I am happy to report I have done pretty well with my plan (
original post here)! I have not strayed from the original line up and any additional purchases are all in-keeping with what I originally had in mind! I'll kick off the show and tell with the outerwear purchases! I was lucky enough to bag the M&S leopard print coat with one of the 20% discounts that have been around and not only that, my parent's ended up buying it for me for my birthday! It had it's first spin on my birthday when I went out to tea en-famille!
Marks & Spencer coat (no longer online but plenty instore)
Jaeger sweater (Autumn 2013)
H&M pleather leggings (current,
here)
H&M bag (current)
H&M lace shoes (current,
here)
I also managed to bag the
Topshop oversized cardy, I got the last one in the shop but I think they have re-stocked and have it in other lovely colours now too!
Tophop cardigan (current,
here)
Zara Breton (Autumn 2013)
Gap skinnies (old)
Superga trainers (Summer 2014)
H&M knitted snood (current,
here)
Next up it is the selection of knitwear and tops I had set my sights on! My last post was all about the
Uniqlo merino sweater research so I've filled the wardrobe gap with a grey v-neck and black round neck. I also managed to snag the
Boden raven and grey Breton for just £11.25 with one of their generous discounts and a welcome back £10 off voucher!
Onto other tops.......I had my eye on 2 shirts! Not only have I taken full advantage of those discount vouchers flying around, I have had a lot of luck on eBay recently! One of the items on my list was a Gap denim shirt, however while trawling eBay I came across this one from J Crew and jumped for joy when I won the auction and paid £10 and P&P for it!
The other shirt was also Gap but I didn't get my butt into gear quick enough and by the time I went to order it had sold out! It was obviously meant to be though as I ended up with this Brave Soul red and black check shirt from ASOS which was a bargain also at £15 in the sale (unfortunately now sold out too). Not only was I lucky from the price point of view but I had a lucky escape not ordering the Gap shirt as I saw it in store last week only to find it wasn't red and black but red and charcoal which would not have been in keeping with the plan at all!
Moving on swiftly to the bottom half, I did invest in the ASOS ridley busted knee black jeans (with 25% off thanks to Glamour magazine!) and I say invest as they are possibly some of the best jeans I have ever owned!! High on the waist and with the most perfect amount of stretch, they are the height of comfort as far as jeans go........I would thoroughly recommend! So much so I have also ordered them in blue also!
Zara jacket (Spring 2013)
Whistles t-shirt (old)
ASOS Ridley busted knee jeans (current,
here)
Adidas Stan Smith trainers (courtesy of eBay)
H&M bag (current)
And so we reach the footwear! Bearing in mind I have already purchased some black Superga, I felt I needed a casual boot for the rainy days and I knew I was after a completely flat Chelsea boot. I found the
Lolly Dawson in Clarks and again managed to get them with a 20% discount thanks to the purchase of the dreaded school shoes! These have been a brilliant buy as again they are super comfy and have been just the job for the wet school run's this past week. The other pair of shoes on the list was a pair of
lacey pointed flats from H&M, which have been brilliant for a couple of semi-dressy occasions where neither a boot or heeled shoe would do!

So that was the original list completed.....obviously there have been a couple of unintended but perfect additions on the way! When I got an invite for a Boden clearance, I thought I'd go along for a mooch. I've got to be honest and say I went along not expecting to find anything. Having never been such an event before I was in for a real shock! Such a scrum! It was in the Showering Pavillion at the Bath & West showground, which is basically a huge cow shed where they sell livestock (ok, it's a tiny bit nicer than that.....I may have gone to huge organised raves there about 20 years ago!). Anyway there were rails around the room and lots of tables with shoes, bags and boxes of clothing on. I arrived as it was opening at 10am, it was manically busy and just a case of diving in! This is not my kind of shopping at all, there is no pleasure in picking up something with the possibility of having to brawl for it....people are so fierce when it comes to bagging a bargain. Anyway happy to report that I left after 20 minutes completely unscathed after being fortunate to find something right up my street! I got me a lovely Off Duty black roll neck sweater, once again I have managed not to deviate from my plan as it fits right in. I think it's a cotton mix and was a steal at £25!

Boden sweater
H&M pleather leggings (current,
here)
Oasis pumps (ancient)
H&M bag (current)
I have
Net-A -Dresser and
Fashion Mum of 40 to thank for the purchase of the
H&M pleather leggings in the above photo which the Boden sweater. Helen from N-A-D sewed the seed a while ago and Annmarie reminded me more recently about the hole in the wardrobe for which a leather look legging/trouser was needed! I didn't get in there quick enough again for the
Next ones (I was just not patient enough to go for the 2-3week wait for delivery) but I remembered seeing something similar in H&M (I purchased and returned these last year....doh!) so I set out to purchase these immediately as I had an occasion in mind for wearing them as my birthday was coming up.
Also not on the original list but again a fab accessory fitting in the plan was the H&M fringed bag. I had some H&M vouchers for my birthday and I knew straight away I would buy the bag as I've been eyeing it up for a couple of months and had recently seen
Joanna of Poppy's Style and
Frances School Run style toting theirs, only making me want it more! It is a superb bag for £19.99, I managed to nab the last black one but they also have it in another colourway which I am also contemplating!

It looks like I have had a right old splurge but thanks to some birthday presents/money and eBay sales all my Autumn purchases have been covered! I've purged a huge chunk of my wardrobe on eBay, in particular I had a huge cull of footwear as last Winter I fell out of love with boots once I purchased the New Balance trainers and of course I have practically lived in the Kurt Geiger Laurel skate shoes since I bought them earlier this year so I no longer felt I needed a lot of the boots. I do love to bag myself a bargain and I rarely pay full price for anything and as you can see I have been truly lucky with getting so many discounts on things!! Every little helps as they say!
The plan of action has really come into play over the last week, all of the above outfits have been worn during the past 7 days.....it is safe to say that winter is well on the way now! Here are just a couple more school run outfits that saw me breaking out my parka as it was blowing a gale and lashing down here!
Topshop parka (A/W 2013)
Primark sweatshirt (current, menswear department)
Clarks Lolly Dawson boots (current,
here)
Marc Jacobs bag (old)
Efurt scarf (old, Hi Hi Oxted)
Topshop parka (A/W 2013)
Uniqlo shirt (A/W 2013)
Gap always skinny jeans (old)
Adidas Stan Smiths (courtesy of eBay)
I am looking forward to wearing the new purchases over the coming weeks and I love doing the obligatory Autumn/Winter changeover when you stumble over your forgotten favourites of years gone by!
I just wanted to thank everyone who left lovely birthday messages for me on Instagram, I was very touched, it made my day extra special!
As always I love reading and responding to your comments!
Until next time!
Michelle :0)