Tag: blazer

Lessons from Clothes I’ve Outgrown

These days the word “outgrown” makes me think of how fast my preschooler is blowing through toddler sizes. But as an adult I’m still outgrowing clothes, too – just in a different sense.

You know when you buy something that is good enough to convince you in the dressing room, but after a few wears, an annoying flaw becomes apparent? For a long time I would suffer through pants that had to be hitched up or blazers that cut off my range of motion because I liked how they looked or I worried about how I could possibly make outfits without white pants/neutral blazer/etc. etc.

But as I pare down my wardrobe to fewer and higher quality pieces and still find I have plenty to wear, I’ve become less and less willing to tolerate bothersome clothes.

In the last few years, I’ve outgrown clothes that are poor quality; tight; sheer; too short or too low cut; scratchy or itchy; pill easily; or fit everywhere but one crucial spot. And as I’ve become more honest with myself about what irritates me – no you will not enjoy wearing a see-through blouse no matter how cute it is! – I’ve been better able to head off bad purchases in the thrift store instead of bringing them home with me. Win.

Here’s a recent “outgrown” that illustrates the power of quality and fit. Banana Republic makes a great blazer, and I recently had the good fortune to thrift two of them, both of which fit perfectly. They’re beautifully tailored, with just enough give to allow for reaching, stretching, etc.:

 

Then I tried on this Kenar linen blazer, which is a great Light Summer neutral and which I wanted to use in an upcoming outfit post:

I hadn’t worn it in awhile, but going straight from the BR blazers to this one, I realized how tight the shoulders were and how much the sleeves compressed my arms when I bent at the elbow. Super uncomfortable – I couldn’t believe it was still hanging in my closet!

Sometimes you need the contrast of something perfect to help you realize just how far off the mark “good enough” really is.

So it was goodbye to the Kenar blazer (*tear,* thank you for all the neutral blazer looks you helped me dream about), and then I relaxed right back into the stellar tailoring of the BR blazers.

What have you outgrown lately? And what helped you go from making something less-than-ideal work to not settling for anything less than perfect?

PS For loads of looks featuring these two new-to-me blazers, visit my Instagram page.

Contemplating a Style Shift

This was written during the last week or two of my pregnancy but not edited/published before the babe got here – so just ignore the weird tenses that imply that I haven’t yet had the baby. I have! He’s wonderful! Hooray!

Despite the fact that my body is now closer to wearing pre-pregnant clothes than maternity wear, I’m covered in milk all the time, so I’m trying to spare my pre-pregnancy things from milk stains. Which means that pretty much all of the first paragraph of the original post still applies.

I will admit to having spent this last month or so of pregnancy daydreaming about the time when I will be able to wear more than just the same five maternity-friendly outfits on repeat. (As mentioned here, I don’t think it’s so much because I dislike having so few options at any one time – I am a serial re-wearer of favorite outfits, after all – but I am itching to get out some of the old favorites that are currently unwearable.)

The good thing about this enforced style break and daydreaming, though, is that it’s given me the opportunity to think about my style and how it is ready to evolve.

First up? Dresses with less structure and more flow, color, and print.

Story time: Last week I went thrifting at Global Thrift, a large independent store where I can easily spend a few hours roaming the racks (thank you, maternity leave). I was looking for a nursing-friendly frock in the dress racks when I saw a champagne-colored,  sheath dress in a size I will likely be able to wear once things settle down post-partum. Sheaths had been a major part of my style in the not-too-recent past and I was tempted to thrift it even without trying it on.

But I checked the impulse to buy what’s worked in the past and asked myself whether I had really been excited, in the months leading up to maternity wear, about trotting out my existing sheath dresses. The answer, aided by a quick scroll through my Instagram outfit-of-the-day posts to refresh my memory, was no – even though sheaths look great on me, I’ve been more excited about dresses with more flow and more pattern, or shirt dresses. So I ultimately put the champagne number back.

