Thursday 1 March 2012

Bargain Bell Bottoms



I haven't bought anything other than second-hand clothing for over three years. Not only does paying pence for clothes make me swear out loud like crazy old lady when I see the price tags in real shops but racks and racks of the same old mass-produced tat bore the pants off me. 



Today was different. On the way back home after a morning's chazza shopping I noticed River Island were closing down and everything had to go. These fabulous knitted bell bottoms from their retro-inspired Chelsea Girl range were reduced from £35 to a fiver.


Then I popped into Boots and found this sun hat reduced £3. It's paper straw and can be scrunched up to fit in my backpack, perfect for my next trip.

Chelsea Girl flares worn with a 1980s leopard print swimsuit (20p, jumble sale), 1970s souvenir basket (£1.95, Acorns Hospice), vintage velvet lace-up waistcoat (The divine Kitty)
Barry M Blueberry Ice nails.

It's quite a treat to own something with the labels still attached.

Chelsea Girl flares worn with a 1980s leopard print swimsuit (20p, jumble sale), 1970s Madeira basket (£1.95, Acorns Hospice), vintage velvet lace-up waistcoat (The divine Kitty)
I did find a few second-hand lovelies but they'll have to wait until tomorrow. The sun's shining and I have a date with a stagnant fish pond.

See you soon.

67 comments:

  1. The waistcoat is divine! Genius idea to pair it with a swimsuit (don't envy you when you have to go for a wee though!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow you bought from an actual shop! *thud* that was me fainting ;o)

    Mind you they are still bargains!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What fabulous pants! And I adore the hat; I am a consummate hat person. The silver bracelets and the blue polished nails are perfect together, and the waistcoat is gorgeous!

    Have a wonderful date with the pond!

    xo, Anita

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous! What a find, personally I could never wear those (unfortunately I have a little too much thigh!) but you look cracking.
    Love the nail varnish and can't wait to hear about the other lovely things you picked up.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. those bell bottoms are a bit lush. I do love Chelsea Girl.

    BTW I changed my twitter account!

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. amazing!! as always! i do love river islands chelsea girl range. those bell bottoms suit you so much, and the price is even better!
    Rachel x

    ReplyDelete
  7. good job I'm sitting down to read this!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I haven´t bought anything new for ages either, but those trousers are absolutely you.
    Loving your fabulous jewellery, my dear Vix.
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    ReplyDelete
  9. oooh very Missoni, I love them. Look fabulous on you & your fab figure xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Super cool!!! Love bell bottoms!!!
    You're the best, ever!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I hope you're not wearing those for your trip out with the fishies!

    Will startle their poor eyeballs to see you with tags attached!

    Well done on the bargain hunting - They are gorgeous on you and will fit right in to your glamorous wardrobe.

    Love and light,

    Fhi x

    ReplyDelete
  12. i love those bells. i'd wear them in a minute! i recently purchased brand new pants myself. they were deeply discounted but it still killed me a little. but i must say they fit pretty fabulously. anyway have a lovely weekend vix.

    ReplyDelete
  13. obviously they look amazing on your skinny pins! well done, things can be found on the high street (though I tend to go to Sainsbury's for my clothes :S)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ooh, they've been absorbed seemlessly in to your style, no one would ever guess they were (*whisper*) new :)
    I'm constantly outraged at the price of clothes in shops. I like to have a nosey around in Hobbes but I've never bought anything there. The other week I was examining a £179 shirtdress - it wasn't even 100% wool - ha! As if! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ooh love the flares! And the rest in fact... River Island is not somewhere I usually go, may have to check if mine has a mega sale on! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gaaah, they are amazing! Can't believe they're River Island! Such a bargain though.

    Catherine, XO.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm a big fan of the Chelsea Girl range, those pants were waiting for you, as was the hat. This weather made me wonder what you'd be wearing today. Liam was aghast at my head to toe black ensemble - "but its BOILING mum".
    New clothes feel so different, don't they?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good luck with your fish pond.

    Fab bell bottoms, they look great on you!

