Much Love!
Sarah
xx
Today I left the house in a H&M dress I picked up last year, the RSPCA stretchy belt, a tesco skirt and purple tights, and after having a brief charity shop crawl I picked up a £3.49 dress from Save The Children and a £3.99 frilly shirt from Oxfam; wasn't too sure of it at first but after playing dress-up oh how I'm adoring it now! And it goes well with my who-wears-short-shorts-I-wear-short-shorts DIY denim shorts (Ok, I just needed a reason to tie in some song lyrics so I can have a relevant title, and for some reason I've had a complete block where the only lyrics I can think of are short-shorts or the theme to Scrubs)
Much Love!
Sarah
xx
On Tuesday I had a trot around the charity shops Hexham has to offer; not that I'm complaining, but does a quaint market town honestly need 9 charity shops?
We have TCH, RSPCA, Age Concern, Oxfam and Oxfam Books (on the same street!) Relate, Save The Children, Cancer Research and Scope; which inevitably leads to all 9 vying for attention and donations.
I must admit, I do enjoy analysing each store's average shopper, for example the very ostentatious upper middle class country lady saunters about the Cancer Research, so it's a goldmine for blazers and pencil skirts of the Ralph Lauren-esque persuasion.
The dress is H&M via Scope for £3.95. It was a size 12, and usually I am a size 12 but its a touch too big, so either I've lost weight or H&M configure their sizes in an attempt to make me feel fantastic (well it worked!) It's navy with square spots and it makes me want to skip around and pick flowers a little bit!
I tried on as well a gorgeous vintage frock, it was a slinky fitted velvet mini and had a rather glamorous sequinned halterneck detail. I was smitten, but it was £8.95 and I was only planning to spend less than a tenner on clothes. I should probably know, but I'm not 100% on when I'm getting paid, and I need to save to go out next week/the multitude of birthdays coming up. I would've asked them to save it for me, but I didn't want to say 'hold this untill further notice'
The shirt was from Age Concern, and I have worn it at every opportunity since I bought it! for £2.50, I'm rather pleased! It doesn't show too well in the photos, but it has a little checked pattern on it. I think I love it because I always loved Debbie off the wild Thornberrys, being all crazy cool and laid back, and I swear I'm just channeling Debbie in this shirt.
And oh!! excitement! On the 1st of march I shall be attending a vintage fair in Newcastle. One aspect I am completely looking foward to is buying vintage buy the kilo. Yes, clothes are being sold like a pick n' mix! When I first heard this I was a tad apprehensive, because upon hearing the word vintage my mind flickers instantly to the thought of heavy taffeta or velvet hollywood gowns which paractically require a crane or a spine of steel to support their weight. Fingers crossed it's all light and floaty.
After going medieval on my wardrobe/general accumulation of clothes, I'm ashamed to admit that I'm craving new clothes. For a while now I've ventured into my cupboard or drawers and stumbled across something I never wear, or that just doesn't hang right and added it to a growing pile of clothes at the side of my bedroom. My clothes have now been whittled down to the items I love, wear frequently and look good in, but there remains the question of what to do with the pile.
I usually tell my mates and let them have a rummage through and let them take anything which tickles their fancy, but this time I've had the idea to arrange a clothes swapping event.
My birthday's coming up on the 6th of Feb, and I don't really have a party planned yet. This saturday is my mate Katie's birthday party, then next saturday I'm being taken out by 3 of my mates to Newcastle, but the rest of the crew aren't going along. On my actual birthday I'm on a school trip to Ford Castle, then chilling with the 'rents, and 3 days later I'm on another school trip to Paris for a week, then a day later I'm to be in Barcelona with my family (woo budget airlines!) Not to mention Sam's birthday on the 2nd and Becky's on the 14th.
So I was trying to slot in a party somewhere, and my mum and I wanted to go a bit Abba and have a themed party, I could be the dancing queen only 17. Frankly the only time I could celebrate with the crew would be around March time, and by then I'd probably be used to the idea of being 17 and not in the party mood.
Basically I love birthdays/Christmas/festivities, but I hate the idea of getting presents. Well I don't mind presents, I guess I just dislike the idea of being the reason for somebody to part with their money, I hate being spent money on unneccesarily.
Instead of a party, I was thinking to hire out a hall or ask permission from the school to use one of theirs and arrange a clothes swapping event. If I asked for a small charge at the door then the proceeds would go to a charity, along with unclaimed clothes. I'm not too positive on how to host one though, and maybe if anybody has hosted one or has advice then all would be much appreciated!
For wednesday, I wore my ubercute david and goliath t-shirt (it has a piece of cheese on a bread roll, and the cheese is saying I'm on a roll!) along with a belt I got free with a jacket, my swap skirt and my Debbie shirt. The pumps are some little things I picked up at shoefayre over a year ago, and through wear and tear both soles have holes which made them a bad option for the rainy day. For work I wore my barrats boots, H&M skinnies, pink strappy, Debbie shirt and one of my mum's belts from the 80s.
