OOTD: Retro patchwork pants

Remember those patchwork retro pants I bought back in February? It's finally cold enough to wear them! These pants are made of denim, and red, brown and beige corduroy. I love corduroy by the way.
Often I avoid wearing a piece just because I haven't stumbled upon the "best way" to wear it. That logic makes more sense when you are talking about one-time-wear outfits...like prom dresses, or formal gowns. I mean think about it...you will wear most the garments more than once so why not play around with them?
Anyway...I decided to simply wear these flared pants with my brown motor cycle jacket, that staple denim sleeveless, a black fitted sweater, and my gold flats from Gojane.

I love these pants because they are incredibly soft, stretchy, and fun!

I kept it very simple as far as accessories; just gold hoop earrings and a ring

Something about winter and fall makes me swap out the "jewelry-type" accessories for soft scarves, jackets and blazers.

I've been wearing lots of dark colors lately. I think the weather may be getting to me.

• Patchwork pants- Goodwill
• Leather jacket-Goodwill
• Denim sleeveless-Goodwill
• Gold tipped flats-Gojane

Hopefully I can motivate myself to wear some brights soon, maybe I'll find some where I was hiding these pants. : /

So what pieces have you been hiding away until you find the perfect look?

OOTD + H&M Sequin Dress

Hi guys! So I was feeling rather festive Monday, and I decided to wear this sequin H&M dress that I picked up at Goodwill about 2 weeks ago. Of course when I take photos the doggies get really interested in what is happening and they put their noses in the camera. I think they are just trying to figure out what the clicking noises and flashing lights are coming from the camera..I dont know. It's kind of hilarious.

Anyway....

 I had a hard time deciding which of my boots to wear.....But I decided on these, that I've had for about 6 years now.

The white opaque top is Loft, but of course thrifted from Goodwill. 

 I liked the peter pan collar and how breezy the material is!

This is June trying to get some attention during my little photoshoot....lol.

Caliban's turn......

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I bought this green peacoat from Goodwill about 3 weeks ago....

I feel like this outfit is a jazzy school uniform....with the Peter pan collar and navy jumper.

(I wish we were allowed to dress our uniform's up back in the day!)

• H&M navy sequin dress- Goodwill
• Loft blouse-Goodwill
• Green peacoat-Goodwill
• Leather riding boots JcPenny
• Black sheer stockings 

I'm proud of myself for actually wearing this dress, and figuring out a way to dress down those sequins.

Looking forward to see how else I can work this little navy dress! I was thinking about maybe belting it with a skinny colorful belt... mabe something neon. We shall see! Suggestions are welcome.

OOTD: Black Maxi Skirt + Denim Jacket

Here's my outfit for today....featuring my denim jacket I bought in Saturday's thrift haul .

It was quite chilly outside, so I wore this maxi skirt and denim jacket with a tank underneath and a scarf to top it off. I also wore Steve Madden booties to keep my toes warm! 

I love this maxi skirt because it is so versatile. It is actually the skirt to one of those two piece formal gowns. If you come across one while thrifting think twice about putting it back, you could use it as a basic skirt!

This jacket is so much fun with all of the zippers, I think the ones on the elbows sold me!

• Style & Co infinity scarf- Value Village
• Au Lieu denim jacket-Goodwill, Duluth GA
• Patterned tank-GenX
• Maxi skirt-Goodwill
• Steve Madden booties- Goodwill

Saturday's Goodwill Haul....Too. Much. Clothing.

So my good friend AP and I went thrifting Saturday.... um.

Things may or may not have gotten out of control. First of all, she invited me to a handmade jewelry sale and of course I went! Afterward, I felt like the area was oddly familiar.

Long story short, we drove in a big hour long circle and eventually ended up near a Goodwill in Duluth that I can't say I recognized. Of course scouting new territory is never a bad thing. New territory indeed--we were not prepared for the well stocked racks and overwhelming supply of goodies. Ap grabbed a cart and we were off...hitting shoes and purses first, then working our way quickly around housewares-- to the dresses. This is where things got crazy.

Ap pulled vintage dress, after vintage dress off the racks. It was like the collective essence of the 60s and 70s pooped dense wool and polyblends on every rack. It was amazing. Before we get into all of that, I do want to apologize for not taking more pictures...there were just so many things to look at. And if you thrift like we do you know photo opps and deep conversations happen at the checkout counter and not a second sooner.

Anyway here are a few photos from our adventure.

These Mossimo python pumps AP purchased were soooo cute! 

Aren't these cute burlap, Bass espadrille sneakers?

 Why werent't they in my size?

Me trying on this vintage-y polka dot top over my shirt....

This dress was so adorable, and one of the few vintage dresses that were damaged. There were some spots where the knitting had come undone. ::sadface::  The buttons were gold and had coral insets in them.

I love this cute 80s dress (with less-restless) shoulder pads that Ap is trying on.

It was nice and flowy! It will look so nice with leather pumps or booties, maybe even some brown cowboy boots?

This is one of those dresses I was talking about! It's super authentically vintage, not a hole or snag on it. It did have that faint trademark vintage smell, but aside from that it was perfect! At first sight I thought it had to be a halloween costume, because it was too good to be true...but no. It's the real deal. I'll  have to update you on the brand and designer later.

Ap pulled this vintage pleated dress off of the rack...I skipped right over it. It was this maroon, tweed wool material.  There was just so much to see that I missed it. (Don't judge me!) And then I tried it on...with my clothes under....again don't judge me. I just wanted to scour the whole store, then go back more thoroughly and then try things on. This store officially broke my flow...it was just too large to cover every area in just a couple of hours.

Denim shirt!? CHECK! She has been looking for one for way too long now.....