Dresses that have rung my bell more than sheaths in the past 6 months:

 

What turned me on to this new groove? Seeing Anna from The Anna Edit rock this flowing floral number by Ganni:

 

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Probably because it was such a bold new style choice for her, it has stuck in my mind as an example of how to freshen things up and bring movement and print into the dress section of my closet.

Next: trading pencil skirts for pants 

Don’t worry, I still have my three favorite pencil skirts hanging in the guest closet. But I don’t think I have worn them even once since moving to New England. At my administrative job in Atlanta they read “polished and professional,” but they feel a bit overdone here in the L.L. Bean wonderland that is the greater Boston metro area. Plus it often feels either too hot (all of summer) or too cold (most of fall/winter) for fitted skirts, and I’m not a fan of layering skirts over leggings to compensate for the cold (too many things trying to cut me off in the middle!).

So I’ve noticed a natural shift toward pants – jeans, occasionally, but more often corduroys (winter) or lightweight, bright/patterned pants. I’m thinking about how to bring some more print or textured depth into my pants + blazer game so I don’t just look like a giant color block:


I call this look (styled by my preschooler) “Watermelon Referee”

I’ve already stuck my toe back into patterned pants with these plaid trousers from Express (via Poshmark):

and into patterned blazer territory with this oversized find:

I like how I imagine being able to style the blazer (with solid colored slim fit pants and a white shirt, or a navy or grey turtleneck), but now need to think about how I want to parse out having pattern up top and also in my pants. (Side note: both my mom and my spouse love this blazer. I’m not sure what that means since they have wildly different tastes…)

My current inspiration for doing more with print/pattern? Frances Ayme’s excellent pattern-and-print mixing:

 

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and Kelly of Alterations Needed, who wears very little besides black, grey, and white but who uses print and texture so well:

 

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And, turns out, my own print-mixing self from a few years ago! (Many more print mixes in that post):

 

I did a pretty good job there, and want to return to that sense of fun details and personality in my wardrobe (often helped along by socks).

I’m pretty happy with my shoe game at the moment, but having worn nothing except my running shoes (for walking) or my snakeprint ankle boots (for everything else) during the last trimester, I’m realizing I don’t love my tall grey boots and could probably use a cold weather shoe or boot to take their place: snow-friendly but appropriate for indoor events. The way the snake print of my ankle boots lends “oomph” to an otherwise simple outfit has clued me in to look for something similarly interest-adding at the thrift store. I have no idea yet what that will specifically look like…

I’m getting interested in patterned scarves for a similar reason: though I’ve rarely felt instinctively comfortable with how to wear them, I keep seeing them add that extra something to complete a look and I want to experiment with that in my own outfits.

Here’s one place I did it successfully:

 

I’ve since given away that scarf because it didn’t fit my Light Summer color palette – and it’s one of the very few things I regret donating!

Here’s my original inspiration for patterned scarfery – Ellen Page’s character in Inception:


Source

I usually see older women rocking patterned scarves but the styling here made me realize it could work on younger women, too, and that it could be an everyday look, almost a signature piece. Now I just have to convince myself that I’ll be able to find this exact shade of berry-almost-maroon on a polkadotted scarf that costs a fraction of the $100 listing for this Paul Smith silk scarf I’m lusting after:

Wish me luck, ha!

I’ll report back later with how all of this eventually plays out when I can wear more than 10% of my wardrobe again. Until then, I’m slipping back into pj pants, nursing pads, and a sweatshirt. Ciao!

September Outfit Roundup: What Worked, What Didn’t

I post my outfits on Instagram for two main reasons: 1) the creative challenge of putting together an outfit I like and capturing it half-way decently on camera; and 2) to keep a visual record of what I wear – the successes, the failures, and the patterns.

It’s a nice (and weird?) bonus that 500 people follow along – but they rarely comment, so there’s not much feeling of community. (That’s what this space is for – thank you!) It’s mostly me, my outfits, and the reality-serving lens of the selfie setting on my camera.

Which makes my IG feed a great place to look back over my outfits to see what worked and what didn’t – especially since it’s sometimes hard to tell which is which until you look in a full-length mirror (which we don’t have) or take a full-length photo.

