A Few Good (will) Outfits...Thrift Store Fashion

This week's post centers around thrift store fashion, specifically outfits I put together this past summer, shopping multiple thrift stores and goodwills.  Most of the outfits were between 5-10 dollars, some including shoes and jewelry.  

Now, we all know fashion is an eye of the beholder type of thing, so you may say, 

Ew. Gross. Yuck.

What is she wearing?!

(probably not in a what designer is she wearing kind of way...although dear friend Katy says I sometimes find more expensive labels...I surely wouldn't know.), 

Why doesn't this lady get a tan,

Or make the bed,

etc. 

And that's okay.  What fun would fashion be without all our opinionated opinions?  

I didn't try these outfits on all on at once.  I've been trying to snap quick photos on my way out the door when there's time. Since I tend to run late, that's not that often...so the photos here are the outfits I wore that day.  This is also why the bed is not made.  We're just going to sleep in it again anyway.

First up...

This dress was Goodwill, 5 dollars.  I like the small, metal, military-like buttons that go down the length of the dress, and of course I'm a sucker for polka-dots. Messenger bag, Goodwill, 5 dollars.  I love it and wear it with lots of stuff that I probably shouldn't.  

Next...dress 5 dollars, belt 50 cents, both Goodwill . Gray knitted leggings, Walmart. Boots, new from Ebay. The dress is slightly big, but initially I got it to layer, like with the flannel behind me on the bed, 99 cents, and sometimes a light blue, vintage Mickey T-shirt also 99 cents, both found at a Goodwill.

  

Necklace, yard sale find.

Vintage earrings, scored at a yard sale many years ago for 50 cents.  I remember stopping and only having a dollar, but loved these.  At the time my ears were not pierced. The earrings are like stained glass.

Vintage, rhinestone bracelet 6 dollars at a Goodwill, also many years ago.

Okay, next...Dion picked out the sunglasses this summer.  7 dollars at a water park.  Shirt is 1.50 from Goodwill.  Those are not red dots...they are hearts! perfect.  High waisted, navy, shorts Goodwill.  2.99.

These shoes were given to me more years ago than the other many years ago.  Dion was in school, we lived in a mission house in Chicago, walked to the church on the corner, and there we made friends with a woman whom we grew to love. She had a shopped as a way of dealing with her highly stressful job, and she didn't take things back.  As a result, she pretty much gifted me a whole new wardrobe at a time in our lives when we had 17 cents in our bank account. 

I remember trying on each shirt, skirt, and pair of shoes, so happy to have clothes that I could feel good wearing, and to try styles I wouldn't have bought for myself...there were bags and bags of goodies...tags on, all my size. That kind of kindness was who she was.

I love this next outfit, but understandably, dear friend Katy kinda laughed when I came back from Goodwill to show her. She did however say that I should write a post on pattern mixing.

Have you seen some of the great pattern mixing going on in the fashion world?  I really like it.  But I have a fashion pull toward an adult Punky Brewster wardrobe. Husband Dion not so much.  He refers to the pants I wore in my single years as "clown pants".  So when we got married, I closed the comfortable season of clown-pant-wearing, and threw away my colorful, XL T-shirts, including the beloved, over-sized Purple Cow Restaurant t-shirt, which you can be sure had a picture of a cow head smack in the middle of its purple gloriousness.  

Here's a portrait created 16 years ago by Jamie, a young lady in the youth group I was co-pastoring.

She captured the clown pants pretty much perfectly, as well as my dislike of wearing shoes and socks.

So then, being the good wife that I hoped to become, I made a switch to mostly slimming blacks. Also grays. And a few other earthy, Amish-like colors. I don't know why those colors (yes I do, and if you've read this post, you do too).  It just happened (doubt it).

But it's been almost 15 years (of marriage...not 15 years of Amish-like colors), and the colorful, not matching patterns occasionally call out to me, and then something like this happens. 

Soooo...a few weeks ago previously mentioned dear friend Katy attended NY fashion week.  And what do you think she said was on the runway?  Pattern mixing!  You can find some fun outfit inspirations by searching "pattern mixing" on Pinterest...or visit my Pinterest  folder "Style, Beauty, Health" here,  for a few of my mixed print favorites.

Dear friend Katy said the green shirt with the polka-dot skirt would still be colorful and fun, and so I've also worn it that way.  One shirt was 1.99 and the other 99 cents, Goodwill.  I think the skirt was 2.99, also Goodwill. Shoes TJ Maxx, 9.99.  But I'd rather wear these coral, fabric shoes with this outfit...also Goodwill, 3.99.

