Summer Fashion Bargains - how to update your wardrobe for less

First off, apologies for the lack of posts over the past couple of weeks! Some internet trouble combined with starting an "oh my god my holiday is in 8 weeks" gym routine has meant that I have been super busy. Between now going to the gym four times a week plus blogging and generally living, I need more hours in the day. Anyway, some time off gave me some new ideas for posts, and with the internet working again, and the sunny weather over the weekend providing the perfect opportunity to snap some blog photos, I'm back!

Today's post is partly inspired by the warmer weather making an appearance, and partly by saving for my holiday - it felt like the time was right to inject a bit of that spring/summer vibe into my wardrobe, but I didn't have much spare cash to do it with. I find that the easiest and cheapest way to swap your wardrobe from Winter to Summer, without having a complete wardrobe overhaul, is to invest in a few summery accessories that will go with anything and last you through until autumn. Accessories are brilliant because you can often pick them up for next to no cash, and they will go with everything that is already in your wardrobe. I bought these items over the last couple of months and thought I would gather them together to show you.

First up were these gorgeous white strappy heels from New Look. They are the perfect height for me - not too low that they might as well be flats, and not too high that I can't walk in them. I had been looking for the perfect pair for a while but these were exactly what I wanted. Chuffed! And they only cost £17.99. Bargain in my books! 

White Heeled Sandals: £17.99 New Look; Rose Gold Cutwork Clutch: £1 (in the sale) Primark

And, on the subject of bargains, Primark is usually my first pick for bargain hunting and they didn't let me down this time. The rest of the items I bought are all from Primark. They have really stepped up their game in recent years, and it is a great place to pick up basics, on trend pieces, and accessories that won't break the bank. I bought this rose gold laser cut clutch above, as I thought I would pair it with my white New Look heels to add that perfect summer vibe to an outfit. I love it, and the best part? It was in the sale so I actually nabbed this for £1. No, that's not a typo, that is one single pound. Can you believe it?!

Next up were these on trend round sunnies - despite being a longtime RayBan fan I didn't want to splurge on a pair of "trendy" sunglasses that I might not want to wear after the summer is over, so at £3 these were perfect. I really like the Matte Black finish of this pair, and think they look more expensive than they are. Along with these I snapped up this pair of tan lace up sandals (which I have since found out are a bit of a blogger favourite and Zoella actually featured them on her blog). Again I think these look a lot more expensive than their £10 price tag, and they are also insanely comfortable. I love tan paired with denim for summer, and think these sandals are a lovely classic style that will never be out of fashion, so I have no doubt I will be wearing these until they fall apart.

Tan Gladiator Sandals: £10 Primark; Round Sunglasses: £3 Primark

Also in the sale I spied this patterned Bomber Jacket for £3 - it's actually from the workout range but I think this is far too pretty to be reserved for the gym only! So I'm going to pair this with jeans, shorts, skirts and dresses throughout the summer. I love the pastel coloured palm tree print, and the neon piping trim, and think it will brighten up any outfit.

Palm Print Bomber Jacket: £3 (in the sale) Primark

Lastly, the thing I am most pleased with, is this pair of shorts which I actually made myself out of some old TopShop jeans I no longer wore; and it was so easy it was ridiculous. It had me looking through my other pairs of jeans to see if there were others I could butcher! 

Making jeans into shorts is actually really simple! Here is a quick mini tutorial for you (I wish I had taken pictures of the process, but wasn't expecting them to turn out so well! Perhaps if I do it again, I can do a separate post all about it. Let me know in the comments if that's something you would be interested in!)

• Choosing the right pair of jeans is the first step - make sure they fit around your waist and derrière in the way you want shorts to, and keep in mind that once the legs are cut off, depending on how short you make them, the fit around your legs may relax and become a bit looser. 
• One of the easiest ways to do it is to grab a pair of shorts you already like the cut and fit of, and lay them flat on the floor. Take a look at the shape of them: you will probably see that shorts usually have a slight curve to the cut on the legs and are often shorter at the front than the back to allow room for your booty - bear this in mind when you are cutting as, if you cut the back to be the same length as the front, you may find yourself sporting some denim hotpants instead! 
• Place them on top of your chosen pair of jeans, aligning the waist bands. Trace around them with fabric chalk and then simply use a good pair of fabric scissors to cut the legs off your jeans where you have marked. It can be a good idea to allow some margin for error - you can always cut some more off, but you can't stick it back on! 
• Try on your shorts and check them out in the mirror - at this stage you can see how they fit and you can adjust the cut if you need to - and voilà, the perfect pair of denim shorts is yours for free! This method will leave you with frayed edges, which was the look I was going for anyway, but if you want a cleaner look you will need to hem them. This requires some skill in sewing however, which I definitely do not possess! You could always try fabric glue to make a hemline if you are an equally poor sewer like me.

After I had got the perfect fit, I decided to add a little something extra to my newly created shorts - a few months ago I had altered a maxi dress by making it shorter. I kept the offcuts of fabric just in case, and am so glad I did. I used it to give these shorts an aztec twist, by simply using fabric glue to stick this offcut onto the pocket! For other extra details, you could always add studs to a pocket (you can buy stud kits from most haberdasheries) or embelishment and beads, and distressing denim can be done easily by scraping at it with a pair of scissors until it frays.

So, there you have it! There are my bargain pieces and ideas for injecting some summertime into your wardrobe! Let me know what you think in the comments below :)