A Sample Sale & Some Great Markets In London

A while ago I shared a post on my Facebook page about Grazia's 'Gladrags & Handbags' sample sale in aid of the charity Kids Company.  I had completely forgotten about it until end of last week then panicked thinking I had missed it.  Phew, I hadn't but the only day I was free was Sunday.  I actually love driving into London on Sundays.  It's free parking on single yellow lines, the shops aren't open until later which means as I have two young children who like to get up early, we get to most places just as they are opening!  The plan was to drop me off somewhere in Shoreditch (The Truman Brewery apparently) and the hubby take the girls for a wonder while I had some precious time alone with some bargains.  As soon as we got there and my 6 year old saw the kids rails and my husband the mens rails, that plan was out of the window.  Damn.  I hold my hands up, I get a little excited about sample sales, I literally dash around to grab anything that jumps at me straight off then I get back in for seconds, thirds etc. which means I have no photos of my own to share.  Follow this link though and you will get the gist if you haven't had the pleasure of a sample sale before.  I did manage to walk away with some MiH jeans for £40 though (£148 on their website!), and they fit so well (picture to follow in another post).

With a few beauty bargains also, a cardi for my eldest and a some pieces of Adidas's Y-3 for the hubby, we had just about exhausted the snack bag packed to keep the 1 year old occupied.  I am so going to this one again and next time I will be there at the opening.  I fear I missed out on some serious designer bargains.

Just a few designers.....

Despite the horrendous downpour yesterday, with pack a mac's and brollies we continued on exploring and found some great little markets around Brick Lane which included some home made cake stalls!

My little lot, they were happy, honest!

Tons of vintage sunglasses!

We ended up browsing around Spitalfields.  It's been a while since I've been there so glad I got to have a roam. It has such a great atmosphere but for me the best bit is the variety of foods.  It's just buzzing there, even on a damp, wet Sunday.  

The undercover market in full swing

I opted for comfort over and above anything else but failed on the warmth front.  Even with a cami under my shirt, a scarf and pac a mac (I didn't need to photo that, it's North Face, black, you can all picture it) I was still cold.  My black Topshop boots were fine all day, they have a tiny heel but I feel it showed up a hole in my wardrobe.  A tan coloured pair of flat boots.  There were some amazing ones there but at £80 they can wait a while, more research to be done!

Shirt - Topshop
Watch - Tag
Belt - Boden
Jeans - Topshop
Boots - Topshop
Necklaces - All made by a jeweller in Dubai for less that half of what they would be here!

Double denim with a hint if animal!

I love wearing two necklaces together  

Scarf - Alexander McQueen
Bag - The Cambridge Satchel Company

 If you are after a satchel style handbag, I fully recommend mine.  It was amazing in the rain, the water just fell off of it.  Mine is the antique gold one, 11" and I did manage to get it on a promotion over a year ago so was about £70 from memory.  If you are looking for something a little more cheerful, they have just launched a limited edition range with Vivienne Westwood.  Prices start from £170, how fab are these!

Converse + Sale = Ordered!

Well I did say in this post that I was reluctant to pay full price for them (and most things I might add) and a few weeks later?  They are now £25!  I couldn't remember what size I tried on and was dashing out of the house for school pick up when I saw they were reduced so it was left to fate.  By the time I came home there was only a 4 in the animal and 3.5 in the grey.  I decided against the blue as I wear a lot of blue denim jeans and I want them a different colour.   Check out Office as that is where I found them in the sale.  Will update once they've arrived and I've decided which pair.  Excited, my first pair of Converse!

I also managed to try on the Topshop Gwenda shoes I was raving about in this post.  Mmmmm.  Strangely the navy size 4 felt big yet the pink 4 were small and I did not like the toe cleavage.  So glad I managed to try them on as now I can knock them off my wish list.  I actually preferred the navy though, even when I seem to have a pink thing going on at the moment!

