January Sales Purchases

 It's that time of year again; the magic of Christmas and New Year's has died down, and the only way to avoid succumbing to the January Blues is to spend an indecent amount of money on reckless purchases that you certainly don't need. 

"It might be two sizes too small and a rather offensive shade but it was 70% off, so how could I resist?!" The fact that I say things like this to myself is probably the reason why I have never had a successful January sales shopping experience. I always find myself buying a semi-cute t-shirt or an ill-fitting dress, purely because they're so cheap, and then never get round to wearing them. 

This year, I took a different approach; I tip-toed around Topshop and Urban Outfitters, careful not to be sucked in by the "amazing" deals. I tried everything on before looking at the price tag so that I could purchase items based on whether I actually liked them, as opposed to how much it was discounted by. I have to say, I am very pleased with all my purchases this year, and I have already worn each one at least once! 

I only got one thing from Urban Outfitters this year; a "Homies" sweatshirt. Honestly I'd never heard of this brand before and kind of bought it as a joke because I'm clearly not cool enough to wear something like this. It was definitely worth the £20 I paid for it though, as I have literally not taken it off since I bought it. It's exactly the kind of fit I like from a jumper, and the lining is super soft making it perfectly cosy for this time of year. 

For a while now I've wanted a new LBD; I have a black velvet skater dress and a black cotton swing dress, but what I reaaally wanted was a black velvet swing dress. Low and behold, MissGuided had one in the sale for £12 or something and so of course I had to snap it up. I've been wearing it over a plain white t-shirt with one of my various pair of converse and my trusty backpack, looking like the 90's has thrown up all over me. 

My final purchases are from Topshop, because of course I got multiple Topshop vouchers for Christmas and of course I had to spend it straight away. I was instantly drawn to this wine coloured crushed velvet skater dress because it basically just combines everything that I love. After trying it on and falling in love with it, I looked at the price tag and realised that it wasn't actually in the sale but I couldn't just put my newborn baby back on the rail, so I took it to the till anyway and by some miracle the cashier got confused and charged me £14 less than it should've been - score!

Another LBD... whoops! Although technically this is more of a long black dress, it's now sitting comfortably amongst my 6 other LBD's. I kept looking at this on the Topshop website, but couldn't bring myself to purchase it without trying it on. So when I went in to town and they had one left in my size I dragged it straight to the changing rooms and then to the checkout. The gorgeous lace detailing on the waist and up the sides is what sold it for me, although it is a little more grungey than my usual style. I'm still figuring out how to wear this during the colder months, any suggestions would be very welcome!

Finally, I picked up this kimono. I looked at it every time I went in to Topshop, but was rather intimidated by it as a kimono is completely out of my comfort zone. However, the tapestry-like embroidery and tasselled hem were too beautiful to resist, along with the fact it was reduced from £45 to £15! It's quite versatile as it can be both formal and casual, although I am also unsure how to wear this in the Winter months due to the lack of sleeves...

Have you grabbed any bargains in the January sales?

KJ xo