Alyssa over at Modern French Blog posted on her spring/summer capsule wardrobe and it is just a treat, visually speaking. We all know I am allergic to black, but there are many out there who love and rock it, so take a look at how she does it: chic basics mixed with versatile neutrals. Nothing boring about black in her wardrobe!
Do you wear black—and if so, a lot or a little? What do you think of Alyssa’s take on it?
Happy weekend, Thrifters!
Tuesday’s post on şalvar/Hammer pants/jupe-culotte (aka “harem pants”) got me thinking about the power held by the words we use to talk about the way we dress.
Caroline at Un-Fancy blogged last week (in a post featuring a great thrifted sweater!) about how she’s been “hearing murmurs that skinny jeans are on their way out” but that she was in no way ready to give up her skinny jeans “any time soon.”
Good on her for sticking with clothing she loves even if it’s not “cool” or “trendy” anymore. (That’s basically my entire style strategy—and, I might note, thrift stores make this eminently possible.)
But commenter Lynn brought up a powerful point:
When women start repeating those “murmurs” it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, doesn’t it? It’s no secret that the fashion industry – that very one that Caroline is talking about slowing down, making it work for us instead of us working for it – wants trends to change. For when women begin to believe skinny jeans (for example) are going out of style, it’s not just new jeans we’ll be buying. It’s new shoes, new tops, all to find the right new silhouette.
The language we use to talk about what we wear has the power to shape not only our attitudes and behaviors, but to reinforce global realities like the fast fashion industry, which is unquestionably damaging to millions of women (and men, and children) around the world who work in dangerous, vastly undercompensated conditions to make the clothes that fuel the changing trends—“harem” pants, skinny jeans, or otherwise—which we embrace and reject with such regularity.
(If you’re still not sure you think words have power…Google “slave bracelets” and tell me why it’s okay to normalize women’s slavery with trendy jewelry in a world where it’s still all too real. Thanks, Ginna, for this lead as well!)
What do you think about the power of words to describe clothing or to talk about fashion? Any other instances you can think of (besides rompers and playsuits) where we problematically label clothing, particularly women’s clothing? Scroll down to comment!
Reader Ginna at Feet Chic sent me an email last week. (Head right over to her visually arresting blog chronicling chic street style footwear of all kinds!)
She asked what I thought about “harem” pants. She had seen them named as a trend in a style blog she reads and immediately felt “sick to [her] stomach.”
No, it wasn’t the baggy crotch or visions of MC Hammer dancing in her head that gave her the heeby-jeebies. These ladies sporting various street style takes on the pants in question look lovely, yes?
Source ; source. Even Emanuelle Alt got in on the trend – source.
I mentioned Ariana at Paris-to-Go in my spring wardrobe cleanout post last week, offering up her pared down wardrobe as a beautiful example of sartorial simplicity. Her style grows so organically out of her values that it doesn’t feel like some minimalist imposition: “You should own __ number of garments!”
Instead, her commitment to simplicity, sustainability, and generating zero waste, combined with her love of well-made clothes and her superb sense of style, has produced a lovingly curated closet stocked with gorgeous secondhand finds (we’re talking Céline, Dior, Louis Vuitton et al) and handknit items made by local artisans. Check out posts on her wardrobe to discover the contents for yourself—click “older posts” several times on the lower right to find the good stuff.
I have to say, even though her pants-light, dressily feminine style is quite different from my own, looking at Ariana’s pared down wardrobe makes me happy. You can tell that she LOVES the items she has; there’s a sense of calm and contentment that comes from a limited number of beautiful possessions and the space freed up by owning less.
She certainly has more…concise…taste than I do—I think owning so little in the way of clothing would be a stretch for me in terms of variety. But maybe I just haven’t found pieces I love enough to wear significantly fewer clothes more often!
Bea Johnson of Zero Waste Home is another zero waste blogger—arguably the one who really put zero waste on the map, and did it with a husband and two boys in tow. (She’s one of Ariana’s sources of inspiration and she’s definitely gotten me thinking about ways to reduce my waste footprint.)