Vibrantly colored quilted skirt from the 70s? I want to wear it...I am thinking of ways to execute this without it being costume-y. Who knows I might just go all in that day and be costume-y. Depends on how I'm feeling.

So this awesome print skirt was as goods as bought. It had neat patterns on it that made me think of  the Mayans. She is also trying on a denim jacket that I was in love with. It had cool anchors on the buttons and was double breasted with an asymmetrical front. Kind of like a sailor or admiral's coat. Too awesome.

And too available, because we ended up putting it back.

I kind of held her hostage in it...not gonna lie.

Don't you love this wool dress? The pockets are vertically placed in the front. The top is thick cotton, but the bottom is this multicolored spun wool. It is also vintage from the 70s--I think. I'll have to check the labels on everything again.

Trying to decide what stays and what goes. Its important to edit at some point when you are thrifting otherwise you will end up with a ton of items that you don't really want, and may be damaged. I actually gave out some of my tips in an earlier post...here.

Checking out 10 minutes before closing.

Again, we were not prepared for this thrifthaul! We barely covered half of the store...maybe half.

I'll put it this way.... we went through Shoes, purses, dresses, blazers and skimmed housewears and jewelry . That still leaves the 3-4 long racks of shirts, and 3-4 racks each of denim, coats, and other micellaneous racks.

I don't know when, but we will be back.

But we will be back.

Here are some thrifted items from the weekend.

So...I picked up this denim biker jacket! I love it sooo much. I mean I'm sure its from the 90s- early 2000s or somewhere in that danger zone, but I love all of the zippers (especially the ones up the elbows). As a matter of fact, I am wearing it today, with a long black, flowy maxi skirt (from one of those formal 2 pieces), black leather booties, and a bulky grey and white infinity scarf.   

You will be surpised what you can do with a formal skirt from one of those gowns...

 This brown and cream blazer is from Talbots via Goodwill. I love it. I am actually looking forward to wearing it with a simple pair of jeans first, and maybe a pussybow blouse, but nothing too distracting.

I like that this blazer is doing all the work here. Maybe later I'll wear it with some cool colorful pants. 

Here's another look at the turtleneck 70s dress. I'm so excited about wearing it... This will be interesting.

Karla's Closet + Style Pantry Outfit Ideas + layering up!

 First, I want to thank all of my new followers for joining me in conversations about style, fashion decor, and a love of thrifting! It's so cool to know there are people that are passionate about some of the same things that I am. AND a big thanks to Alex Bee and D.C. Goodwill Fashionista for giving me my first chance to write  a guest blogger post; It was so much fun! :)

Let's continue our conversation about layering up for the fall.

Some of my favorite looks are done by the ladies of Style Pantry and Karla's Closet.

 

Here you see Karla giving us workplace-appropriate, chic flyness. (Well I guess it depends on where you work. Lol.) I was so inspired by how she craftily layered that denim button-down with a sleeveless shift dress. We see you Karla! I like how she tucked the bold bib necklace under her collar right above the dress' collar. Ready for work or a sophisticated lunch date?

Unfortunately I found a very similar style dress about a month ago at Goodwill (but it had a fun symmetrical tribal pattern) and I passed it up. Why? Because I had a cartful of things, and it was admittedly a little too tight to wear a shirt under. Ugh...lol.

I love this loose fitting striped top with the red wine colored skinnies, then this fuzzy vest to top it all off? Adorable! I'm into almost anything with black and white stripes or patterns, plus the black brown

The lady of Style Pantry is a genius at this game too. Here she is wearing a maxi dress two ways.

Love how she does this. For the fall you can layer yours with a sweater and a blazer.

 If it's really chilly outside, and your skirt is made of thin materials you may want to slip on some leggings to keep warm.

I love the idea of using the belt here to to help sculpt a nice silhouette with a bulky military jacket and flowy maxi dress.

A few notes on layering my clothing:

1. How it feels–It's suppose to be warm and cozy and comfortable. I hate having to tug or adjust an outfit all day, that usually makes for an outfit I'll only wear that one time. That whole scenario is like a too-small pair of tights, nobody wants to deal with that all day. Try to pick things that you will feel comfortable in and comfortable shedding as the day goes on if it warms up. Don't forget to wear leggings your skirts' or dress' material is thin or flowy...it should still glide right over your leggings if its that smooth or thin.

2. The proportions–just play with the different pieces until you strike the right match. I personally don't like the way a really baggy fitting sweater and flowing maxi skirt fit on my body, but by adding a belt around the sweater, a totally different look can be achieved. That's just my preference, so be sure to play with proportions on your body.

3.The colors and patterns–I love to mix colors. I know many people have preferences on fall colors or winter colors etc. etc. But why not just play around with them and create combinations that fit your preferences? I'll wear pastel floral prints in the wintertime if I'm feeling it oneday..why not?

::Now I want to go play dress up::

Everyone have a great weekend and be safe!

Oh, Is anyone going to yardsale-ing, yardselling, sale....? Is anyone going to yardsales this weekend?
I am trying to motivate myself to go.  :)
We shall see.

Guest blog post for D.C. Goodwill Fashionista!

Guys! I'm SO excited to say that Thriftionary is being being featured on D.C. Goodwill Fashionista as a guest blog. You can read the entire post here. Basically I posted about not packing up all of you favorite summer and spring wardrobe pieces.

Most of those pieces can be layered and re-worked to fit into your fall to winter wardrobe.

In additon to being able to keep that favorite maxi dress out a bit longer, doing this also allows you to make the most out of what you have with out having to buy brand new pieces.

I mean of course...if you want toyou can always run to the thriftstore and buy more of those winter essentials. :)

Here are couple of photo out takes from my post.

Oh I love fall weather! The leaves change colors.... and I get to wear MORE clothing!

Lets talk more about my favorite season and how you can bundle up like the best of 'em in my next post.