Op (Thrift) Shopping

Hello there lovelies,

Today The Boyfriend and I went op-shopping (or thrift shopping). I wore an awesome outfit, and when I came home I made a dinosaur print single quilt cover into a underbust pinafore dress. Naturally, I took lots of photos because in my generation if there isn't pics, it didn't happen. Then, ALL the photos I took today came out blurry, except for this one of my op-shopping haul. So that's all you get to look at today!

The crazy looking button down is actually red, grey and black, and wierdly enough it matched the outfit I was already wearing perfectly. It cost me $3.5o. The pants were an expensive $7.50, but they are exactly the same as a pair I had a few years ago that got wrecked. The dino quilt cover was $6, which is again kind of expensive for op-shopping, but this is Brisbane. The books were real bargains though! I got the Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing for $4! Plus, that Patten Design book only cost me $2, and it tells you how to make basic patterns AND how to alter your basic pattens into pretty much anything. I should add here that since I'm broke, when it say these things cost me, they actually cost my amazing Boyfriend who offered to get it all for me. Gosh I love that guy. In fact I love him so much that here is a random picture of him.

Until next time, xo.

DIY Madness + Seeing Double

Hello there beautiful world!

Well, over the weekend I finally got my sewing machine back from the repair shop and I'm way too excited to be sewing with a machine again. My first order of business was to finish off a scarf that I'd been painstakingly handsewing (it was rather depressing that I'd spent hours and hours on this thing, and with the machine it only took an hour to finish). Pictures!

Alrighty, here's the rundown - the scarf is basically patchwork. I call it the Rockstar Scarf, not because a rockstar would wear it, but because it has rockstars on it. An Ozzy Osbourne t-shirt, and a Rolling Stones t-shirt met their doom in order to become this awesome scarf. I followed the directions from Generation T by Megan Nicolay, and the whole thing was fairly simple to make. At least once I had my sewing machine back. I'm very proud of it, and ecstatic to have my little sewing machine back in working order. Watch this space; I'm sure there will be much more DIY madness to come, probably with tutorials. I'm not going to post a tutorial for this one, as it's not my work, so I'm not going to splash it around everywhere when the owner of the idea is trying to make money from it. It seems pretty much every DIYer of the t-shirt reconstruction breed has this book anyway, so it shouldn't be hard to find a copy to borrow!

Onto the next order of business! I've decided that as the newest addition to my little blog here I'm going to post about ways that I save money on quality clothing - or more specifically, the times when I find an exact brand name item for significantly less than the cost from the brand itself, or exclusive brand stores. As much as I'm not that big on brand names myself, I know some people are, and I want to get it out there that sometimes you don't need to pay as much as you think! Often if you just do some smart shopping you can find the same items for as much as half the brand retail price. You just have to know where to look. Just check out exhibit A:

This t-shirt is by an Australian brand called One Teaspoon. It's actually one of my favourite brands - they seem to know how to keep things young and hip, without making you look like you aren't old enough to be out on your own. Although this one appears not to be on the One Teaspoon website anymore, you can pick it up here for $59.95 (plus postage). Or you can trot into Trade Secret like I did, and pick it up for $29.95. Normally I wouldn't even splash out this much cash on a t-shirt, but it is quite good quality, and that's half price. At Trade Secret you can also get this t-shirt for $29.95 (online price $59.95), and this oversized t-shirt for $34.95 (online price $69.95). Plus, if you're lucky enough, a few of the other styles have been marked down to $18.86, but they're only in limited sizes. Ah, how I love clothing that I can actually afford to buy. If you're hungry for bargains, don't despair - I do this alot, and since I love to hear the sound of my own voice (or hear the clicking of my own keyboard) it's guaranteed my bargain purchases will end up documented here.

Until next time, xo.

How To: Shop on a Uni Student's Budget and Still Look Awesome (Vol. 1)

Hello lovelies,

Obviously, shopping on a budget is important for all of us at some point. Especially if, like me, you're trying to balance full-time study, part-time work and some semblance of a social life, without asking Mum and Dad for handouts every five seconds. To me shopping on a budget revolves around two main point: shopping well, and knowing where/when to shop. Today's focus: shopping well.

First things first - do you know what things you need, or want in your wardrobe? You can't shop well if you're wandering around like a headless chicken with no idea what you're looking for. These pieces of advice I'm about to give get given time and time again - it's because they're good, not because people like repeating themselves.

1. Know Your Wardrobe: If you want to save money on your clothes shopping you need to know what is already in your wardrobe. That way you don't come home with three new pairs of skinny jeans only to discover that your wardrobe is already full of skinny jeans, and what you really wanted was a pair of wide-leg pants. Keep an inventory (even if it's only in your head) of the kinds of things you have in your closet. Just be aware of the things that you already have, so you don't buy them two or three times over.

2. Know What You Want: If you're heading out on a shopping trip, have at least some idea of what you're heading out to get. We all know that it's fun to bum around the shopping centre, splash cash and head home with bags of stuff we'd never even considered liking - but that's not a good way to shop on a budget. Save that kind of shopping for tax return time, and when you're working to a budget make a list of the things you need or want. This also ties right in with knowing what is already in your wardrobe. Knowing is half the battle - much easier to figure out what you want or need if you know what you already have.

3. Try Things On: Always, always, always try things on. I don't care how long the line is, or how good the clothes look on the rack. Trying things on means that you don't spend a weeks wages on a trenchcoat that makes you look like a midget on a bad day. Many stores have ironclad policies on the return of goods - most that I have worked for won't offer a refund purely because you didn't try something on in the store, and you discovered it doesn't look good (and store credit doesn't really help if you don't like anything else in the store, and have bills to pay). Also, as most of you have probably noticed, sizing differs from store to store. You can never assume that a Size 10 in Target is the same as a Size 10 in Myer - and some stores are using US sizing now, which makes the whole thing harder. Trying things on also helps to establish what suits you, which makes the whole shopping expedition much easier.

4. FORGET ABOUT BRANDS: This I can't stress enough. If you're sending yourself broke so that you can have the latest Chanel bag or Dior sunglasses, then you're a complete frigging idiot. I'll tell you a secret - except for my personal vice brands (Emily the Strange, Paul Frank and Skelanimals) the only place I've bought brand name clothing is from second-hand stores. But you know what the funny thing is? There are clothes from my highschool days that I still wear, and I've sold even more on http://www.ebay.com.au/ when I lost so much weight that they started falling down. Don't get sucked into the idea that only brand name clothing will last you for any length of time. I find that's it's more about taking care of your clothes - follow the care instructions on the label, don't leave them sitting in the sun etc. There's always time for that $4000 coat when you're rich and famous. But for now, why not settle with the chain store knock-off? If you take good care of it, it will last. And besides, we all know you're going to buy a new one next year anyway.

That's about all for shopping well. Now, so that this post doesn't reach epic proportions I'm going to finish up, but it won't be long before Volume 2, which I'm going to focus more on where and when to shop to save money. Hopefully this will be helpful to someone.

Until next time, xo.