Before I even started, I made a pledge to myself that I would only shop from my closet. For the most part, this worked out fine. With one look, I did stretch things a bit. We were given the option to substitute items if needed and many ladies did (including me). So let's get started. First off, we were sent a 9 piece capsule wardrobe. They were:
Bottoms
1. White ankle pants-I used my white White House/Black Market jeans that I thrifted last summer.
2. Chinos-I used a pair of thrifted Gap chinos that I altered into a
slim leg-they were originally quite flared.
3. Denim skirt-I haven't wanted to wear a denim skirt since '99.
So, I substituted with an asymmetrical Tomboy of Kansas City skirt, and a white knee length cotton straight skirt.
Tops
4. Printed cotton top in a bright color-I used a flowered Style and
Company blouse from Macy's.
5. Printed bomber jacket-don't have one, don't want one so I
did a substitution on this one. Will explain later.
6. Sheer flower blouse-This was already used in week one so although I did have something that worked, I didn't need to use it.
7. Camisole-I used a modified camisole that had wider straps.
8. Asymmetrical top-I used a knit top that I got from my friend
Sheree's Looks Like Carolina Boutique.
9. White blouse-I used a 100% Linen Cherokee blouse that I
actually found at the Harrisonville Trade Fair--sort of a weird
place to find a brand new blouse.
We were given the option to add one extra piece which I did right off the bat for Day One. So here we go...................
Day One-Pair a printed blouse with a denim skirt or another owned skirt.
The added suggestions were to add wedge shoes, romantic jewelry and no more than three or four colors. I paired a 100% polyester grey and pink jersey top with a knee-length white cotton skirt. Again, this top was thrifted. Usually, this style doesn't look good on me, but I feel this top does and I wear it a lot in the summer. Where I got the skirt is a mystery to me, I can't remember.
I chose shoes of a pale leaning toward neutral: Ellen Tracy shoes and a Big Buddha Bag of the same tone (both TJ Maxx). I liked the romantic take on the jewelry and used a pearl and silver chain Stella and Dot necklace (eBay) and a pearl motif buckle shaped bangle (Adrian Kriestler Drugs) with a mother-of-pearl silver ring (TJ Maxx).
Day Two-Pair an asymmetrical top with white pants.
I had already put this top away with my Fall/Spring clothes. The taupe top is 100% stretch rayon made in the USA. It has long sleeves but I just scrunched them up (I do that a lot). I let the tan and white of my main pieces dictate what accessories I used. The Ann Kline perforated cork wedges (eBay) are edged with white patent leather and these led to the choice of the laser cut white Rebecca Minkoff MAC bag (eBay), My jewelry is collected from everywhere throughout the years and falls into the wood, seed and paper category. But I would like to point out my purple-rolled paper necklace. I purchased it through Project Lydia, a Fair Trade non-profit that helps women to become self-employed and independent.
I need to acknowledge the other model in the photo. Bennett, our 11 year-old Black Lab wanted in the picture that day and who could tall him no.
Day Three-Pair a denim skirt with a white blouse
Rather than a denim skirt, I chose my Tomboy Design of Kansas City's by Laura McGrew asymmetrical cotton knit skirt. It is super comfy and makes me happy.
I paired it with the white linen blouse tied at the waist. I stayed with a denim look with some Tahari light blue linen chunky heeled sandals (TJ Maxx) and continued the blue with my Eric Javit's bag (eBay). For pops of color, I added a red and bronze necklace, a multi colored modern bracelet (both from art museum gift shops) and red Zoya Pixie Dust nail polish. I pretty much always use nail polish to complete the color palette of what I am wearing.
Day Four-Pair a printed blouse (red was suggested) with a pair of Khaki pants.
I ended up doing two looks for this day. The one on the left is the "official" one. I have my one and only flower printed blouse (Style and Co. at Macy's) and purchased it because of its lines. It has gathered panels and is very slenderizing. The khaki pants are from The Gap. I altered the legs after I thrifted them as mentioned.
I added my Liz Claiborne belt (have had it for 30 years), a Michael Kors straw bag, and some Liz Claiborne four-textured wedges with wood and tortoise shell jewelry.
Stalking under my handbag is JayJay, a tiger cat who just showed up and adopted us. Today he decided he needed to be an accessory for me.
The right photo is my extra look. I think anything in these two photos could be interchanged easily. I added this look because this is a red blouse 100% cotton (thrifted) as suggested. There isn't a tag in this shirt, just made in India.
I paired it with my Vera Wang for Kohls cuffed capris. The accessories include my go-everywhere hat when I don't want sun. It's been with me for 26 years. The sandals are Minnetonka from our local farm and home store, and the little cross-body camera bag has no label and has been with me for as long as the hat.
Day Five-Pair white pants and white blouse with a bomber jacket
I don't own a bomber jacket and remember that I was only shopping my closet. I had to reach pretty far back into the closet archives to even come close for this one.
I did some research and found that my favorite bomber jackets were Asian inspired. Imagine that (I am referencing my last style post here)! I pulled a dragon-embroidered men's shirt that my daughter Rachelle bought back in the Summer of '99. She didn't want it anymore and I just couldn't let it go. I was always going to do something with it. What that something is, I still have no idea.
For this look, I temporarily hemmed it up a lot because it's a very long shirt. I think it makes a nice boxy jacket, but I'm not committing to that idea yet.
With it , I paired my yet to be used white camisole and white pants and let them dictate the black and white theme for the accessories. The black, white and silver flats are by Nine West (TJ Maxx), as is the bag. The bag came from Nine West's online outlet store site. I wished I had read the measurements a bit better on this bag. It was described as a bucket bag. They should have added "...it's big enough to put oats in to feed your horse oats.."! It really is huge. The black and silver jewelry are pieces I have picked up over the years and quite frankly, sometimes I forget where I get things. We are talking a few decades of collecting.
That covers my busy styling week. Would I do something like this again? Probably, yes. Kudos to the ladies that did both weeks. I think one was plenty for me. This was a fun problem-solving exercise. For me, that's what makes fashion fun: "I have this and what can I put it with"?, or "I am going here and what would be appropriate"?
This is the end. But, I have another small post coming tomorrow! It's a combination of Not Dressed as Lamb's challenge for Monday and Sylvia's latest newsletter.
I hope you have enjoyed this long, long post. What's new about that, right? This one really demonstrated how I shop. I look everywhere, even at my farm and home store. I discovered thrift shopping as a hobby last summer. There's such a challenge in it. I love the hunt for a great piece, even if it means that I have to alter it a tad. Another one of my favorites is eBay but I only look for brands I am very familiar with and I am extra careful with purchasing bags. There are so many fakes with the really popular bags. I will discuss that a little tomorrow.
Take care-well, I guess until tomorrow!
This week, I am linking up with Patti's Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday HERE, Cherie's Style Nudge's Shoe and Tell HERE, Catherine's Not Dressed As Lamb's I will Wear What I like HERE, Color and Grace's Link Up Party HERE, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish Turning Heads Tuesday HERE, Living On Cloud Nine's Style Perspectives HERE, Sydney's Fashion Hunter's Fresh Fashion Forum HERE, High Altitude Style's Link-Up, Fashion Should Be Fun's Fun Friday Fashion Link Up HERE, Shelbee's Edge of the Week Link Up HERE and Nancy's Fancy Friday HERE and finally July's My Refined Style.
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