Street Style

Have a look around the huge amounts of
Street Style snaps on the internet to get inspiration and ideas
for ways to put together an outfit.  

It really is all about style sometimes
and not the clothes themselves.

If you style yourself right you can wear cheaper or 

second hand clothing and still look AMAZING!

Check out my favourites:

http://www.coggles.com/street-style

http://originalnative.com/style/

This outfit or ones inspired by this are easy to make up
from most things people have in their wardrobe
or basic plain items from the charity shop.

The leather jacket and the bright red sunglasses really add glamor
to an otherwise ordinary floral skirt.
Floral skirts are ten a penny (not literally!) in the charity shops!!!

Modelling Clay Jewellery

Here is a necklace that I made from modelling clay that you can bake in the oven to harden.  You can make whatever you like out of the clay and there are all sorts of colours available. 

Tips...

1. Figure out where you need holes for rings 

and chains before you bake the clay.

2. Use rings and chains from old jewellery you have lying 

around or from the charity shop. It's much cheaper than 

buying the craft pieces from a store.

3. Wash your hands between colours so you 

do not transfer colour, especially on the

 lighter colours like white and yellow.

4. Use tools to create a better finish.

Things like cocktail sticks, cutlery and pen lids are 

good to use, but anything will do if you can

 see how it would work. 

5. Press your clay onto textured surfaces to add detail.

Like on the clouds here 

I've pressed the clay onto a dotted surface.

Fabric Clashing and Patchwork Trend

I'm Loving these looks from Preen Spring/Summer 2013 range.  Clashing fabrics and patchwork, what a great trend for revampers!!!

You can get all sorts of old clothes and fabrics and create your own version with real ease. 

Some Favourite Bargain Spots

I like to shop around when it comes to charity shop shopping to find the best places with the most interesting items.  Things I look out for are:

1. Look how the shop is arranged, sometimes items are arranged in colour sometimes in size. Its a lot easier to shop in the colour arranged shops if you don't like to rummage too much.  Just use your eye along the rails and pick out colours and patterns you like rather than looking through every piece of clothing.  I like to look at every piece in case I miss a gem, but not everyone is the same.

2. I go to either affluent or creative areas to find items that either are more expensive or suit my style.  So for example I like to go to the charity shops in Leamington Spa and Stratford-uponAvon as there is quite a lot of designer items that have hardly ever been worn.  Shakespeare's Hospice in Stratford-upon-Avon even has a rail labeled 'Posh Pieces'.  Some still have the original labels on.  The smaller villages outside of the larger towns are sometimes just as good but a bit cheaper.  Another of my favourite spots is the Oxfam shop in Moseley Birmingham as the area is a creative hotspot and I can find lots of quirky individual pieces.

3.  When you have found a fantastic gem be sure to check things like crotches and arm pits for staining and wear.  The items do get thoroughly checked by the shop staff but it doesn't hurt to make sure.

Hi and welcome to the Shanty House Blog.  Here you can expect to find largely advice on styling yourself into designer trends for pittance.  Also lots of tips on little ways to revamp old bits and bobs of clothing into new pieces or outfits.  

I started out when I was young about 10 years old making clothes for my Barbie.  I couldn’t afford the packs of Barbie clothing with my £1 pocket money I got a week, so I started cutting up my old clothes and sewing them into dolls outfits.  I then found at 16 years old, that my pocket money (still £1 a week) wasn’t enough to afford fabulous outfits for myself and so started slap dashing myself new pieces of clothing together from old stuff too.  From there I’ve not been able to stop and I make things here and there when they come to mind, or if somebody nice I've met would like something in particular.

I got myself a gig on the C4 show ‘SuperScrimpers‘ and started up this blog to share some of the things I did on the show and other projects too.  

You’ll find all sorts that I’m inspired by; photography, designer looks and trends, street style and other brands and labels that I’ve discovered.  Also advice on how to style charity shop clothing into fashionable catwalk trends, and the best places to go to get what your looking for.  

I hope you enjoy the blog and hopefully pick up some tips.  Please leave as many comments as you like and send through any thrifty tips you may have followed or thought of yourself.  

Bye Bye 

Bex from Shanty House   

Pastel Paradise

Catwalk Trends...

Pastel trends 2012 gave us a fresh look for our spring/summer wardrobes and thankfully they are here again for 2013! 

Peaches and cream, lilacs and mint greens, pastel pinks and mid tone blues in clothing, bags and shoes. Our whole wardrobe can be filled with light pretty romantic colours and patterns. 

But it doesn't have to cost a fortune!.....

Mulberry-Spring-Summer-2013
This outfit is beautiful the I adore the addition of pattern to the light colours
and I love the colours from the set too!

Here are some of the coolest celebs stepping out in their pastel outfits.
The tone of pink on trend is more a mid tone than a pastel.
Mixing pastels with mid tone colours
 (deeper than pastel but not as bright as brights)
helps to add richness to the look.

Photo - http-//static.lindex.com/Archive/Umbraco/1897249/celebs-in-pastels

The catwalk is bringing us beautiful pastel pinks, blues and greens
in wonderfully feminine flowing fabrics

Photo - http-//lustrelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Pastels

 Now for the Charity Shop Copy....

Here I've styled a nice simple mix of soft blues and pinks.
All the fabrics are floaty and soft adding that femininity
we saw in the catwalk trends for the season
I've brought in pattern with the blouse and then used
block colours of pastel pink and mid tone blue that tie in with it.
Don't shy away from wearing pastel trousers.
Most people stay safe and wear the darker colours
at the bottom of their outfits.
Do the opposite and get a more designer/celeb look
that stands out from the crowd.

I found this blouse in a charity shop and on closer inspection found that it was hand made!
It only cost me £2.50.
The blue top was just £1.99, and the trousers were £3

Remember...Pick up the key points from the trends and copy them in your own way.

This way you can get the look but do not have to spend a fortune.

For this trend its, pattern, pastels and mid tones mixed. 

Check out some more pastel trends to copy here....

http://www.elle.com/fashion/trend-reports/spring-2013-trends#slide-1

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-articles/pastel-shoes-bags-accessories-trend-1212#slide-1

Foxy

 It's hard to find good quirky stuff to buy for guys, so why not make your own. Get an old or second hand T-shirt and revamp it into a quirky one off. 

Quirky Recycled old T-Shirt...Lets see how its done 

Take an old plain T-shirt, some scrap fabric with a bright print you like... 

...and a scrap piece of leather or other  plain fabric 

Turn the T-shirt inside out.
 Fold the fabric you will be adding to the top of the T-shirt in half.
Place over the top half of the inside out T-shirt with the fold in the centre.
Cut the fabric following the edge of the T-shirt seams around
the sleeves and neckline.
Leave at least half a centimetre extra when cutting so you can
fold this under when stitching.

Open out the cut fabric and check how it fits to the top of the T-shirt.

Fold the edges under and align with the neck and sleeve seams of the
T-shirt that is now the right way round. Pin in place and topstitch. 

Stitch on your pocket...you can put on a simple pocket shape,
or play around like I have here and make the pocket into a funky shape...
like this fox.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

I'd love to see your own versions so please send them to me at shantyhouseclothing@gmail.com and I'll post them in a top 10.

HAPPY SEWING!