For anyone already considering the Christmas party frock (well done!) give French Connection's Ebay outlet a try here.  They have some amazing discounts.  I've ordered and returned things to them before and it's been no trouble.  There are some silk tops I am so tempted by but Converse were more important for my day to day living than a fancy silk top, so head over ruled heart today (I won't make this a habit).

French Connection Ebay Outlet £87 down to £25

And I will end with a little tip off, Grazia are having a sample sale from 11-13 October.  If you are in London and enjoy a designer bargain on two, pop along.  More information here.  I think I might just have to attend as I've never been to one of theirs before so in the name of research for you my lovely readers.......
PS I want that top above now even more, damn.

My Week

I very nearly forgot to place an order with my 30% off Gap voucher - but I didn't, phew.  So still on my 'minimal budget/semi shopping ban' I am always in need of trousers.  I have blogged and moaned many times before how I hate looking for bottoms, I love my jeans.  With an important meeting coming up in London, I thought the discount be best spent on trousers.  So I ordered 3 pairs and 2 pairs of jeans (at £14.99 it was worth a shot), a jumper for the hubby and 2 further pairs of jeans for my sister to try.  None of the jeans worked (thank goodness), 1 pair of trousers came up loads larger than I think they should, then I tried these on.  Et Voila!  I could tell before I had even pulled them up that I was on to a winner.  They feel so comfy to wear and made me feel great even with a cold and feeling run down.  Anyone who knows me knows my hate of paying for delivery.  However with the 30% off and a pair of winning trousers, I think I can well and truly justify the £4 (oh and my nearest store is 20 miles away).  I am thrilled to say the least.  I have teamed them with my Ted Baker courts and will probably add one of my Banana Republic blouses tucked in, maybe with a little skinny belt.  

£29.95 but £21 with discount

Gaps Slim Cropped Pants

I promised I would share any wardrobe progress from my very honest post in the week about the state of my wardrobe.  I am a firm believer that if your not feeling too great about yourself, then trying on clothes is a no no.  So I decided to just start with my shelves and re fold, re organise.  I found 1 holed Tee which will go in the rag bin and some very shiny lurex scarves which I haven't worn in over a year, so they were promptly removed.  The pink one has managed to find it's way into my 6 year old's room....It was baby steps today, but it's still progress.  Thick Winter scarves have also gone away in the drawer under my bed - I am being optimistic.  The picture makes the cardi's look untidy but I promise they are organised by colour and pattern!  Lessons learnt - no more navy cardi's needed but a nice plain black scarf is.  

Plain and patterned Tees, Cardis, Scarves

Didn't make the cut (apart from the pink now residing in daughters room)

I hope all you Mummy's out there had a lovely Mother's Day last week.  I had a great one with family and a quick impromptu visit to Bicester Village.  We were very kindly given a 30% off voucher for Ralph Lauren (Friends and Family event) so I did say to the Hubby not to buy me lots of tack for Mother's Day as would rather put the voucher to good use.  These lovely PJ's came down to around £16 with the discount - now that's a bargain!  Perfect present from my little ladies, quality and comfort (yes a little Christmasy but there's no Santa on them so I'm not bothered!).

I am seeing one of my closest friends tomorrow as she lives far too many miles away 'up North'.  But her reason for getting a mention on my blog tonight is that she is bringing with her the M&S boots that I was madly after in the sale.  She managed to find one pair of size 3.5's in her store so they had better fit.  From my online sale shop I got the hubby's slippers as I always do in their sale (half price), a cardi for the 6 year old, a zester (yes, really) and a new bra (bra's - another thing I hate shopping for ticked off this week).  Nothing very adventurous so these boots best be good!  They were £32.50 from memory and as I've lived in my black suede ones I felt these would be a great seasonal purchase.

My wish list item this week?  Flicking through Grazia and saw 'my shoes' I tried on the other week.  They looked so much better on my feet than they did in the magazine, surely that warrants them right?  It's called my 'wish list' item for a reason, they are not a 'need' Natalie, keep dreaming...

Thank you for reminding me about these Grazia

I think Zara need to donate these to my wardrobe