I recently had one of those humongous clear outs, ending with a mass of 5 bin bags full of clothes I no longer wore or had love for anymore. It was that weird therapeutic cleanse my bedroom needed (plus, I'm a huge believer in "tidy room, tidy mind").

I've vowed to buy less this year - I'm starting to become more aware of the relentless fast fashion that I, as a blogger, am heavily involved in - but I'm definitely finding it difficult to do when I'm an absolute sucker for clothes and styling.





JACKET - CHARITY SHOP // SLIP DRESS - MISS SELFRIDGE (GIFTED) // EARRINGS - PRIMARK

So, I've decided to just take it a bit slower and look at it as a case of 'do I really love this piece?' 'how much will I wear it?' 'does it go with the rest of the clothes I already own?' - these are the kind of things I'm considering before jumping the gun and buying random things I see when I'm out and about.

I've definitely found a sense of style I'm in love with, as you may have read in my post 'Finding My Style Again', so it's not been to difficult to consider what is going to fit into my current wardrobe lately.

Equally I've been shopping a lot more at vintage and charity shops, then incorporating those pieces into my looks along with my high-street brand pieces. 

This look is a prime example.

I headed out for a little big of a bargain hunting day with my friend Sam the other week, and the charity shops were filled to the brim with pieces that I just couldn't help but grab and imagine myself styling up (plus, everything was labelled £2... DREAMY). 

I found an abundance of amazing jackets, dresses and cute bags, but always managed to narrow it down and find the pieces I knew I was definitely going to get wear out of. 





BOOTS - MISS SELFRIDGE (GIFTED) // BELT - ASOS // BAG - CHARITY SHOP

The jacket I'm wearing here was one of my amazing £2 steals - the lady in the shop told me that they were old nurses jackets (interesting) - and I'm obsessed. The colours are just right up my street and gingham is such a classic print that goes with so many things.

I threw in a bit of pattern-clashing with this cute belt from an ASOS dress I bought, along with some statement white boots from Miss Selfridge. 

On my charity shop mission, I also stumbled across this gorgeous (obviously fake lol) Gucci style bag and knew I had to make it mine. 

I love it with this outfit - the colours just work so lovely together.






I love combining my little thrift shop finds along with pieces I already have, or pieces from brands I'm working with - it definitely helps me put more of my own little spin on the look, whilst also not breaking the bank *woohoo*.

Plus, buying from charity/vintage shops feels so much more personal to me. I love having pieces that not everyone else might have and being able express my style through that, without having to contribute to buying more high street pieces for the same reason. 

It's definitely something I'm going to continue doing. I love buying clothes, I can't help that, but I can head towards my local Barnardo's or Oxfam rather than the high street to get my fix!