    Lis x

    ReplyDelete
  19. This outfit is perfect!! The top with the leopard with the bellbottoms with that bag! Ahh. You find too many goodies. Love love.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow no wonder you rushed in and brought these bell bottoms, they look fab on you!
    Sophie
    x

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow no wonder you rushed in and brought these bell bottoms, they look fab on you!
    Sophie
    x

    ReplyDelete
  22. fabulous pants, really pretty design!, and love how you wear them with so summery accessories and your new hat!
    besos

    ReplyDelete
  23. If you hadn't told us we would have never known, those trousers look vintage to me ;-)) Glad you had a baragin like that. I used to work in River Island years ago i used to be the shoe Manageress but i haven't been in there for years. Hope you managed to sort the pond out been another gorgeous day. dee xx

    ReplyDelete
  24. I swear this has to be a new favorite outfit!!!!! I friggin LOVE these pants on you! You look so hot in them and for $5 I think those are jumble sale prices, ok not really but out here there are thrift store prices for sure. You rock the floppy hats like no one else I know.

    I have woke to snow the last three days, granted it's just been a light dusting but COME ON ALREADY, I'm over it!!! Enjoy some sun for me honey!!!
    Love you loads!!!
    Krista

    ReplyDelete
  25. oooh they're fabulous! though don't get hooked back into buying "new" though... at least you redeemed yourself by spending the morning chazza shopping first ;)

    hope the kitties keep their claws in when you wear them - I'd be worrying about minor details like that ;)

    fishpond? where? we need a map of your garden, methinks!

    am spending some of tomorrow sorting my garden out - or doing something practical to the bathroom as I've just had some plumbing work done and its a building site... tough choice as to which to do really ;) xx

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love the pants what a great pattern. I feel like I say it everytime I comment but your jewelry is just so awesome :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Well,a gal can't turn her nose up at a good bargain! Those pants are damned funky!Looking generally pretty frigging HOT,actually!Like you should be hanging with Anita and Marianne,shooting the breeze!YEAH!You wear pants better than ANYONE!!!
    Stagnant fishpond?!Ugh.Better get on a bikini and your waders!
    Love you!
    Love Helga xxxXXXxxx

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love the Chelsea Girl range but I must say I like to stick to the sales! Those are super! Sadly my local RI is NOT closing down (well happily for the people working there and the local economy) so I'll have to wait for the sales.

    ReplyDelete
  29. How cool that you were able to find such great bell bottoms retail clearance! The waistcoat is a perfect touch. xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  30. The trousers are great - nothing wrong with having something new now and again if it's that cheap.
    I often find myself exclaiming like an old person at high street prices and poor quality!

    Hope you had 'fun' with the fishpond!

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a fabulous pair of trews! They look very Cher, in fact the whole outfit is very Cher! You look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  32. OOhh Vix, now I do like that look! Just stunning baby!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  33. I know how you feel I shudder at the high street prices and quantity of tat, but it is nice to get something you like for a good price once in a while.
    I'm like that with my home too, I really need a TV stand but I want to find something suitable at the junk shop or boot sale as I refuse to buy some generic tat from Argos as seems to be the rage, yuk!
    Kandi x

    ReplyDelete
  34. That lace up waist coat is saucy sexylicious on ya.
    Those bell bottoms are fantastic with your straw hat.
    You find the best sales!
    I know i love a good bargain from RIverisland.
    That nail polish goes perfect with your fab jewelry collection.

    Besios

    ReplyDelete
  35. At these prices it's well okay to break the habit. The bellbottoms and the hat look amazing on you (especially in combination with the hot top :) and isn't it wonderful that a sun hat was in order today?! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  36. Lovely outfit. :D

    ReplyDelete
  37. What groovy bell bottoms, they look terrific on you. I didn't know RI did a Chelsea Girl range. Loving the new hat too and looking forward of course to see what you discovered in the chazza shops today.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  38. Well, those trousers definitely are your style and you look HOT in them, so I reckon that makes them a good buy - hat too! Great look, loving the corset/waistcoat, you saucy minx!
    Date with a stagnant fishpond? Hmmm, that's not sounding so great, but looking forward to hearing how you got on and to seeing the chazza bargains. xxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  39. I'm very much liking the bag Vix!

