Tips for Charity shop success

I've been obsessed with Charity shops forever.
I love finding one off timeless pieces, but it's also great for finding current trends without spending a lot of money on something that you mightn't get much wear out of.
People are often asking me how I find such great stuff and honestly it's always a hit and miss, so I thought I'd share with you some of my tips and tricks!

My fave find of the week £1

Look through everything
I can spend hours going from one charity shop to another and I always make sure that I search the entire place. The Mens section is great for finding flamboyant shirts, cool alternative tee's, hoodies, flannels and often the pricing is even cheaper in this section.
Another favourite of mine is to look through the accessories, I love finding interesting hats, bags and cool sunglasses.
If you're in to interior design I reccomend rummaging through the home ware shelves as well. Most of the artwork on my walls are thrifted (can I use that word if I'm English?) and there are always cool nik naks and antiques to be found!
Just be sure to scan through the whole shop if you're eager to find amazing pieces!

Be creative
With the prices being so low, it's good to think outside of the box. Think about if you could alter a piece if it's too big or small, or if something could be cropped or altered to fit you better. Another idea is to buy a cheap denim or leather jacket and customise it with pins, patches or even paint it!
Recently I found a satin slip dress and it was waaay big, I ended up cutting it in to a vest and for £2 it was definitely cheaper than the high street alternatives.

Use the fitting rooms
I like to completely ignore the sizing when charity shopping and instead I'll just try on everything that I've picked up. It's tempting to just grab a load of clothes and buy them straight away since it's so cheap but make sure you use the fitting rooms.
I think it's best to set yourself aside a few hours to check in all of the charity shops and remember to wear something that's comfy and easy to take on and off so you stay motivated. Honestly I'm always motivated by the amazing pieces that I find! I'm constantly being laughed at by the people who work there for overloading of my arms with clothes.

The shorts were £2

Visit different locations
It's a lot easier now that we have a car, but I've always made the effort to travel to different high streets where I know that there are several charity shops.
By my house the charity shops are really cheap and the clothes aren't usually that great, but if I travel to higher income areas it will cost more but the variety of donated clothes will be awesome!
It's always exciting to find designer pieces and clothes that are currently trendy and expensive on the high street.
If you're interested in vintage clothing then definitely visit up and coming areas with a hipster vibe, the clothes will be cost more than your usual charity shop finds but when comparing it to normal vintage shop prices it's usually still a bargain!

Both jackets were £4

Buy for others
earn instant brownie points by picking stuff up that you know friend's or family members will love. I will often find amazing pieces that I love but I know I probably won't get much wear out of, so I like to pass them on to my mum or other family and friends to see the clothes go to a good home!

I think charity shops are great for pushing your style and really experimenting with what you wear, so have fun and think outside the box!
All of the stuff in the photo's is what I've found this week alone and as you can see I'm in three stripe heaven at the minute!

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any other tricks that you like to follow!

Instagram @wolvesandflames

Do I regret shaving my head?

People keep on asking me if I regret shaving my hair off and since my "pro's and cons" post is still getting hundreds of views every week I thought I'd write a follow up with some answers. I had my head shaved for four months before I decided I wanted to grow it out again. It doesn't seem like a long time, but honestly I have changed since then and having a buzzcut had a lot to do with it.

When I first cut all of my hair off I was struggling with my identity. I was bored with my look and didn't know what I wanted to wear most of the time. I shaved it with the hopes of finding and reinventing my style, but it wasn't as instantaneous as I had hoped.
I've blogged about the fight I had with my mental health last year and I think my identity struggle was a reflection of that. I continued to dress the same as before but it didn't feel like me anymore and the buzzcut felt pretty weird teamed with the smart dresses and heels I was wearing. I feel my most comfortable dressed alternative or sporty but I felt like I was having to dress extra girly to compensate for my loss of femininity from having no hair (stupid, I know).

It wasn't until I became more comfortable with myself that I started to challenge these views. I was watching Party Monster one day (if you haven't seen it yet you need to!) and it dawned on me that there was no need to keep on trying to be someone else anymore. Wearing makeup every day and living in a push up bra wasn't me, it was as though I was playing a character. I knew I would be so much happier if I stopped caring about what people think and if I just dressed like my androgynous self.

People were definitely confused at first, admittedly it must have looked like quite a big change, but for me I was just finally being myself. It's crazy how much we let other peoples opinions dictate us, when in reality most people don't care at all about us or what we wear, they're more concerned about themselves and how we are perceiving them.

Shaving my head was the best thing I've ever done in terms of finding myself. It's extremely liberating and although it was scary at first, I ended up loving myself more than I ever thought I could.

Now that I've started to grow my hair, people have been asking if I regret my decision to shave it and I find it really funny. When I had my long, blonde hair it was constant upkeep, stress and anxiety that it would go wrong or become damaged.
I've spoken before about my anxiety linked with cutting my hair, I would be on the verge of a panic attack over the hairdresser suggesting I get an inch off the ends. Now luckily I have no attachment to my hair, it's not a mask for me to hide behind anymore. I'm excited to grow it out, but I know that if I ever have a bad haircut in the future I would be completely fine.

Another bonus has been getting rid of the blonde and having my own hair colour for the first time in seven or eight years. I used to hate it, but now I couldn't be happier to see my natural hair. I'm excited to see how it will grow and what texture it will be because honestly it's been so long I can't remember!

I think that if anyone has a strong urge to shave their head then they should go for it.
It's not traumatic like people make out it is and hair doesn't define someone and it certainly doesn't define a persons gender.
It's hard not to pick up my clippers and shave it off again because having short hair is the easiest and most comfortable thing, but I will persevere and hopefully grow it in to a short bob!

This has taken me almost a week to write because I didn't know how to word certain things, so I hope that it all makes sense and that I didn't deviate too far from my point!

Thank you for reading!

Instagram @wolvesandflames