OOTD; Pink Tartan

hat | old

tartan two piece | charity shop | £5.00

I recently bought this skirt & jacket set from a little charity shop (surprise,surprise). It was originally a size sixteen but I've took it in and hemmed it on the sewing machine, the skirt was actually ankle length but I preferred it much shorter. I really liked how the colours are not typical tartan and although the jacket still looks a bit big, I think I can deal with looking like I have huge oversized shoulders for the sake of pink and purple tartan.

Hope you're all well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

OOTD; Perfect Paisley

paisley top | jazzy jeff's junk (vintage) 

skirt | american apparel (old)

bag | jazzy jeff's (vintage)

A few weeks ago on twitter I saw about Jazzy Jeffs Junk looking to team up with bloggers, I'm a big lover of vintage clothes so instantly jumped at the chance to help. After a quick e-mail I received the most amazing goodie bag full of vintage bits including this beautiful top&bag as well as some retro earring's, amazing floral socks (will share in my next outfit post), sweeties& a postcard with a very handsome Johnny Depp on, I mean what more could you wish for than vintage treats& Johnny Depp to come through your letterbox?

I love the pattern of the top, as its quite a colourful take on paisley as well as the neckline that add's a nice detail without over doing it, meaning you could wear it casual or really do it up. I'm really impressed at the high quality of all my garments, thinking they are vintage after all, not a single moth hole in sight!

As well as great quality Jazzy Jeffs Junk is really well priced, none of the extra zero's added after the word vintage, which is great as you never really find vintage that is lovely aswell as good prices. I'm already eyeing up what I can buy, I think my dad may be opening a vintage shirt for Christmas after looking at Jazzy Jeff's menswear to. 

If you fancy taking a peek for yourself you can find them here: 

facebook | Jazzy Jeffs Junk

twitter | Jazzy Jeffs VTG

instagram | @JAZZYJEFFSVINTAGE

tumblr | JazzyJeffsJunk

Hope you're all well& Enjoying this rainy weekend.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's all about swapping

Today I went to a vintage fair/ clothes swap, I've been the this vintage fair before which is a mix of retro/vintage clothes, music, cakes, handmade jewellery etc. but this month I noticed they had added a clothes swap into the mix, the were few rules and really easy to join in with. Five items, you register and swap them for tokens.. pick the clothes you want then simply give a token back for each item you chose. Five new things to replace the five you just donated (you don't have to do five, can take less).

To be completely honest there wasn't as much as I had hoped for, but I did get three things back one being a levis jacket that needs abit of a diy before I blog it, a sheer jacket and the jumpsuit you'll see below (which I really wanted so dropped on thinking how the lucky/unlucky swapping can be). I also bought a few things from the priced stalls.

lilac dress | vintage | £3.00

sunflower top | vintage | £8.00

jumpsuit | originally h&m | swapped

If you do get the chance to attend something like this I'd really recommend it just because you have no idea what you could pick up, one persons rubbish really is another's treasure. If you are interested in something like this, maybe have a quick look;

here (judy's fair)

here (vintage fairs across uk)

also try groupon as the always have offers on for tickets (2for1)

 I attended here so if you're close to Liverpool have a quick look.

Hope you're all well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunday Steal

sequin blazer | charity shop | £5.00

This weeks steal is this sequin jacket, I have being looking on eBay for one for quite a while but always ended up being outbid, I thought I'd wait to see if I could spot one when out..

I was shopping when I saw this one, its pretty much exactly what I wanted, and doesn't even have a sequin missing which is so good thinking it is second-hand. It looks plain black until the light hits the different sequins which then make you look a bit like a walking disco ball, I love it. It also has the black beading along the edges, which have a scalloped kind of detail, as well as little button fastening on the front. It is oversized but I like clothes when they are to big so win win. 

For just a fiver I think I would be silly to leave it on the rail.

OOTD; are you wearing your nan's curtains?

cardigan | marks&spencers | £25.00

blouse | charity shop | £4.00

skirt | diy 

This outfit is a bit of a mix and max outfit with a lot of textures going on, I really like this eyelash-ish texture cardigan which I got in the M&S sale, it feels like a mohair knit. My skirt is from the previous post ( here ) I'm wearing it with just tights under however it is (obviously) see through with it being lace so a body-con skirt would work better underneath, I think it would be good for a holiday to, just pop on over a bikini .. thinking of summer sunshine on a cold January afternoon always helps.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx   

DIY; Lace Skirt

Ever heard to quote "you look like you are wearing your nans curtains" .. Well you actually can!

If you are anything like me, you hate throwing things away however old net curtains are something I'm not really a fan of keeping (until now that is) .. This DIY will show you how to transform a unloved curtain to a maxi style skirt in hardly any time at all.

(I usually photograph my DIY post but I've been thinking and thought it would be easier for you to see how to do it, from a video.. It's the first time I've recorded a video so sorry its not up to scratch). 

you will need: 

- a old lace net 

- pins

- needle and thread 

- waist elastic

 measure your waist and cut enough lace and elastic to fit.

 pin both raw edges together and sew (I used a machine but hand stitch is just as good, just make sure its tight, don't want the skirt to fall apart whilst wearing it) 

with using a net curtain you already have your waist band sewn (just don't sew up the gap)

 this is where you will thread the elastic

(try adding a safety pin to the elastic as it will be easier to work it through)

 hand stitch the elastic band

 hand stitch to sew the lace together

 make sure to wear a body-con style skirt underneath

(you could make one in the same method as this)

You could actually make any skirt from any material using this method except you would add a hem&a waist band. Any fabric you like! I will post a outfit based around this skirt tomorrow to. 

