Styleclone is all about bringing you the latest fashion news and trends and one absolutely huge trend in the world of fashion at the moment is fashion blogging. So we’ve come up with a brand new feature that allows the visitors of Styleclone to meet some of the most popular fashion bloggers out there at the moment.

Meet Claire, a 20 year old fashion student, vintage lover, shoe addict and fashion blogger.

Claire regularly posts on her blog, SITTING PRETTY AT MY DESK about the latest fashion trends, her latest purchases and her celebrity style crushes. (Her latest style crush is Diana Vickers)

Like many students, Claire spends a good amount of her student loan on new clothes, but she doesn’t just stick to high priced, highstreet stores, Claire also shops online and her favourite online store is eBay. Claire swears by eBay for great vintage finds and great bargains.

So, after the recent announcement that eBay have launched their own fashion outlet, we quizzed Claire about some of her greatest and not so great eBay finds.

StyleClone: How often do you shop on eBay?
Claire: “I tend to have a nosey a few times a week, but then only buy a couple of times a week, usually a few things at once.”

Styleclone: What do you look for in particular
Claire: “In general I shop for clothes, and my usual searches are for Topshop, Primark and Vintage. If I have an idea of what I want in my head, I’ll search for hours until I find it, but usually stuff just catches my eye and I make myself think I need it!”

Styleclone: Why do you enjoy shopping on eBay?
Claire: “I love the huge variety of things available, and I’m a big believer in not throwing clothes away, so being able to give someones unwanted things a new lease of life is really great. I also love the excitement of the auction format, and the competitiveness in the last few minutes of sale.”

Styleclone: Do you sell a lot of items as well as buying them?
Claire: “Yes, I always sell anything I don’t want anymore if its in good condition, mainly just to make myself feel better about buying loads of new things! This weekend I’ve had around 15 items up for auction.”

Styleclone: What are some of your favourite purchases?
Claire: “My favourite things I’ve bought are a pink speckled vintage dress that I have worn to death, that cost around £5.00, a vintage style beaded House of Fraser blouse for £3.99, and some Topshop jeans for around £6.00 that had only been worn once and fit perfectly.”

Styleclone: What has been the biggest bargain you’ve found?
Claire: “This has to be my Debenhams trench coat for 99p! I offered the seller £5.00 at a buy it now price, but she declined my offer and went on with the listing. Unluckily for her, I sat at the computer for pretty much the last hour of auction and won it for the starting price! I took it up to a more flattering length and now its one of my favourite things.”

Styleclone: And what has been the item you’ve recieved and thought ‘why did I buy that?’
Claire: “I’ve genuinely really liked everything I bought on ebay, but a lot of things didn’t quite fit right, or didn’t suit me, so I just sold it on again.”

Styleclone: What do you think about eBay now launching a fashion outlet?
Claire: “I think its a great idea. It mixes ebay shopping and High street brand shopping into one so all my clothes shopping can be done on one platform. Its also great for big discounted items and theres a great variety of brands on board. I especially love La Redoute as my mum always used to get the catalogue when I was younger!”

Styleclone: Do you ever prefer shopping on eBay to shopping in the highstreet?
Claire: “For bargains and vintage pieces, yes, but for fit, no. The High Street is great because you can see everything at once and can try it all on before you buy. Ebay offers a completely different experience to its customers with auction formats, so I think they are both on a par.”

Styleclone: Why would you recommend eBay to other fashion lovers?
Claire: “It’s perfect for finding things you may have missed in the shops, and one off pieces. I’m a big vintage lover, and I get most of my pieces from ebay. Plus, if you bid at the right time, you can get things for pence rather than the pounds you pay on the High Street!”

You can find out about Claire’s latest purchases and style crushes over at her blog, Sitting Pretty At My Desk

Update: Since this interview, Claire loved StyleClone so much that she has now become a fully fledged member of the StyleClone team. Claire will be using her eye for fashion to write within our Street Style category. Check out her profile on our About Us page…

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