Tag: fall

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?

What I Wore: Head Scarf with Fall Florals

This accidentally posted early so if you’ve subscribed but are now reading on the blog, you’ll notice there are a few revisions and the links are live, yay!

I’ve been looking for an excuse to wear this scarf and this weekend it finally happened: I washed my hair (with honey, don’t worry) right before church and wanted to disguise the not-properly-dried, not-yet-renourished-with-luscious-sebum look. I spent a fair amount of time scrolling through Dinatokio‘s hijab-chic IG account last week and spotted a Lebanese woman rocking a similar look at the zoo on Saturday, so I thought I’d try my hand at a similar hair-hiding style. Though obviously my motives derived much more out of vanity than modesty.

Bonus: my new cranberry/burgundy/oxblood pants got to play along!

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Mmmm, the texture on this top is simply medieval:img_4521

 

I folded the scarf in half like a triangle, then folded it in a narrow strip but left the tail (the triangle of fabric on top) out so it wouldn’t cover the part of the pattern I wanted to show off.  I tied it around my head like a giant headband, then looped the ends around my bun and tied them in a little knot, the made sure the triangle up top was tucked securely into the main band so I didn’t look like a milk maid:img_4525

Texture galore!img_4526

 

Parting your hair on the side, then pulling a bit of the longer side out gives your ‘do a little oomph:

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Yes most everything is still green here.

The champagne metallic shoes picked up the gold in my top:img_4520

A little sass for the camera:
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Top: Meadow Rue, thrifted
Pants: Style & Co., thrifted
Flats: Trotters passed on from my mother-in-law and repainted
Scarf: no tag, thrifted

I rarely do head scarves or hair wraps so this initially took a little convincing myself that it didn’t look weird in the mirror, but I ended up loving it.

What do y’all think? Do you wear scarf-like things on your head or usually sport them elsewhere? Scroll down to comment!

PS you can see some more of the scarf’s pattern here.

 

Fall /Winter Wardrobe Preview

We’re still in hot temps here but I know many of you have already started the slide into fall weather so I’m going to post some of what I *think* will work as my core/fringe items to get those autumnal juices flowing.  This is not an exhaustive or restrictive list but covers most of what I plan on wearing.

As you may remember, I’ve been restyling my cold weather wardrobe as I try to figure out some styles I love that keep me warm. I’ve been doing it during the summer to give me time to think about additions and go slowly without the pressure of chilly temps right around the corner – but this also means I haven’t been able to wear any of the clothes together yet! So consider this most definitely a first draft.

(Also, the cords below are currently at the tailor to be transformed into actual slim pants instead of boot cuts, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.)

Enjoy!

 

Mixing my core/fringe model with a dual-silhouette idea borrowed from Un-Fancy, I’ll do two core silhouettes – my go-to silhouettes that most of the clothes in my cold weather closet can participate in – and a fringe silhouette – the one I use occasionally to mix things up a little and that’s made up of some pieces that don’t mix and match as well with the core silhouettes.

Here’s my first core silhouette, continued from summer into fall:

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Torso-skimming top over slim pants.  This silhouette will cover a variety of temperatures with some lightweight tops, some toppers (cardignas, blazers, ruanas, etc.) over lightweight tops, and finally proper sweaters (with shell underneath for really chilly days).  Please ignore the tag on the top – recently thrifted and not yet worn! – and imagine the pants a little slimmer in general.  All my slim trousers were at the tailor.

 

Second core silhouette: sheath/sweater dress over leggings and long sleeves (as needed)

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Two more dresses I’ll be wearing in this manner: here and here

Merona – Land’s End – Merona – Jacqueline Ferrar – George – all thrifted

 

Here’s my fringe silhouette, moving from the starting list last winter to more of a relief pitcher this year:

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Fitted top over flares
I like the chic, long lines of this silhouette, but I got a little tired of it last year, so it’ll make some appearances this year but not take top billing.  Now I’m mixing metaphors…

 

And here are the items that will fit into each silhouette:

Skim over slim – lightweight tops

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Japna – Madewell – Meadow Rue – Merona – Ambiance Apparel – Piazza Sempione – White Stag – Coldwater Creek –  Pull and Bear (detail of sweater worn in silhouette photo above) –  all thrifted

 

