Sunday 7 – Cheap as Chips

Hola! Hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend?

It’s the start of a month, which, in theory means, wages have been paid and a time to feel ‘flush’.

However, just to buck the trend… I’m feeling a little skint at the mo and as such, thought I’d do a Sunday 7 full of little cheap-as-chips pick me ups.

And I do mean cheap.

And by ‘pick me ups’ I mean small, little cheap purchases which can put a little spring in your step, but barely make a dent in your bank balance.

I’m sure we’ve all read ‘quick, cheap, feel good pick-me-ups’ lists before in magazines and perhaps other blogs… which a lot of the time, turn out to be items which are actually in my upper-end budget and not cheap (for me) at all.

It’s all relative I guess.

So, because I love a bit of a challenge, I’ve set an upper limit of £25 for today’s post – none of my Sunday 7 will cost more than that; however, the items I style up my Wildcard item with, might have to cost more than £25, but I’ll try and keep item costs as low as possible for the 3 looks today.

7. HM – Fine Knit Jumper (£24.99)

What I really like about this knit is the half-sleeves.

As well as the breton stripes of course!

This would look great with pretty much everything whether culottes, trousers, skirts or a good old pair of worn-in boyfriend jeans with a rolled up hem.  In fact, I would happily wear it over a shirt dress too.

It’s made from a viscose-polyamide mix, which ok, are not natural fibres but on the other hand it means the knit will wash well. #anythingforaneasylife

6. Zara – Cat’sEye Sunglasses (£15.99)

There are plenty of cheap and cheerful sunnies around, but it’s the pop of red on the Zara Cat’s eye sunglasses which have caught my eye.

The thing about a lot of high street sunnies is, they only come in one size and so you kind of have to have a head that is just the right size (rather than a small little pea head like me!)

If I’m not selling these to you, and you think the red looks naff, take a look at the pic of the model wearing them:

I really love the red… perfect for summer… and perfect for those of us who don’t feel comfortable wearing red lippie!

5. Topshop: Heatwave Sandals (£18)

A tan sandal instantly says *proper* summer… these are apparently 100% Buffalo leather: and for just £18?!

They are also available in Black and Gold as well: be quick though, as I reckon they will sell out fast.

Definitely going to get me a pair of these!

4. New Look: White Paisley Print Bandana (£4.99)

New Look has a fair few gorgeous prints of neckties/bandana’s in at the moment, but this White Paisley Print Bandana gets my vote: perfect for all seasons with its subtle colours, and WHAT.a BARGaIN!

I have extolled the virtues of a bandana as a neck-tie in previous posts but just in case you’ve missed those: a neck tie instantly adds a chic little “je ne sais quoi” to any and every outfit: wear with a shirt, a crew neck sweater or t-shirt… or simply tie a bandana to the strap of your bag, around your wrist and of course, use as a hair band as well.

What’s not to love?

3. HM: Printed T (£12.99)

So I spotted this Tee in HM earlier this week, and it took me a while to figure out that it says ‘Lover’; I genuinely saw the word ‘lower’ – which I kind of liked.

Also, if it’s meant to be a word written with it’s reflection, I’m pretty certain that the ‘L’ is wrong? Though if it was a true mirror image ‘L’, I guess we wouldn’t be able to read it properly.

Either way, I’m splitting hairs here.

I liked the Tee and nabbed one and… have been wearing mine today.

Just for reference, £12.99 is quite a lot for a tee from HM who usually do the printed t-shirts for in and around £8; however their cheapest tee’s don’t wash particularly well and can often lose their shape or end up with the side-seam twisting round the front.

This ‘Lover’ tee is made from a slightly thicker jersey and is definitely of better quality.

Whether it will be a side-seam-twister remains to be seen.

2. Mango: Tassels Pendant Earrings (£12.99)

 

So after last years Pom-pom and bag-charm tassel epidemic, which has shown no signs of abating this season… it was inevitable that the trend would spread to earrings.

Statement earrings are having a moment, and if you can cope with the weight of wearing them, then these gorgeous Mango ones are on-point.

It’s difficult to judge exactly how big these earrings are from an online photo, but I’d wager that they’re pretty big.

I can’t really cope with giant earrings, in the way I can’t cope with weighing myself down with a tonne of any jewellery… but if I *could* wear them, then it would be this pair I’d be buying.

1. Bershka: Cherry Print T-shirt (£4.99)

So I spotted this cool retro looking t-shirt on the ‘explore’ page of my Instagram and placed an order for one in a single.heart.beat.

