The Real Elle Woods Styling Festive Fashion on a budget this Christmas at Marie Curie!
Monday, December 16, 2013
The Christmas party season is in full swing, and I don't know about you but with so many parties to attend it can be hard to find something different to wear to every one of them! However help is at hand with Marie Curie Cancer Care's charity shops, where customers can pick up top label brands such as Reiss, Monsoon, Coast, Paul Costelloe, etc. for a fraction of the price, all in the knowledge that your money will be going towards an extremely worthwhile cause!
As Marie Curie Cancer Care’s Shops Area Manager, Clayre Sloan, says: “By shopping in one of our Marie Curie shops people are not only getting great bargains but they are also giving something back to others in need. The money we raise in our shops helps pay for free care to hundreds of patients across Northern Ireland each year. £20 pays for a Marie Curie Nurse to look after someone with a terminal illness for an hour and £435 pays for someone with a terminal illness to stay in the Hospice for 24 hours.
As well as caring for patients, the charity provides services for families and carers including support groups and counsellingwhich is all the more important at Christmas time. However little you donate to us this Christmas time will be gratefully received.”
I was therefore extremely privileged to be invited by Marie Curie to take part in their Christmas Challenge at their charity shop on the Belmont Road! My mission: to put together a selection of party wear outfits on a £30 budget, proving that fashion doesn’t have to break the bank this festive season!
Afterall, us ladies love our glamorous festive party looks, and shopping with Marie Curie is the best way of finding that perfect Christmas party outfit! Their shops are a treasure trove of vintage finds, from stylish dresses to glitzy accessories and they are one of the best ways of creating a really unique, individual look at a bargain price! So I couldn't wait to get down to the store and start my challenge!
Now for me £30 seemed like a tiny budget, but I was seriously overwhelmed at the bargains and sheer amount of choice on offer! Many of the top high street labels that I love were to be found within their Belmont Road store, with many dresses under £10!! I really was spoilt for choice as I browsed their rails looking for pieces to style my festive looks together!
I was immediately drawn to a stunning full length silk strapless dress by Monsoon, with it's abstract floral and vertical patterns, the dress would be super flattering on any lady, and with it's delicate gathering along it's bust line and sequin detailing this is a dress that will always make an entrance!
But the best part of all was the price!!!! A dress like this, new in Monsoon would usually retail for approx. £200, but in Marie Curie's Charity shop it was a mere £10!!!!!!!!! Yes you heard me right, £10!!!! Next up was deciding how to style the dress, I decided to go for quite a formal, Black Tie look, and was very pleased to come across a shawl in the same tones of grey that perfectly complimented the dress! This could either be fixed across the body for warmth & finished off with a vintage style brooch, or worn tied behind the back to give it a chic shrug look!
I then spotted a fab statement floral necklace with a grey tone crystal stone, so on trend & perfectly complimenting the dress! Last but by no means least I opted for a pair of dark silver shoes, and a cute sparkly silver sequin clutch from River Island! Total Outfit Price: £27.50!!
Long line grey and black Monsoon Dress - £10
Shawl - £3.50
Silver effect stone necklace - £4.50
Dark silver shoes - £5.00
River Island clutch bag - £4.50
Total: £27.50
Next challange: to chose one dress and show how it can be styled in two completely different ways! This time I opted for a cute and sexy black sequin halter neck cocktail dress! Us ladies love our LBD's and I wanted to show how this party dress could work for a sassy Christmas luncheon or a night of Christmas cocktails!
The dress was a mere £7.00 and for a dressed up day look I styled it with a gorgeous satin cropped jacket from Coast, and continued the sparkle with a stylish sequined beret! I wanted to inject some colour into the emsemble and this was achieved with a purple/black/silver scarf!
Lastly I'm a girl who loves her skyscraper heels & I just loved these patent shoe boots, which gave the look a funky, stylish edge! Total Outfit Price: £27.00.
Primark sequin party dress (new) - £7.00
Coast jacket - £10
Black shoes - £4.50
Purple scarf - £2.50
Sequin beret from Dunnes Stores - £3.00
Total: £27.00
Lastly I removed the jacket to really show off the dress for my last look, and styled it with simple accessories in festive red hues! A waist belt is a good way to give a dress a unique look and I loved the asymmetric finish to this red belt! I paired it with a simple red heart pendant, and classic red peep toe satin shoes! I love a gorgeous handbag & this embroidered floral velvet evening bag from Accessorize became the perfect finishing touch to the emsemble! (In fact I loved it so much I bought it then and there!) Total Outfit Price: £21.50.
Primark sequin party dress (new) - £7.00
Red heart necklace - £2.50
Red belt - £3.00
Red shoes - £4.50
Accessorize Handbag - £4.50
Total: £21.50
One dress, two completely different looks both for under £50.00!!!!
From left: Outfit 1 £27.00; Outfit 2 £21.50!!!
Not only were all the staff at the Belmont shop an absolute joy to work with, but I was very impressed with the quality and variety of stock available in store! I had such a fun morning browsing their rails for my looks and for anyone who's on the lookout for stylish party wear for a fraction of the price, it's well worth taking a trip to one of Marie Curie's 18 shops across Northern Ireland!
I even spotted a gorgeous Reiss coat which was soooo Kate Middleton, and a lovely leather Paul Costelloe shoulder bag, so I really was spoilt for choice! Remember even if an item isn't in your size, these days there are plenty of reasonably priced alteration services who can work wonders on your purchases and tailor them to you perfectly! Best of all though is that everything you purchase from a Marie Curie Shop will help Marie Curie continue with their vital work in our community!
Marie Curie has 18 shops across Northern Ireland and they are appealing to Northern Irish shoppers to be a little more savvy this festive season.
To find out more or to locate your local Marie Curie shop visit http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-GB/fundraising-volunteering/Marie-Curie-Shops/.
Massive thanks to Marie Curie Cancer Care for inviting me to take part in the challenge, it was a pleasure and a privilage to get involved, and to Danielle Scullion from Smarts Communite for all the press information and imagery!
