Friday 30^th March – Day 30

"Are you still doing your challenge?"

Don’t know about you but I have definitely got the Friday feeling, I think it’s the weather. That, and my charity-related smile I can’t seem to wipe from my face. With each day, I’m telling more people about my blog and the concept behind it and I’ve had a whole range of reactions; my friends laughed, my mother looked scared, my colleagues were encouraging and people I meet are positive. A few have told me they don’t think I can do it, obviously they don’t know me too well, and this is where my determination and stubbornness will come in handy. Plus I’m a Roy Castle girl after all, dedication is all you need!  

What I’m loving with each outfit is the ever present question “is that charity shop?” or my favourite “No, you didn’t get that in a charity shop did you?” but the answers are yes, yes I did. I have only bought clothes from charity shops and wear at least two items of charity shop chic every day. Often, my whole outfit including shoes is charity shop. Take today for instance. My tops, shoes and blazer are all charity that I’ve teamed with a pair of skinny jeans (shop bought earlier in the year) and a scarf (birthday present) so I’m more charity than high street and I love it. 

The more I do this, the more I have an eye for price tags and how I can mix and match key signature items I have with clothes I already own or can pick up in charity shops, and I’m only one month it.

(Also, check out Suzi bear in the background. Cute!!)

p.s. Its not just me either. Check out the GORGEOUS dress my boss is wearing today, that she bought from one of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer shop's. I think she looks fab (and not just because she is my boss) and has teamed it with a black blazer and court shoes. She is meeting ready and noone would ever guess it only cost her £8 from a charity shop and thats why I really love this challenge.

Putting the tights away!!

Sorry for lack of blog yesterday, I was in London but stuck to my guns and rocked charity in the capital!!

Today was the first time I ditched my tights and had bare legs in 2012, it's been a big day. Granted I wore them with my trainers when i walked to work, which as I'm sure you can imagine was quite the look. In the safety of the office though they came off and I braved bare legs.

I wore my chunky brown shoes with a beige and blue print dress teamed with my survival blazer. Loving my spring / summer look today, just hope the sun stays out too.

Monday 26^th March – Day 25        

Challenge 25 hits day 25 

How lovely is the weather please?! The sun is out big time which always makes me smile.

Today I’m wearing a nude cross over top with black cut offs, little pumps and a black and pink scarf for a little extra colour.

Having to plan my outfits in advance and really think about them I am discovering little gems that I'd forgotten I had. Its terrible I know but its true.  I'm loving my spring look especially when I went for a walk at lunch and teamed it with my divatastic sunglasses. 

Sunday 25^th March

Weekend round up ......

How lucky have we been with the weather the past few days? So happy to have my sunglasses on and sit in the garden, bliss.

That said, on Saturday I layered up with a jumper, coat, scarf and gloves, oh yes, was rather hot outside but once inside I was cold. Confusing you yet? I was in Altrincham Ice Rink watching the Trafford Metros play. My friend Jamie Rogerson plays for them and its great fun so we went to support them. Shame about the score though ..... but thats a whole different story. *bad call ref*

On Saturday night it was time for cocktails and dancing with my friends. My feet are still sore from all the dancing, fab night though. I teamed my dress with a cream leather clutch bag that I bought at my local church’s charity bring and buy sale for £3. It’s plain and simple and easy to carry, I use it all the time as I love it.

Friday 23^rd March – Day 22

I've got that Friday feeling ....

Happy Friday everyone. Oh yes, the weekend is finally upon us and I’m feeling good! The sun is actually shinning in Liverpool, who’d thought that would happen this close to the weekend?

Today I’m really happy because my lovely boss Emma is sporting a very Spring-esq yellow print cardi that she bought in our charity shop. Costing just £7 and looking gorgeous over her black jersey dress, Emma is officially the latest member of the charity chic army.

Today I’m wearing a white blouse with little blue stars on teamed with a black pair of high waisted trousers. Must say the trousers are both comfortable and flattering but with seven buttons, they are quite the effort to get into, shall we say.

As its Friday, I’m also wearing my rather special (if I do say so myself) blue suede shoes to add a sneaky bit of colour and make me smile.

