Tag: Blue Collar Red Lipstick

Thursday ReBlog: “Dressing Like a Grown Up” and the Crème de la Crème

It’s Thursday, yes, but I’m posting my Ireland packing list tomorrow so you get a “Friday” ReBlog today.

First up, Duchesse at Passage des Perles responds to Vanessa Friedman’s New York Times article “How to Dress Like an Adult.”  Some good food for thought in both categories.  I just went in for a (thrifted, of course) dress-coat as a topper to replace a long slouchy sweater in part because it felt more put-together, more “grown up” for my work life (post next week!).  And to Ms. Friedman’s point #3 – essentially, take care of your clothes – I also just bought a travel-sized steamer to reduce that “sat under a pile of clothes” look things get when I don’t hang them up right away.  (I’ll write a review in a few weeks when I’ve tested it out a few more times.)

 

Second, Adina at Blue Collar Red Lipstick waxes eloquent on wearing only the crème de la crème of her wardrobe and how she’s moving from a wardrobe full of 7s out of 10 that worked just fine to 10s all the way.  (She now says she gets the Marie Kondo “spark joy” thing.)  While I’m not holding on to so-so work horses in the same way she was, I am holding on to some “meh” pieces that I just don’t wear/like because they are interesting/unique/good quality.  Great inspiration if you’re looking to really go for the gold, wardrobe-wise.

 

What are your thoughts on making a wardrobe out of 10s and dressing as a grown up?  Scroll down to comment!

 

Friday ReBlog: Wardrobe Math with Adina J

In school I was good at math but never really loved it.  I’m more drawn to images and words (hence…a blog) than to numbers.  But luckily for those of you who’d rather deal in statistics and spreadsheets to assess your wardrobe (or those of you who really love to plan!), we have Adina over at Blue Collar Red Lipstick.

I’ve featured her in a previous Friday ReBlog but wanted to bring to y’all’s attention a couple of posts she’s written since then that can help you analyze your outfits in a myriad of interesting and informative ways.

First up, this post dives into what makes a piece of clothing a good buy from a $$ perspective.  She covers things like cost per wear, MSRP (MRRP to Canadians) aka retail price, and your own personal price set point – what you are willing to pay for a particular item of clothing based on its worth to you.  This is a great overview of helpful concepts, particularly if you are new to thrifting and it seems like EVERYTHING IS A DEAL or if you’ve committed to an edited wardrobe and need some economically sound, strategical reinforcement regarding what comes home with you vs. what stays on the rack.

The following week she wrote this post on how she plans her work wardrobe out a month in advance using a spreadsheet-style concept.  She has a formula for how to fill in the workdays of the week and tracks what she wears in a way that eliminates almost all the guesswork.  The comments are also a great place to learn about other people’s systems for outfit planning (including mine; spoiler, it’s “what do I feel like wearing today?”) and some good apps/tools that can do the work for you.

 

So tell me, Thrifters – which are you?  More plan-it-out or spur-of-the-moment?  More analyze-the-value or follow-your-gut?  More track-and-evaluate how pieces perform or guesstimate-at-end-of-season?  Scroll down to comment!

 

Friday ReBlog: Two Canadian Thrifters

O Canada! (gratuitous pics of stylish and delicious prime minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, the equally stylish and delicious Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, here.)

Today we’ve got 2 Canadian bloggers who, from all I can gather, know each other IRL and sometimes thrift for each other.  Sigh.  My dream.

First off: thanks to reader Kathleen S. who alerted us to The Spirited Thrifter. (Note: you, too, can suggest your favorite thrift bloggers in the comments below or here on the original “help me find more thrift blogs!” post).

Author Nicole sounds like my soul mate.  Evidence:

“Last week, I *helped* my friend Karlynn at her excuse to buy more Pyrex garage sale, and while *helping* her drank sangria.”  (The “Spirited” in her blog title refers to her personality but also her love of spirits.)

Or: “What’s a mom to do with 3 hours to herself but go thrifting”?

Plus she makes her kids thrift and puts thrift stores on her vacation sight-seeing list.  My kind of lady.

 

The Spirited Thrifter led me to Blue Collar Red Lipstick, where Adina isn’t afraid to style herself up while living in a dress-down kind of city.  She’s got a tailored look I love livened up by lots of color.  Many of her things are consigned/thrifted, and she has a whole section on work capsule wardrobes if you need some visual inspiration on how to put together a dressier or more colorful capsule wardrobe.

 

Happy Friday, Thrifters! I’ll be back next week with a fun travel wardrobe from a recent trip to Asheville, NC.