So here are some hits and misses in my maternity wardrobe from the last month.

First up: made-for-pregnancy tops with ruching in the side seams to accommodate a growing belly. These are super comfortable and practical – no worries about whether the belly is poking out – but I’m not in love with the silhouette they create:

 

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It’s funny, because I love snugly-clothed bellies on other pregnant people…but seeing it on myself makes me realize I prefer skimming silhouettes, not tight ones. (If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you will not be surprised by this revelation.)

Which brings us to some of my favorite looks from this past month.

The silhouette here is great – not clinging, but not a shapeless blob, either:

 

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I dig the contrast in colors: a kind of glowing medium blue – thank you, Light Summer – with very, very light grey makes for some visual interest, as does the juxtaposition of bigger-on-top, slimmer-on-bottom. The on-trend thin-white-stripe-on-blue look made this a “fan favorite” as well, receiving the most likes in the past month.

Anything with this wider-striped, non-maternity top was a win for me:

 

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It’s my ideal stripe ratio, skims instead of clings, and provides great visual contrast for solid-colored blazers:

 

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I’ll have to get a shot of the back because it has buttons running down the middle, making for an interesting touch of detail.

Contrast that with this blazer look, which chopped me off right at the middle:

 

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I should know by now that the length of this blazer makes it prone to creating this effect, but it’s so snug on cool days and it’s made out of such lovely fabric that I consistently reach for it and don’t realize the problem until I take a photo and can’t be bothered to change. (That hard break across the middle may also be why I’m not loving the ruched maternity tops – they tend to create a strong horizontal line at the hem.)

Returning to the success of skimming silhouettes: I love the way this swing sweater from my pre-pregnancy wardrobe looks over ma belly – it has interesting shape without clinging too much, and the scallop overlap at the sideseam breaks up the line of the hem. I layered a blue maternity tee underneath for warmth & coverage:

 

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It was super comfortable and fit right in with my Light Summer palette. And since most of my fall sweaters from last year are packed away, I was thrilled to get to wear a favorite.

This made me realize that I could probably pull out a few other favorites from last year and layer them over maternity tops, so I’ve put them through the wash to clean off the dust and they’re in my sweater drawer, ready to rock and roll. We’ll see how it goes as the weather gets chillier and I layer more!

Throwing back to warmer days at the beginning of the month, I finally figured out how to do a maxi dress – with a slit! Good for ventilation, ease of movement, and some visual interest:

 

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^^This one will be great for nursing as it has a snap-button wrap v-neck.

I’m hopeful these will both be stars of my summer wardrobe next year, though I don’t really know yet how they’ll look without a belly:

 

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A couple of reminders that non-maternity sweaters make you look like you’re about to erupt:

 

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But I do like how the stripes look underneath the solid here – adds a bit of Venetian (or otherwise Italian) menswear flair:

 

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And last but not least, a non-maternity favorite that somehow looked even more fetching, pregnant:

 

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I’d keep wearing it all fall with layers, except I’m not sure how much stretching it will take before it no longer wants to return to its original shape.

What were your favorites in my wardrobe over the last month? (Visit www.instagram.com/thriftshopchic to see everything.) What styles did or would you wear, pregnant? Any tips for stylish dressing while growing a human?

Thrift Finds: May 2018

This month was super-light, thrifting-wise, and I’m actually pleasantly surprised at how correspondingly light I feel. “You were so thrifty,” said my spouse in response to my minimalist tally. Except I wasn’t, Spouse! Ha.

Alright, bad puns aside, here’s the one piece of clothing I thrifted:

A perfectly Light Summer-colored blazer by Metaphor that runs a size big but styles just fine with the sleeves scrunched up:

Ta-da! Next up for styling it, I plan to pair it with my linen men’s Zara trousers – although the whole look might be too baggy – or the grey Express jeans that read like trousers. I’ll be sure to share over on Instagram (@thriftshopchic) when it happens.

The other two items thrifted this month? Wooden hangers – from Bermuda, no less:

Because I like looking at my clothes on wooden hangers over plastic ones; it’s just aesthetically pleasing and makes me feel chic.

