Tights are by far my favourite garment.
This is my current fav outfit.
I enjoy the juxtaposition of men’s Jeffrey Lewis t-shirt and vintage floral skirt that inexplicably has the hem ripped off it.
I am wearing yellow tights because coloured tights are superior to boring black tights.
The grey cardigan was the nearest garment that would provide warmth when I began to crave it as the weather coldended.
CLOOOOOOTHES!!!!!
My wardrobe is composed entirely of clothes sourced from three different places: eBay, merch tables, and charity shops. I begrudge having to pay £5+ for new clothes when there are perfectly good unwanted clothes in existence. The photographs above offer a sample of the clothes I’ve found, all for a few pounds each, in charity shops.
Some people maintain that charity shops are the domain of the grandmother, full of miscellanea and oddments that just aren’t relevant to the youth of today. Others will profess that charity shops are a hipster’s goldmine, full of vintage and quirky items to ensure that you’ll always look trendy but keep your hold of that strand of individuality that you meticulously coiffure.
It seems inaccurate to describe charity shops as either of these things. They contain, amongst other things, clothes. Yes, you’ll find clothes preferred by older people, yes you’ll find vintage pieces. But you’ll also find boring clothes, new clothes that couldn’t be returned, new clothes that have really obviously been shoplifted, clothes that high-street shops didn’t sell so gave to charity, hand-made clothes, any type of clothes! Clothes donated by all sorts of people and therefore suited to all sorts of people. You won’t know what one shop holds until you browse for yourself.
I’ve worked in two charity shops, both of which have enjoyed a varied customership. There isn’t a ‘type’ of person who shops in charity shops and everyone’s reasons for doing so are different. The staff don’t care why you’re there; they’re just grateful that you are, and other customers aren’t going to judge. If you don’t find anything, that’s fine - just because you walked in the door you’re under no obligation to purchase. There’ll be different stock next week. Staff sort through everything so nothing with holes, stains or odours goes on sale (once an old man shuffled over to me and sheepishly handed me a donation bag full of stained underwear. Straight to recycling.) Everything is steamed thoroughly so you can be sure it’s clean, and if you’re squeamish about putting clothes onto your body that someone else has worn, then –congratulations! – you have an anxiety disorder.
The point of this post, I guess, is that I don’t know why anyone who wears clothes would not shop at charity shops.
Let’s Re-Write Fashion With Stationery!
I break my long silence to bring this hot news for fashionistas! The USA’s latest craze Silly Bandz has finally arrived in the UK! Since elastic bands are now fashion, I thought I’d take a look at what other stationery can be used as fashion accessories.
But WAIT, what are Silly Bandz?
Silly Bandz are elastic bands that take the shape of many things, such as animals, that people like to wear as bracelets. You can collect these for free if you follow the postman on his/her daily rounds and pick them up as he/she drops them, but if you want yours to take form when they’re not worn, you need to venture to a toy shop.
Why stop there? Why not try:
Paperclips
Paperclips make terrible hair grips but unique, quirky jewellery. Link them together for a funky necklace!
Pencils
Use a pencil for a trendy alternative to a hair stick! The item featured in this blog post is a Crayola pencil crayon in Violet, but HB works just as well.
Paper
Thousands of celebrities everywhere have been snapped wearing hats. Create your own for free out of versatile paper!
Pencil Case
Your pencil case can double-up as an attractive clutch bag. Sparklenight was spotted showing off this trendy number at a party by herself in her bedroom.
I hope this post has ~inspired~ you to transform nerdy stationery into stylish and glamorous accessories. Can you think of any more items of stationery that can work the catwalk?
Today’s look: Twitter Chic.
Continuing on my current penchant for t-shirts and jeans, I decided to add an element of interest to today’s outfit, with the additional layer of the lilac checked shirt. This beauty was from the children’s section of Matalan.
