Thrifty Kicks

 LOVE charity shops - ♥!

 All of my dresses for work are second-hand from ebay or charity shops as, basically, when I went back to work after being at home for four years, I wanted to look nice and professional but I was still - at that point - SKINT.

A sweet colourful dress with my other wardrobe essentials - cheap black leggings from Primark, a black cardi and cheap and colourful ballet flats - and I had a capsule work wardrobe ready to rock.

Over the months I've expanded my wardrobe with a few more choice buys. And today, while I was down in Bathgate buying vegetable oil and salt, I wandered into the Marie Curie shop to get out of the rain and my eye was instantly caught by this red number.

I have been looking for a block-coloured red dress for AGES! When I first met R, I was going through a phase of only wearing red clothes (yes, I was one of those people) and now, even though my colour repertoire has expanded substantially, I still hold the idea of 'The Red Dress' fondly in my heart as a little memento of our courtship.

This dress cost me £3.00 exactly, and once I banish adjust the ruffled sleeves I think I will have a delightful, colourful shift dress perfect for both work and going out.

'Scuse the welly boots, btw - this is how I looked in the changing room trying it on and it amused me so much I decided to recreate the look once at home. I ROCK the wellies, man - believe!

The Skint Vegan Top Tip of the Day:

So, if like me, you go second-hand for your dresses, unless you buy a slinky fitted number you will probably find that some of the the items you buy suffer from what I like to call 'excess baggage' - all that extra material that billows around your hips and belly making you look like you're about to set sail for India, with only a feeble fabric belt to somehow try and pinion it all in at the back.

Forget the fabric belt - unpick it, make it into a boho headband for your firstborn daughter. If you're a seamstress, great! You can adjust the garment to fit! If you're like me, however, and you are only capable of adjusting a garment when equipped with wonderweb and a hot iron, then this is what you do:

Invest in a couple of waist-cincher belts. These need to be wide enough to tame that excess fabric into acceptable submission, and loose enough so you look (and feel) comfortable wearing them, rather than like you've just wandered off a Bette Page tribute shoot.

 The difference?

From this... a little sack-like...

To this... defined, fitted, sweet.

 I think we all know. (-_o)