And two fun-colored small plates, since we’ve broken a few at our house lately. A few years ago I brought home a similar plate with red and blue stripes that I found in a bamboo forest on a hike once (but how did it get there??), and I realized how much joy it brings me to eat on plates with color. Thus:

The pastries were my birthday breakfast, provided by my thoughtful aforementioned spouse; yum!

 

That’s it – short and sweet! I’ve settled into my late spring/early summer wardrobe and am feeling mostly content with it (more on that later), so I’ll probably be light on clothes thrifting for the next little while. In the meantime, though, I’m on the hunt for a rack to put all my shoes on… Goodwill’s houseware section, I’m coming for ya!

Tweaking Outfits toward Perfection

Not that one ever achieves outfit perfection….or that one should even hold outfit perfection as an objective. Or that one should talk about oneself in the third person.

But I noticed that in a few of my recent favorite outfits, minor adjustments moved my look from “okay” to “spot on. So today I’m sharing a couple of tweaks to help an outfit go from good to great.

First up: my pinkish Pixie pants by Old Navy, via Poshmark.

I found my size in Tall on Poshmark, and, thinking they would offer more length than the ankle length of the classic Pixie pant, bought them. Just as I had hoped, they turned out to be a perfect match for Light Summer, and they were definitely long enough.

Turns out, though, that “Tall” – Old Navy’s designation for women 5’10” and up (I’m not quite that tall) – isn’t just long, it’s bigger in other areas to accommodate the larger frame of tall women:


Definitely giving off a roomy vibe.

I knew I didn’t want that much extra fabric clinging on me in the warm months, which is when I wanted to wear these puppies, so I went hunting for the classic-sized (aka ankle length Pixie pant in the same color, and voilà – I made one tweak in style and they fit just right:


Definitely ankle-length, though. 

(Online thrifting tip: if you want to find the exact color of something you’ve already seen in person, look at one of the tiny tags underneath the big tag and it might tell you the specific color of the item; if not, it will usually note the season and year – e.g. “SPR 17” – which you can then use to cross-check online listings. If the color/season isn’t mentioned in the listing, just message the seller and ask them to check that tiny tag and report back. That’s how I confirmed this second pair was indeed “Life’s a Peach,” a color variously described and photographed as pink, coral, salmon, etc.)

I’m not sure yet what I’ll do with the Talls – sell them on Poshmark (something I’ve yet to try) in order to make back some of the money I’ve spent there? Save them for next winter? (Leggings for those extra cold days would definitely fit under there.) What would you do?

 

The tropical shirt (H&M) in that last photo leads me to my next tweak: pants into cutoffs.

These yellow bootcut jeans from Forever 21 were fun as is, but I was having a hard time finding a way to wear them in the cold months. And because the denim was so floppy (read: not super high quality), they didn’t have much shape down below:

So I chopped ’em, rolled the cuffs, and wore them with that same tropical shirt when the temperature hit 80:

Another quick tweak was to wash the sandals in this pic with a damp cloth. Thus dingy-colored Clarks with nothing else wrong with them became gloriously white (and wearable) once again. I wonder if the person who gave them away was truly tired of them or thought they’d passed the point of no return without realizing a quick clean would have done the trick.

To check whether the dirt on a thrift shoe find is washable (in the store), dab a tiny amount of water from your water bottle onto a spare hankie or tissue and gently rub (don’t do this on suede). I did this in the middle of Savers and was rewarded with the knowledge that these shoes weren’t stained, merely dirty:


Ta-da!

Last but not least, a “tweak” that really comes down to styling.

I found this Metaphor blazer at Restoration Project in a pitch-perfect Light Summer pink and in my sweet spot for blazers – long and lean lapels with a pre-scrunched sleeve for added insouciance:


Yes, I know I just said I didn’t need any more blazers, but I was silently still keeping an eye out for a pink blazer unicorn.

