DIARY OF A frugal fashionista

When Caroline Jones lost her mother to cancer, she decided to celebrate their shared love of fashion and raise money for charity with a different thrift-shop look every day for a year

Iadored my mum’s company and her utter kindness. At 46, I was still learning from her, but cancer had other plans. On 24 October 2014, my dad, John, lost his beloved wife; my three children lost their wonderful nana and I lost my mum. Mary was 72 when she died from breast cancer.

Then came the grief. Bruising pain, silence and nothingness. Blurred days of eat, sleep, cry, repeat, with family and friends rallying around. Christmas 2014 felt numb. On New Year’s Eve, I spent an hour late in the evening quietly reflecting – and came up with a plan. From 1 January 2015, I would raise money for Cancer Research UK. Mum and I had shared a love of fashion, so every day I would style myself in a different outfit from a Cancer Research shop and post a photograph on social media.

I never expected my project to get so much attention. Yet by the end of week one, 97,000 people had viewed my Facebook page. Donations poured in and I decided to turn it into a book. I have now raised £60,000. I had difficult weeks: even in the depths of grief I had to face the world. I didn’t always feel like smiling and in the early pictures I had to hide my puffy eyes behind sunglasses. But I tried to stay positive. I never wore black. This was a way to connect with Mum. Most of the clothes came from the Cancer Research shop in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, where I live.

My sadness hasn’t gone away. There are tough hours and days. But I know Mum would be proud.

Knickers Model’s Own: A Year of Frugal Fashion by Caroline Jones is published by Michael English Publishing, price £20. All profits go to CRUK