A Jewelry Conundrum

It's funny that sometimes I tend to view my accessories as an after thought, or I don't even think of them at all. I love jewelry! I have so much of it, and I never quite remember to put any of it on. I actually had to be reminded of the beauty that accessories can play into an outfit when I started watching the various short videos from Style Like U. My favorite person had to be Lauren Ezersky and her completely amazing jewelry collection.  I find myself wanting more unique pieces like the ones she owns, but let's face it.  I'm not in a point in my life where I can start obsessively collecting jewelry pieces that start at $1000.  My own weddings rings didn't even cost $200...which is the way I like it.

So I felt my outfit today needed to have a more specific vibe to it.  I already knew what I was wearing, but I wasn't sure what kind of accessories I'd put with it.  My husband begged me to put on my glasses for today, so that was one accessory, but the jewelry part was a little more methodical.  I remembered I had gone to an antique store and bought about 12 rings from a bag of junk and had promptly forgot about them.  I riffled through my purse and found two that I thought went well with my outfit.  Then the Poloride necklace Zach gave me completed my accessorizing for the day.  I am taking baby steps right now until I find my stride in jewelry again.

 

As for the location of my photos, I wanted to check out a park that is in my neighborhood that I haven't visited.  True story.  This is actually a mass graveyard.  The people buried in this park died from Yellow Fever in 1855. It's amazing the kind of history that is right in our back yard.

Olive Button Down, Thrifted
Cashmere Cardigan, Old Navy (years ago)
Skirt, Dillards
Dolce Vita Boots, Gift
Necklace, Gift
Rings, Barret Street Antiques
Bracelet, Gift 
Beret, Forever21
Glasses, Miu Miu

Upbeat and Cheery

Helllloooooo Saturday!!!  Long time no see, huh?  I swear this week dragged by so slowly.  I never thought it would end.  But it is now the weekend and I'm ready to have some fun.  The fun started this morning while getting dressed.  I broke out my sweet Brazalian loafers for a weekend look and worked my entire outfit around them.  I chose bright colors to keep my look upbeat and then toned everything down a little bit with some neutrals.  I also knew I would be wearing the most fabulous necklace ever.  I try to wear this  Clyde's Rebirth necklace only a few times a month since it's so special and I don't want to take the chance of losing it. 

Next bit of business was taking a trip to the farmer's market.  I found out I could take my dog to the farmer's market and we needed to get her food anyways, so it was a fun little trip for Starla.  She met other dogs and then the whole lot of us got our picture taken.  Blue Shutter Studios offered up a free Valentines Couple photo and we couldn't resist to not get a family photo.  I'll be recieving the picture in a couple of weeks!  I can't wait!!

As if the day couldn't get any better Zach, my sister, and I all went to a couple of thrift stores.  I found a ton of cute vintage tops and dresses.  Oddly enough all the cute ones were my size so I had to buy them!  I can't wait to get them all washed and mended so I can start turning these items into outfits.

Gingham Blouse, Thrifted
Vintage Jordache Belt, Thrifted
Cardigan, Forever21
Jeans, Platos Closet
Necklace, Clydes Rebirth
Vintage Loafers, Thrifted

Mounting Anticiaption

Ever have one of those days that you just can't wait to get home because you're super duper excited for the night's plans?  I'm sure you have!  Today just seemed to drag and drag because I couldn't wait to reorganize my closet. What?!!!  Seriously! Yes, I've been meaning to get my closet cleaned up for a while now.  I have had clean laundry sitting in a basket for about 2 weeks now.  The best part is I keep going to the thrift store and buying more stuff.  So tonight I will finally get my butt in gear and iron clothes, hang them up and maybe take an inventory.  I was inspired by Tieka's blogpost a few days ago and now I'm really interested to see what I've accumulated. 

So, I've talked about my closet, now what about my outfit?  Basically I am wearing my bouncy dress again, but I switched it up with my ultra warm vintage cardigan and my cognac wedges.  I love putting on an outfit that makes me feel like a million bucks.  Even my manager gave me a compliment on it!  That hardly ever happens, so yay me!  hehe..

Dress, Thrifted

Vintage Cardigan, 2nd hand from Friend

Shoes, Modcloth

Vintage Belt, Thrifted

A Little Bit 70s

Well, I think it's safe to say I've full on jumped on the "wide leg high waisted" jeans band wagon.  I got one pair a couple of weeks ago and then I found another pair of really wide leg jeans.  I couldn't say no!!  They are Nine West brand and I love the cute little pocket details on the front.  I actually got these for so cheap it's not even funny.  I threw these in my $10 bag at the thrift store the other day and I'm so glad I did.