Skim over slim – sweaters

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Liz Clairborne – Gap new with tags – Forever 21 – Mossimo – French Connection – Liz Claiborne – Loft (the back is more interesting) – all thrifted

 

Skim over slim – toppers

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Old Navy – Loft – Haberdashery by Personal – Merona – Cartonnier – all thrifted

 

Skim over slim – bottoms

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Uniqlo – Ralph Lauren new with tags (to be tailored to slim fit) – Banana Republic (to be tailored to slim fit) – Chico’s – F21 – all thrifted

 

Fit over flare – tops

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Banana Republic (featured in silhouette photo above – Express – both thrifted

 

Fit over flare – bottoms

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Old Navy – thrifted

 

 

Outerwear
Just one coat, because it makes me just that happy:

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J. Crew – thrifted

This feels like a lot, but not counting leggings, shells, or outwear, it’s 35 pieces – right about at the sweet spot for typical mix-and-match capsule wardrobes (although I do have a few more things on my thrift list that might either grow this list or elbow some of these items out of the way!).  I’ll keep you updated on what works, what doesn’t, what gets worn and what sits at the back of the closet or drawer.

What’s in your capsule or edited wardrobe this fall/winter?  Scroll down to comment!

 

Happy fall!

 

How to Winterize Your Wardrobe

Way back when, my friend Sheena asked for a post about how to winterize your wardrobe.  Many of you are heading from the pleasant, crisp, colorful wonderland of Fall into the time of nasty winds, chilling rain, and grey skies I like to affectionately call November.  And some of you Northerners have already seen snow (perish the thought!).  So it’s high time to tackle her question.

WINTERIZING your WARDROBE
Ya dig the slightly 70s Winter Wonderland vibe?

When you are creating a capsule wardrobe (read: curating your closet so you own only things you love and wear), one of the benefits is having fewer clothes to clean/maintain/fold/store.  To double down on that benefit, it makes a lot of sense to bridge some of your warmer weather clothes into fall and winter.  Fewer overall items to care for, and fewer $$ out the door!  Read on for my tips on how to make it happen.
Continue reading “How to Winterize Your Wardrobe” →

What I Wore: Turtleneck Weather

This weekend it truly felt like fall.  We had a “cold” front come through—“cold” meaning lows in the 40s and highs in the mid-60s Fahrenheit—so for church on Sunday I busted out the tweed, the turtleneck, the long cardigan, and the fall accessories.  Oh, and socks with my dress shoes—it’s the first time it hasn’t felt sweaty to wear the two together!

I give you our pumpkin, Mr. Morris:IMG_2451

Continue reading “What I Wore: Turtleneck Weather” →

Thrift Finds: Fall Edition

A few weekends ago I went a-thrifting to fill a few holes in my wardrobe, namely: fall-worthy tops.  I am doing just fine on sweaters due to my August thrifting excursions, but it’s still not cool enough to wear those lovelies (can’t wait!!).  I have several, probably too many, cardigans to layer on top of blouses for this early fall, cool-in-the-morning-warm-in-the-afternoon, battle-of-the-AC-vs.-heat season.  But things to wear under them?  Not so much.  Turns out swimming pool tops and bright coral floral tops don’t speak to my fall sensibilities.

So I went looking for items that were a little longer-sleeved, but not overly warm in and of themselves; pieces that had not quite as eye-popping of a palate that would layer nicely.

I give you my finds:

teenpLo green & blush 3/4 length sleeve blouse (polyester made to feel like silk).  
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Continue reading “Thrift Finds: Fall Edition” →

Fall Bag

Confession: I’m not a big purse person.  When my mother tried to get me to use purses in high school, college, etc., I refused–I didn’t need to carry around a bunch of STUFF.  MEN don’t need purses.  And anyways, I have a backpack for the big stuff and pockets for the small stuff.  Pphhhht.

Fast forward 10-15 years and all of the sudden I look down and WHAT IS THIS THING DANGLING AT MY SIDE like some sort of PERMANENT GROWTH?!

Oh, it’s a purse.  (I still call it a bag, though—purse sounds like…my grandma?) (P.S. Mom is always eventually right about stuff like this.)