And then there were these red heels...look at that shine.  Look at that zipper.  Look at that height. Look at how I try not to wobble and trip while wearing them.  A woman chased me down (the words of her friend) at the Japanese buffet, needing to know where I got them. 4.99 Goodwill.  (It was not difficult for her to chase me down.)

(Look at that blue string on the floor.)  These would be fun with this skirt and a black cardigan.

You've seen these shoes before in this post ...3 dollars Goodwill.

And since we're trying out the leopard, cheetah, not actually sure what fake animal thing...

Cardigan 1.99, Goodwill.  Shirt 99 cents. My nice brother gifted the necklace when we were youngins. love it.  made in India.  

Denim like dress...5 dollars, Goodwill. 

Remember this lot of amazingness, vintage belts and scarves from the five dollar-fill-a-plastic-bag yard sale? See the yellow belt?  With all the things I had stuffed in that bag, I'm thinking maybe it came out to about 10 cents...

This summery shirt 1.99 Goodwill.  The shorts were Old Navy...40 percent off during their early summer outlet sale.  Necklace is Walmart 9.98.

The shoes are also from the bags of shoes from our Chicago friend.  free.

Okay, this next outfit kinda looks like some hand me downs put together, but I like it.  It's probably why kids who don't know me think that they should know me. Kids I've never met will just walk up to me all the time. They ask me to play sometimes.  Mostly they tell me random stuff.  I'm like okay stranger kid, as I look around for their adult. Maybe they think I'm a real life La La Loopsy.  or maybe they know I think they're cuteness. 

Jacket, Goodwill, 4 dollars.  Dress, Goodwill, 5 dollars. A lady I saw in a parking lot today told me this dress was taking her back to her psychedelic 70's.  To which I replied in 80's fashion and song, "Just say no. no.  right to say no!"  

not really.  I mean she said that.  But I responded as though she was giving me a compliment even though we cannot really be sure.

And pattern mixing with Old Navy shoes...also 40 percent off early summer sale.

This shirt has great colors.  Goodwill shirt, 1.99.  Black shorts (the spots are on the antique mirror...the lighting wasn't great, so they showed up more on this photo), Old Navy, 40 percent off early summer sale.  I don't like how they got tighter after washing them.  silly spandex.

You've seen these shoes in the same post as the cheetah whatever heels.  Love love love....looooove these shoes. That was also a song just there. It was made up...so.

Goodwill, 5 dollars.

At the Japanese buffet, yup, same one...another lady fussed about this outfit and specifically these shoes.  I proudly told her Goodwill, and she said, "Really?!" Turns out the shoes on her feet were also a Goodwill find.  They were leather and her husband dyed them! How great is that?! 

Here's another outfit I like with these shoes... 

This shirt is a favorite.  It is light and sheer with poofy sleeves, and the collar wraps around to tie in the back...I think this one came from a local thrift store for 3 or 4 dollars.  The pants are Goodwill, and I've worn them consistently for 15 years!  It's crazy that I remember this kind of stuff, since for at least the past 10 years I can't seem to remember sometimes important stuff like my age (I'm not even kidding.), but they were 4 dollars.

This particular day I pinned it with a marcasite brooch from TJ Maxx.

 

Here's the thing about how I thrift store shop...I stop at them while out of town.  Sure, we shop our local thrift stores as well, but when we're on trips, I go if I can...sometimes on the way at stops, and then again once we get to where we're going.  These outfits were put together this summer, but just like any wardrobe, creating a thrift store wardrobe takes time, adding a few things every now and again.  Every once in awhile someone my size may donate a bunch of really great stuff to one place, and I happen to shop at just the right time, but typically I find the treasures here and there. 

But treasures are to be found...even more so  if you're open to possibility, okay with shopping out of season, and have the time to sift through the store quickly and try things on.  My girls have waited with me in fitting rooms for hours when there are no other options.  Sara brings a book, and I give her incentives...like some of her own favorites from the store.

Sometimes Sara picks out shoes for me.

Exhibit A

4.99

You may not be able to run out to your nearest thrift store and find these same outfits, even if they were your style.  But there may be an inexpensive, unique to you, something or other waiting for you to come and add it to your own wardrobe.

If you're new to thrifting, I suggest shopping for basics at outlet or department stores to narrow down what's a good fit for you, and then shop the thrift stores for the fun clothes and experiment...how can one lose? If it doesn't work or if your partner says, "Wow. That is...something. I love you. That is um...something." Well, then we can toss it in the donate box. Or become a liberated woman/man/purple penguin, call it art, and wear it anyway. Our choice.