The only problem? It was a size (or two?) too large, at least on the tag. Over a long-sleeved shirt, it felt a bit big in the arms a bit big in the armpits:

…but with armpits reined in, it actually looked pretty good on:

and I was so happy to find a blazer in one of “my” pinks (I had plans; see unicorn comment above) that I bought it anyway. Better a slightly oversized look than a too-tight look, yes?

Here is the execution of the first of my many plans involving this blazer, in which the simple tweak of giving the sleeves an extra couple SCRUNCHES made everything look more fitted/on purpose:


My spouse said this outfit made his head explode. I figure that means it’s just right.

 

Conclusion: just a few small adjustments here and there can make a big difference. What are your favorite thrift tweak success stories?

 

Finding Enough for Now

A few weeks ago – I think it was while I was starting to put away some of the really heavy winter clothing (the lighter stuff is still around…sigh) – I realized that I had worn just a few dresses over the winter, some just once.

And although I cycled through a few different clutches of sweaters this winter, by the end I was consistently wearing…three of them.

And really only two main collared shirts under those sweaters, plus two flannels.

And basically three pairs of pants, plus one for the weekends.

And one blazer.

And I hadn’t even combined them all yet in all the different ways they could go together – I kept wearing the same few combinations that were easy and I loved. So why did I have so many clothes in my closet?

That moment was a good reminder that thrifting – and the sweet prices that go along with it – can often lead to a closet full of things I love, but too full to wear them all as much as I’d like. (I suppose I could theoretically end up wearing all those clothes over several seasons…but my winter style has been distinctively different each of the last three years, so I’m not going to pretend I’m going to wear that entire drawer stuffed full of sweaters for years and years. Plus stuffed drawers – ugh, too hard to find what you want and keep it unwrinkly!)

I’ve pondered this before; it’s a cyclical thing, and I’m okay with that. Although it IS really enjoyable to discover exactly how much I need and have the permission to love those pieces and let go of the rest.

For example, I’m happy with one blazer right now:

It goes with everything and is cozy on chilly New England spring days. (We’ll see what I do in the warm months with the couple of lighter blazers kicking around my guestroom closet.) I’ve told myself I “need” more blazers in other colors for more versatility, but every time I’ve tried to add other blazers, they just….flop.

So I’m aiming for joyful appreciation of what’s right in front of me. Contentment, if you will.

And constantly reminding myself while thrifting that I am incredibly picky about blazers I will actually wear with any regularity, so CHILL with buying them already.

 

Where is “enough” for various clothing categories in your closet? Do you ever go over the threshold, just to have variety? Are some categories easier to rein in than others?

Random Bits of Style Goodness – Mary Berry and Norma Kamali

A couple of bits of style goodness for your Tuesday morning.

I’ve been watching two seasons of The Great British Bakeoff (aka The Great British Baking Show on Netflix). I cried at the end of one of them. Just the right mix of interesting (I know nothing about baking), dramatic (the natural drama of “Will this sponge cake set in time?” instead of manufactured interpersonal drama), charming (love the hosts), and stylish – Mary Berry is my new blazer inspiration:

 

She even does moto jackets & bombers:

 
Scarf game = 100.         PS that’s host Mel Giedroyc stuffing pastries into her pocket. Charming, yes?

 

What a badass. She’s 80 and wearing stuff 20-year-old models sport – much of which sold out as soon as she wore it on TV. Here’s a fun read on her style icon status.

—

And from Norma Kamali (a 70-year-old designer and fashion maven in her own right), in an interview by Garance Doré, speaking about style in the 60s:

“If somebody liked what they put together, it would not be strange for them to wear it for 48 hours…people wouldn’t just change their clothes everyday; if you liked what was happening, maybe you’d add another scarf.”


Source.

Thank you, Norma, for validating my habit of wearing an outfit that works two days in a row – either with a change of shoes or without.

Enjoy your day!

Thrift Finds: February 2018

As I continue in my Light Summer wardrobe overhaul, February has been a month of delicious thrift finds!

I stumbled upon an incredible wonderland in Waltham called Global Thrift with a huge selection, decent prices, and a friendly, fun-to-be-around staff. (Seriously, if you get into a discussion with the cashier about how your cousins dolled you up and made you lip sync to Linda Ronstadt songs when you were little, it’s a good day.)

