#ThriftyFashion: Sassy Snake Print Leather Flares

20 years ago the F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode The One With All The Resolutions aired. Sorry to everyone who now feels incredibly old.

The group all make New Years’ resolutions – Rachel to stop gossiping; Monica to take more photographs. Ross’ resolution, as I’m sure is firmly in our memories, was to do one new thing every day. One of those things was to buy a pair of leather pants.

I decided to do the same.

When I was trawling through Everything5Pounds.com and found these snakeprint PU leather flares, I fell in love. Actual I-wanna-marry-these-pants love. And they cost, yup, you guessed it, £5 – the same price as your Venti Skinny Vanilla Spice Almond Milk Latte with an extra shot and cream.

Everything5Pounds is my go-to for those times when you’ve got your outfit and it looks amaze, but despite having 47 pairs of shoes, none of them go. It’s where I go when there’s a trend you know will be forgotten about in a few weeks but it’s too fab to miss out on. It’s fashion without the price tag, and it’s even cheaper than Primark.

One of the items Everything5Pounds sent me was a Topshop dress I had spotted weeks earlier. I thought it was a really good dupe, but when it arrived and the label said Topshop, I couldn’t believe it! I asked E5P how they do this, and their response makes so much sense: “Some of our products can come with various manufacturers’ labels where they have been purchased from branded mainstream stores. We source unsold stock from top high street brands as well as other unbranded items direct from manufacturers, giving them to you at the lowest price.”

This helps stop stock just sitting in, for example, Topshop’s warehouse, and you can bag it for a fiver – win win, right?

Okay, let’s get back to those sassy snake print trousers, ay? On the site, the description made a note that the model was a size 8, but was wearing a size 10 – so I ordered myself a 10, because I definitely didn’t want to re-create Ross’ lotion/powder paste scene.

Luckily, these trousers are lined with fabric that prevents them sticking to your legs. They fasten with a zip and a small hook and eye, giving them a really clean look from the front with no buttons or zips on full display. The flare cut is super flattering and elongates the legs to make you appear slimmer and taller.

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Outfit details

Trousers – Everything5Pounds – £5

Jumper – H&M – £19.99

Bag – Primark – £8

Beret – Topshop – £2.70

Boots – Miss Selfridge – £10

Watch – Adexe – £109

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I wore these with my new H&M high neck camel coloured jumper, which is so blooming soft. The trousers are a stony colour, so you can get away with styling it with blacks, greys or earthy tones. I went for a combination of all three.

As the flares are quite long, they look best with heels, but also look great with a chunky white trainer. I wore my black vinyl boots from Miss Selfridge for extra sass.

Jake bought me this grey and marble bag to wear with a snake print skirt on my birthday. The marble and snake print go really well with each other due to the patterns and colours. I also find the same with tortoise shell and leopard print.

To accessorise, I went for a taupe coloured tassel earring with my rose gold Adexe watch that you can read more about here. My favourite accessory though, was the beret. I popped into Topshop a week or so after ordering the snake print trousers, saw it, tried it on, felt a bit meh and put it back. It was on sale for £5 and I wasn’t feeling paying the same amount for a hat as I had the trousers. Call me cheap – I call it student life.

I thought about this hat for two whole days. 48 hours. I returned to Topshop wearing my snake print trousers and picked the hat up again. I tried it on, again, and looked at the label. It had only been reduced again to just £3; and you can bet I still asked for student discount and got it for £2.70.

This isn’t something I would normally wear, but the trousers from Everything5Pounds definitely gave me a confidence boost to embrace the look and slay it. Snake print is set to be huge this year, as well as some other already-emerging trends. If you don’t already own something snake print, these trousers are a great, inexpensive starting point. I think it’s amazing that you can get both branded and unbranded items at E5P for literally just £5. I mean, you didn’t need a discount code at that price, but I’ll give you one anyway! Use BEFF_5 for 5% off your order!

Photographs by Ginger Girl Says