Why weren’t we born with polar furs?

Or scales that change with scenery?

Instead I need a skirt for work

A shirt for bed

And shoes for nightly jogs through rainy streets.

My life was so simple up until the beginning of September this year. I wore my sporty clothes when I went out running and I wore pyjamas to chill at home. I had a pair of jeans to venture out into the real world in, and these were teamed up with one of the few hoodies that I have stashed in my wardrobe.

As far as work was concerned, I’ve always worked in retail or hospitality or leisure and so I’ve never had to wear my own clothes. In my last job I wore a uniform that consisted of a polo shirt and fleece that I wore with my own black trousers and a pair of safety shoes provided by the company.

The trousers that I wore were the cheapest, nastiest pair of trousers I could find in Primark. However, they were one of my few ‘smart’ items of clothing.

This was made worse by the fact that I left my mum’s house with only a suitcase full of clothes so there wasn’t much room for dresses and heels in that case.

So, when I started working in the school and I had to wear something nice every day….well……that wasn’t happening.

I have been hitting the charity shops because I am not too proud for people’s cast offs. I actually love the buzz of going to a charity shop and just rummaging. And when you find something amazing you feel like a boss lady. My top tip is to go to rich areas because you get all the best labels dropped off by the rich residents.

I am learning to rotate and mix and match like a pro but every time I walk past a nice shop in town, I am like a moth to the a flame. I’m not even a shopping and clothes kinda girl. But I look at all of those mannequins looking oh so glamorous with their gorgeous clothes, I even forget that they are missing their heads.

One day I will be able to go into shops like French Connection and Phase Eight and walk out looking like Kate Middleton, but for now I will stick with people’s sloppy seconds. At least it means that I’m not wearing the same shirt for five days in a row.

Much Love

Rachel xx