Huge Summer Clothing Haul

Having spent the last few years saving the majority of my wages for car insurance and my new guitar, it had been quite a while since I'd been able to do a big clothes shop and at least 8 months since I had bought any new clothes at all. Coming towards the end of my time at college, I felt as though I needed to give my wardrobe and my general style a bit of a refresh. 

 I was in desperate need of new jeans. I've worn nothing much other than black jeans for the last 2 years and my few pairs were looking pretty faded and sorry for themselves. But I also felt like I needed to try something new, I wanted to look different. I owned 2 jackets, my khaki coat and a black leather jacket and that was it. It really seemed as though my style needed to get it's mojo back ready for Uni in a couple of months time. 

 It took me a little while to save once I'd started at my new job; I decided to do something I hadn't done in a few years: splurge completely on myself.

 I took a trip into Cheltenham with my boyfriend with a few week's wages and I went a little crazy. It felt good and made me feel so good! I am a great believer in retail therapy. I feel it's really beneficial to your mental health to throw out old clothes and replace them with bright, new alternatives. 

 This blog post is going to be mainly pictures; I hope the blogger.com formula accommodates 
this well. 

 Our first stop was my absolute favourite clothing shop; New Look. In my opinion, it's one of the most affordable high street fashion stores that keeps up with runway styles and fashions. I knew that new jeans had to be my priority. Jeans shopping is probably the most stressful form of clothes shopping because your money never seems to go very far and it can be very tricky to get the perfect fit. I have experienced this to extremes. Before I filled out a little over the last year or so, I was so slim and short legged that the only high street brand of jeans I could fit into properly were Top Shop's pricey rage at £40-50 per pair. I knew that if I wanted to kit out my wardrobe fully, I'd have no money left at all so I gave New Look jeans another try.

 I'm so glad I did. I seem to have finally grown into myself so I could fill the fabric properly without there being meters of shriveled fabric around my ankles.

 I picked up a pair of holy grail black jeans, but then found myself being drawn to lighter fabrics. I found a really comfy pair of dark blue denim jeans for only £7.99! As well as a more pricey pair of gorgeous light blue jeans with this beautiful floral embroidery. I got 4 new pairs of jeans in total and my wardrobe already looks much brighter and I spent half as much on them as I was expecting. 

 I also felt my wardrobe was pretty limited on jackets. New Look's lovely range of rain coats had caught my eye on previous trips out and I managed to find my dream coat in the sale reduced by about £13. This lovely crisp white rain mac with blue and white stripe detail has me so excited for the autumn time. I have come to terms with the fact that I am just not a Summer person. I can imagine me walking through the University campus in this lovely jacket with a coffee in one hand and a lovely bright bag in the other. Nothing makes me happier than being able to look forward to next term. 

 I also wanted to try out a denim jacket. I haven't worn a denim jacket since I was really little. I have seen them being worn recently on other people and they just look like the perfect layer for early autumn and spring time. I knew if I invested in one now it would last so I picked up this oversize jacket. It is a few sizes too big for me, but I loved the way it looked regardless. It would look lovely over a play suit or T shirt dress as well as over my range of Jersey trousers I have collected. I'm excited to start styling this, I think it will bring something really new to my look.

 I also looked through the mid season sale in New Look and found a few lovely pieces. I knew my wardrobe lacked in some casual items such as T shirts and jumpers. I firstly stumbled upon this blue and white striped T shirt which I had at home in black. It was reduced to only £4, so I thought it was worth picking up because I absolutely love my other one. I also found this jumper in khaki green. It was 2 sizes too big in a 10, but I cannot resist the colour khaki. Although it will be big, it is so soft and I think it will be really comfy and cuddly in the coming winter months when I'm away from home.

 I also picked up these lovely floral pattern shoes in a slip on, converse style. The neutral colours make them so easy to style with any outfit and, seeing as my collection is made up of mostly heeled ankle boots, comfy flat shoes are always welcome! 

 Lastly, I couldn't resist adding a couple more mugs to my collection: this lovely cat mug to match my other and a sparkly one that reads, 'born to be a unicorn.' They were both so cute and I do love my coffee in a pretty mug in the morning!

When it comes to refreshing my style, I always want to add a few more jewelry pieces to my collection. My absolute favourite high street shop is accessorize. I have a wide range of accessorize jewelry already yet they always manage to have something new and exciting to catch my eye. I was firstly drawn to this rose gold necklace and the matching earrings. This combination will be perfect to glam up one of my simpler outfits. 

 I also managed to find my dream set of earrings. I've been trying to get old of some miniature hoop earrings for ages. I see people wearing them but I've never been able to find any nice ones in shops. When I saw this set, I couldn't resist picking them up. They come in several colours which is ideal for matching them with outfits and they're so classically simple! I'm super excited to wear these.


 Lastly, I wanted to pick up a set of rings. When I was 15, I would wear rings all the time despite not really being allowed to at school. I wanted to try and get back into wearing rings. When I saw this quirky geometric, rose gold set; I knew it was perfect for me. I don't often splurge on jewelry and it felt good to treat myself! 

 Rose Gold is definitely a trend that has stolen my heart.

Our next stop after a beautiful lunch at Bills was H&M. I absolutely love H&M for casual, comfy clothes on a budget. I managed to pick up almost as much as I did in New Look for a third of the price. 

 Firstly, I wanted some big comfy T Shirts to pair with my patterned trousers at home. I picked up one in grey and one in Khaki. These feel like such lovely quality for such a low price, I can see myself picking up a lot more once I'm living in the city! 







 I also stumbled upon a couple of midi dresses; this one blue and white striped T Shirt dress and then a more classic black bodycon dress. I loved both of these because you could easily wear them quite casually, but add heals and the right jewelry/makeup combination and you can dress them up quite a bit! 









This wasn't a planned purchase; this lovely bright striped shirt caught my eye and, although it was on the pricier side, I couldn't resist picking it up! It's quite over sized on me, but the simplicity of it is so lovely and I've never owned anything like it before. I think it would pair up really nicely with my floral jeans from New Look. 

 





















 I also picked up a couple of boxes of tights which are always handy and this set of stud earrings. You can never have too many pairs of pastel colour studs! 





 Before we headed home, we popped into WHSmiths so that I could grab Louise Pentland's debut novel and a quick Chai Latte from the Soho Coffee upstairs. As a bookstagrammer, I was a little skeptical about reading Louise's novel, having been disappointed by YouTuber books in the past. However, after reading such lovely reviews, I decided to give it a try. I also picked up The Secret History by Donna Tartt which has been on my To Be Read list for a while, and I Capture The Castle which was a random selection to fill a BOGOHP offer. 

 I always pick up a few books when I go shopping!

 I hope this post may have inspired you to refresh your look a little for the autumn time. I always feel like autumn is a kind of fresh start in a way. It feels like the beginning of a new year for me and I love to go into it with new ideas and inspiration, a new set of clothes is a lovely way to start! Enjoy the rest of your Summer and I'll be back next week with a July Book Haul!