Tassel Cardigan

As previously mentioned I brought a few items from the lovely Sue Ryder store in Forrest Hill last week and this post is about a pretty tassel cardigan which I picked up:

£8.95, Sue Ryder

I am in love with this Cardigan, it is the warmest, comfiest thing ever! I have a lot of deadlines on at the moment, and this is great for throwing on to go to the library or to study. With all the lovely weather we have been having at the moment this keeps me perfectly warm on its own, so I can leave my coat at home! I really like the way it falls like a scarf and also the tassels, tassels seem to be on trend at the moment especially with the festival/folk look that can be spotted in many high street stores. I will definitely be taking this to any festivals this summer.

Yours,

Emma Dilemma

P.S. Quote of the day- "The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also."

- Harriet Ann Jacobs

Floral Patterned Shirt

This is the first post about some lovely items that I brought from Sue Ryder in Forrest Hill (South East London) this weekend. The first buy is a floral, vintage, patterned shirt, I am over the moon with this buy! I think it is a one off piece, as I didn't recognise the brand which I normally view as a good thing, as its means you are more likely not to see everyone else wearing it. In general I think that charity shops are great places if you want an individual unique look, and I think it's great to have wardrobe which is different from everyone else.

So here it is:

£6.95

Yours,

Emma Dilemma

P.S. Quote of the day- "Don't be afraid of being different, be afraid of being the same as everyone else."

- Anonymous

A letter from Emma about: Canvases

Dear Reader, 

Throughout my years of charity shopping I have learnt that you can find all sorts of things in charity shops (and they often come with the reasonable price tag too) which is what I discovered this week when I paid a visit to the Geranium charity shop for the Blind. 

As some of you may know I really enjoy art, but a well known difficulty that all art enthusiasts encounter is the high price tags of art materials. Which is why I was over the moon when I came across a selection of brand new art canvases... yep, they were still in their packaging and still with their original price tags: 

Originally £13.95 for three 20x60 canvas's , I paid £3. 

Originally £5.99 for one 30x40 canvas, I paid £2.

In total I brought five canvases, it wasn't until I got home that I found the original price tag on each canvas. I totalled it up and worked out that I got £25.93 worth of canvases for £7. Amaaaaaazing, and all of the £7 that I did spend went to a lovely charity. I'm so happy with my purchases and I'm really looking forward to doing some painting, I think that these could make great Christmas presents. 

Yours, 

Emma Dilemma 

P.S. Quote of the day- "A picture is worth a thousand words".

- Napoleon Bonaparte 

A letter from Emma about: More Jumpers

Dear Readers,

As promised, this is the post about the lovely items my flatmates brought from FARA during the week. 

Flatmate number 1 (Roseanna)

Originally from MANGO and cost £9.50 from FARA

Flatmate number 2 (Cat)

Originally from Topshop and cost £7 from FARA

The jumper I brought  is very different from these two, all of the jumpers are very different. I guess what I am trying to say is that charity shops can meet everyones needs. Contrary to popular belief, they have lots of choice and variation in stock, which I often think is a  negative taboo associated with them. Often many people say to me that 'they' never find anything in charity shop, I just wanted people to know I do not have charity shopping superpowers.  Charity shops really do have something for everyone and if at first you don't succeed then try the next one down the road.

The jumpers we brought were all brands of some sort, and often ones without brands go for a little cheaper, in the past I have brought jumpers for under £4 (so you can save even more money). As students charity shopping is a great way to save lots of money as well as staying fashionable, it's also a lot of fun!

Yours,

Emma Dilemma

P.S. Quote of the day - When the bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves- Welcome wool sweaters.
B.Cybrill

A letter from Emma about: Winter Warmers

Dear Reader, 

Today my flatmates and I went searching for some much needed winter jumpers. Charity shops are great places to find these winter warmers, since they are often reasonably priced and high quality. Also the warmer we are this winter, the less we will need to put the heating on...so jumper shopping is a must!

Here is my warming cardigan purchase...I love it!

Cardigan £12 from FARA

I purchased the cardigan from FARA, which is a charity shop that raises money for underprivileged children in Romania. All the money from your purchases in this shop go to such a lovely and deserving cause. Oh, the store is filled with such lovely things to purchase! The cardigan is Sparkle & Fade which can be originally sourced from Urban Outfitters, so I was very happy with my £12 price tag.
FARA shops can be found throughout central and south west London and I highly recommend a visit!

A great tip for students, or anyone looking to keep heating costs low this winter, is to buy lots of jumpers and chairty shops are full of low priced and high quality ones. 

What do you think of my purchase?

Yours, 

Emma Dilemma

P.S. - Quote of the day- "Big sweaters are like portable hugs".
- Anonymous

P.P.S.- Watch this space for my flat mates purchases, I shall be blogging about them later in the week.

A letter from Emma about: A Crop Top

Dear Reader, 

Back to charity shopping for today's post. This find was purchased from the lovely Acorns Children's Hospice charity shop.

£3.95 from Acorns Children's Hospice.

The top was originally from Topshop and it has a botanical-like tree design on the front, I love it when nature designs are incorporated into clothes. It cost be £3.95 so I had change left over from a £5: brilliant! I have worn it with jeans but I think it will look great with a pencil skirt or with dungarees. I'm over the moon with my find: it's not every day you find a t-shirt with a tree on it! It would be great to know what you think?

Yours, 

Emma Dilemma

P.S.  Quote of the day- "I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist."
- Tammy Faye Bakker

A letter from Emma about: A dress

Dear Reader, 

Long time no speak! I have just got back from a lovely relaxing week in Madeira, and I come home to this wonderful sunny England = result. 

I have a quick blog post about a last minute buy I picked up before I went away. I brought a summery tea dress from St Richard's Hospice charity shop in Malvern, Worcestershire. 

£5.00

I love it! On the hanger the dress looked a little too long, but with the tie around the waist you can adjust it to suite your needs (you cant judge a book dress by its cover). 

St Richard's Hospice charity shop donates its profits to their hospice which is located in Worcester, the hospice looks after patients and families who are living with a life threatening illness. 

“Each year we give free care and support to around 2,300 patients and their families – helping them towards the best quality of life possible”.

Shopping in these charity shops helps raise funds to provide this support. and they are stocked with some lovely items. Inside this particular store they had a vintage rack, which is filled with vintage gems and saves you looking through the whole shop to find your vintage inspired look. 

Summers here, so head to the charity shops and get some pretty dresses whilst you can!

Yours,

Emma Dilemma

P.S. Quote of the day- 

"Oh, my, my. Oh, hell, yes.

Honey, put on that party dress."

- Tom Petty