I have gone a little overboard on the vintage purchases in the past month or so, having somehow managed to purchase 18 items of vintage clothing. Yes. 18. 16 dresses, one playsuit, and one shawl. Fortunately for me, they average out at less than £16 per piece, which is so much cheaper than what I would have had to pay in Singapore. Of course, once you factor in the vintage-inspired See by Chloe skirt (which I just had to have when I saw it at a sample sale because it's sooooo cute), then it's not as cheap, although it still comes in at a respectable £21 per item.

Still, I think I'll put myself on a vintage clothing, shoes and accessories fast for the next few months or so!

Part of the reason for the vintage extravagaza is because I fell head-over-heels-hard for electric blue dresses. Electric blue, royal blue, International Klein Blue, however you call it, it's always been my favourite colour. It's the same colour of that dream dress I allowed to get away last summer. I now own four electric blue dresses: a cute, cheerleader-like mini dress, a shimmery mini dress which looked absolutely stunning when I tried it on (an absolute steal at £10, even if it needs minor repairs), a dress by Alfred Shaheen, and a long Tadashi evening gown with mesh cut-outs.

The other reason is because my love for Catherine Ogust came back with a vengeance. Prior to this, I had four dresses (two with matching belts, two without). I now have another four (all with belts) purchased from four different stores in the US, including one which was on sale for less than $5. I may have to alter some of them as a few of them are too long for me, but they do look beautiful, and, best of all, are incredibly comfortable to wear.

Apparently, the popularity of Ogust dresses come and go in cycles; there've been times when I've seen them struggling to sell on eBay for more than $10 (in contrast to Singapore, where a complete set will sell for S$130). However, for the past week or so, every single dress I've seen has sold for close to $30, even those without the matching belts. One mini dress even sold for more than $100, meaning that if I were to shorten one of the dresses I purchased and re-sold it, I could potentially make a 100% return on that dress. But I won't, because I love them too much. Colour-block op art shirt dresses will never go out of style... Not for me, at least. I've been wearing shirt dresses since I was a teenager!

The remaining dresses consist of:

• Four dresses from the Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair (including a C&A multi-coloured multi-peplum'd dress with shoulder pads from the '80s which I swear I will never wear unless I'm going to a 'bad taste' dress-up party) from Glass Onion's £15 for a kilo stall,
• A '60s or '70s polyester colourful printed dress from Jeanne Lanvin (!!!!) which I got for £15 from the Sunday Upmarket on Brick Lane,
• A gorgeous eye-catching '70s shirt dress from Leonard of Paris (usually described a little unfairly as the French Pucci),
• A '70s belted shirt dress which was just the right length for me, and
• A light blue dress with scarf overlay.

And then, yes, I succumbed. I bought a playsuit. It wasn't too bad wearing it, although I'll just say that it does make going to the restroom more troublesome. And finally, a beautiful black shawl, for those days or nights, when I'm wearing something strappy and don't wish to bring a jacket or cardi out with me.

As with every binge or splurge, it's now time to return to far more frugal ways, even if I could argue that vintage shopping helps to save the environment (seeing as I am participating in the recycling of other people's unwanted clothing) and is cheaper than buying from the high street.

One thing's for certain. You can expect to see a write-up on the vintage shops on Brick Lane over the next few weeks or so!