{Style} Getting Thrifty With It...

Although I have much respect for those who can sift through heaps of vintage or second hand clothing and come up with enviable ensembles, I'm just not one of those people. Now don't get me wrong, I have serious love for vintage accessories and may be known to buy the occasional vintage silk blouse from time to time, but clothing just isn't my thing. So when my local newspaper challenged me to put together a thrifted, head-to-toe look for under $50, I suited up and � in my very best Barney Stinson voice � proclaimed "challenge accepted."

What I thought would take several hours and numerous stops surprisingly only took about 30 minutes, in which time I was able to score a sweet leather skirt, peach blouse, black wedges and chain necklace (above), as well as a velvet dress (yes, velvet), plaid shirt and braided belt to boot... Not bad if I say so myself!

You can read more about my experience here, and stay tuned to see how Marie and Andrew fare in their upcoming thrifting challenges... Happy Friday! xx

Outfit details: blouse- Zara; leather skirt- vintage; wedges- George; necklace- unknown (all items from Value Village)

Ladylike

For this outfit I tried something completely different with this dress, covering the top half by buttoning the jacket up all the way. I was immediately struck by how just buttoning the jacket gave the outfit a Victorian vibe, so I built on that by adding the tulle skirt to give the dress a fuller shape. I thought the boots added a little bit of an equestrian feel.

To bring in some more off-white and continue in the vintage vein, I finished off the outfit with my grandmother's double-stranded pearl necklace. I just love this necklace; it's classic without looking stodgy, and of course every time I wear it I'm reminded of my wonderful grandma Ruth. I think she would've liked this outfit; I felt very ladylike wearing it, and my grandma Ruth was most definitely a lady.


Well, I'm off to start my weekend early. Happy Friday, everyone!




Dress: eShakti
Jacket: a gift from Sal
Skirt: Noa Noa
Boots: Modern Vintage

International Pie For Breakfast Month

It finally cooled down enough to break out my vintage 1960's wool dress and try pairing it with my black boots, with the cuffs turned up for an over-the-knee length. For this outfit I didn't pair the dress with its matching cropped jacket, opting instead to modernize it a bit with the velvet blazer. But interestingly, when I pulled out the set I realized for the first time that I could use the jacket to give a 60's vibe to other outfits, so I've got one coming up with it. Funny that it never occurred to me before, probably because I always keep the dress and jacket hanging together.

I'd like to digress for a moment and discuss one of my favorite elements of the holiday season: pie for breakfast. Is there anything quite so delightful? A slice of pie is great for dessert, but to me nothing quite matches the satisfaction that comes with eating it for breakfast (especially pumpkin pie, my favorite). If I were a songwriter I would write an ode to having pie for the most important meal of the day, but with my limited musical talents I'll simply declare December as International Pie For Breakfast Month. Please feel free to celebrate accordingly.

Dress: Violetville Vintage
Necklace: vintage
Jacket: a gift from Sal
Boots: Modern Vintage