And I realise that there may be a fair few people who read this and think 'what's the crack with her? i go to the gym all the time! it's not THAT interesting!' then you should either chuckle at my humble naive adventures out of my comfort zone, or keep your thoughts to yourself!
A while ago I got this leopard print top from the RSPCA, and it looked great when I tried it on, however the moment I got it home it was apparent that there was something about it which was just odd. I don't know if it was the cut or the drape of it, but it hung in the most unflattering way. So I dealt with it the way I deal with all problematic clothes, I attacked it with scissors.
Now it hangs a lot better as a cardi. On Friday I teamed it with a strappy I made froma primark tshirt, the dad-skirt, my kaffiyeh (thankyou very much Ivana!) and my complete heels of the moment.
On Saturday for work, both paying and volunteer, I wore the leopard cardi again, with an H&M dress and a skirt under the dress, because frankly it's the most see through dress and I should like to think I'm not an exhibitionist! I have on with it a little brooch and waist belt, both RSPCA, and my heels!
Whilst I was working away, Vicky bought some hair dye. Me and her used to have the same colour of hair which wasn't really definable as a colour; it was too light to be brunette, too dark to be blonde and too grey to be auburn. I remedied this by attempting blonde which at first ended as outrageous ginger, and I'm still in a rut hair-wise as I can't get it blonde myself, but I don't trust hairdressers.
I worked at one for two weeks with the school work experience programme which was fine, and from that I got hired at another hairdressers. At this particular establishment, the girls were nice enough to me, but they were so bitchy about the customers! And I'd never get my hair done there as I'd like to know my attitude toward the hairdresser wouldn't be a factor in the price of a haircut.
In all fairness, I am a little bit spiteful that I got sacked after 4 weeks, oh well!
But now I cut and dye my own hair (which explains why I have long hair), and on the occasion my friends are skint and need a trim. So I dyed Vicky's hair in the kitchen sink, which in every other aspect was completely professional! So her hair looks all pretty and brunette now, and we have both escaped our weird, dull, non-colour hair!
So I'm preparing myself for tomorrow at school to explain to most of my teachers that I didn't do my homework as I've missed too many important lessons to understand what on earth we're doing, I hate how my genuine reasons sound so contrived and false!
Cheers so much to everyone giving their thoughts on universities! It's such a help to get different views on it, and in Hexham I wouldn't be able to get such an array of people giving their input as I do here on the blog!
I'm trying to rule out places I want to attend simply because I'd like to go there, similarly I am taking into account that I am 16 and there is something innate inside me which wills me to make a break for independence and move as far away as possible, so I'm trying not to base my decision too much on the excitement of the city. I have always been an avid traveller and I love the thrill of being in a seperate country speaking a different language, but I wouldn't go to a uni based upon this.
Studying fashion is something far removed from what my eldest brother, Greg, is studying which is electrical engineering. Electrical engineering is something which fundementally will be the same everywhere, the laws of physics, mathematics and technology won't be swayed by London or Sheffield Hallam, where he is now, only the quality of teaching would be altered. The point I'm trying to convey to my parents is that to study fashion I'd like to be somewhere rife with fashion, somewhere where I could be inspired on a daily basis and somewhere which wouldn't get old for at least a year. I recognise that fashion exists everywhere, and the quality of my education should come before the surroundings, perhaps somewhere outrageously diverse and cultured would turn out a terrible place educationally, but I can't help but think I'd feel much more creative in a creative environment. Maybe I'm just dreaming that the grass is greener.
I'm begging for any suggestions/help/advice for uni, as I only know people who study academic subjects or who dropped out of fashion school.
And it doesn't help when every teacher emphasises that this time next year I will have EVERYTHING sorted!
So clothes! Monday - I picked up these little shoes £2 from the Tyndale community hospice shop on Saturday, and I'm in love. I wore my Walmart "Hard day's night" t-shirt, I love that I saw more Union Jack in America than I do at home! leopard print tights, of course! A 50p waist belt, tch shop again, a black primark strappy underneath my tshirt and my dad skirt.As a recovering ill person, I have returned to school expecting to have kept up with all essay deadlines set while I was away, which is why I spent all evening after work tonight writing 2 essays, 2000 and 1000 words. I got that done, but that explains why I'm finding recreational time at ridiculous hours!
On the plus side, my mate Hell got me a get well soon prezzie, being the absolute sweetie she is! She texted me saying she saw it and thought of me, so initially I thought Oh god, what could it be? But she was shopping last week at the metrocentre with her brother, was in H&M mens, and remembered that I adore man jewellery. There was a sale on and she couldn't help herself. So come Monday morning, I was one happy camper! check out my diamonte-studded trainers! I actually know about 3 people who have the same necklace who are all girls, so it's not just me!
So today I wore my emo scarf (I'm sure it has a name, if anyone could kindly tell me, all my friends associate it with the emo movement and call me emo as a result, I dissagree!) trainers necklace!, a primark tshirt, primark strappy, tch shop wonder-shoes and a skirt i picked up at a clothes swapping event.
So hopefully my homework levels will calm somewhat over the coming week, because essays are bum! I'm off to listen to Janis Joplin and read Sophie's World.
Much Love!
-Sarah