Thursday 22^nd March – Day 21

“Dedication, that’s what you need”

Here I go, three weeks in and I’m still going strong. Granted, to start with I did have a pile of new charity clothes to wear but that aside, I have stuck to it and up until now I’m enjoying the daily ooh’s and aah’s as I strut into work in my charity shop items.

Although I’ve not deliberately misled or lied about this challenge, I do feel that I should make a small confession. I’m sure this probably won’t come as a huge surprise to some, as I work for a charity. As my about me states, I am a marketing manager but it’s for a charity, The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation to be exact, a cause I openly supported before I started working for them and a job which I really do love.

The rest is all true. The challenge started after our retail department told the team about their change around. Basically, their seasonal change of stock in the shops. Always with an eye for a bargain and luckily with insider privileges I hit the shop and bought myself some fabulous new dresses, trousers, shorts and a blazer I’m now addicted to.

It was after that, I was given the challenge to keep it up and only wear charity clothes for the year. Although this will be a great challenge for me, I am incredibly fortunate to have the backing of our retail team who are just as excited as me for the outfits I’m able to put together.

This also doesn’t mean I will be only wearing clothes from The RCLCF shops. Yes, I obviously know those shops and staff well but in the last three weeks alone I have worn clothes I’ve bought from BHF, my local church

Today I’m wearing a nautical-esq ensemble of a white Topshop jumper, I picked up in the British Heart Foundation in Wilmslow last summer. That same shopping trip also included a fabulously bright summer shirt for a friend’s beach theme party which I’ll save until summer.

I’ve teamed this with skinny jeans, white pumps and a vintage blue scarf I bought for £1 at a charity accessories sale at my local church

For walking to work I added my new favourite cream blazer which I bought from our charity shop for £8.

Wednesday 21^st March – Day 20 

Are we nearly there yet?

Today I’m wearing what have quickly become my go-to trousers. I think most women have at least one go-to item in their wardrobe, be it for their comfort, flattery or sheer convenience. I’m a terrible shopper, I know it and I admit it. I buy too much, too often and spend the time after the purchase justifying the cost. That said, there are always the exemptions that may have cost money but the times you wear them they are practically free .... well bearing in mind I only paid £6 for these trousers to start with, they are fast becoming one of the best items of clothing I ever bought.

I teamed those little beauties with a teal green blouse I bought from Next in the Christmas sales. It cost me £8 so although not a charity shop purchase, the price is certainly heading that way. I’ve pinched that in with a thin black waist belt that I bought for £1 in the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation shop on Allerton Road. I shop I liked before my challenge and one I now LOVE.

Hmm decisions, what to wear?! I must admit, its getting harder to put my charity shop outfits together each day. I've started spending time each night planning ahead and pairing items together. My work is never done but not complaining, a girl and a wardrobe of clothes is never going to end badly.

Tuesday 20th March - Day 19

Spreading the message

Today I am on a training course in Manchester organised by the Institute of Fundraising. I couldn’t ask for a better audience to preach the good message of charity shop chic too could I? Before I get into that though, I had to brave the commuter train to the other end of the M62 which was an experience in itself but the less said about that the better.

As a fan of a lovely pair of sky scrapper heels, even between the hours of 9-5am, I was reluctant to leave them at home but today I had to. Mainly as I had a 15 minute walk from the train station and as good as I am in heels (which is excellent by the way) even I draw the line at a two mile walk in four inches. Therefore today I rocked a rather lovely and practical pair of black patent ballet pumps with a bow on them. I obviously wore a whole outfit with these too but this is my charity purchase today. Costing £7 these bad boys were purchased in Newcastle by my friend from her local charity shop when she saw them in the window. Even better for me as they were too small for her so she donated them to me, perfect!

Oh and I totally got my moment of glory to tell the other course attendees about my challenge and blog. I'm a woman on a mission and I quite simply, can not be stopped.

Monday 19th March - Day 18


Monday blues ......

Firstly, how quick did Monday come around please? There I was yesterday, all comfy on the couch watching the Liverpool game and tucking into my second (naughty, I know!) slab of homemade chocolate fridge cake and before I knew it was 6.30am this morning and I was on my way to a breakfast meeting, lovely.

