As most of you will know, Belfast Fashion Week is always one of the biggest events on my style calendar, but this season, on their tenth anniversary celebration I was delighted to be asked to join in.

They planned a “Blogger/Stylist Charity Shop Challenge” were each of us were asked to pick a charity of our own choice and style ten catwalk ready outfits from their stores.

I chose to represent St. Vincent De Paul and I was absolutely delighted with the selection of clothes that I had to choose from.

I wanted my collection to be high fashion with a quirky edge and the items in Vincents Boutique, Antrim rd. really gave me scope to bring this idea to life. 

I decided to not only style from the womenswear section of the shop, but I wanted to be a little more adventurous so I played on the idea of the androgynous trend and took items from menswear.

For example, one of my favourite outfits was made up of a man’s Aran knit sweater, a mans tweed blazer, a trilby hat and a little pair of combat shorts.

Charity shops have taken a surge in growth recently, particularly due to the recession and they really are little treasure troves of pre-loved items, all in perfect condition looking for a new home – and the best part is, not one of my entire outfit collection cost more than £10.

So if you’re on the lookout for a quirky new outfit and you are fed up with buying on the highstreet, seeing ten people in the same thing, then take a trip to your local charity shop! You might just find that perfect look for a fraction of the price and you will be safe in the knowledge that you are supporting a wonderful cause.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Lisa Bell and all at Cathy Martin PR for asking me to be involved in the challenge, to Ruairi and Ciara from St. Vincent De Paul for all of their help and support, to Brendan Gallagher for providing the images from the catwalk and to my friend Aisling who assisted me in the styling process! 

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience and I hope you like my outfit choices.