Sure do hope you liked this post.  I'll try working on a few more thrift store fashion posts, and maybe Sara and Dion will participate.  They both wear some pretty great thrift store finds.   There's a saying in our family that goes like this, "We wear second hand, so we are awesome."  We say it every morning. together.  That's not true.  We've never said that.  not ever.  And I don't believe in mornings.  

But we do upcycle and wear second hand without reservation. 

If YOU have an ebay, thrift store, or yard sale fashion find, please don't hold back.  Not sure how or if it's even possible to add photos to comments below (wouldn't that be the BEST?!!),but what about sharing photos with our group on our storybook-cottage facebook group page here?  

Behind the scenes bonus footage...while I perform the fashion selfie stretch with the camera, taking 163  a few modest photos with the sincere intent to walk with one or two that work, Sara tends to complicate things hang about.

Here is a true-to-life photo sequence from the last outfit...a sampling of how this goes...

 "Sara, please move." 

 

 "Sara, please move."

 "Sara!   move out of the photo!"

It's a good thing I love her so.

How are you making your today world beautiful?

Summer Guy Sitting On Some Fountain Fish, Pink Hair, and A Pumpkin Pony...neigh neigh

I'm still on this  reorganizing, fixing kick.  Really I'm not sure what's gotten into me.  This has been our home for a year now, but if you would've walked through the house on any given day these past few weeks, you may have assumed we've just moved.

Part of my reorganizing has been going through digital photos and videos. Sorting through them, backing them up...filing them in the correct folders, transferring them from multiple places, etc.  I have put off this job for YEARS. Once we lost some pretty special photos.  At that time a vow was made with myself to stay on top of it from this point on.  But kick me out of the convent, because I haven't.

It's amazing what gets done when there's something on my list I don't WANT to do.  Like REALLY don't want to do. Suddenly things like watching youtube tutorials on how to carve a pumpkin into a pony become priority.  

But going through our family photos and videos has turned out to be a good thing.  They feel like they were taken yesterday, but the girls are so small!  We did the home school thing for Sara's first few years, but I imagine watching those videos is similar to the sorrow kind of joy parents feel on their child's first day of kindergarten.  Or I don't know, maybe it's what parents feel when they watch videos of their kids.  There's an idea.

Amidst all the filing and furniture moving, as well as the all-things-under-this-roof-move-around, I'd like to post a few photos of this summer's trip.  This way in two years, when my photos are once again stored in multiple computers, thumbnail drives, or whatever else is new to then, I can be sure to find these here on the world wide web...then eat dark chocolate while lamenting thinking back on how quickly our girls are growing.

As mentioned in this July post, Sara, Siri, and I had the chance to spend a few weeks at the beach this summer while Siri received osteopathic manipulative treatments in the area. If you are looking for an experienced and all-around amazing Osteopath, send me an email by clicking on the email icon at the top of the blog, or fb message me here for his info or for more info on OMT.  We travel quite a distance for Siri to be treated by him, as he came highly recommended to us.  Now we are the ones who highly recommend him.

One of Siri's favorite things is walking the boardwalk on our trips.  We can walk for hours, and she is so happy and content. She would rather walk than eat.   I like it too, and it's good for both of us.  But I also like to eat...like pretzels.  I like to eat pretzels.  This summer I reintroduced pretzels back into my diet.  "Hello again pretzels!" I said.  "Hello to you." they replied.

Here we are walking at night.  Towards the end of our trip, Sara started asking if I'd like her to push Siri every now and again, giving me a break.  She can be super sweet like that.  

I love what this picture represents.  She is such a great big sister to Siri and a HUGE help as she's getting older.  

We also had the chance to speak at an annual golf tournament benefiting the house where we stay while on these trips.  At the end of the banquet a very generous man walked over to us and gifted us the gift he had won that night...it was a 100 dollar gift certificate to the rather prestigious gift shop. What a kind gesture.  Because I'm the best  a loving wife, I decided to spend it on husband Dion. One shirt was ninety dollars, so I didn't want to get this wrong. We texted and sent pics back and forth, until he was sure it was what he wanted. It is soft. It is pink. Husband Dion is super hot in pretty much whatever he's wearing, and this soft and pink shirt is no exception.  

Here we are taking selfies in the fancy ladies restroom and checking out the fountain at the golf course.

Isn't it beautiful?  This sitting-on-two-spitting-water-fish guy is my favorite.

I've also been meaning to post our summer hair changes, because it's exciting and will compel you to quickly come back to read more blog posts.  not really.  But this is a blog about creative process, so this covers that right?...kinda sorta.

Before the trip the girls needed haircuts.  Sara wanted it short for the beach, and I promised to give her some pink hair once we got there.  Siri's before and after cut...

