Updating Your Wardrobe: Part 2 - Old Becoming New

I thought I would take another week to look at ways we can update our wardrobe using older style pieces by showing you my own rendering of a couple of outfits with a recent thrift purchase I made. This two piece set is from Blair. I don’t know about you, but I have often felt that mail order retailers like Blair are old school and really gear their products to women, who like the simplicity of shopping via mail and buying products that are easily mix and match and easy to take care of. Don’t get me wrong, they do have many lovely pieces, like this Fair Isle sweater, this spring jacket, and these cute Skechers sneakers.

What I am going to attempt to show you is how you can use this two piece set three different ways for looks that are up to date and appropriate for work, date night or church.

I think the pattern and the colors of this set are lovely. It can be worn all year round, but will be especially pretty in the spring and the fall. The under piece is short sleeve and the over piece is sheer.

Look 1 - Casual

The first way I wanted to style it was casual, since that is pretty much all I wear right now. I decided to wear both pieces together, and added a heavier sweater coat that I recently thrifted as a warm layering piece. I love the winter white of this sweater and the textured waffle weave. It has two silver clasps in the front, but I wore it open so the two piece set could be shown off. I added my old olive combat boots, an olive belt and a dark olive bag. I did the front tuck to show off the belt. This is a great casual look and I would definitely wear it for a date night with my hubby.

Look 2 - Church

Obviously, this look doesn’t just have to be for church. You could also wear it to work or on a fun day out with your girlfriends. In this look I got rid of the sheer overlay piece and used a Kohl’s moto jacket I purchased last year. The jacket is rather heavy, so would definitely be better as an outerwear piece rather than just a layering piece. Often, I will use jackets as layering pieces in the winter, but this one will be better as a spring or fall jacket when the temps are cool, but not freezing.

The skirt is another thrift find. I like the buckskin look of this piece, and thought it could be styled with lots of other colors. The skirt actually could be hemmed up, if you prefer at the knee or above the knee. With these tall brown boots, which were a hand me over from my older daughter, I almost think having the skirt above the knee would look a little better. I added a gray thrifted bag as a point of contrast.

Look 3 - Work

For this last look, I got rid of the short sleeved under piece and donned the long sleeved over piece. I do have a cami on, so I could have worn it like that, but I wanted to add another layer for the cold and more texture. I switched to corduroy winter white pants, heeled suede ankle boots and added another layering piece that could be removed if I got too warm. The office I used to work in was cold in the winter months, so layering was essential. The dark olive jacket is thrifted and is probably a dress. The vest was a Christmas gift two years ago. I went for my dark brown, thrifted corduroy bag as a final touch.

There are so many options when it comes to your clothing. Your closet is a space with unlimited possibilities. Don’t worry about what the media says about what women should or shouldn’t wear at this or that age. Wear what you like, just figure out how to wear it to make yourself feel your best and most confident.

Thanks to everyone who follows along with my blog. I really appreciate it. I hope to bring you more fun content in the weeks and months ahead. If you like to read my Faith posts, be sure to check back Thursday for a new post on what I am learning about the word rejoice! Until then, I hope you are having a great week.

I am including a few shopping links for you to peruse. These are affiliate links, which means I earn a few cents every time you click on a link. I don’t receive compensation for what I do on the blog. I do it for myself, because it stretches my creative boundaries, and I do it for you, because I want to encourage and inspire you.

A Dickens' Christmas - Introduction

I love Christmas, and I especially love coming up with outfits around the holidays. If you have been following me for a while, you know I enjoy finding inspiration for my ensembles in all manner of places, from colors in the natural world, like leaves and flowers, to colors and designs in home decor and bathroom tiles. You also know I love using movies and songs around Christmas time to inspire outfits. Last year I used a number of my favorite Christmas carols and songs, some well known and a few that were less popular, to inspire a month of looks that were both somber and understated as well as fun and party ready.

This month I am going to switch from music to movies: from auditory to visual, to inspire my choices for outfits. All my outfits are going to be built around inspiration from a particular character or characters from a Christmas movie. Starting today, and for the next three Tuesdays, I am going to focus on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It has long been one of my favorite stories from the Christmas season, but it has also become one of my favorite Christmas movies. On the following Thursday of each of those weeks, I am going to resume my monthly columns, but each outfit will be inspired by a certain character in different Christmas movies, which I will share with each post.

