So I call your name, the only thing I know.

Vintage silk shirt: £1.99, via charity shop. Vintage leather midi pencil skirt: £3, via charity shop (similar). The Kooples leather jacket: not less than a fiver. Bally chelsea boots: £8, via charity shop. Patent bag: 20p, via charity shop.

Think of this post as an ode to the charity shop. It's been a while since I wore top to toe second hand, but a few weeks ago I found this leather pencil skirt for less than a Pret salad and it reminded me why I always end up heading back to those friendly little stores. As a student, my blog used to document my usual charity shop outfits, but when I moved to Munich things started to get more high street again. A quick browse of the rails of my local charity shop on the way to buy a pint of milk (a girl needs tea, okay) proved to me, yet again, that sometimes you need a little more than asos premier to find something a little special. Admittedly, I need to alter this pencil skirt a little, but where else would you find a real leather pencil skirt for such a tiny price tag?

I decided to debut this little number on a day trip to Ipswich, a town I hadn't visited for a good five years. It's an odd place, but I do appreciate its charm, even down to the statue of Cardinal Wolsey. Just a little bit outside of the town centre is this charming road of old buildings, so we found this suitably warm-toned bookshop to browse before dinner and snap a few photos of my new-to-me outfit. Now, to think of more places nearby to explore...

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I bet that Juliet was just the icing on the cake.

Asos bardot top: £10. Dorothy Perkins floral midi skirt: via House of Fraser. The Kooples leather jacket. Vintage patent bag: 20p. Bally chelsea boots: £8, via charity shop.

Southend is one of those places I tend to forget how much I love till I visit again. Although it offers a pretty good Monday night out, it's probably more famous for its pier, Adventure Island and Rossi's ice cream - nothing beats it! My mum and I popped over a couple of weekends ago on a whim and treated ourselves to a stroll along the estuary and, of course!, some fish and chips at the end of the day. There's nothing quite like a trip to the seaside to lift your spirits, and I just couldn't help but make the most of the day trip by taking some outfit photos, even if I do look rather windswept. Even though I'm no queen of the bardot neckline Dunya, I've found myself drawn to the shape quite a lot recently, and I snapped up this bargain top for a tenner on asos. Are you a fan of the trend?

Today has been considerably less cute, and I'm currently sat nursing a rather persistent hangover which even a trip to Nando's hasn't seemed to fix. I'm about to make my first cup of tea of the day to try and ward it off before settling down to catch up with blogs and youtube to round off the weekend - happy Sunday!

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And now I'm falling.

Mustard knit jumper: c/o Vero Moda. Vintage tartan skirt: £8. Bally chelsea boots: £8, via charity shop. Urban Outfitters hat: £12. Vintage patent bag: 20p. Essie Sunday Funday nail polish.

An article in the Metro about a new TV series called "Oh you pretty things" got me thinking (and, let's be honest that doesn't happen all that often when I'm up at 6.30) about how much music and fashion overlap. Apart from the incredibly worn band tees I've picked up from various gigs over the years acting like a little badge of honour, my influences are worn in a more subtle way, and a listen to a new band or an old favourite can often end up influencing my choice of outfit the next morning. I immediately associate Oasis with parkas, Babyshambles with fedoras, Florence with long, flowing dresses, and the Vaccines with bomber jackets. For some reason, this cosy little Vero Moda jumper paired with a tartan skirt and a centre parting makes me think of Haim and would be perfect for doing the Destiny's Child dance in, or maybe that's just me..? Now the aim's to look as good as Debbie Harry in a black slip dress and a slick of red lipstick!

Ironically enough, this weekend has actually involved dancing like we're in music videos (just not Anaconda) as I've spent it with friends in various bars over London and catching up on some of that precious thing I used to get quite a lot (you know, sleep). You may have noticed that I'm blogging less frequently than I used to, which comes as an unfortunate side effect of too busy to photograph anything, but you can find me on instagram and twitter for those inbetween days when you fancy a little splash of coco.

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Crème de la crème.

Crème de la crème sweater: c/o WearAll. Jack Wills blouse: £4.50, via charity shop. Asos petite Ridley jeans: £30. Vintage Bally boots: £8, via charity shop (similar). Missguided fedora: £15. Rimmel lipstick. Mavala nail varnish.

As far as obscure Saturday activities go, heading to a quaint village set on the banks of the Blackwater estuary to watch a carnival of sorts has got to be up there, but the difference sure did make a welcome change from hurried walks between Liverpool Street and Old Street. So, one free Saturday morning we headed off to see what the Maldon Carnival was all about - via a Mr Whippy, of course! Minus the one Rio-themed group, this is a far cry from Notting Hill's annual effort, and instead focuses on what the local community's been up to recently, so cue cute dogs and rugby lads which isn't a bad thing in my eyes. Finish things off with a brie and bacon sandwich (my favourite, for the record), and it wasn't half a bad day for one we'd stumbled across when browsing through the local paper that morning.

In true foolish style, I decided to ignore the nice weather and wear my new crème de la crème sweater. I knew I had to pick it up the moment I saw it on Jennie (who's blog you need to check out now!), and I am purposefully going to ignore that the accents are the wrong way round because it's so perfect, and a darn sight cheaper than the Whistles one I adore. Let's just say, at least I'll be ready for when the temperatures suddenly drop.

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Just busy earnin', you can't get enough.

Asos sunflower dress: £40 (now £24 in the sale, but there're only size 4s left). Missguided fedora: £15. Pandora silver bracelet: c/o Joshua James Jewellery. Laura Ashley cross body bag. Vintage Bally chelsea boots: £8, via charity shop. Essie "sunday funday" nail varnish.

When you have to say "could today possibly get more British?", you know you're having a pretty good day. Last weekend, my mum and I headed to the local village fayre in the blazing sunshine for some good old fashioned fun (quite literally, in the case of some of the books they had for sale there - talk about antiques!). If you're not acquainted with this truly british pastime, just think of condensing all our stereotypes into one day, and projecting them onto a village green. We're talking tea and cake served in mismatched antique crockery, middle aged men manning the barbecue, the scouts hosting a tombola, homegrown tomato plants being sold for 50p and pin the tail on the donkey - sounds dreamy, right? Add in the glorious sunshine, a happy couple getting married in the church next door (check out those wheels!) and heading to the pub for a cider on the way home, and you've got yourself the most perfect Saturday, in my eyes.

This asos smock dress has been in my life for a fair while now, and despite wearing it at least once a week for the past two months it somehow hasn't made it in front of the camera. I like its smock shape (duh), but how it can also be unpopped to make it into a matching crop top and skirt set. I know that Kristabel's enamoured of her crawlies print version, but I'm rather partial to this little dotty number. I decided to debut my new dainty Pandora bracelet too, which makes a welcome change from the chunky leather watch that usually adorns my wrist. I always feel a little lost without an arm party, namely due to having no idea what the time is, but I'd happily replace my timepiece for something a little classier when the moment/tan lines need it.

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