#CheapNChicChallenge: 8/30 Ideas To Shake Up Your Wardrobe

Hello everyone :)

I hope you are excited for the second week of the challenge! I thought I'd share some prompts to give you a bit of inspiration.  I'd love it if you could leave a comment or even share your posts/photos using the #CheapNChicChallenge hash tag.

The Under £10 Outfit
Can you make up the majority of your outfit for under a tenner? Maybe exclude underwear and shoes but how about the rest? When you look amazing (if you say so yourself) in a cheap outfit it's a kinda justified smugness you're allowed to experience ;) Show us your best cheapy outfit as an instasnap or a blog post.

The 'Thanks It Was My Mom's From The 80s'
Everyone has seen Mean Girls and I love the quote 'Thanks it was my moms in the 80s...ooh vintage' but lets not dig out the 'Ugliest effing skirt I've ever seen' and lets raid our parents wardrobes! I have borrowed a vintage Levis denim shirt from my mum that I wear all the time! My mum isn't really that bothered about shopping & fashion but I bet some of you have super stylish mummas who have some vintage gems in their wardrobes or even better some 'Glam Nans' who can never throw anything away. Offer to help them sort their wardrobes and adopt the best bits as your own, free fashion with a lovely bit of history.

The Altered Beast 

Who used to play Altered Beast on the Megadrive? The main message from that game is if you want to be a dragon-you can, or maybe a bear? It's possible! Anyway everyone has something in their wardrobe that could benefit from a little tweaking. Whether you decide to DIY it yourself or send it on a little holiday to the tailors share with us your new and revamped piece!

The 'I Made It Myself'
There is no better feeling than when someone compliments you on something and you have created it yourself, same with clothes :) I'm not suggesting you whip up a ballgown (although that would be awesome) but how about finding a vintage pattern and attempting to sew a simple garment. There are hundreds of tutorials online for the most novice fashion designer.

My favourite GIF everrrr

The car booty looty
One of my personal favourites, show off your ultimate car boot/flea market finds! It's often the place to find the best bargains, other peoples castoffs can be great, as Macklemore says 'one mans trash that's another mans come-up' come up is cool right?

I hope this post has giving you a few wardrobe ideas or you've at least enjoyed the GIFS!

Thanks for reading :)

Rachelle xxx

Thrifty Lady: CHARITY SHOP/SECOND-HAND SHOPPING ESSENTIAL KIT

Oh hey there everyone,
 I know I've written a couple of posts sharing my best charity shopping tips with you, but I'm always learning more and expanding my second-hand shopping knowledge! Here are a few essentials that will help you get the most out of your charity shopping trips...

Vanish Extra Hygiene.

In most charity shops the clothing isn't washed before it's put out on the racks, who knows when it was last washed?! So by using Vanish it will remove stains and it kills 99% of bacteria. So clean & so fresh! I usually get a large tub when it's on offer. You can get it on Amazon here.

Bobble remover.

I love these little things! I'm a huge fan of vintage knitwear and sometimes it can get a little bobbled, so one of these little gizmos just literally shaves it all off. Hey presto your jazzy vintage jumper is good as new. I bought mine in Home Bargains for £1.99 but you can find them in most supermarkets.

Re-usable bag.

When I'm out on a shopping trip I always carry an extra bag to y'know save the world maaan but also because I hate being given random carrier bags with my charity shop purchases. Re-usable ones are stronger and pack much more in, so if your planning to hit the charity shops carry an extra bag. This lovely,wolfy bag was a Christmas present from my housemate and it comes with me everywhere :)

Dry-clean only sheets.

I recommend using these clever little sheets but due to a lack of tumble dryer in my current home I haven't used them for a while. With the sheets you just rub any spot stains on 'dry clean only' items and then pop the garment and the sheet in the tumble dryer to refresh and clean without paying expensive dry cleaning bills or risking putting it in the washing machine.

Sewing kit.

Pretty self explanatory really. Sometimes there will be little areas that need a few stitches or if you want to customise your second-hand garment you could always add new buttons or sew on a pretty peter-pan collar. There are loads of tutorials for customising clothing on Pinterest.

So there we have it. I hope these tips are helpful, whether you are a pro bargain hunter or if you're dipping your toe into the unknown world of second-hand shopping.

Do you have anything else that you would add to this list? I'd love to hear your tips & tricks too :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachelle xxx

Charity Shop Chic: BUMPER EDITION!