The t-shirt I am wearing was an eBay find. I like it because it is twee and kitsch. I think they may have even been the keywords I typed into eBay when I found this absolute gem. My equally fashionable brother pointed out that the adorable bird motif on this t-shirt resembled the bird in the Twitter logo. I love how this shirt brings together both my Internet life and Real Life.
A change I made from yesterday’s outfit is the style of jeans. Not only are bellbottoms daringly deviant from current mainstream fashion, but the swoopy noise they make when you walk through the library also turns heads.
Unchanged from yesterday is the addition of a cardigan to the jeans-and-t-shirt combo; it’s a staple in my wardrobe. Today’s cardigan is not grey, but purple, in keeping with the other colours in my outfit.
I wore this outfit to a lecture and to revise in the library. Again I neglected to depict shoes. Honestly, they are important to me and an integral part of any outfit. Maybe I will dedicate an entire post to shoes in the near future! Stay tuned and stay fashionable!
Accesorise!
All aspiring fashionistas know that you can make a bold statement with accessories! Here are some of Sparklenight’s favourites:
Old Rucksack:
No modern girl would be without her trendy weekend bag, but I proposition the rucksack as a bold alternative. Carried on the shoulders, the rucksack leaves both hands free for other uses, such as carrying items or waving at your fashionable mates. The rucksack has an advantage over the weekend bag in that there are a number of options of how to wear: one strap or two? I advocate two straps, because this evenly distributes the weight across your body, which is better for your spine.
I love this garish orange for optimum recognition chances on a crowded platform.
The Glove:
In these colder months, gloves are especially necessary for me, since I suffer from the fashionable illness Raynaud’s Syndrome. I opted for a versatile black, which saved my buying multiple pairs to match a variety of outfits. Here my cool gloves are depicted flipping the bird to a very nerdy system restore.
The Hair Bobble:
Genius! A product for instant transformations of hair! The hairstyle depicted is a ponytail, but you can be creative and do so much more! Have fun with fashion!
The Umbrella:
It’s difficult to believe that this cool contraption has a predominantly practical function: preserving your perfectly coiffured hair-dos and arrangement of facial cosmetics from the highly damaging effects of rainwater. The attractive umbrella depicted was from Poundland, but you might find them in other shops too.
Badges:
We know that fashionable girls like to communicate their ideas loudly and passionately, but sometimes it’s more fun to let a badge do the talking. My favourite badge conveys the fact that my dining etiquette is inferior to the standards upheld by society.
The Modern Claddagh Ring:
An item from my wishlist. I’m just drooling all over this stunning Modern Claddagh ring. Stand out with this modern take on a traditional symbol. This one’s really special: ideal as a souvenir of a memorable experience in your life.
Today’s look: T-shirt and jeans.
I successfully matched a t-shirt and jeans today. Skinny jeans are not usually my style (too ubiquitous) but these fit well and were only £3 in a charity shop. I would recommend jeans as a modest alternative to leggings, for when you experience brief moments of lucidity and need to avoid camel toe.
The t-shirt features Amanda Palmer, who is pretty rad. It is one of my more expensive purchases, since I bought it at a merch stand for an indulgent £15.
For practicality and warmth, I teamed the outfit with a plain grey cardigan.
As any self-respecting girl knows, accessories are everything. I selected these Sennheiser headphones not because of their aesthetic or hipster credentials (see: Skullcandy) but because of their wide frequency response, closed-back earcups, and two-year warranty. Today I used them to listen to the fashionable Hi, We’re Not The Mountain Goats, and R.E.M. Live albums.
As the fashion-conscious amongst us know, socks should not be an afterthought; they often make or break an outfit. Today I opted for vintage knee-highs, purchased from Bulwell market five years ago. Holes are beginning to form in the bottom, but this is just one of the many endearing characteristic features of vintage clothing.
In my photo I am not wearing shoes, but when I did, I wore a pair of beat-up lo-top Converse. I wore this outfit to the supermarket.
