At long last the sun is here, and it finally feels like Spring.  Excellent news!  I think I speak for the whole Nation when I say we were all beyond happy to feel the sun on our faces.  Then you look in your wardrobe to pull together a Spring outfit but all you see is jumper, jumper, jeans, boots, jumper.  Sound familiar?

Fear not.  Believe it or not it is possible to achieve catwalk looks at charity shop prices.  I’ve attended the Spring Summer 2018 catwalk shows and noted the trends, but catwalk prices are not for everyone, so I’ve been to The British Red Cross Shop in Shoreham By Sea to translate these trends into affordable looks.

Pastels

So many of the big-name designers Victoria Beckham, Michael Kors and Erdem Returned to the 1980’s obsession with pastel.  Remember that yellow pastel jumpsuit of your youth or the peach rara skirt?  The British Red Cross holds a number of vintage items and trust me 1980’s is going to be a popular choice for the Spring.

If you don’t want to return to the Eighties, then I found some beautiful simple dresses in pastel tones that have been donated by high street stores.  We call these items Encore and the donated high end designer store items we call Scarlet (Yes with one t!).  Ask in your local BRC store.

Bright’s

I know I’ve just talked about the popularity of pastels and now I’m contradicting myself by saying go bright, you will have to trust me on this one.  A bright shock of Red, Coral, Orange, Purple or Green is just the thing to wow for a spring wedding, go bold with sun dress and accessories.  On the catwalks it was either head to toe one mono colour or clashing bold colours, think red trousers pink shirt.  Be brave.

Denim

Oh, you may say, I’ve been wearing jeans for years.  This seasons denim is constructed into beautifully crafted jackets, trouser suits and dresses.  Charity shops are full of huge quantities of denim I found an unusual dress and skirt from the Scarlet collection here.  The beauty of a charity shop is that you can buy some items for very little and experiment.

The strappy Dress

Think back to the 1990’s Kate Moss is in her early days of modelling and pictured at a party in a sheer dress.  The dress, which was cut on the bias with shoe lace straps, was loved by the press and called a nightie by the tabloids.  And so, the strappy dress was born.  This year its back wear it on its own, with ruffles or with a T-Shirt underneath, I found so many possibilities in store.

If I had to summarise the looks for Spring Summer I’d say they were joyful and fun.  The catwalks also told a story of sustainability in fashion, choosing were you shop is also set to be a trend, you can’t really get shop more ethically than The British Red Cross.

The British Red Cross Shop in Kensington and Chelsea are holding their Spring Event on Thursday 24th May 12-8pm.

A press breakfast to preview the collection is open to press and bloggers on 24th May from 10 am-12 noon.

Get in touch for more details.

Love

Deborah x