How cool is this t-shirt – for just a fiver?!

I can confirm that the XS is true to size and having just washed it… it hasn’t fallen apart (though I was careful and didn’t put it through the tumble dryer which, let’s face it, wears clothing out much faster than natural air drying.)

And also, there is no sign of a side-seam-twist: which is pretty amazing for five bucks!

You don’t need me to tell you how to style up a t-shirt… anything goes, right?

Here I am in mine:

And that’s my 7.

Stinker of the Week – is this New Look Top – which I can’t find online, but tried on in-store earlier this week (it was a ‘new-in’ so I guess it’ll be online soon):

A cute little top at first glance, right?

However… here I am in the Petites size 6, which does fit in the main, however, the sleeve-band around my arm was pretty tight.

And it was no better on the size 8, the rest of which was too big for me.

Plus, this is a flared, wide top which, whilst not crop-cropped, is just going to be too short in the body for most.

If it wasn’t for it’s poor cut, I would have bought it – it was just £14.99 and made of viscose so had a lovely drape to it.

Poor pattern design.

Shame.

And my Wildcard this week is brought to you by Zara, in the form of a little Scrappy Gingham Top (£19.99) and I know it really, really won’t be for everyone:

So this kind of strappy little top is the reserve of the young, right?

Wrong.

Whilst there’s nothing wrong with the styling here, (in fact, I think it’s rather lovely)… there could be another way to wear this kind of top: for anyone who isn’t mega-young or particularly comfortable about showing their arms off, how about one of these looks:

Look 1 – Office:  Wearing this strappy gingham top over a shirt with some smart trousers & simple slides would be a great way to buy in to the strappy /bralet top thing.  These Zara Cropped Tuxedo Trousers (£29.99) with a white Zara Poplin Shirt (£19.99) whether the shirt is tucked in, or out, with the Gingham Top over it would look great; finish the look off with these gorgeous Zara Metallic Slides (£17.99) and this Zara Mesh City Bag (£29.99)

Look 2 – Out for drinks:  Again, wearing this top *over* a simple long sleeve tee such as this HM Off the Shoulder Top (£8.99) with a high waisted HM Pencil Skirt (£24.99) and a pop of red on your feet from these Topshop Kat Square Mules (£49) would be a really cute little look.  You could carry this Cos Mesh Market Bag (£25) folded over like a clutch or unfolded using its handles, but either way… another look I’d happily wear.  Not that I ever go out though!

Look 3 – Summer Vibes:  So I’m guessing you’ve worked out my theme by now. Yup – wear the Strappy Top over something! For mooching around town in summer, I’d wear the top over a HM Cotton plain white tee (£6.99) and this Warehouse Reconstructed Denim Skirt (£36) and the lovely tan Topshop Heatwave Sandals (£18) from this week’s Sunday 7.  All you need is a cute Zara Pom Pom Basket Bag (£19.99) and you’re set!

So that’s it from me for this week… what do you think of the cheap pick-me-ups?  Anything caught your eye?

As always, I do love to hear your thoughts – so leave a comment below.

I felt truly shattered today, right to my very core.

Why?

Well, I had a ‘day off’ from my boys yesterday and caught an early train to London for a haircut, a mooch around Oxford Circus and Regent’s Street before meeting up with some fabulously stylish Insta-buddies for an afternoon of eating, drinking and a lot of chatting.

Had a really wonderful afternoon and evening before catching the 20.20 and getting home by around 22.30.

I guess my body’s no longer used to daily train travel and walking around central London is more exhausting than I remember!

So it was a very lazy morning for us today, followed by a Pizza Express lunch then the boys went out to play footie whilst I got to blog. #aperfectday

Here I am today, in my HM printed tee, with my new, rather baggy Topshop Haden Boyfriend Jeans – I’ll talk more about these later in the week:

And one of me with my Insta-pals:

It was great to meet my blogging-icons Sue (Susie So So) and Michelle (My Fashionable 40s) in the flesh after following their blogs for nearly 2 years now…I *might* have been feeling a bit #fangirl (star struck if you will!) as well as Natalie from Instagram (@nataliejayne_semmens) who is not only one stylish mama, she has the most amazing interiors / home to boot: if you’re on Insta, give them a follow!

All in all – a pretty fab weekend (for a change!) – hope yours was good?

Back on Thursday as usual.

Thanks for reading.

Bx