Her blog is a goldmine of zero waste ideas and it’s easy to spend hours digging through it in alternating states of awe and intimidation. (My advice for the overwhelmed: pick one thing to try and see how it goes! Then choose another. Repeat at your own speed.)
She, too, has an entirely secondhand wardrobe and keeps her clothes very pared down. Check out her wardrobe posts for some ideas on a very different style wavelength. Think “French girl” (since she is French, after all): monochrome, stripes, a few bold patterns/pops of color, and very few embellishments. This post in particular talks about translating her love of fashion into responsible consumption while still providing variety.
What are your thoughts on zero waste wardrobes? (We might call these specific examples “super minimalist”!) Do you find freedom in very few garments and a very focused wardrobe, or do you need a little more room to play? And isn’t it fascinating to see people populate entire wardrobes of such a variety of styles using non-retail alternatives?
Happy weekend, Thrifters—and for those of you who celebrate, Holy Week and Easter blessings.
Tailoring is a tool everyone should have in their pockets because there’s no way mass-manufactured clothing will always fit your body perfectly. Thrifters need it even moreso to mold priceless-but-not-perfect secondhand finds into an effortlessly chic wardrobe that will leave you looking like (but not spending) a million bucks.
(Story time: I once heard someone recount the experience of a Ghanaian woman who came to the U.S. for college and whose healthy self-image began to deteriorate after long term exposure to mass retail shops where her body always seemed “wrong” for the clothes. In her home culture it was the norm for clothes to be tailored or bespoke, so instead of feeling inferior because they didn’t meet some arbitrary standard, everyone felt fab in clothes made to fit their bods exactly.)
I bought this beauty back in the days of chilly weather and knew that its popover style, rollable sleeves, and cotton fabric would be a hit for spring and summer ’round these parts.
The only problem? It apparently was a shirt dress in another life—one that had an altercation with a pair of scissors: 
Wanh-wannnnh: Continue reading “Tailoring a Thrifted Shirt”
Here ’tis, Fellow Thrifters: my thrifted spring capsule wardrobe. It is, indeed, all thrifted, but the rest of the title is a bit of a misnomer, since this puppy (minus the blazers) will carry me all the way through summer.
I feel like I may have one too many tops, but given how long it’s supposed to last me, it might be just enough variety.
I started off with 3 pants from last spring/summer, added the grey Vince Camuto cigarette pants I found this fall, kept several tops I loved from last year (bonus points if you can identify them!), and added a few more (see note about variety).
And since I can’t just leave a capsule alone, but glory in tweaking it as I search for just the right mix of stuff I love and actually wear, I’ll keep you updated as the warm months roll by.
Let me know what you think! And enjoy grooving to the sounds of one of my longtime musical crushes, India.Arie. Because “sometimes I stick to my capsule wardrobe, and sometimes I don’t.
P.S. Let’s all welcome Kali, the one-eyed cat wonder, to her YouTube debut.
Yesterday was the first day of spring. Oddly enough, it was the epitome of a blustery March day up North rather than the milder version usually experienced here in the South. (It’s been in the high 70s/low 80s the last few weeks.) I layered up for church using a duster over a blouse on top of my favorite pants—so worn in and comfy and yet so bright. A necklace with some fun pattern + sunglasses in the exact same accent red as the pants topped it all off.
Bonus tip: I wore this outfit Thursday (see Instagram) minus the duster and it reads as a completely different ensemble with the long, solid layer added on.
Blouse: Merona, thrifted + tailored
Duster: J. by Jones New York, thrifted
Pants: Bandolino, thrifted
Necklace: bought from a street merchant in Washington, D.C.
Sunglasses: thrifted
Shoes: Trotters handed down from my mother-in-law, painted
How do you warm up your favorite outfits when it’s cooler than expected? Any trusty piece you can throw on to completely change the look of your clothes?
Happy Spring, Thrifters!
Need some inspiration for cleaning out your closet? Watch a short video on Oprah’s closet cleanout. All pieces—many designer or bespoke—were auctioned on eBay with proceeds benefiting her girls’ leadership academy in South Africa. (Sorry all you fashionistas, bidding has ended.)