Sara's before and after cut...

To make a strip of Sara's hair pink, we used Splat.  This was a two day process for us.  On the first day, we bleached out her natural color.  We used plastic wrap to keep it where we wanted it.  It looked like this after bleaching.  

The following day we dyed the bleached area pink.  Here is also a bird on her head.

And here she has underwear on her head.  
Both perfectly normal.
Some day she will appreciate her mother posting photos of this type on the world wide web.

I discovered a fun new product to use on my hair this summer too. The air curler! While bestfriend Gretchen was visiting, we made a few trips to our local discount store, where she introduced me to this controversial hair product. Since our tv isn't hooked up with cable, I hadn't seen the As Seen On TV infomercials. After watching the reviews on youtube and seeing how awful they are on amazon, I began to second guess this five dollar purchase.  But then I followed the directions, along with my favorite hair oil, and this happened...

It swirls hair around in a vortex like, pink container that attaches to your hairdryer.  Like a cotton candy machine.  Considering all the bad reviews, I can't really recommend it, but it was much faster than curling, and curl doesn't stay in my hair all that long anyway, since naturally, in spite of best efforts, most of the time it's determined to do its own rebellious thing.  Why IS "beach hair" all the thing on pinterest? Isn't it just a nicer way to describe tangly, frizzy, messy, out of control hair?  yes. yes it is. because that's what beach hair is.  unruly frizz.

This pic is from an earlier trip.  When Siri and I got back from our walk, it was like this.  And there were bugs on it!!!  gross. Maybe they like my favorite oil too.  I guess if you're a girl and you try the air curler, and it doesn't work for you, you could return it.  It also worked on Gretchen's shorter hair, but not so great on Sara's long hair, so we're 2 for 3.  It may be worth a try.

We had to dye Sara's back when we got home, since school started pretty much immediately.   School policy is no unnatural colors and no mohawks.  Good thing we didn't go with the mohawk.  Apparently in school, a strip of pink hair is a distraction to the other children. Here's part of my fb rant status about it:

"I don't understand why kids can't have mohawks and colored hair in school. They say it's a distraction. I'd like to see a study done where one room has a boy with a mohawk and another one has only "non-distracting" children, and then they all take tests and prove there's a difference because of the distraction. Imagining a kid coming home and saying, "Well mom and dad, I would've done really well in that class, but I couldn't stop staring at this kids hair. I couldn't even eat lunch today. He was such a distraction. It was all I could think about." I'm all about the rules when they make sense, but this one is petty and dumb,and I'm grouchy about it."

That was pretty grumpy huh?

And now, as summer comes to an end, here are a few more memories of the warm beach air, evening campfires, amazing sunsets, ocean walks, and of Siri and I sitting on our bench, while keeping an eye on Sara taking on the waves and her almost daily work of digging the biggest hole ever...

Working on projects while eating pomegranate seeds. Stopping by Trader Joe's to buy pomegranate seeds makes me feel like I'm somewhat awesome.

 Sara's biggest hole ever.

A few years back, I asked husband Dion if he would someday buy this house for me, so we can grow old there.  Then he can retell me the story of how we met, like in The Notebook.  He said probably not.

I like to imagine up stories of the men and women eating at this fancy restaurant as well as another one that looks like what I imagine to be the insides of a giant, lit up pumpkin...what are they ordering, and what occasion brought them here.  Maybe one day Dion and I or Sara will eat here in the moonlight and these lights and listen to the the waves and take in the ocean breezes until we're kicked out or talked out, or Siri and I might eat in silence, which would be equally special.

Here is Sara's version of Hollywood Blvd.  She asked me to come put my prints by hers and declared us famous.

 Then she said we should run up and down this hill.  So we did...

 many many times.

And it was so much FUN!

Beautiful memories are vital in the building up of our relationships.  Photos help our family and friends remember together. These memories are precious indeed.  My heart is full of these gifts that have come our way...the direct result of the difficult choice to adopt Siri. Making these trips initially seemed like a sacrifice, but then quickly they transformed themselves into some of the most incredible bonding moments for our family.  It has become a family retreat of sorts, a second home. These trips gift us with a new environment...they get us out of our "stuck"...they gift us with loving friendships...heartfelt conversations, laughter to anticipate.  They give us the space to breath, think, process, heal. They help Siri to become her healthiest self.  And they give us time to dye our hair pink.  

How are you making your today world beautiful?

*correction from the Favorite Summer Things Facebook Giveaway, posted earlier this summer.  The liquid eyeliner that doesn't smear is NYC, not NYX.  my apologies ladies and eye liner wearing man friends...