Charity begins at home

As I meander through the cheerful charity shops of Chorlton, I often speculate that I think they could make more of their window displays to convert pondering passers-by into potential patrons.

As I enjoy all things involving clothes, colour & creativity, I thought I should offer my services to my favourite CCS, Age Concern, & so last weekend began my first session as charity VM.

Initailly a little apprehensive - keen to exploit the shop’s offering to it's full potential - I soon got the buzz, running around like a busy little merchandising bee for looks I thought would entice more south Manchester’s shoppers.

For my opening offering, I went for a Bohemian folk look – easy to wear, diverse appeal & with an abundant supply of tweeds & knits at my disposal.

I happily heard this week, that the shop did very well from the display. Hopefully I can keep up some good work!

New threads & Old friends: Partying in Never Nether-land

I have been eagerly anticipating the return of my first-ever Manchester mate this weekend, from her current residence of Amsterdam.
To celebrate this special social occasion, we returned to the scene of our old stomping ground & to celebrate in style, some new threads were in order.

Now the trick to compliling clubbing clobber, I always find is the balancing of these essential elements: cool, casual, colourful & comfortable (without looking too much like a teenager)

When I stumbled upon this short stylish shift, I thought ‘just the thing’ - Breathable cotton & loosely fitted.

Citrus Shift: Barnardos, £5

In another stretch of luck, on my charity travels I found some equally suitable fashionable footwear – long to withstand the gail force storms, chunky heel to combine height with comfort & matching the shade of olive in my new dress

Olive New High Boots: RSPCA, £5

Always a little fickle with my fashion choices, I also got myself a back-up outfit, coming across these stylish seperates:

Deco bejewelled top: Oxfam, £4.99
Leather Mary-janes: Oxfam, £3.99

That’s two new oufits for under a tenner each, ethical & economical.

Next week I start a new job, requiring a work wardrobe overhaul. For about £40, I managed to find some suitably chic attire, to give my corporate collection a much needed update. Watch this space for next week for a full review x