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have caught my IG story showcasing the racks and racks of clothes, which are color-sorted, neat, and uncrammed (I’m looking at you, local Goodwills). They have several well-lit dressing rooms that don’t need to be unlocked because they’re right by the cashiers (looking at you again, GW). Between a visit on Monday and a visit on Friday (can you tell I love this place?) there was new stuff on the racks.

They are a for-profit, locally owned business; they support a foundation working to end homelessness and they give vouchers to folks at a local shelter in need clothes. My kind of people.

Let’s start with the misses, just for fun.

I’m on the hunt for light-colored blazers; this cool Zara number with no collar looks great buttoned:

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But I like my blazers to look good unbuttoned, too, and alas, it bells out in a way I do not care for:

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The baggy sleeves and special item $15 price weren’t doing it for me either. I had faith I’d find something better.

This green blazer was a perfect match for Light Summer’s palette but was made out of cheap, stiff, shiny stuff – nope:

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Too bad, as it fit decently.

 

Next up, some blouses – looking ahead to spring!

The color is just a bit too muted on this salmon number, plus it was baggy and mediocre quality fabric

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Which is too bad, because look at the cool button details on the back:

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I’m not a huge fan of color blocking, and the fabric was cheap; but the green on this blouse was a perfect Light Summer color:

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Too tight in the chest!

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Lovely blues, great cut, but that slick/stiff feel of cheap…poly? in this Liz Claiborne shirt – I’m used to better from her. Plus it was a little

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Can you tell by my smile that I love the print on this Van Heusen tee? It’s a perfect Light Summer hue, its Provençal-style fabric reminds me of happy days in the south of France, and I dig the split hem and navy blue back (hard to see, sorry!). It is about two sizes too large, though, as evidenced by its hospital gown chic:

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I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled on online secondhand sites for it in a smaller size.

This tee had a great mix of Light Summer white and pink with some darker Winter pinks in there – but too big:

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Baggy, saggy fabric made this Banana Republic top in a great purpley taupe a NO:

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A dress with awesome pleats & salmon color, a not-awesome stain, and a size (or three) too big:

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The awesome Light Summer green of this Gap vest – which, sadly, was too big – is just making me beam:

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Plus how adorable is that faux fur hood? I’ll be looking for you on the internet in a better size, green vest:

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Corduroys by D. Jeans in a great soft grey that fit fine in the legs but were a little too loose in the waist:

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I’ve learned that that give, while it feels minor in the fitting room, equals constant hitching up in real life, and I want to spare my congregation & my colleagues from clergy crack. You’re welcome.

Still on the misses, here’s a sweater by Pink Rose that was both too warm in color and too see-through – I want to be able to wear my sweaters without a layer underneath:

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And now, on to the hits!

First up, some amazing drawstring pants by Zara Men. I’ve thrifted a pair of Zara Men pants before and loved the slim but slightly slouchy fit and the huge POCKETS that men’s pants have. (There’s a whole rant in there about why women’s pockets are so tiny – sexism + keeping the handbag industry profitable being the short version. I’ll spare you.)

Anyway, look at this linen chambray! I die:

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Here’s a better pic, just so you can glory in them with me:

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Come warm weather, I’m getting my steamer out and these babies are getting WORN.

I surprised myself by liking this Old Navy dress with a pleated skirt. The pattern was simple and fun, the blue can pass for Light Summer; but mostly the fabric felt uber-soft and lovely against my skin. It’s a tad bit big in the bust, but I have plans for that:

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Another linen summery item, this time a charcoal-and-white striped Girl Krazy blouse with roll-tab sleeves (my favorite). I can’t wait to wear it with trousers and a blazer for a menswear/gentlewoman chic feel. Bonus: it’s new with tags:

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And a smooth-as-silk poly tunic with brass studs and ace tailoring by Pomelo – SO excited to wear this one:

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A couple of Light Summer sweaters to improve my winter sweater palette – Gap Designed & Crafted followed by Loft:

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I love the texture of both of these:

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The side seam with overlapping hem is a great detail:

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And let’s finish this where we started, with a couple of Light Summer blazers – yes!