Meanwhile, in her journey towards a more ethical closet, Caroline at UnFancy is trying her hand at thrifting after a long hiatus. 3 good tips in the body of the post + the comments = worth the visit.
Best tip I found in the comments, from Mara:
“Don’t avoid the big, messy thrift stores! Just skim the racks quickly for appropriate colors/textures. If something catches your eye check tag for size, fabric content and brand. Try to stick to quality brands. If size, fabric and brand are ok – ONLY then pull the item from the rack and look at it. You can get through a ton of clothing this way.”
Update: the Duchess of Cambridge thrifts presents. Just sayin’.
Happy weekend, Thrifters!
It has been the week of sick and tired chez nous, so my spring wardrobe capsule will come out next week. In the meantime, enjoy my recent necklace rehabs!
Several years back I bought this amazing boomerang-like confection of a necklace at a local Salvation Army store:
Continue reading “Necklace Rehab – Turning Thrift Finds into Chic Accessories”
The beginning or end of a season is a great time to clean out your clothes—you know what you haven’t worn in last season’s lineup and you have a fresh take on what you’re excited to wear (or not) in the coming season.
In advance of (fingers crossed) Thursday’s spring wardrobe capsule post, I give you my most recent cleanout:
Top L to R:
Peach polka dot blouse: great color and pattern, but cheaply made, sheer, and a crepe texture I dislike. When I found this thrift upgrade I was happy to let the old one go.
Gold strappy sandals: these were my Grandma’s and as such are really hard to let go of. But I think I’ve worn them a total of once in the 4.5 years I’ve owned them and I can just imagine them making someone else so happy. Plus I have jewelry of hers I wear regularly and her art and portrait on my walls, all of which recall her memory to me more readily than a pair of sandals I had stuffed out of sight.
Strappy white Ann Taylor heels: these are so elegant and simple, but I can’t remember the last time I wore them, because I just. do. not. wear. heels. My gold snakeskin barely-heels from this wedding outfit will add more pizzazz and wear more practically than these high skinny ones; and again, I know they’ll make someone else super happy.
Black floral dress: I’ve worn this to weddings, to funerals, and while pregnant. It’s definitely done right by me, but I have dark funeral dresses I love more and wear elsewhere, and the coloring is all wrong for me. I hope someone nabs this who really enjoys the coloring!
Middle L to R:
Khaki shorts: I grabbed these last summer to go with the polka shirt in the bottom right and then wore them ambivalently off and on for the rest of the warm months. I have 3 other pairs of shorts I like better, and no one who can’t wear shorts to work needs that many shorts.
Blue star shirt: nabbed for Halloween; too dark for my taste, and the V-neck is weirdly small.
White sweater cardigan (aka The Yeti): Pilling, not my favorite length, and worn hard this winter. Getting rid of it now means I have 6+ months to find something warm and cardiganly that I love.
Bottom L to R:
Pink/green blouse: A hole-filler from the end of last summer when I needed extra variety. Don’t love the pattern and its cheap construction won’t last. I found tunic blouses I love much better so it’s buh-bye to this number.
Fundraiser 5k shirt: Soft but poorly made; starting to twist off-seam. I have enough running shirts with much more sentimental value.
Grey ombre sweater: a friend recently passed this on to me but this post made me realize I have more than enough in the way of casual sweaters.
Polka dot shirt: See above; this wardrobe extender made me want to buy another pair of shorts and I don’t love it. I may also get rid of same shirt, different pattern, jus to have a looser silhouette this summer.
To be able to get rid of this many items at season’s end tells me I still have too many clothes. I love the beautiful simplicity of wardrobes like this one but not sure I could do without the variety.
Could you do a truly simple, minimalist wardrobe like the one I linked to? When do you like to clean out your closet? Any tips for letting go of pieces you don’t wear but to which you are still attached?
(My number one tip, as showcased above: imagine how much someone else will love it once you’ve freed it for them to find!)
Scroll down to comment!
