Charity shop WIN

One thing you may not know about me is that I read a lot of fashion and style blogs.

I say that you "might not know" this because, well, I don't LOOK like I read a lot of fashion or style blogs... or ANY, for that matter.

Sadly, I was born without a style gene (and the languages gene, and the music gene...). Things that look cute and put-together on other people look random and frumpy on me. Most of the time, if I get a compliment on an outfit, it's because I spent a LOT of time thinking about it, or I copied it from was inspired by someone else's look.

I've spent a lot of time here in England looking at the way girls dress. There's something so effortlessly layered, so hip and indie and just a little bit grungy and twee (mixed in with just a touch of posh horsiness) all at the same time, that I will never in my life be able to emulate.

That doesn't mean I won't try.

HOWEVER, as we all know, I am on a budget. A hardcore, dollars-to-pounds, bank-taking-my-money-in-exorbitant-fees (more on that later) budget.

So here is part one in my efforts to look a little more stylish and a little more British without breaking the bank.

First: I'm working on killing the impulse buy. While 10% of the time I end up with one of my favorite items ever, 90% of the time I end up regretting it. Partly because I often end up seeing the same item for less not too long after.

This step is extra-essential when you're in a new town or a new country, especially if you're working on a new currency system. I have no idea what's trendy, what's likely to show up in all of the stores, what's a unique one-off, and what a good price is. Therefore, like my momma always said, I shop around.

I figured out pretty quickly which stores I could afford and which I could not. Since buying clothes is pretty low on my priority list (you know, after rent and food), and I have no income to speak of, I'm on a budget of... nothing. Enter cheap fast-fashion stores and charity shops. Obviously, I feel better about shopping the charity shops, as buying second-hand is more ethical (also, there's the potential for finding higher-quality clothing!), and the money is going to a good cause, but I'm also not perfect.

One of the great things about shopping charity shops is that the merchandise turns over pretty quickly. At first this bummed me out - a pretty powder-blue sweater I was thinking about disappeared in a matter of days - however, it also got me in the habit of going back every few days, trying a few things on, and not buying anything I didn't love.

Last week this finally worked out for me at Mind, as I found a super-cute plaid Topshop shirtdress in my size, and a mid-weight cotton Esprit cardigan, for the grand total of £13.25 - just over $20.

The cardigan was an awesome find, as any sweaters I've seen in the stores that are even REMOTELY in my super-tight price range are 100% acrylic, which I cannot STAND. Call me a snob, but between the weird slippery itchiness and tendency to pill, I just cannot do it.

The dress was an ever awesomer find, as it turns out; I was browsing Refinery 29's slideshow on flannel, and saw a Gap dress that looks JUST like the one I bought, only much more expensive!

Mine isn't flannel - it's a lightweight cotton - but I layered it with a pair of fleece tights (more on those later!) and a cable-knit sweater, and it totally worked (I think). Plus, layering is TOTALLY British.