First up, a slightly iridescent grey number by Oasis with a dramatic, long ‘n’ lean lapel and a couple of tucks in each shoulder for an understated pouf:

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Look at that trim line! So refreshing when the vent on blazers so often sticks out funny in the back:

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Another long and lean lapel with some funky notches happening in this Kenar light oatmeal blazer – yes please on that smooth silhouette!

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Again with the good fit on the vent:

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Let’s see those two in better lighting:

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Yes. Please.

Thanks thrifting gods – I’ll see you next month. Mwah!

Thrift Finds: August 2017

Most of August was spent getting ready to move and then moving. But – I know you’re shocked – I managed to fit some thrifting in there anyway!

Check out the decor and lamp shades I thrifted in August to help stage our house here.

And now for the clothes.

Floral cotton popover blouse by Old Navy
Y’all know me and my love for popover blouses:

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I’ve been looking for something with palm fronds, which has proven surprisingly tricky to find with a navy background instead of black. This one is like…a chic version of a Hawai’ian shirt. It’s also beautifully lightweight for those truly hot days. I’m in.

PS For those keeping score at home, yes I did have another tropical popover in blue, which I loved, but which was a tad too tight on the chest/shoulders. Aaaaand I also had another navy floral blouse – one which was less vacation-y printwise, but with a flowy cut that just looked sloppy on me. So when the Old Navy number came along with its perfect fit, I heard the universe telling me to let go of the other two less-than-greats.

You are the weakest link(s). Goodbye:

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I am pretty sad about losing that awesome tropical print/color scheme. Sigh.

 

Plaid cotton popover blouse by Kenar:
Another cotton popover blouse – are we detecting a pattern here (pun intended)?

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I had been pulled toward a similar white-on-blue windowpane plaid popover before, one that didn’t fit so well:

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Another reason for rejecting that earlier edition was that it was too casual for work and I already had a plaid weekend shirt. But since moving to the Northeast, I’ve found that work attire (at least in my office) is quite a bit more laid back. The good fit on the new find makes it sleek enough for work while the plaid keeps it kickin’ for the weekend:

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Plaid shirt: Kenar – thrifted
Jeans: Paige – thrifted
Shoes: City Sneaks – thrifted

Next up, the Paige jeans that were miraculously left waiting for me in the fitting room at the Goodwill. I’m wearing them in the picture above as well as here:

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Vest: Savile Row Co. – thrifted
Shirt from my alma mater, retail
Jeans: Paige – thrifted
Shoes: City Sneaks – thrifted
Bag: Marco Avané – thrifted

Paige jeans, for those unfamiliar, are made in the USA and retail for around $200. BIG SCORE. These Skyline Skinnies were like new and fit me perfectly – no belt needed, which is a big plus in my book.  I’ll just have to adjust to having a second pair of jeans in my wardrobe… but with a cold climate and a casual office I imagine they’ll come in handy!

PS Yes I know skinny jeans are not really the hot new thing these days… since I tend to lag behind in trends (see: how long it took me to adopt skinnies in the first place), I’ll probably be wearing cropped mom jeans in about 2-3 years. You’ve been warned.

Mercer & Mason white blazer, new with tags
I’m digging the long, lean lapels on this blazer and the warmth it provides on brisk early mornings/late evenings here in New England:

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At no loss for blazers, I had pretty much decided I didn’t need a white one until I wore my white denim jacket to a wedding and felt under-dressed. This TJ Maxx brand features decent quality fabric and the lining keeps it toasty – linings were often problematic in Atlanta for this reason but are ideal here! The slightly off-white color will go with everything without washing me out (I hope – pasty white winter skin may yet prevail).


Olive faux suede ankle boots by Leila Stone
I know these don’t look terribly olive in these pictures, but they’re definitely on the green side of taupe.

