at two different offices so only I (and all of you readers of course!) will know that it’s a repeat. These are one of the pairs of jeans I got last night, and as you can see, there is no way they are a 34” leg. If they were, they’d be hovering somewhere around my ankles right now! Can I just say, I love these jeans. They are so soft and they fit perfectly. There is no muffin top created by them which makes me fell better about myself than some pairs of jeans make me feel and they have a little stretch to them so I know they will be comfy all day.

Mustard yellow dress – Primark (charity shop)
White cami – Topshop
Grey jeans – Gap
Mustard wedges – Priceless Shoes

Black belt - ASOS
Turquoise necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise & silver bangles – Oxfam

Total Est. Cost £26.75

Gap, You Are Briefly Forgiven

There is a Gap next door to the Dorothy Perkins that is on my way home from work. For some reason I went in there as I was passing (it may have been the ‘75% OFF’ signs in the window that did it!). I haven’t been in there for a while due to factors I have written about before such as the thin poor quality of the tops and the fact that they’ve stopped selling Long & Lean jeans in a 36” leg. The sale rack of jeans was just in the doorway and so I thought I’d flick through and see whether there were any jeans suitable for flat shoes at a bargain price. I didn’t find any, but what I did find was 2 pairs of high waisted jeans (the style pictured), marked as a 34” leg but that looked a lot longer than that. I tried them on and lo and behold, they are closer to 36” or 37”. As they were £7.99 each, I snapped up both pairs, one in light grey and one in a mid blue (not faded as the picture shows). Yes high waists are on the way out but as the fabulous Winona’s friend Lyndsey says, “if you don’t tuck in your shirt, they’re just a girdle”. And I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with grey jeans.
Now I just have to bring myself to throw out my former favourite pair.

Replacement Jeans

Caroline left a comment on my ripped jeans post about how Dorothy Perkins make the best jeans and I wasn’t sure I agreed with her really. I was only going there because there is one on my way home and they have Tall jeans. But I may be revising my opinion now as I got some lovely dark skinny flares (if that’s possible!). They are long, they fit at the top, and best of all, they were just £15!
(No picture due to the stupid flash website.)

Why I Love: Bargain Hunter Blogs

I try to be a bargain queen but Serendipity Sarah of Smashingly Serendipitous takes it to the extreme by not buying anything that costs over $10 (£5). I’m not sure that it would be possible to do that here. Perhaps if I was a normal size and thrifted everything, I would be able to do it, but being tall, I like my clothes to fit properly and that means buying from the specialist ranges. Plus many charity shops will sell items for over a fiver these days. I think that in the US items go on clearance for a lot lower prices than they do over here too. Or usually anything that is super-reduced in price is just tat.

Fab Finds Under $50 is a more achievable idea in my opinion. Kimberly tries not to spend more than $50 (£25) on an item, although she does own a few bags that cost more than that I believe. This is definitely doable in the UK, as there are many items available new for under £25, as well as what can be found in the charity shops.

Generally though, I am in awe that these ladies can look so stylish adhering to such strict rules. Keep it up ladies, you look great!

Outfit: Cheap As Chips Thursday!

I think this outfit will come in at a pretty cheap overall cost. The top was bought on eBay for about £1.30 and just arrived yesterday. It’s so nice coming home to exciting post. The jeans are from a charity shop. They had turn-ups when I bought them and that’s the kind of thing you need to look for when thrifting if you are as tall as me: sleeves or legs that have cuffs that can be easily unpicked to add extra length. The jeans are high waisted and have no pockets at all, making them less than flattering to wear alone. However, under a tunic top like this one they are perfect because they have a clean line. I was unsure on a choice of shoe today since rain is forecast. But it was sunny when I left the house so I went for this grey pair as I don’t have to walk far outside today if it does rain.

Black shrug – unknown (possibly MK One)
Pink, black, white & grey top – M & Co (eBay)
Jeans – Next (charity shop)
Grey faux suede shoes – New Look (charity shop)
Pink necklace – Scope

Total Est. Cost £20

Wardrobe Malfunction!

This morning I put on my favourite pair of Gap Long and Lean jeans. I bent over to put on my socks and the jeans ripped, right across the back of the leg. Not 30 seconds beforehand I’d been marvelling at how they had fastened up easier than the last time I wore them so I’m putting the tear down to age and wear. Reassuringly, the other leg also got a hole in it with minimal poking from me once I’d taken them off. So the problem was definitely age and wear thinning the fabric, along with the blasting that was part of the manufacturing process to get the faded look on the legs. Annoyingly, Gap no longer stock their long and lean jeans in a 36” leg in this country, so I am unable to replace them. I do however need a pair of everyday dark denim jeans – the other dark pair I have are super dark and I want to keep them that way through minimal wearing and washing. That means it’s off to Dorothy Perkins tomorrow to see whether they have anything suitable in their Tall section.
So what can we learn from this? Blasting on denim weakens the fabric, and always put your socks on before your jeans.

Outfit: Pink & Yellow Wednesday

Well, I think summer is over and autumn is here. It’s supposed to be a maximum of 15 degrees C today and rainy. Having spent all day on Monday feeling cold, I’ve gone for a sweater today. And even with my jacket on, I’m still chilly.
The scarf is so old I don’t know where it came from, possibly the market in my hometown. The jacket has orangey-yellow threads in it so that ties together with the shoes quite nicely.

Pink jacket – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – Gap
Mustard wedge shoes – Priceless Shoes
Green & yellow scarf – market stall
Pink flower – Primark

Total Est. Cost £44

Outfit: More Mustard

I think I have a new favourite colour! No, I could never replace blue, but I am going to try not to wear it this week as I am aware I tend to overdo it with the blue at times. This skirt matches my pink coat I have been wearing all summer but I am not wearing the coat today as I didn’t want to be in a christening kind of suit for work really. My new Tesco shoes are so comfy, it’s like I’ve got my slippers on. The soles are soft and squishy, I love them. I couldn’t decide whether to wear a jacket or this sweater today, but decided the jacket didn’t look quite right. Plus I was cold all of yesterday and I don’t think it’s to be that warm today (and the chap across the room has the window open already), so the cashmere it was.

Grey cashmere cardi – Marks & Spencer (eBay)
White t – New Look
Pink skirt – Jeff Banks (Debenhams)
Mustard shoes – Cherokee at Tesco
Pink necklace – Scope

Total Est. Cost £87

Reading Interview

I was recently interviewed by Inge over at Plankje Ongeregeld about my reading habits. You can see the interview here (don’t worry, it’s in English!).