What Laura Bought: My Sale Buys!

I know I'm not alone when I say that sale season is, despite what the cynics say, a truly fantastic time to go shopping. If you're quick or lucky (and quite often, both) you can find that blouse you loved a month ago for half the price, or a pair of shoes you couldn't justify, with 75% shaved off the price tag. Prices better than eBay, for brand-new and box-fresh clothes - what could be better? And now that sale season is finally drawing to a close, I thought I'd show you the wonders that I've taken home with me over the last seven(ish) weeks.

My biggest bargains definitely came from the coat/blazer departments. My last sale purchase (and last purchase until the end of March, hopefully...) was this amazing leopard print faux fur coat from ASOS. I have been hunting for a leopard print coat for months, and found that they're completely overpriced on the high street, and selling for extortionate prices and poor quality on eBay. I spotted this one a few months ago, but at £70, I certainly wasn't willing to part with the cash. However, thanks to a spot of blog reading while at work, I saw that it had been reduced by around 80%, to £21. Add a 10% student discount, and the fact that my size (a 10 here, for reference), was the only size left in stock, and I concluded that it was fate and I must have it. It arrived yesterday and I love it. I love the oversized boyfriend fit, the lapels, even the pleather-coated buttons and trims. And for £18, I can't believe my own luck. Unfortunately, I can't pass that luck on to you, as the coat promptly sold out a few hours after I'd ordered it...

These two blazers have already been featured in a post, but they are some of my sale buys! The navy and gold boucle and pleather jacket was sitting lonely on a rail, priced at a miniscule £3 in Primark, after months of lusting after it but not being able to justify £25 for it. I'd rather have bought a 10, as this is an 8 and it's a big snug on my shoulders, but I can still wear it and for the price, I don't really care. The lilac blazer was £30, reduced to £7 in H&M. It looks incredibly formal on the hanger, but wearing it, it looks really fresh and has a preppy feel to it. The ruffles add some shape and stop it being too boyish, and I love the colour for Spring!

These two bags weren't strictly sale buys, but I bought them in the last few weeks so I figured they'd count. The brown bag was from Jade's blog sale - apparently it was originally £30 from Boohoo, but I snapped it up for a meagre £5! I've only had it for a few days but I love it already - the structured feel is nice, and it's very roomy, as well as going with absolutely everything.

The clutch is one that every blogger and her dog owns, but I simply couldn't resist. I'd seen this studded clutch in black in Primark months ago, and I liked it a lot; however, I'm on a tight budget 95% of the time and I couldn't justify buying another black evening bag, seeing as all my other evening bags are black, and I don't go out all that much... But when this blush shade came instore, I was sold. I wandered past it countless times, imagining what it would go with. Then, when I found my longed-for boucle jacket for £3 instead of the £10 I expected, I cut myself some slack and let myself buy it. It was just £6, but those of you who are students who rent houses will know that £6 can sometimes make all the difference!

Aaah, this top. My life seems like one long episode of lusting after clothes and not being able to justify them, but this is exactly what happened here to. What can I say, I'm a natural-born bargain hunter! I saw this lovely strapless peplum top on Kate's Instagram, and immediately looked it up on ASOS. It was £12, reduced from £25, but I just couldn't make up my mind. It flitted in and out of stock in the days that followed,while I mulled over how much I loved it, but what on earth would I wear it with? Luckily, my indecisiveness was cured with an eBay listing, selling this beauty new with tags, for a few pounds. One bidding frenzy later and it was mine for £6! It has subsequently sold out, so I guess you could say it is fate... Now I just have to buy some high-waisted jeans/disco pants to wear it with!

I snapped up these three bits for a combined price of £18. What?!, I hear you cry. Yes, £18. I loved this French bulldog-print shirt from Primark, but I refuse to pay Primark's ever-increasing prices for their never-increasing quality. It was originally £13, but I found it a few days after Boxing Day, for £5. The peplum top in the middle was another Primark buy. I actually bought it two weeks ago to try and cure my lust for the top above, but as you can see, it didn't work. It's like a blurred houndstooth print, in a woollen fabric with pleather trims. It was just £3, but I haven't decided if I'll be keeping or eBaying yet - now I have the top I originally wanted, I don't know if this will be worn too often...

The yellow dress was one of my first sale buys, and is 100% my favourite of them all. It is from H! by Henry Holland at Debenhams, and I first fell utterly in love with it around last May. At the time, it was £40 and I was just about to move house; with all the expenses involved already, I had to let it stay on the rail. It was perfect - my mum even phoned from London to tell me she'd seen this dress in Debenhams that was so me... of course it was the same one. I eBayed it lots, hunted around for it, but to no avail. Then, when I was wandering through Debenhams in January, looking for a birthday present for my boyfriend, I saw it. Alone in a muddle of sale rails, it screamed out to me. I raced over, convinced it would be the wrong size, or ripped, or dirty... But it was a size 8, and it was perfect. And it was reduced to £10. I couldn't get it to the till quick enough. The colour is gorgeous - I'm having a real love affair with lemon yellow at the moment - and I thought the crisp white collar and buttons, and the cute kite print, all gave it a lovely retro 1950s feel. It fits perfectly, and I'm so thrilled to own it. I find it's so rare to have a piece of clothing that you utterly adore!

This isn't a very exciting buy, but it's something I've been on the hunt for, and something that will be worn again and again come the summer. It just a sheer black maxi skirt, with an opaque miniskirt underneath. It was a cheap and cheerful buy for £5 in, you guessed it, Primark, and will be worn to death for our holiday in June!

Another thing that will be worn to death on holiday is this gorgeous white daisy bikini. It's actually River Island, from last year's summer collection. River Island always have a great selection of bikinis, but I find the price is often extortionate - for example, I saw this bikini last year and seriously contemplated it, for £40 for something that will be worn three days in a year is just too much for me! But, one quick hunt on ASOS, eight months later, and this was mine for £14. Everything about it is great, the fit, the cups, the beautiful decoration... I can't wait for June so I can wear it!

Strictly back on the winter theme, I bought this Russian-style furry hat in New Look a few days after Christmas. I had put it on my Christmas list, but nobody bought it for me, so I took it upon myself. I found it for just £5 instead of the £10 I'd expected, and with student discount on top it was an absolute steal. It's very big and ostentatious, and I get an awful lot of funny looks when I wear it, but that's fashion, daaahlings.

When you start buying ballerina pumps again, you know Spring is on its way! Leopard print pumps are one of my staples; they dress up a simple jeans-and-striped-tee combo so well, and go with pretty much anything (except my leopard print coat, I'm not Bet Lynch...) These pumps have so much detail on them to make them look a little more expensive - the soft outer is quilted, while the black toecap and the gold heart charm hanging from the bow on the front add a touch of extra glamour. The best bit was, these were just £2 from Primark!

And my final sale buy of 2013 so far is.... black glittery ankle boots! My boyfriend pointed these out a few months ago, saying they were a bit Noel Fielding and therefore, a bit cool. I liked them, but I thought £20 was a bit much for something I didn't really love. And then, last week, there they were, for a mere £6 in Primark (I know, I know, someone stop me!). They fitted like a dream, and so, there they were, suddenly in my wardrobe! I wore them on Valentine's night and loved them. I think they'll be lovely for nights out when I want something glamorous without too much height, or for dressing up a casual outfit. They're just so comfortable, and what girl doesn't love sparkly shoes?

So that was my sale buys, and after looking at this, I won't be buying anything again for a little while!