Well, with me I'll be honest that time mainly goes shopping. Shopping for food, online shopping, thrift shopping, window shopping, car-boot sale shopping, summer sale shopping, garden shopping, DIY shopping, travel shopping, present shopping. You get the picture.
June wasn't too bad, I think I made some wise purchases, and threw in a few wild-cards to keep it interesting. In Norfolk I bought a cotton 80s shirt dress (£4.99), a '50s veiled cocktail hat (£4), and a German traditional costume bodice (£6.99). Yes, you read that correctly. I knew what it was the moment I saw it in the shop, and had to try it on. It's my size, though I'll need a padded bra to do it justice. The shop assistant was very amused that I was buying it; apparently he had a bet on with the rest of the staff as to whether they'd ever sell it. My husband said they hadn't factored me in.

Above: vintage '80s shirt dress, traditional German bodice, and a '50s cocktail hat
Also from Norfolk was a beautiful pink and green Seasalt dress. It was £11. Whopping pricetag for me, but the print is so pretty that I had to have it. There was a whole rack of vintage and vintage inspired dresses in a charity shop in Diss, I became very excited, but most were alas not my size.

Above: Sea Salt dress
Back in Wales I found a fruity Wallis dress in the car boot sale for £4. It's a tad shorter than I like to wear, but it's just so fruity and does nicely for summer. I've worn it to work twice already.

Above: Wallis dress
I forget sometimes to buy boring sensible things, like neutral coloured camisoles to wear under things that are a bit sheer. I remembered I needed some and made a conscious effort to look for them in the charity shops, and came away with two little tops for £3 total. I also found two black tops in the bargain bin for £1 each. The Miss Sixty black satin one has crazy sleeves, but I think I'm going to change the buttons. The other one is just New Look or something, but I like the scallop collar.

Above: sensible tops, along with crazy sleeved top and scallop collar blouse
The final splurge was at a vintage stall in a street market. I came away with a striped cotton dress for £5 that's a bit Princess Di, so I might lop off the sleeves and take the broderie off the collar. Good length though, and pockets. The other dress I found was a neon orange maxi dress by Carnegie of London. £10. It's got the most adorable white flower beading to the front. It really is neon though, it's incredibly bright. Definitely a holiday dress, I'd better book some flights somewhere sunny!

Above: Vintage '80s dress

Above: Carnegie of London vintage maxi
There was also the teensiest bit of proper shop shopping. I have a pair of brown leather wedges from Dune that I've worn to death, and so I replaced them with a pair from M&S (£30). To add a bit of perspective here, everything previously on this list I got for £50 total. So, I'm a bit sore at having to pay £30 for a pair of shoes, but I have been looking in charity shops for years (I am not kidding) for another pair of wedges and I've just never found any ones that ticked the boxes in my size. Oh, and that's a hairband from Primark, £3 (test purchase to see if the style suits me, to see it's worth me spending more on the one I really like in Anthropologie...).

Now, you might be thinking "where is she intending on wearing a German dirndl corset top?".
I don't know. Perhaps to the shops...
I used to have one of those German Dirndl corsets in red velvet which I used to wear over a maxi dress, for some reason I sold it a couple of years ago and still miss it. Great find. Love yours.
ReplyDeleteFab Carnegie dress, a wonderful colour! The Wallis dress is lovely, the contrasting waist tie really sets it off.
Sometimes you've got to bite the bullet and buy new. You'll wear those wedges to death. xxx
Good purchases there! You got some really lovely dresses. Seasalt do brilliant prints. They've got an art deco-looking one out at the mo, Headland Floral Calico, and the dress they've made in it keeps singing me a siren song... Their stuff is decent quality too.
ReplyDeleteMy money's on you going to an Oktoberfest and wearing the dirndl top there. Now you've got the outfit, it'd be daft not to wear it to an appropriate event.
Fabulous purchases as always! I like the 80s plaid dress at the beginning, it could easily be styled in a 1940s way. I also really like the Princess Di dress and I say keep it as it is, it's cute! I can't stand buying boring sensible tops and slips and I hate sewing them even more, to the point that I'm always struggling with what to put under the more sheer pieces. xx
ReplyDeleteI looooove that the shop assistants had a bet about that vest! And I also can't wait to see you wear it and I fully believe you'll make it look awesome. Oh dear, though, if you had to talk yourself into spending £30 on a pair of shoes - let's not talk about my shopping habits in this context! xx
ReplyDeleteJune was a thrifty month. Don't worry, lately I was more spendy - I bought *four* pairs of new shoes from proper shops...on sale but still adds up! Xx
DeleteSome great bargains here! I especially love the Seasalt dress, and really at £ 11 it's quite a bargain too. The neon maxi is gorgeous, even if it's such a bright colour. I love that you picked up that dirndl corset and that the shop assistants had been having a bet about it. I come across a lot of Dirndl stuff here, some of it's quite pretty too, but I haven't tried anything on yet ... xxx
ReplyDeleteOh wow great finds Porcelina. The Wallis dress and the back tops were my favourites.
ReplyDeleteOh, what great purchases. Wear then in good health. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn
That first checkered dress is breathtaking! It's so pretty! You made some great finds :)
ReplyDeleteSome great purchases there, I love some of those dresses you bought for yourself! :)
ReplyDeleteSo many cute things! I especially love the German top and the dress in the photo below it!
ReplyDeletexoxo
-Janey
Love your finds! You've scored some wonderful dresses.
ReplyDeleteI've also been tempted quite a few times to buy part of a traditional German Dirndl. I've always managed to talk myself out of it. I can't wait to see you wearing yours.
bisous
Suzanne
Absolutely LOVE the 80's checked dress, the Seasalt dress is pretty special too and lets face it £11 is a mammoth bargain for a Seasalt dress! Just view the shoes as the investment they are :)
ReplyDeleteYou had some great finds! Especially the dirndl top ;) And I love the plaid 80's-does-50's dress.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited England a few years ago, I really wanted to buy a Seasalt dress, as I saw them in all the shops, but sadly they just didn't work for my body type :( Even though that is a bit more than you would normally spend in a secondhand shop- it's still a great bargain and it looks like such a lovely dress!
You should definitly wear the little German, traditional top to the shops! It is completely fabulous! And you have done it again! A super amazing haul! Can't wait to see these pieces styled on you!!
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