worn: striped shirt and pre-loved bargains

Shirt: H&M // Coat: eBay // Jeans: Leigh at Topshop via eBay // 

Shoes: H&M (last year but similar here) // Bag: Monki (last year) // Sunglasses: Monki (similar here)

I haven’t blogged in almost a week now; not because I haven’t wanted to, but partly because I’ve not felt particularly bothered, and partly because I’ve been busy doing other bits and pieces. I had a couple of magazine features to finish, but it was more to do with the fact that I just wasn’t feeling it; I felt like nothing I was doing was good enough, I wasn’t pushing myself creatively and all my ideas were rubbish. I know from past experience that the only thing to do in this situation is to completely switch off of the internet, so I deleted my social media apps and went off for a private huff. It helped, and so I’m back today with an outfit post – I don’t usually do many of these, because I feel awkward in front of the camera rather than behind it; I spend too long fretting about the size of my forehead (gargantuan, needs it’s own postcode) or whether my photos are sharp enough (shaky-handed-husband) or whether my clothes are ‘right’. But I’ve recently decided to try and push myself outside of my comfort zone a bit – so here I am, pushing.

I rarely buy things new these days; my first stop for anything is eBay, partly for cost effectiveness (i.e, I’m skint) and partly for environmental reasons – but I’ve fallen out of love with it a bit recently. Things have arrived and not fitted, or not looked quite how they did in the photo – I still love the coat in the pictures above, but that was a rare good moment in a sea of mistakes. I’ve been thinking about the phrase ‘buy less, buy better’, and I love the idea of buying one really beautiful, well made item instead of spending the same amount on ten cheap tops that will fall apart after a few months. I’ve also been reading loads of articles about capsule wardrobes, and I’ve sort of fallen in love with minimal style – the thought of being able to get up and have a wardrobe where everything goes with everything else is the ultimate dream!

I’ve had (another) good clear out, and have made a list of things I’d like in my wardrobe; it seems to be mostly simple things like a white shirt, loose black trousers, a longline blazer – easy, comfortable clothes. I’d also written down a stripe shirt, and then found this one in H&M – I’m not sure it falls into the ‘longlasting’ category, but it fits exactly how I wanted it to (slightly oversized) and could easily be tucked into high-waisted jeans or trousers.

We took these photos on one of my favourite streets in Southsea, where the houses are huge and beautiful, everything is crisp and white and there are loads of flowers and blossom. It doesn’t hurt that it’s not far from my favourite coffee shop, either!

PS: I’ve just spent almost a year growing my fringe out, and have just decided to get it cut back in. Ha!