While I'm a
terrible sale shopper (I either end up with a few bags of rubbish which I will never, ever wear, or else give up after the first rack), I definitely love a good bargain as much as the next person. As I haven't been home in almost a month, this weekend, when I did come home, my mom, my sister Caroline and I went to town for a few hours and had a look around the shops. Usually, I find that Cork is only mediocre for shopping. There's no Urban Outfitters and no American Apparel- two of my favourites- and there is a limited amount of vintage. This rainy Saturday, however, luck was on my side and I snapped up two excellent bargains in the space of two hours.
Bargain #1: Last year, I fell in love with a gorgeous houndstooth/tweed blazer in Topshop. Alas, it cost a whopping €106, and my budget simply would not allow it. Today, however, I decided I'd tackle the dwindling sale rack upstairs in Topshop, Opera Lane, and much to my surprise, there hung the blazer, marked down to €45- less than half the original price! Along with student discount, the blazer cost me only €40.50. I'm absoultely delighted with it- though it is a size bigger than I would normally buy, it hangs nicely, can be worn as a jacket come Spring, and it's black and grey colour palette will match the majority of my wardrobe.
Bargain #2: For a while now, I've been searching for the perfect college bag, to house my laptop, and A4 notepad, my wallet, and the numerous other items I carry around on a daily basis. Rather than just go out and purchase a brown satchel, I was on the hunt for something slightly different. Before Christmas, I found a beautiful leather bag in The Cobbler on Oliver Plunkett St., Cork, but as it cost €175, I had to give up hope. Today however, I decided to take a second look in The Cobbler to see if there was any new stock there for me to lust over. There it sat, on the glass shelf, a beautiful, deep red leather, briefcase style bag- perfect for college, and exactly what I had been looking for. As picked it up and slung it over my shoulder, my eye caught the price tag- €50! It couldn't be. I examined it closer, only to discover that the price had been reduced due to "damages" ie. a few scratches here and there. Perfect! It even had that second-hand aura, but still held on to the satisfying scent of brand new leather. I had to have it! I just can't wait to use it for college come Monday morning.
here are the scratches- the reason for the reduction in price.