    ReplyDelete
  40. OMG River Island closing down? Noooooo, that's one of the few high street shops I love... Nooooooo, I hope Cov's is safe. Fab flares my lovely, sometimes you just need a with tags treat. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  41. I NEVER get tired of your ensembles!! This one is no exception and it's hard to comment on one or two items (except maybe that vest!!!). Oh yeah, and the jewelry. Those pants are pretty fabulous too. And what about...oops. There we go again.

    Love love love, Jean

    ReplyDelete
  42. Fabulous look! You look like a classic Barbie in these pics!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Those pants are perfect for you.
    We can forgive them for being
    new. They won't be always.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Brand new when in the most amazing sale is the very best!!! I do like heavily discounted stuff and those pants look amazing on you, you hot thing you!!! Hope you had fun in the pond!!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Look at you, all retro in retail! Yay! Looking good. I've gotten some new items recently, but they were all trade ins. Actually, my mom buys me stuff retail all the time, I just forget about it haha.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Much like you, I rarely buy anything new but if a bargain hits you sometimes you have to go for it. Especially when the bargain is a pair of fab bell-bottoms - they look like they were made for you!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Oh glory be to closing down sales when all the cool stuff is still left! Yes, it feels weird to me to walk down the street with a piece of clothing, tags intact, in a new bag. Those pants were just WAITING for you, begging for you to take them home and love them up - as you certainly have!!! Phwoar to leopard-print swimsuit and your waistcoat - you deserve a jolly good arse-pinching me lassie;))). Oh your bag is a bit like my Madeira embroidered bag - sigh ... aren't the colours just so incredible? xoxoxoxoxoxooxox

    ReplyDelete
  48. Those bell-bottoms are gorgeous! They suit you down to a t. I love the character of second-hand clothes, but it is nice to buy something "with the tags still attached" as you say every once in a while.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Good buy with those flares - they look brilliant on you. Chelsea Girl brings back memories...I've still got a CG black jumper that I brought in 1985 when I was 16. I treasure it still even though I don't wear it anymore; but I'm glad that clothes can't speak and reveal their secrets!!!!! ;-)
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  50. I have a great weakness for lace-ups around my torso! Yours is fantastic!! I hope the fabric on those pants feels as groovy as it looks. Score. I like the silver Nancy Cunard arms.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Great bell bottoms Vix. I got a not dissimilar retro pair from, erm, Forever 21 last year. 15 quid, but I'm really pleased with them. Not good about River Island closing down though. I know the fashion business is hardly perfect, but we can't afford to lose the jobs right now.

    I do wish you hadn't mentioned stagnant ponds though, I've been putting that job off!

    ReplyDelete
  52. LOVE the waistcoat! And the pattern on the bell bottoms is so funky and gorgeous! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  53. I've been pleasantly surprised by the Chelsea Girl range, although I haven't yet indulged myself. They bought one or two pieces from me when they were setting the relaunch up, although I haven't seen any reproduced yet! xx

    ReplyDelete
  54. You look fab! Very Missoni :)

    ReplyDelete
  55. I haven't got the hang of this yet Vix, so please bear with me.
    I've replied on my blog, but I just wanted to say thank you for reading and commenting. I've been reading your blog for awhile, so it was lovely to get a 'welcome' message from you. Thanks again x

    ReplyDelete
  56. Such a great find!) They look amazing and your legs are just gorgeous in these pants <3

    ReplyDelete
  57. You`re so chic! Check my blog and follow me if you want!
    Ioana

    http://www.fashionspot.ro/

    ReplyDelete
  58. Wow love how you're wearing the waistcoat, I knew you were up to the challenge, ha ha!! A most awesome and excellent outfit.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

    ReplyDelete
  59. im loving the hat!!

    and the pants are amazing!!!

    u rock!!

    http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete
  60. There is always an exception to the rule, and it would have been rude not to purchase those bargain flares and hat xxx

    ReplyDelete
  61. The pants are worthy of breaking out of the charity shop circuit!

    ReplyDelete
  62. Oh those pants are fab!! Very Missoni at a so not Missoni price! Love the seventies vibe you're rocking here xx

    ReplyDelete
  63. Your new pants are amazing and they look really vintage. The bag is also very cool.
    x

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading and for leaving a message. Please don't be anonymous, I'd love it if you left a name (or a nom de plume).

Lots of love, Vix