When I think of A Christmas Carol, I don’t usually think about the time period during which it was written, other than to see it as a back drop for the fabulous ghost story that Dickens weaves. This year, it struck me to look at what people were wearing during that time period and for this first post use that as the inspiration spring board for my outfit. These outfits are not meant to mimic a time period or character from the movies, but to simply draw inspiration from which to build an outfit I could realistically wear to work, a holiday party or a show.

When I started looking at 1800’s fashion, I was specifically looking at the dress of Christmas carolers. One of the costumes I saw was a long plaid skirt, a jacket with buttons and a tightly fitted bodice, with a small cape over the shoulders. Bonnets were also worn, typically with a large ribbon tied under the chin to hold the bonnet in place. You can see a “costume” version here.

This gray and black, A-line, plaid skirt is from Christopher & Banks from a couple of years ago. While it looks like a wool blend, it actually is a medium weight knit, making it very comfortable, though not quite as warm, thus the heavy weight black tights. It would look cute with black boots and nude hose as well.

I’ve styled this thrifted, red velvet, Briggs New York blazer on the blog two years ago, for this Christmas outfit. The idea to wear it with a white blouse seemed obvious, so I chose my H & M clearance pinstriped blouse from a few seasons ago. I also wanted to add an unexpected element, so I chose this Pepin brand knit vest. I do not remember where I picked this up, but knit vests are trending right now and they are a great way to add an extra layer of warmth around your core. I like both the unexpected color combination and the textural element it adds.

I picked up this paisley scarf at some thrift store along the way a number of years ago. It looks particularly festive for the Christmas season with its reds and greens, making it the perfect accessory to bring this whole outfit together. Instead of trying to tie a bow, I just did a regular knot.

Since the scarf also had blue in it, I decided to carry my blue, textured clutch.

I wanted to wear a heel rather than a flat boot for this look, so I chose my faux suede Aerosoles. The black shoe with the black tights helps to elongate the leg and wearing tights allows you to show off the shape of your gams without the unsightly varicose veins.

Does this look make you think of Christmas carolers back in Charles Dickens’ time period? Is this something you might wear to work at the office on a chilly winter day? You could easily pair it with a different colored jacket or sweater for a completely non Christmas look.

I hope you enjoy this series and will follow along the rest of the month as we look at more Christmas movie outfit inspiration.

I am including a few shopping links, just for fun. These are affiliate links and come to you at no cost. All opinions are my own.

I hope your December is starting off well.

Transitional Spring Outfit

I thought it would be fun to show off a new purchase I made at a local retailer I have mentioned on the blog before. I made this purchase back in January, so well before the shelter-in-place went into effect. Today’s focal piece is a floral maxi dress that I purchased from Eden Fashion Boutique. I did a feature post on this local retailer back in 2018. You can see the original post here.

A maxi dress can be perfect for transitional dressing. It is long, so still offers coverage for those cool days before summer comes or when fall is on the way. They also are easy to layer with. Just throw on a jean jacket, a sweater or even a sweatshirt and you feel cozy, but still look stylish.

This MikaRose dress is so comfortable I could wear it to bed. It is made out of a soft, medium weight jersey knit. It just slips on over your head with no buttons, snaps, or zippers to get in the way. It has an empire waist, so there is absolutely no pinching or binding. I like that the sleeves are closer to elbow length and that it has a scoop neckline. Of course, the selling point for me was not only the feel, but the floral pattern, and in this case it is an olive background rather than white, blue or black. I think that gives it an all season look.

My Say What? brand vest is from a few years ago. I thought the colors went well with the flowers in the dress for a little print mixing. The hand crafted look and the fringe gives the outfit a boho vibe. You can see where I styled this vest on the blog before with a short sleeve tee and a pair of checked trousers, here.

I chose this necklace for its fringe-like appearance and the light pink cording.

You’ve seen this dark olive hobo bag on the blog many times before. Most recently I carried it with my new red plaid jacket from Maurices, which you can see here. The pink flower pins are perfect with the dress. At some other point in time, I’d like to focus on the yellowy color in the dress as a way to pick out complimentary accessories.

I opted for my SO faux suede ankle boots, because it is still too cold for sandals. Boo, on this crazy weather. Ha, ha.

What do you think of this outfit? Do you like to wear maxi dresses? How do you style yours? I’d love to hear you opinions, so leave a note or two in the comments. I appreciate your following and interacting with me on the blog.

I’ve included a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Have a great weekend and stay safe