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I’m calling these an impulse buy despite the fact that two or three days passed between when I first spotted them and when I bought them. I loved the subtle touch of color (it’s hard to find ankle boots that aren’t black/grey/brown), the asymmetrical “cuff” for lack of a better term, and the sassy little tassels on the zipper pull (although I wish the hardware was gold, but that’s my inner magpie speaking). They have my favorite toe shape – halfway between pointed and round – and the wood-like heel also appealed. It plays well with my wardrobe, unlike the other common option for heels, which is black. And they’re my size, hurrah!

But….

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…there’s a reason they had been donated to Goodwill. These shoes are faux suede, and judging by the tear in the fabric near the zipper, not high quality faux suede. Other evidence they are not well made, or else that they are very well worn, include wear spots near the toe and the heel on that same side (which luckily is the inside of the shoe, but it will still show).  And the heel is really too high for my personal comfort.

So why did I buy them? Mostly as a stop gap. As soon as I saw these, I started dreaming up all the delicious fall outfits they would complete, and I went looking online for something higher quality (and, most likely, retail). After spending an hour or two perusing different options, I realized that this was madness; I already had ankle boots I love, I was about to move and didn’t need to spend $100+ on new boots, and life would go on without my having a pair of olive shoes to make all my wardrobe dreams come true.  So to stop myself from pulling the trigger on something expensive and unnecessary, I spent $6 on these and told myself I could sew up the rip, my micro commute could survive the higher heel, and they’ll be fun while they last.

So now let’s see if I get any use out of them or just enjoy how they look on my shelf!

 

Last but not least, I thrifted a file organizer for my new office and a slew of hideous yet functional Laura Ashley thank-you notes which I have liberally sprinkled amongst my wonderfully generous and thoughtful congregation. And a couple of decorative pillows I have yet to convince the spouse are aesthetically pleasing. (To be fair, he was the one who started the throw pillow conversation…)

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Right??? I like them too. $17 on Etsy; jacked up to $40 retail; $4 at the thrift store. BAM.

I also thrifted a goodly fall wardrobe for the child, which I will post separately.

 

So, your turn. What did you thrift this past month? Have you ever bought something ridiculous and/or crappy to stop yourself from spending a lot more money on a higher quality version? Or do you have way more self-discipline than I?

 

Dressing Up a Breton Stripe Tee, Two Ways

My last few Thursday nights have been marked by a distinct lack of sleep. But Mama’s gotta work; wearing this Madewell Breton stripe tee (which is super comfortable – it basically feels like pajamas) is as close as I could get to staying in bed.  How to dress up such a casual-vibe top without completely scrapping the comfort factor?

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Decidedly casual.

I wore the outfits below on two consecutive Fridays to play with the styling a bit:

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Both: shirt, Madewell; blazer, Charlotte Russe; sneakers, City Sneaks. First: pants, Vince Camuto. Second: pants, Bandolino.

And how’s here I added some spit and polish:

The blazer was key to smartening up both of these looks; its touch of stretch kept it from feeling too confining or stiff.

How I dressed it up in the first photo: the “cigarette” pants are in a slim cut and a neutral hue. The necklace (closeup photo below) lends a little gravitas – it’s a focal point with some character.  And my cuff bracelet makes the whole thing look “finished.”

How I dressed it up in the second: the tucked shirt and skinny belt give a pulled-together look. While the sunglasses-as-headband look definitely reads “beach” in parts of the country, they are my first well-made, non-scavenged pair and they made me feel more dressy. (More on these in a later post.)

Admittedly the floral sneakers round this down to the casual end of “business casual.” If I really wanted to dress up, I would’ve combined all the polished elements listed above into one outfit (grey pants, tucked/belted tee, statement necklace, cuff bracelet) and skipped straight to my bronze wedges:
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But the combos above passed muster for Casual Friday in my office and prevented me from feeling like a slob even though I *did* feel like going back to sleep.

Here’s a closeup on the necklace, a vintage number that belonged to my Grandma:
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Do you have any tricks for dressing up t-shirts?  Or for masquerading pj-level comfy outfits as workwear? Scroll down to share!