It dawned on me when I arrived at the office today that over the past two weeks I have spent more time planning my outfits for work than in the past two years combined. This isn’t too mean up until I started this challenge I didn’t think about my outfits, I'm a woman, of course I did but finding new items to wear and mixing and matching my charity clothes isn’t as easy as opening the wardrobe and pulling out a dress.

Today I'm wearing a stone coloured spotty sheer blouse with a Peter Pan collar teamed with my trusty black shift dress. Not the most exciting of outfits but a 6am start on a Monday doesn’t equal creative outfit choices. My dress isn’t a charity shop purchase but was the bargain price of £10 from Tesco and to sound like my mother, washes so well time and time again. It really does though.

Yes, this photo is me too but a 6am start and a breakout of spots has made me uncharacteristically camera shy so I've taken the executive decision to cut my head off .... It is for the benefit of anyone who reads this as it is for me.

Day 17 - Sunday 18th March

Happy Mother's Day everyone

Happy mother's day everyone, I hope like me you are spoiling your mum. Sunday is officially my day of rest, in what I wear as much as what I do but today is slightly different.

My best friend Sara recently asked me to be godmother to her BEAUTIFUL baby boy, Jude something which I obviously said yes to, what an honour! Today is Jude’s welcoming into church before his christening next month. This meant I needed to suit and boot myself for the service which I like to think I achieved with a navy blue jersey dress and cream blazer, nicely conservative and demure. 

My glamorous Sunday look was short lived however as after church (which really was a lovely service) I was in my kitchen making  Mars bar fridge cake  and cooking a roast beef Sunday dinner for the whole family. I’m well aware self praise is no praise but let’s just say there wasn’t anything left on plate in the kitchen and a small fight broke out over the last Yorkshire pudding. I call that a success.

As soon as dinner was over, it was time to get comfy on the couch and watch the match. Granted, not the most exciting Mother’s Day activity but was something everyone actually wanted to do, unlike play Articulate which still upsets me slightly.

For this I was wearing my more suitable Sunday day attire of my rather attractive black spotty and very fluffy tracksuit. Yes, I am from Liverpool and yes, stereotypes state we wear these every day but I only wear mine in the house, usually on a Sunday or a hangover Saturday.  Arguable one of the best £5 I’ve ever spent.

Day 15 - Flying the flag for Team GB

I can't believe another week has passed and here I am still wearing charity shop clothes and might I add, very happily wearing them too.

This week has been ridiciulously busy in work with big events taking place but even that hasnt swayed me from my path of charity shop chic.

My highlights of the week has to be seeing four of my colleagues wearing chairty clothes too. Just makes it all so much more interesting and fun. So much so, I've started working my magic on other members of the team too .... some I know are going to be a lot harder to convince than others but to me, it just adds to the rewards of the challenge.

Today without really planning to, I have embraced everything about being British and I'm wearing red, white and blue. Least its not tomorrow as not sure how my Irish mother would take to that, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

The sun is out today and its a little warmer so im sporting a white blouse with blue and red detail that I've teamed with blue trousers and bright blue suede shoes. Ok, I'll admit that the beautiful shoes arent a charity purchase but the rest (including my jacket I wore into the office) is and as the rules state, I can team my outfits with clothes I arleady own ..... and come on, these shoes are too cute not to wear at any given moment. 

I love this top too, its really summery and pretty and I'm already thinking it'll look nice on holiday with little denim shorts (which I already spied somein charity shop last saturday)

Even better than this though...... people in work are getting on board with my campaign to not only wear chairty clothes but also encourage people to donate their unwanted clothes to their lcoal shops. I'm all for de-cluttering and donating and not just because I need clothes for the next ten months although that is a factor.

Check out these two GORGEOUS pairs of pumps my boss has doanted to the cause .... if only I was a size 7.

Day 14 (again) Here come the boys .......

Not content with recruiting the women in work to become my charity chic soldiers, I thought I'd go one bigger and try and recruit two of the lads. What can I say, I love a good challenge.

Getting them to listen to anything fashion and shopping related was a challenge so you can imagine how thrilled they were to realise I wanted them to hit a charity shop and wear what they found. A few hot drinks and chocolate treats later they were off to have a rumage. They went together for moral support and I even sent our resident personal shopper to keep them focussed.

