OOTD: Bargain Hunter

Today I had a pretty lazy day. 
All my friends are back in Basingstoke, My Fiancé is at work and my mum has just had an operation on her hand, there was nothing on TV and I can't do much unpacking by myself with a bad back.

So, I was a bit lost for things to do today... until my mum suggested a little trip into the next village to have a look around and I thought 'why not?'.
(the outskirts of Southampton City Centre are actually made up of several small villages that are right on top of each other!)

What I Wore: Black leather jacket - Warehouse, Black Camisole - H&M, Nude Bandage Skirt - By Topshop but it's an eBay Bargain, Shoes and Birdcage necklace - both Primark, Nude Feather Earrings - Matalan, Tan Leather Bowler Bag - Asos

My Dad dropped us up there while he went to the gym and mum and I had a quick look in a couple of the charity shops there...

The first one, I didn't find much in there I was willing to pay for, I know it sounds stingy but in my opinion £5 for a second hand top from Primark is excessive for a charity shop. Especially as the top probably cost less than that brand new!

So we popped into the second one and at first I was a bit disheartened that there really wasn't much in my size but I kept hunting through.

I was really happy when I came across these lovely grey tweed style shorts from H&M that looked almost new in my size! 

I tried them on and it was like they were made for me! - and at a bargain price too!

So I had another look through the rails and found this beautiful light grey blazer with mother of pearl effect buttons also in my size! It really was a lovely jacket!

So I picked it up to check the price - another bargain - but instead i notice the make.

Calvin Klein.

Yup.

Calvin Klein...in a charity shop...for just over a fiver.

So, if you thought charity shops were just a place old ladies donate their flower painted cat ornaments - you're wrong.

I have found: Hollister, Laura Ashley, Fred Perry, Ted Baker, Ralph Lauren,  French Connection, Karen Millen and GUCCI in various charity shops in the last YEAR!

(I once found a brand new French Connection top in a charity shop marked up for ONE POUND!)

And now some advice from me to you:

DON'T BE A SNOB. 

Go in and take a look in every charity shop you see, you may not find anything designer or amazing on your first visit, but the more you look, the more you find! Charity shops are a hidden gold mine for the modern fashionista whose bank balance doesn't quite match their wishlists! You don't have to shop there because you're poor or on benefits either! That's pure rubbish! 

So tell me...What's been your best bargain buy? Was it from a charity shop, thrift store, car boot sale?

Tell us as we're dying to know!

Hailie

xo

Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.

'Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.' - Marilyn Monroe

Obviously, no girl has yet to conquer the world. And why? Because she obviously hasn't found the right shoes yet!

And that is the best answer any girl can give the next time someone says:
'You have a lot of shoes already - why do you need more?!'

I realised after writing my first few entries with my OOTD that it may look as though I only own one pair of shoes...and I laughed for quite a while at that thought!

In fact when I was in my 3rd & 4th years at college, my friend Rowan nicknamed me Caligula - or Kiggy for short.

Those of you who aren't so brushed up on history I'll give a quick explanation - 

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. 

The young Gaius earned the nickname Caligula (meaning "little soldier's boot" or "Little Boots".) the diminutive form of caliga.

Ok so History is done for today...back to shoes...

I have tiny size 3 Feet (UK) and back at college I managed to go 3 weeks wearing a different pair of boots every day.

That's right - at one time in my life I owned 15 pairs of boots. 

All shapes & colours! Now most of those have fallen apart, and I haven't quite got round to replacing all of them (yet!)

But I do have a pretty impressive shoe collection for someone with small feet, and lucky for you I am willing to share it - even the not so glamorous ones!

Iter Progressus!!

(Forward March!!)

 Pink Suede Gold Studs - Primark

 Teal Suede with rhinestones - Primark

 Blue & White Tiger Stripe Patent -  Asos

 Black & white houndstooth with pink platform - River Island

 Taupe Suede & Patent - New Look

 Purple Suede & Patent Platform sling Backs - Office

 Satin Strappy Bows - Brantanos

 High Heel Gem Gladiators - Aldo

 Taupe Suede & Patent Lace up Wedges - New Look

 Satin Slingbacks - New Look

 Black Suede Gold Zip Wedges - New Look

 Suede Effect Wedge Plimsoles - New Look

 Rhinestone Mesh Black Zip ups - Jane Norman

 Beige Suede Effect Buckle Ankle Boots - F&F

 White cut out Canvas Wedges - Primark

 Taupe Lace Up Calf High Boots - French Connection

 High Heel Biker Boots - My Friend's Mum gave these to me, they don't have a brand name in them

 That's All  of the 17 pairs of  high heels done... onto the Flats!

 Tan Brouges - Primark

 Chain Bow Leopard Print Ballerinas - Primark

 Black Suede effect silpper shoes - Primark

Grey Jersey Lace up pumps - George

 Brown Leather Ballerinas - George

 Iovry Beaded slipper shoes - A Boutique in a Turkish bazaar

Gold and turquoise DC - Qube 

 Red converse All stars - eBay bargain!

 Adidas Trainers - Some Sport shop! 

 Black canvas espadrilles - New Look

 Magenta T-Bar Buckle up Ballerinas - Miss Selfridge

 Lace & Bow Gem Ballerinas - TU

 Taupe Studded Slipper Shoes - A Birthday Present - New Look

 White embroidered Ballerinas - A Present from my Mum - not sure what store

 Floral Ballerinas - Same as above & sorry about the photo quality - not sure what happened there!

 Buckle up Flip flops with flowers - TU

 Brown Leather slipper shoes - Faith - they used to have these dangley things across the top but they broke off!

 White embellished zip up flip flops - George

 Gold flip flops - Primark

Knee high zip up suede, stud & tassel gladiators - Warehouse

 My Beautiful Pull out shoe rack only holds 16 pairs...

 Slouchy Weekend boots - brown ones from TU have been chewed on by a friend's chihuahua so, ultimately demoted to dog friendly shoes!

Grey ones are from primark 

 Tan cowboy boots with stars and outsize zip - eBay bargain!

 Dark brown cowboy boots - eBay bargain!

Tan cowboy/ slouch boots - eBay bargain!

Ok so here's my confession... there may be 40+ Pairs of shoes and boots there...

That's not all of my shoes and boots.... The rest are packed up somewhere in my boxes!

But I promise as soon as I dig them out, I will update you!

Anything you can't stop yourself buying? Do you have a huge shoe collection too?

Is it bad that I still want MORE!?

(Purely so I can conquer the world...)

Hailie

xo

You've got mail.

My fiancé said to me earlier:

'...I wouldn't even know how to follow a blog!'

And it got me thinking... I wasn't even 100% sure until I did some research!

Not all of you will know how to follow a blog or even want to get an account just so you can.

So, if you wish to follow my blog and be notified of when I've written a new entry then just scroll all the way to the bottom of this page... 

Type your email into the bar...

Click 'submit'...

and you're all done!

You'll get email updates to your already existing address without having to sign up to anything!

Enjoy!

Hailie

xo

In The Beginning...

Hello!
Welcome to Dragons of Moda...
A Place to chat about my day to day looks, outfits, hair - whatever!

I literally have no fashion experience, photography experience, styling or designer's eye at all, so this is not a styling page!
I've never claimed to have a great dress sense and I've never written a blog before...

A learning curve for the everyday girl.

Thank you for stopping by,

Hailie

 xo