The rest of the outfit needed to carry a 70s vibe so my cute feather polyester blouse was the first thing I reached for.  Next came the vintage woven belt and the cognac wedges.  For the finale I threw on my sister's hat that I stole. This is one of those outfits that just makes me happy.  It's fun dressing up jeans with a whole other decade in mind.

Vintage Blouse, Buffalo Exchange
Jeans, Thrifted
Vintage Belt, Thrifted
Wedges, Modcloth

The Practical Outfit

Zach and I were helping a friend move some furniture and this was the outfit I chose to wear for the day.  Real practical, right?  haha!!  I'm always the person to chose the most unreasonable outfit for any occasion.  For example, last year when I treked up to NYC for fashion week I only brought heels to walk around in.  In my mind I figured if Stacy London could do it, so could I.  Well I was wrong and broke a heel on my favorite ankle boots.  But luckily for me I didn't rip or break anything in this outfit while moving the furniture.  Plus I did it with style! hehehe..  I'm so full of myself.

Anyways, I had the idea of this outfit in my head for a few days but figured Sunday was the best day to wear it since I can't really get away with this kind of outfit at work.  Although I had to wait a few days to put on this outfit, I do love when I come up with something complete different than my normal dressing routine.  Sometimes outfits come to me in a prophetic dream, other times I use inspiration from magazines and catalogs, or sometimes an outfit will strike me when I least expect it.  This outfit came to me when I was folding clothes (imagine that!!)

BB Dakota blouse, 2nd hand from friend
Shorts, Dillards
Tights, Target
Dolce Vita Boots via Target, Gift
Necklace, Etsy
Bracelet, 2nd hand from friend

On the Mend

Today was warm but rainy and I decided it was a great day to try out my newly hemmed dress.  I bought this paisley tent dress from a thrift store about 3 months ago and it was a horrible length.  Dowdy is a more appropriate term of the shape of this garment.  A couple of days ago I finally decided to stop being lazy and get going on my hem pile. 

There's no excuse for leaving a mountain of clothes to mend, for months on end, but apparently I'm just a super busy lady...haha, yeah right.  So I guess I can tell you the best part about finishing up a mend pile is you basically get a whole new wardrobe!  You can add a new look to old clothes, or just change up some thrifted items you had lurking in your closet.

 

So with my newly hemmed dress on I felt it was a great day for thrifting.  And what's better than being greeted by the shop keeper at a thriftstore with a huge bag to fill for $10?!  Pretty much nothing!!  I can't tell you how awesome it felt to buy all sorts of great items that I needed for a huge discount.  If I hadn't been there with my hubby I would've spent another hour there, but I could tell he was getting impatient with me.  I'm a hunter and seeker and need so much time to lament on what I need versus what I don't need.  Plus, I was also looking for things for my friends.  This was also the first time I ever went to a thrift store that allowed a "fill a bag" deal.  I wish all thrift store were like that!  haha!!

Vintage dress, Thrifted
Vintage belt, Thrifted
Vintage Boots, Ebay
Owl Ring, Forever21

A Day in the Life of a Thrifter

Today was a rainy gross day, so I thought I'd take a trip to do a little thrifting to show you my process on a thrifting adventure.  It may seem a bit odd, but I always do things in a particular order.  It's very systematic and it helps me keep on track.

First things first.  I always keep in mind my inspiration board.  You don't have to have an inspiration board, but it helps me from purchasing impulse buys and weird shit I don't necessarily need.  Even though thrifting is a cheaper alternative to buying clothes from mall stores you can still rack up a huge bill if you go overboard.  It also doesn't help that thrift stores have become more and more expensive, so keeping a budget and an idea of what you want is pretty important.

Second.  Keep your wits about you.  I can't tell you how many rude people I run into (literally) at the thrift store.  These rude people are as hardcore as you are and will do about anything to beat you out of some awesome find.  I've been shoved, stared at, squeeze out of, you name it.  Just remember, it's only clothes.  Just move on to somewhere else for a while.  Sometimes you forget what you were looking at initially, so it won't be so bad.  And if someone is particularly rude and just steals something out of your hand, you have my permission to kick them in the knees;)

Third.  Go in with an action plan.  Know where you want to head first.  I always make a beeline for the shoes.  I've found some great shoes at the thriftstore and usually they get picked over quite fast.  Next I head to the dresses/skirts.  I wear skirts and dresses more often than anything else so I want to spend as much time looking at those items.  If you wear jeans or pants go to those first.  You want to have as much energy left in you to look through hundreds of the same type of clothing.  With any left over energy I have left, I head to the blouses and then the purses.  I can usually work this rotation for about 45 minutes, which is the length of a typical thrifting excursion.