How good do these look please? I think we were all pleasantly surprised with the results.

Not only are they giving me their best model poses but both of them are wearing shirts from a charity shop. Costing just £4 each and coming with the labels still on, our boys were rather surprised as what they found in the shop and how quick and easy it was too.

Snaps for effort boys, keep up the good work. x

Day 14 - Bring on the boys

Today I'm wearing a cute little summer dress and to put it politely, I'm freezing! Apparently I thought it was warm in Liverpool this morning, how wrong I was. Thank god for trusty black tights and blazer to complete my outfit and to keep me warm.

My dress is printed with little black birds all over it and makes me want to skip .... I must say I'm feeling rather silly and giddy today.

The best thing about today however is that THREE more of my colleagues are today sporting charity shop clothes. The Charity Shop Chic Soliders are increasing daily and even better, it includes two of the boys!! Wonders will cease right?!

The very gorgeous Sam with her long blonde locks and legs that never, today is wearing a lovely white and black baby doll dress. She falls into the category of girls we hate to love and love to hate becasue she looks fabulous every day, doesnt even try and is just one of the nicest girls. Big love for Sam ... especially today in her charity dress.

Day 13 – Recruiting my soldiers

Walking (or rather strutting) into the office this morning eagerly waiting someone to ask ooh Nina, what are you wearing today I am greeted by my boss no less. There I am proudly standing in my high waisted black trousers and spotty t-shirt, charity shop purchases of course to be asked “do you like?” Well of course I did, my boss is always immaculately presented in beautiful clothes teamed with matching accessories to boot.  

She then proceeded to tell me, to my amazement; she had joined my charity shop chic army and that her gorgeous leopard print fitted dress and matching blazer were from her local shop and cost her £14. Winning! I couldn’t quite believe it but I was so happy all the same. More people getting involved is making the challenge fun and a little easy, which is fab!

Granted, next to her I don’t look half as glamorous but I’ll take that. 

Week 2: Spreading the message

The obvious part of this challenge is to wear charity clothes for 2012 but with every day and every new outfit I’m putting together, my attitude towards this challenge is changing. People who know me, know how much I love to talk and love to shop so there isn’t many who don’t know about ‘Operation Charity Shop Chic.’  I take great pleasure in telling anyone who compliments me on a piece of clothing where I got it from and the small price it cost me.

I have been so surprised by the clothes I’ve found in the few shops I’ve been. Not only the price of the clothes but also the quality and (probably the most surprising) the amount of clothes still with their price tags on. My preconceived thoughts on what charity shops were like and the stock they had have been blown away in just two weeks .... and I’m only just getting started.

I also thought this weekend seemed like the right time to clear out my wardrobe. I am a clothes hoarder, this I know. At the time of purchase, I love every item of clothing I own and it pains me to get rid of it even if I haven’t worn it for a long time. I did however part with lots of clothes I know I won’t wear again, some I’ve never worn and some that are now too big for me. Those of the clothes I think everyone likes to part with. That amounted to two full bags of clothes which I have donated to The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. This is because it is their shop on Allerton Road, where I have come across some fabulous dresses and trousers and have been wearing most days of my challenge. It felt only right to donate my clothes there, you never know, I might even end up buying some of them back!!

Although it is about the clothes, I’m trying to give back too so this weekend I volunteered and helped in a street collection for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in Liverpool city centre. It was graet to be a part of something like that and talk to th every people the charity help and it was so lovely to hear people telling us how they support the cause and the reasons why.

Day 7 – Lady in red

Well I’ve made it a whole week and to be honest, I’m rather impressed with myself and definitely surprised. I am seeing it as a new diet though, it’s always easy to start with as you’re all motivated and determined, so looking forward to how the next few weeks and months unfold and seeing whether said motivation sticks. Hmmmm!

Today’s dilemma, dressing to impress for a meeting. To set the scene, I work in an in-house marketing team so we’re office based. We do have a dress policy in work but it’s not as strict as places I’ve worked in before. That said, I do like to dress smart and formal, helps me differentiate my wardrobe and mentally prepares me for working. I know that may sound rather odd but I was told it in my first job “dress like a business woman and people will treat you like one.” Although at the time as a 21-year old graduate I thought it was a little dramatic, I have taken something from it and certainly do like to present myself professionally.

This brings me nicely onto my outfit choice for today, a rather bold red fitted dress with the life saving peplum detail around the waist, beautifully hiding a multitude of sins.  

Even better, it came with a simple little patent leather belt that just pinches me in enough to not stop me breathing whilst making my waist just a little bit trimmer. Teamed with my trusty black round toe platforms and my cream over sized tailored blazer and I’m all set to knock ‘em dead in my meeting. (Which I did, but that’s a different story all together)

Total cost of outfit = £14

Day 7 - Embracing my curves

Today was the first day that I have struggled with deciding what to wear. If I was to be perfectly honest, it’s because today I'm having a 'fat day.' I take a little comfort in thinking this is a feeling the majority of women have had at least once before, if not like me, at least one or twice a month. This has left me feeling rather bloated, uncomfortable and with nothing I think looks nice on. Not a good feeling any day, an even worse feeling when you sleep through your alarm snooze and are running late.

I went through my carefully pre-organised charity chic outfit choices but nothing was jumping out and screaming ‘wear me today’ or ‘pick me, pick me’ I braved it either way and plunged for a rather gorgeous black fitted jersey dress with grey detailing and a frill. Not the obvious choice seems I’m feeling a little off today but thought in for a penny and have embraced my curves which are highlighted rather nicely in this flattering dress.

I still can’t believe I found this in my local charity shop. I’m hoping this is something I think a lot over the next 10 months.

I teamed today’s dress with a pair of patent leather Mary Jane’s ... not quite the urban shoe myth Carrie comes across in the infamous Vogue closet but I do love them all the same.

Day 6 - Sporting a tennis-esq dress

This is another bargain little dress that flatters me in all the right places. I know its only a few days in but so far its going rather well.

I do want to let you into a little secret though .... I've been helped so far :) The reason this challenge came about is because I went into a local charity shop and had a good old rummage in their 'swag bags' as I called them and found some GORGEOUS clothes and boughts a lot! The way I saw it, it felt that I was shopping in a low budget high street shop but I was getting high quality clothes.


THE BACKGROUND:

I was set this challenge by my colleague who I constantly talk about my clothes purchases. She thought it would be fun to see if I could do it and how I went about it so never one to turn a challenge down, here I am 6 days in and going strong.

I must admit that I didnt blog over the weekend BUT that was more because I've struggled with the blogging and not the charity clothes wearing. I have pictures of all my outfits to prove it.

THE RULES:

1. I must only buy clothes from charity shops for 2012
2. I can team my charity shop chic items with clothes I already own, otherwise this will be a very expensive challenge
3. Certain items of clothing e.g underwear, swimwear and pyjamas are exempt as I think we'd all agree those arent pieces of clothing we like to buy second hand.

THE SWAG

This is part of the swag I bought myself .... thought it would get me started at least!

• 15 dresses
• 1 blazer
• Capri trousers
• Cute little shorts
• 2 blouses
• Track suit

Day 2 - Stripes and compliments

I'm feeling really good going in to day 2 of my challenge. Mainly as I love the little dress I am wearing today so if I can keep this up for the next ten months I'll be happy.

This dress cost £8 and I teamed it with black tights, little black pumps and a blazer and a big bun in my hair, very 60's! Without prompting anyone I got 12 compliment in the day. Yes I did count them but the way I see it, its all part of the job. I even got called a young Cilla Black by a lovely old man .... although i'm still undecided as to whether thats a compliment or not.

Day 1:

Here I go, let the challenge officially begin.

Firstly an introduction, I'm Nina a recently turned 25 year old who can't seem to say no to a challenge and hence why here I am.

I have been given the challenge of only wearing clothes from charity shops for the rest of the year.  This has been started as I am well known for my love of shopping and buying new clothes but at the same time loving a bargain too.

In keeping with my promise I will be blogging each day on my outfit and also include a photo of what I'm wearing.

If you like what you read, why dont you try it too? I think its going to be fun .... well its been fun so far.