From Pepto-Abysmal to Fine Wine

Sometimes in my greed mania elation over finding something pretty at the thrift store I miss a problem with the garment.  I got this pink dress at Mercy Ministries recently.  I was considering dying it anyway because it was borderline Pepto pink.  My hand was forced because it had a small stain that I didn't notice before I bought it.  It is cotton, so it dyed well.

 

You can't even see the spot in the photos.  I am pointing at it in the photo on the right.  Take my word for it that you can see it quite clearly in real life.

 

Dress, thrifted and dyed; shoes, Payless Shoes; earrings and necklace, handmade by me.

 

If anyone tells you that you can't dye fabric in a front load washing machine, don't believe them.  You should know thy washer though.  I accidentally poured the dye in before the initial pump-out cycle was over, so a lot of the dye disappeared down the drain.  Luckily there was enough left to change the color from Pepto-abysmal to fine wine.

 

Shr-arf

I need a word for a scarf that has become a shrug.  Shr-arf?  Sc-ug?  This is the second large square shrug I've turned into a shrug.  You can see the first one here.  Large square scarves are harder for me to style than large rectangular ones, so transforming them is a good way to make them more useful.

 

Dress, eshakti.com; scarf/shrug, purchased in India; shoes, Payless Shoes; earrings, handmade by me; necklace, purchased in India.

I made this graphic.  If you really want to use it, please ask permission.

 

The scarf has a came from India and has beautiful elephant pattern, so I added the elephant earrings to coordinate.

 

Oh Yes She Did

I recently read Clinton Kelly's book Oh No She Didn't: The Top 100 Style Mistakes Women Make and How to Avoid Them.  Some of his advice is good, like that which focuses on finding a good fit.  A lot of the advice is just bitchy.  I certainly know that a little judgmental cattiness can be fun, but ultimately you don't become a happier person by criticizing others.  I maintain that women (and men) should dress in a way that makes them happy.  Clinton would probably not approve of this outfit.  Probably for a lot of reasons, but especially because of all the lobsters.

 

Cardigan, thrifted; camisole, Sam's Club; skirt, thrifted; tights, Walmart; shoes, Payless Shoes, earrings, Claire's; necklace, thrifted.

 

Of course I paired a lobster print skirt with a lobster necklace and lobster purse.  One piece would be a novelty, two might be an error in judgement, but combining all three is obviously intentional.  I'm allergic to real lobsters, so I have to make do with sartorial ones.

 

I've met a couple of women lately who routinely pair footless tights with dresses, and they tend to look lovely.  I am trying footless tights with this skirt because it is short and I'm volunteering this afternoon.  I want to make sure I'm covered for whatever I end up doing.

 

Full disclosure: I didn't carry this bag as my purse today.  I had my knitting in it.

 

Contingency Planning

I know that I have become attached to a garment when I start making plans for what to do if something happens to it.  I think the demise of this dress is most likely to come from a stain, so I'm already thinking about what color I'll over-dye it if stains happen... probably darker blue.  Stephen laughs at me because I tend to make a plan for almost everything.

 

Dress, thrifted; belt, thrifted; shoes, Payless Shoes; earrings, Claire's; Necklace, TJ Maxx.

 

I added a red belt and shoes to give the dress a slightly different flavor than when I've worn it before on the blog.

 

I hope I don't have to activate any contingency plans for this dress anytime soon.  It is comfortable and fits perfectly.  Not bad for $1.

Cardigan Yet Again

It is warm outside but chilly in the office, so removable layers make life more comfortable.  I've solved this dilemma by wearing cardigans nearly every day lately.

 

Sweater, thrifted; dress, thrifted; shoes, Younkers; earrings, purchased in Las Vegas, necklace, Goody Two Shoes; bracelet, purchased in Cozumel.

 

My accessories were chosen fairly haphazardly.  I grabbed everything pink and threw it together.  I couldn't lay hands on my pink shoes immediately  so I picked black ones.  That careless means that my earrings and necklace look disjointed, but I don't really mind.

 

 

Silverback Pug

Behold the elusive silverback pug in her natural habitat.  Wonton doesn't show up in as many of my photos as Gadget does, but she stalked into some frames while patrolling the back yard this afternoon.  Can you spot her?  According to Wikipedia (I get perverse joy from quoting Wikipedia.), a silverback is typically more than 12 years of age, and is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on its back, which comes with maturity.  Admittedly, Wikipedia is referring to gorillas, but Wonton is the dominant creature in our family group, she is over 12 years of age (she's almost 15), and she does have silver fur on her back.

 

Sweater, thrifted; dress, thrifted; shoes, Rack Room Shoes; necklace and earrings, purchased in Cozumel.

 

The dress is yet another Mercy Ministries find.  It is Ann Taylor Loft, and it only cost $1.  The sweater came with a coordinating dress, but I wear it more often with other things.  I chose the shoes because they are close to the colors of the sweater combined with the dress.

 


My mom is the one who coined the phrase silverback pug, and it fits her perfectly.  Wonton may not have opposable thumbs, but she rules with an iron fist.

When It's Not About Me

Life as a whole is not all about me, but most of the time the way I dress is.  Every now and again an occasion pops up that prompts me to put aside my sartorial selfishness and think about how what I wear reflects on others.  Stephen received an award from his company (Congratulations, sweetie!), and we went to the awards ceremony.  This was not the occasion for three kinds of leopard print or one-piece pattern mixing.

 

Dress, Target; wrap, purchased in India; shoes, Target; earrings, handmade by me; collar, thrifted; bracelet, Target.

 

Apparently when I think tasteful, I think of clothes from Target.  I don't know what that says about me.  I bought this dress right around the time I moved to Georgia (two years ago).  It almost fit.  This is the first time I've worn it because this is the first time it has actually fit.  Do as I say, not as I do: Don't buy clothes that "almost" fit.  It's just silly.

 

I let a little bit of zaniness seep into the outfit via the collar-style necklace and fish-print wrap.  I was inspired by the Star Trek: The Original Series episodes I've been watching lately, so I paired a structured dress with flowy, "exotic" accessories.  Structure and "exotic" are two themes I've notice in TOS costuming.  I've been watching too much Star Trek.  Stephen said it was Game of Thrones style, and that works for me too.  I chose nude heels for that deformed Barbie-foot effect.