Hope this helps& give's you some ideas. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

DIY; Safety Pin Dress

I always find it pretty hard to explain DIY's on my blog as I think a video would be much easier to explain.. I'm not sure whether to give a recording a go?

For this saftey pin dress you will need just three things;

#A simple dress/t- shirt (one your happy to cut up)

#Scissors

#Safety pins (try a mixture, silver, gold, big or small) 

If your dress already has a mid body seam/hem you can simply cut along that, if not try and work out where your mid-rift will be and slowly cut there. However leave the two side seams still connected, don't worry if you do trim it though as it will just need more pins.

As you can see I cut the front then left both sides and moved to the back, as this dress had button details I left trimming the middle just to keep that detail but you don't have to.

The safety pinning is pretty simple, just hook both pieces of material and clip the pin.

As you can see the dress shows just that little bit of skin which adds just that little bit of detail to a simple day dress.. I also think it would be super easy to style. I'm sure it will feature in an outfit post soon.

Let me know if you give this a go. /Hope you are all well. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

DIY Cosmic Shorts

So, unless you've been under a rock for the past few months you'd know cosmic/galaxy print clothes are huge right now, along with everyone else I wanted a pair of cosmic shorts but they were all pretty pricey for what they actually are, so I thought I'd have a go at making my own..

I was looking for some fabric paints but they worked out about £10.00 for three colours.. This is where my inner DIY brain clicked on and I thought NAIL VARNISH .. 

What You Will Need; 

# Denim Jeans, Shorts. (Any item really?)

# A range of nail varnishes (plain, glittery, metallic, bit of everything)

# A sponge (make up one will do)

# Water 

# Paintbrushes (one that can get ruined)

# White paint. 

1) Make sure your shorts are placed on something that can get splashed.

2) Simply start splashing on your varnishes, randomly or you can be very careful and precise if you wish. (I splashed and splatted mine using the paintbrushes and poured straight out the bottle).

3) Using your white paint create circles in random places of the shorts to give the moon effect.

4) Repeatedly do this in layers until you are happy.. Use the sponge to make your varnish last longer.

5) Let them dry and then look like a cosmic sky when wearing them.. 

I got these shorts for £1 from a charity shop and just cut them, also I think a light colour denim would work just as well if not better? So for about £2.00 and nail varnishes which I already own, I have my very own cosmic shorts. 

PS, Maybe do this outside or in a well vented place as the smell is quite strong! (It is thundering where I am today so a smelly nail varnish room is what I have) 

Let me know if you do have a try, Hope you are all well/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  

DIY; Tiger Shorts

I was tidying my room yesterday and found these old tiger split back pins.. I got them originally from a craft shop for making cards, but I just hadn't got round to using them. I started thinking what I could do with them and remembered these jeans I got for £1 from a charity shop. I just cut off the legs, turned up the ends and studded the lions on with some scissors.

Really I've got a pair of individual shorts for £2.00, who can complain?

If you want to try this yourself;

You'll need:

-Animal Studs/Pins

-Scissors or a knife

- Shorts/Jeans to cut up

1) Simply cut off the legs of your pants to the length you're happy with.

2) Hem or fold the edges to stop it fraying to much.

3) Stud the animals through the denim.

4) Once all the studding is done, turn the shorts inside out.

5) Make sure all the sharp edges are folded so they do not scratch you when wearing.

TA DA. New animal shorts for you!

Bleach Happy.

Now I know everyone is hitting the whole DIY bleaching thing hard so I decided I wouldn't do this post as a DIY, there are so so many good ones already available online which would probably be more understandable than if I were to write one out so, I thought I'd tell you about my clever money saving idea ££ instead.

I left my job about two weeks ago now, so its all about budgeting my money, obviously I'm going to still buy a few odd bits but I have a lot of clothes I don't wear which I thought I could re-work so I love them and can't wait to wear them .. Bleaching is a cheap/quick option of how to re-vamp clothes.

Any bleach will do and the are three main methods; 

/All over bleaching 

/Tie Dye Bleaching

/Ombre 

The denim jacket above has been in a few posts already on here, I found it for £1 in a charity shop, it's real Levis however its a man's size large.. so I've always felt abit manly when wearing it but you know for £1 I couldn't complain, so I got my trusty bottle of bleach and tried to bleach it all over to a light pale denim..

This didn't actually work out as I wished but I like what has happened much much more! It's gave me a kind of tie dye/un-even effect all over which I'm pretty happy with.. I feel like it looks abit more feminine now to+looks alot more I hate to use words like 'indie' and 'cool' but I would feel alot more confident wearing this now.

I also had abit of bleach left of so I thought waste not, want not& popped in this plain lilac t-shirt which I bought from M&S for £6.. obviously you could find a plain tee in a charity shop which would be even more of a saving? But I just rubbed it in a tiny bit of bleach and rinsed it, its looked kind of cosmic when I first took it out but the bleach was quicker than I was at washing away the colour so bleached abit more than I wanted. After I dried it I studded round the collar area using just six studs and then used scissors to de-constructed the fabric in various places just for abit of a difference really.  

So really, I have created a new top&a new jacket without spending anymore money than before..

I'm pretty glad with how the garments look, I'd say it was an hour well spent, maybe give it ago yourself? 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx