Yay, I've been shopping!




Hello lovelies!




Yes, I've been off-island and survived the fray - hurrah! My four days in mainland Cornwall were hectic, but without incident, thank goodness. Most importantly, I returned to the joys of retail therapy like a duck to water. Having said that, I was much more restrained than I expected, taking a more considered view of shopping than on previous shopping sprees. The old "this might be useful" was a no longer an option. Instead I questioned "how will this fit in my wardrobe?" or was happy that "this will be good to replace".




Finding that changing rooms were closed was a bit of a surprise, meaning I did spend a lot of time trying clothes on in my hotel each evening and then jumping on the train to return them the next day. But that was no bad thing as I wasn't so rushed and was able to be much more honest about every item. Do I really need this or do I love this enough to justify lugging it home, were critical questions. 




These red Mary-Jane's were the first purchase I made on day one. I had been sent by Steve on an errand to Penryn to buy supplies for his boat. The Chandler's was a 15 minute yomp downhill from the railway station and a 20 minute hike back up again. The trains ran every 30 minutes therefore I had time to spare before I could catch the return. It was a happy discovery to come across a retro clothes shop only 100 metres along the road. 




There was little evidence of these being worn. Obviously I'll be calling them my Dorothy shoes.






Both of these skirt suits are vintage pieces bought in the same shop. One was £15 and the other £40. I shall keep the green one for the autumn and plan to wear it with knee high boots. The pale peach two piece will be a dream to wear during summer. It's lightweight and in beautiful condition. I'm a big fan of suits and have quite a few trouser ones and so it's a thrill to add these two skirt suits to my collection.



 
I've been a bit obsessed about finding a linen dress for the summer ever since I missed buying three of them on my last shopping trip. This one was from TK Maxx and fits much better than the others would have - result! The following will show the rest of my TK Maxx haul. 




This ditsy flower print dress has a dark brown background with pale pink and green flowers. It's similar to another one I own, but it has an element of stretch and is also a drop waist, both of which make for a very attractive fit. 




This DKNY dress just says summer to me. The price reduction was down from £129 to £39.




This Reebok swimsuit was a great fit and it's orange too!




Red, wet-look, skinny jeans for £7.99. Well of course I was going to buy them!




A great fit. This is already stashed away for autumn/winter.




Top centre and left are both TK Maxx purchases. The trainers are by Replay and are similar to my other ones. Embroidered trainers are too good to miss; the mix of comfort and style is a winner in my book. The Juicy Couture mules will be great for beach days and weekend wear. The turquoise trainers are for my lunchtime walking and were charity shopped. The Beach Dogz nagged me in a shop window for two days until I finally gave in to them. They will be replacements for my orange ones which were downgraded to beach shoes last year. These will be for work when I need flatties.




So let's fill in the gaps, shall we?




This was a last minute purchase from Primark. I so love the white checked one from there a couple of years ago that I thought this would be another good buy. Will one be more favoured than the other? Only time will tell.




I have a pink shirt just like this in man-made fibre so will replace it with this linen one. I paid £5 for it in the Cancer Research shop. I'm not sure that I've ever worn the other pink one - I'll pack it up for the next charity shop donation.




Another £5 M&S charity shop find. This is to be a summer post-swim jumper. It's in that lovely crunchy cotton and also has a high neck to keep me warm. 




M&S charity shop linen skirt for £3.75 was a no-brainer. Perfect for work or play during the summer months, it'll surely pay its way in no time at all.




Pre-loved and new, this Topshop skirt will be a great little beach item. It's flirty without being too short and will be great for hopping in and out of our boat.




Another charity shop find, this combination of paisley print and frills makes this top a winner.




I fell for this yellow linen jacket big time. At only £4.50 I'm happy that it's worth it.




At only £3 this orange and black dress was the same price as a cup of coffee. Need I justify this more?




I have two pairs of jeans in this colour already and yet neither of them fit - these will replace them for £5.




Another £5 bargain pair of trousers. These will work well with the Juicy Couture sandals.




This floral jeans jacket was a charity shop piece, bought because the weather turned warm and I only had a raincoat with me. At £7 for a Topshop jacket I thought it was a good buy and something that I'll definitely get lots of wear out of. It made me smile that the label says size 8. I say that because the range of sizes I bought went from 8 through to 14. Just shows how no two brands are the same, eh?






This vintage maxi dress was probably my star purchase. Not only because it's a vintage piece, but simply for being a super fit and a beautiful dress to boot.




This blue polka dot dress was the charity shop bargain of the whole trip at £2.50. It was only when I put the dress and shoes together that it dawned on me to add the red tulle petticoat. 




All of my accessories are pre-loved too - belt, rings and necklace. The sunglasses are by Quay Australia. 




I couldn't resist a quick twirl for you!


So that pretty much winds up my shopping trip. I've incorporated everything into my wardrobe and look forward to mixing some new outfits together. It was great to have that rush of retail excitement again, but I'll be honest with you - I'll be happy to leave it another year until I go mainland shopping again. I only have one thing that's on my wish list now and that's a cornflower blue dress. I missed one from Zara last summer while I was on my shopping ban, but I may have one on the way and will report on that next time...


Until then, have a great weekend!


Anna x

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12 comments

  1. Ooooh, I adore your new polka dot dress! It looks stunning with those red shoes and petticoat!
    It's great to see all your purchases too! I think your star piece is my favourite! SUCH a beautiful maxi dress! Can't wait to see you style it!x

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    1. I'm not surprised you like the polka dot dress - I could see you wearing something like this too!

      How lucky you are to get a White Company linen dress for that bargain basement price - wowee!

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  2. P.S. I was also after a linen dress too and I found a BEAUTIFUL white one with a tiny black pinstripe in it, originally from The White Company but from the Salvation Army last week. I took it up to the till and the lady behind the counter commented on how beautiful it was! For £7, I was chuffed!x

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  3. Ooh, thank you for the pictures and for showing off all your purchases, Anna! I love the Call It Spring red shoes (we used to have a Call It Spring store in the mall here) - I would have bought those too! My favourites of your purchases are (obviously) that gorgeous 70s maxi dress, the yellow cropped jacket, the red/black/white Topshop skirt, and the wet-look red jeans. Fabulous!

    Do you put your new clothes away right away, or do you create some outfits out of them immediately? I find that if I put a new skirt in with my skirts, I forget about it! So I pair my new stuff with things I already have, so that I can wear them quickly and see if they work (or not!).

    How exciting it must have been to do your first shop in a YEAR, Anna! I'm happy for you!

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    1. Oh what fun that shopping spree was Sheila! I'm really proud of how restrained I was and am so happy with my purchases. I did pair up lots of things with existing items so that I have ideas for my first wearing of them.

      I can't decide if I keep the red trousers for Christmas or if I just go wild and wear them now... Do tell!

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  4. Quelles beaux vêtements, en accord avec votre style, et que vous savez parfaitement assortir !
    Merci de partager vos goûts , de nous faire profiter de votre fantaisie et ainsi de nous inspirer. Grâce à vous, je suis un peu plus audacieuse dans le choix des mes tenues et j'ose porter davantage associer les couleurs.
    Profitez bien du week-end!

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    1. What beautiful clothes, in keeping with your style, and that you know how to match perfectly!
      Thank you for sharing your tastes, for making us benefit from your fantasy and thus for inspiring us. Thanks to you, I am a little more daring in the choice of my outfits and I dare to wear more colors.
      Enjoy the weekend!

      Thank you Vero. I published the translation for all to see.

      I'm delighted that you find the blog inspiring and love to think that you're adding more bold colours thanks to me x

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  5. Wow what a haul of amazing bargains, I esp like the red shoes and polka dot dress! Never see anything like this in my local charity shop not that I have been there since before first lockdown. Have bought some nice things on ebay. Have a good week.
    Tessa xx

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    1. The red shoes are pretty eye catching aren't they? I did get lots of compliments on this outfit and mostly from men which was surprising!

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  6. So many cool items, too many to mention - Happy Dressing! Lise

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  7. Dear Anna, very clever and amazing bargains. Thank you for sharing your treasures! My favourite is the vintage maxi dress too, but also the linen dress in tangerine/orange..., the yellow cropped jacket... I love them all and are looking forward to see the stuff on your blog. And for the red shinny skinnys... why waiting for christmas, we are sixty+, we don't have to wait to be wild ;-)
    Hugs from Susa

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