Hello everyone,

 So I've been a bit lapse on the whole charity shop blogging, although that doesn't mean I've not found anything! I did attempt to make a video showing all the things I'd managed to find but I just look like such a goon, hopefully I'll feel more confident doing them in the future. Until then here are my favourite buys from the last few weeks...

St Michael Houndstooth Jacket £2.00: Really cute 60s inspired jacket. There was a teeny mark on the cardigan in the shop so she let me have it for £2, nothing a bit of Vanish couldn't sort out :) I love the gold buttons!
Jaeger Wool Cardigan £3.50: This cardigan is much brighter than the photo and its a lovely thick quilted wool material. Great for the transition from coat to thinner outer layers for spring (haha it's peeing it down as I type this!) Again I must've been having a thing for gold buttons that day as this one has them too!

Floral Crop Top £3: Not sure what brand this is but I'm guessing it's just a high street cheapy. I used to be very particular about not buying high street brands in charity shops unless it was decent quality but I've worn this little crop top so much already and it's still looks new!
Polka Dot Crop Top £2: I've worn this polka dot number so many times too! It's actually a size 16 (I'm more of an 8-10) and has a big square neck but I just wear it backwards and it's a relaxed, oversized crop shape :)

Fred Perry Tee £2.99: I'm having a bit of a Fred Perry moment, I bought my Fred Perry dress from TKMaxx a few weeks ago for a bargain of £25 and then I spotted this beauty in the mens section of the charity shop a couple of days ago! It looks really cute with my denim shorts. I was contemplating whether to go a bit scissor happy and cut the sleeves and length a bit but I've decided against that, instead I'm going to appreciate it's classic t-shirt shape.
Tie Dye Sweater £1.99: If you follow me on Instagram (which you totally should by the way!) you will have noticed this tie dye top getting a lot of attention! I wear it so much! I remember being in Oxfam thinking 'it's awful but I love it' so for a measly £1.99 I just couldn't leave it behind.

Printed Shorts £1.50: Ok so these shorts are actually pyjama shorts however I think on a sunny day I can totally get away with wearing them as daywear. I love the monochrome 'fleur de lis' print, and they are a sturdy cotton material with an elasticated high-waist :)
Diesel Dungaree Dress £3.50: Eeee when I saw these in the charity shop I actually did a happy dance (When I got into the changing room where no-one could see me!) I've been looking for a black dungaree dress for aages. I just couldn't bring myself to go into Topshop and pay ridiculous amounts for something that is having a moment in the fashion world. It fits perfectly although is a little on the short side, but hey that's the story of my life-thanks giraffe legs!

80s Leather Jacket £15: Ahhh another beautiful find! I've been on a quest for the perfect leather jacket for  like, ever. Here it is folks! Found in the mens section of a charity shop in Grange. It always pays to check out all the sections! It is really 80s, has gorgeous flocked leather panels, a leather tie belt and even a top gun lining!! £15 is such a bargain for a real leather jacket and I'm planning on getting it altered so that it fits perfectly and I can wear it forever I.D.S.T.
Tan & Black Stag Bag £2.50: I found this last week, and although it isn't vintage (Accessorize if you were wondering) it still has vintage charm. It looks like new and the gold stag head it super cute! I don't usually wear brown bags but this is a sweet exception :) I found it online and although it went in the sale and is now sold out, it's original RRP was £32 BOOM!

Oasis Checked Trousers £3: As I mentioned before my giraffe legs don't always make trouser shopping the easiest of activities, hence why I usually stick to tights and skirts/shorts combos. These trousers are just the most flattering shape I have ever worn! They are tight enough on my tiny waist, skim over my shapely bottom haha *adecdote time* Once whilst I was waiting at the train station with my headphones in but not on (anti-social) I heard a group of girls say 'Wow her bum is so out of proportion to her body, she's skinny but her butt is like HUGE!' Some people would be mortified at that comment not me though, I like my big bum! Although 'huge' is a massive exaggeration! Anyway, then the trousers taper down to a skinny leg that finish below my actual ankle instead of mid calf like most trousers-hooray for longer length! They are from Oasis, no idea how long ago though. they are a size 12L which makes me think they are quite old as it is a very small 12!

I hope you like these kind of posts, I often get asked by my friends and family if I could charity shop on behalf of them, it is difficult to shop for other people anyway especially even more so when charity shopping as you never know what you're gonna find and the sizing is so unpredictable! I genuinely wish I could be a professional charity shopper. I wonder if such a job exists...

Which is you favourite item from my 'haul'? Do you enjoy charity shopping?

Thanks for reading :)

Rachelle xxx