What Sarah did

I've been feeling a bit nail bitey about this post, heres hoping it goes down well...

I've never done an outfit post before and I'm not really sure if its going to be something I do regularly. I do love a good selfie, however it felt a bit strange to move all my furniture around (my flat lacks a good backdrop) stand front of my camera and tripod to take photos of myself for my blog. However the aim of this post is not to be a posey pants, but to showcase my wares from a gorgeous little shop in my town.

What Sarah did is a lovely little independant clothes shop in my town of Hitchin. The owner Sarah ,opened the doors to her shop on Bancroft just over 4 years a go and has gone from strength to strength since. Sarah uses social media to showcase the beautiful brands she stocks and to reach out to her customers. As a social media and style fan I've been following her and her store for a long time, however it's only in the last year or so I've been shopping there. 

After being unhappy with my weight and appearance for a long time, about 2 years a go I decided to do something about it and lost nearly 3 stone (that's another blog post). After thinking that this would open a door to a whole new world of clothing that I'd never felt able to wear before, I was disappointed to find that the door was mentally firmly shut with me on the wrong side of it. 

I've always had my own sense of style and known what that was, whatever size I was, however loosing the pounds also meant loosing my style funk and it's taken a while for me to find it again. 

So where does What Sarah did come into this?

I've spent most of my teens and twenties as more of a 'quantity over quality' type of gal and assumed that independent stores would be out of my price range. I decided that rather than handing over my cash to Primark all the time I would try and spend more time thinking about what I was going to buy and if its something I would actually wear time and time again rather than just one occasion. I had so much stuff in my wardrobe that I'd only worn a couple of times before it was destined for the charity shop or I'd bought something and realised that I was buying for the old me and it lay unworn. Essentially my wardrobe no longer reflected who I was and I wanted to make a change, not only in my wardrobe but also in my buying habits. 

Every time I ventured into What Sarah did I just felt different, I always saw things for the new me (even when I didn't realise what the 'new me' liked) and everything I've bought I've worn over and over again and always make me feel good. I've discovered some new brands that I really love that have really transformed my wardrobe and given me back my style. What Sarah did has definitely taught me that spending a little bit more can go a long way. My new purchases also gave me the push to clear out my wardrobe and start afresh.

Here are some of my recent purchases.

I was very excited by this Mink Pink jumper, I've been searching for the perfect cosy knit for years. They never seem to suit me but this one is perfect. £35

I literally ran to What Sarah did when this Reverse tunic popped up on her Instagram account. The quirkiness appeals to my inner teenager but is still grown up enough for my twenty something self. I got this a little while a go but I saw yesterday that she has a few left at the bargain price of £9. 

                          

                                                     

This is the item that made me want to do an outfit post, I've been wanting a stylish rain coat for ages but the ones I found were either a little naff or more than I wanted to spend. I was sat on a plane waiting for my flight to Edinburgh to take off, flicking through my Facebook news feed and I saw that What Sarah did was having a flash sale on Rains raincoats. I sent a pleaing message asking to reserve one, I got a reply straight back saying one was on hold for me. All I had to do was phone up and pay later.

Rains are a dutch brand who specialise in Scandinavian style rain wear, I started lusting after a Rains jacket after seeing this video by Zoella but as these jackets normally retail around £75 it was a bit out of my price range. I couldn't resist snapping one up for £37 at What Sarah did's flash sale. When I popped in to pick mine up yesterday, there were some more in the sale for around £54 if you want to pick one up before the typical British weather sets in again.

Aside from the beautiful clothes, the customer service at What Sarah did is fantastic. If you follow Sarah on Instagram (the best platform to follow her on, especially if you like a funny post to brighten your morning), Twitter or Facebook you can't help but get caught up in the love Sarah has for both style and her shop. She really goes out of her way for her customers too, even when they're sitting on the runway of Luton Airport, ready for take off.

What Sarah did really is one of the little gems of Hitchin that make it such a great place, if you haven't already and you're local please check it out.

I hope you've enjoyed this slightly different post, if you did and want to see more outfit posts please let me know in the comments.

Happy Tuesday

Holly

x