Woohoo! LadyM Presents is 1 today, Tuesday 19th April 2011. We’d like to thank you so much for your support in the last year from our early days of fashion blogging to helping make us what we are today, a fantastic online fashion magazine.

LadyM Presents is one year old!

The past year has been a whirlwind of London Fashion Weeks, New Zealand Fashion Week, Tunbridge Wells Fashion Week, Style Savvy workshops, Magpie Vintage Fair’s and a lot of shopping in between!

We’ve discovered some fabulous boutiques in London, the South of England and across the World. More importantly we have met and promoted some amazing designers who we really feel are THE next thing in the fashion world. Z-Mode Fashion and Zoe Boomer, you may be at the end of the alphabet but we think you deserve to be right at the top!

Let’s celebrate with a competition

To add to the celebrations and to thank our fabulous readers and followers for your time and dedication to the world of fashion, beauty and lifestyle we have a little 1st birthday giveaway!

Prize 1

Win one of 3 pairs of sexy pants from Knickermail

The lovely Knickermail team have 3 pairs of hot, sexy underwear to give away. Knickermail is a sexy little service that lets you mail a pair of designer knickers to someone special and not too shy. With KnickerMail you can send panties through the letterbox which is a rather sexy way to say hello. Needless to say it’s a perfect surprise for a loved one or just for yourself, why not! You will get to choose the size, colour and message on the card

Prize 2

Win a Cut & Blow dry at Happy Hair Salon

The fantabulous Happy Hair’s Matthew Lees has a Cut and Blow Dry to give away to one lucky winner – Happy Hair, based in Tunbridge Wells is a fun, relaxed and fantastic hair salon. You’ll leave with a smile and great hair, we promise!

Prize 3

Win a £25 Voucher for Selfridges

Meanwhile the LadyM team has a gorgeous £25 Selfridges voucher to giveaway – shop online or head to the vast London store for designer treats, just make sure you check out the Shoe Gallery!

The competition closes on Friday 22nd April 2011.  Winners will be notified by email and asked which prize they would like to win, this will be placed into a draw and winners of each prize will then be drawn at random.

Don’t forget to follow out tweets here and to support our first fashion event, the Pantiles Fashion Festival, 13-14th August 2011 in Tunbridge Wells. Thank you for stopping by, remember we’re constantly updating, looking for the next big thing in fashion and let us know your favourite boutiques. Heartfelt thanks to Mister Jez of Torpedo Juice for making this site happen and thank you to the amazing array of support from the PR world this year. Here’s to year two, see you there!

I am now around four months into my challenge of only buying clothes from charity shops for a whole year. Yes, I am actually sticking to it, I promise!  After spending a few weeks umming and aaaahing about what I could start a blog about back in August and at the same time crying over my lack of money, I came up with the idea to help a good cause and stop me spending ALL my money on clothes. I loved charity shopping anyway and so thought why not take it to the extreme! I vowed not to buy any fashion item anywhere other than a charity shop for a whole year! Yes, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days!

The Charity Shop Challenge

I found it suprisingly easy to restrain myself from buying clothes from High Street shops and internet outlets for the first month or so. The blog kept me busy and I loved hearing everyones stories and comments and even opened my eyes a bit more to all the good charity shops actually do. The charity shop news comes flooding in daily and there are some great campaigns going on to help such worthwhile causes.

Now, however, the challenge is getting harder. I suppose that’s why they call it a challenge. I feel summer coming and catch a glimpse of a gorgeous maxi dress or a beach skirt and I have to run away… literally! Or… every night that I plan an evening of drinks with friends my typical routine would be to head to the shops and buy a new outfit. Not any more! You can try finding something to wear out in charity shops but the one thing I have learned about charity shopping is not to go looking for anything in particular.

A different shopping style

If you are in a rush you have no chance. Rummaging! That is the problem. Sometimes that is the joy, but when you are in a hurry it can be your downfall and you come away with nothing. Still, it stops you buying impulse purchases and instead buying clothes that you really like, well it does with me anyway. So really it’s a good thing. I have found in the past that I get home and the piece that I have just bought from a High Street shop does not look nearly as nice as it did about an hour ago in the changing rooms. If anything the opposite applies with charity shop buys.

I have so far found some amazing bargains. Nearly all of the things I have found seem like they will last. They are vintage style and built to last so they won’t be going out of fashion next month before I have even had a chance to wear them. The great thing about charity shops I think is that you can find amazing designer garments that are a fraction of the price! My best piece so far would have to me my Karen Millen coat. It was £22! I love that I would spend so much more than this on a normal winter coat let alone a Karen Millen one! It is a lovely red colour and was bought from a British Heart Foundation shop. It is great to be getting some amazing purchases when you know the money is going to a great cause!

For more about my challenge visit www.thatcharitystyle.com and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/charitystyle