What changed?  A messenger-style bag had me covered for grad school and a chaplaincy residency where I needed to transport lots of paperwork.  My next job had less paper but still required space for keys, phone, wallet, pens, etc. and you know most pockets in women’s professional wear are a pitiful place to try to carry more than chapstick. (Not to mention it’s rare that skirts and dresses, if those are your thing, even HAVE pockets.  Because why would women need functional, practical garments?  Sexism, bah.)

Said job also had a classy sartorial vibe so I figured it deserved better than a logo messenger bag I got for free at some conference.  Enter purse number one:IMG_1692

You may recall that it bit the dust at the beginning of the summer after a good solid year of use. Not bad for a previously-owned PVC-covered bag (you didn’t think that was real lizard, did you?).  But also not great—PVC wears easily and I tend to be hard on my workhorse possessions, much to my Yankee husband’s possession-protecting sensibilities.  Ideally I’d like a bag that carries me through more than 12 months.

To replace this first bag, I went for a seasonal number in a similar style but with lighter colors, less PVC to tear, and more room to hold summer accoutrement:
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I have thoroughly enjoyed this bag and plan to break it out again next summer.  Its cotton weave is easy to clean; that casual fabric + gold = the perfect classy summer vibe.  But again, quality-wise it’s not a long-term bag, and the color scheme and fabric are definitely not a great fit for fall.  Also, its generous size meant I was piling all sorts of stuff into it without regard for my poor shoulders, which were starting to complain.

So I went looking, over the course of 2 or 3 thrifting excursions, for a bag in long-lasting leather, a more manageable size, and a nice cooler-weather color. I also wanted something without big labels (I’d rather draw attention to my personality than a brand) or a lot of doodads that end up looking dated.

Voilà, my new (to me) fall bag, by Nine West (and a glass of wine, lovingly referred to in our house, along with coffee, as “Mama juice”–thanks Linds!):

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Inside dividing pocket keeps things a lot more organized than my previous catch-all:IMG_2396

You can also see it featured in some of my Instagram photos on the sidebar over here–> (Click “load more” to see extra pics.)

I like the clean lines and the way it warms up my fall outfits without shouting too loudly or being too trendy.  That’s part of why thrifting is great—the random assortment of treasures at any given thrift store means you never have to sport the same trapezoid-with-tassles or slouchy satchel as everyone else.  Relatedly, if you don’t LOVE cognac or marsala or whatever this season’s Pantone colors are, you can find YOUR colors through donations from seasons past.

 

What are your feelings on purses?  Would you thrift one?  If you eschew buying new leather for ethical reasons, would you thrift it instead?  What do you think of my find??

Scroll down to comment!

 

Thrift Finds: Baby Shoes

A small person I know was in need of new-to-her shoes and her parents are down with thrifting. (You should be too, if you have a small person in your life–often pre-loved baby items are barely used because the kiddo who previously owned them outgrew them without doing much damage.  And as Bea of Zero Waste Home says, “A washed secondhand undergarment is cleaner than a new one from a department store,” so don’t let germophobia stop you!)

On the list of preferred characteristics for said shoes: able to take a beating, and nothing crazily pink.  Because, have you looked at anything to do with little girls’ clothing options lately?  The PINKness is overwhelming. Just Google “baby girl clothes”–your eyes will burn with pink overload (or water with happiness if you love magenta).

This is funny, because easily half my baby clothes growing up were blue (with a good smattering of yellow, green, and orange alongside some pink), as were two dresses my mom passed on from her 1940s babyhood.  So it’s not as if pink is the sole appropriate hue for girls.  But for some reason, we’ve been determined lately to equate the two in a way that seems, I don’t know–limiting, at the very least?  Or, when combined with messages like the following gems, oppressive at the worst?

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Let’s discuss objectification of infants AND moms AND the cave-manning of dads (left), or the policing of women’s bodies/relationships/agency (right).  It starts in the crib, people!

Anyway.

I did some looking during my last few trips and voilà! This is what I found:

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“Aw, (s)he got the velcro.” -Macklemore’s Thrift Shop.  If I had to guess I’d say early 90s?  A treasure.

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Corduroy Mary Janes–it doesn’t get much more “fall” than corduroy.

 

Both pairs are sturdy, and although both pairs have touches of pink and flowers (because, see above), I think on the whole they are rather inoffensive for folks trying to avoid drowning their babies in gender roles.  I hope the lucky recipient of these found kicks enjoys ’em!

What are your favorite baby items you’ve thrifted? Scroll down to comment!