How to shop BETTER... I'd been doing it wrong

I just bought another shedload of clothes from ASOS. As I pressed 'buy' I looked at the my full clothing rack and thought why the heck did I buy these? I get bored quickly. Forever hunting for a newness that just doesn't last.

When I'm shopping online I imagine myself in what I see and decide if I’d be pretty in it or not. I might be chasing the idea of pretty, constantly looking for clothes that’ll transform me. Are you?

If I am then all that is kind of bull. And expensive.

The truth, even though I often disbelieve it, is that I’m already beautiful and so are you. No skirt or top on earth will ever make us that way. I already am; you already are. What I need to do is see the beauty already in me and buy clothes that match that, showcase that or just clothes I think are cool to be honest.

Love Island (a British reality show, for those who are like huh?) is over now. I got kind of into it this season, don't tell anyone. But if you watched it and/or had the app, you'd have seen that the Fast Fashion Queen, Missguided sponsored it. And boy did they make the most of it!

They dressed the islanders' and then let suckers like us shop their looks while we watched. Our cumulative dedication to the show increased their sales on featured items by 300-500%! If you're looking to buy shares in a company, I think I know a place...

Although I didn't jump on the Missguided bandwagon, I do like to shop. Its fun, its creative and sometimes it's a good challenge. However these are dangerous times for people like me. We're being sold stuff allll the time because adverts are EVERYWHERE. Even my trusty old hotmail account is no longer sacred.

With so many promises made to us daily of new this and become a better that, I definitely catch myself buying into the 'transformative power of stuff'. I'm sure we've all ridden the emotional rollercoaster of buying new things. The high when we get it and the low when we realise it hasn't really changed our lives.

So, Toni's new gameplan: enjoy who I am on my own (I'm awesome) and then enjoy expressing that creatively through my clothes. Sometimes that means new, sometimes its old but either way I wear the clothes, they don't wear me. The gold dust you're looking for isn't sold in any store, its inside you Tall Girl! The quicker we realise, the sooner we can shop smarter, be content with what we have and save that money honey.

So where's this cuuute velvet mini skirt from you ask? Only Tommy Hilfiger my dear; I am so here for this rich wine colour. A sheer top from & Other Stories; you guys know I like to mix it up (fitted with baggy, heavy materials with light ones etc.). The skirt is pretty mini Tall Girls but it's thick material means when you move it doesn't - hooray! Perfect for a warm summer's evening out to a bar or for an early autumn ‘get your legs out day’. Its never bad to plan ahead.

With no tall section in sight, & Other Stories is for the moment, Tall Girl-friendly with some extra-long sleeve tops and jumpers - shout out to the elongated sleeve trend that hit the runways and trickled down about two years back.

I'm a fan of the trend and I'm sure it'd look great on you girls so if long sleeves or very long sleeves are what you're after, try it out and let me know what you think!

Outfit details:

Velvet mini skirt - Tommy Hilfiger. I'll be selling it soon, keep your eyes on @thelonglimbedlady on instagram for upcoming details!
Sheer long sleeved top - & Other Stories
White platform trainers - Rebecca Minkoff