ADVENT CALENDAR: DAY 13

After 12 days of frivolous fashion for Christmas, I have decided to fill the space behind the remaining virtual advent doors with profiles of 12 of my favourite fashion bloggers who I have discovered over the past 12 months:

Behind today’s door is:

Debbie of That Charity Style. Debbie is a freelance journalist and blogger. In her own words: “That Charity Style is a project whereby I will only be buying clothes from charity shops for the next year. This means no Topshop, ASOS, Zara... anywhere that is not serving a good cause! Even vintage shops are off the menu. I will be giving detailed descriptions and photos of what I can find as well as rating charity shops far and wide and seeing if I can live for a year without buying myself any fashion item from anywhere else. I will be following the latest trends and seeing if I can find anything that matches up to these in charity shops.”

I am in awe of Debbie’s challenge and of the success she has had (since she started in August) when shopping in her local charity shops. With a new year just around the corner, it certainly gives food for thought as we all think about our New Year’s Resolutions.

So, I asked Debbie:

How long have you been blogging and why did you first start?

I have been blogging since August. I started for a variety of reasons. I am a freelance journalist and love writing and had wanted to start a blog for some time. The problem was I didn't know what to write about. I felt like I needed a project. A friend of mine at work writes a blog called 52 New Things and he inspired me to try out something different and blog about it.

I knew I loved shopping and I love charity shops and decided to challenge myself to see if I could go a year only buying charity shops clothes. I have had a really great response and now include reviews and events as well as my own charity shop experience - which has so far been good. It's nice to combine my love of shopping with my love of writing!

What inspires you?

There are so many things that inspire me - I get so many wacky ideas all the time that my friends tell me are way too far-fetched. Music is a big inspiration for me and performances. I get bored fairly easily so I love to watch a song as much as listen to it. I love the costumes and the moves on stage of people like Rihanna and Beyoncé. I also get inspired by people doing different things - blogs and features and just someone saying something on a train can make me want to do loads of things.

I went to a Hospices of Hope charity shop a while ago and had an idea to do my own charity fashion show which I would love to do - showcasing loads of great clothes from all sorts of charity shops. Ideas spring from anywhere and everywhere.

What do you get up to when you’re not blogging?

I work a lot. I work in London and I run a pub with my boyfriend in Kent so things are pretty hectic. I am either doing that or finding clothes to write about!!

What three things are top of your Christmas list this year?

Well people said it was too hard to buy me clothes from charity shops so I am allowing them to buy me clothes from the High Street!! This is my big chance to stock up! Top of my list are brogues, boots and a nice dress. I need to think ahead as this is the last time I get clothes from the High Street until August!

Christmas is all about family and traditions, what traditions do you have for Christmas?

Well my birthday is on the 22nd so it is very tied into that. I get excited about September and I am definitely a little obsessed with Christmas. I always have a cup of tea on my birthday and Christmas but never for the rest of the year - weird I know.

It depends on who we are spending the day with but if it's not with my mum I always go to hers in the morning to say Merry Christmas and exchange gifts. Then we head to whoever's house we are having lunch at and eat A LOT. We usually do table presents which will definitely feature this year as I am spending the day at my dad's house. He always tries to give us funny little gifts but I have a surprise for him this year which I think will outdo all the other gifts!! After lunch it's games and drinking. I love it - from the 22nd to the 26th I am in the best mood of the year!


A massive thank you to Debbie for answering my questions and good luck with the rest of the challenge. Don't forget to keep up with Debbie's progress over at That Charity Thing. And remember to come back tomorrow - and every day until Christmas Eve - to find out which blogger is behind the advent calendar door!