Fashion Friday, giving new love to old favorites.

This week was pretty calm on the outfit front; who knew being a little under the weather dulled the fashionista in me? My leggings got quite the workout this week; my mind was so foggy it was about all I could put together. But, what turned out to be a theme this week was re-mixing old pieces I had long forgotten about, or taking pieces that weren't quite right, and dressing them up in ways I could get more use, and enjoyment out of. So there you go, fogginess can sometimes hinder my inner Rachel Zoe, and then it can cause me to be a bit more creative.

Lately I have been pushing myself to really get the absolute most out of the pieces I already own, instead of rushing out to buy a new top when I'm bored with my already loved pieces. Why is this, when I love shopping just so much? Well, there is a bit of a back story to go with this. When we moved into our new place, it was perfectly perfect in almost every way. Perfect little space for the two of us, and pretty cozy. But, Andy & I have a bit of a problem: we're stuff people. In that, we have so much stuff. My stuff? No shock here: clothing. I was literally hemorrhaging clothes. I would do laundry, and it would take 3 days to complete. I would hang up all of my clothes and put them away, and then opening a drawer for the next week was like diffusing a bomb that had to be touched ever so gently, or else it would go off. I had had it! This was ridiculous, especially since half of these clothes, I didn't even wear. I like to buy things, and when I get bored/sad/happy/angry.. really any emotion, I shop. And what happens when you shop emotionally? You end up with stuff that doesn't fit quite right; things you probably won't wear more than once, and basically things you don't need. So, one Saturday I decided that this was it, my "closet room" - yes, I have an entire room. See how this got out of hand so fast? - was getting an overhaul. I wanted my closet room to become my girly little sanctuary, and how could that be if I couldn't even find the floor half all of the time? So cut to, hoours later, bags upon bags of clothes, a lot with tags still on them(!!), waiting to be donated, adopted, anything except stay in my house. What this taught me, was that I needed to stop buying clothes, just because I didn't feel like re-fashioning something I already had. Looking at those bags to me, was just looking at all of this money I had wasted. So, I'm taking a little shopping hiatus (little, I don't do miracles here), and becoming more creative to make new outfits out of what I already own. And it's been fun! Sure, some days I just don't want to, and on those days my never fail jeans, cardigan and t-shirt/tank top suffice, but other days I've been pretty impressed with what comes to me. So, instead of rambling on some more, which I'm pretty good at, I will let the pictures talk:



Before & After the nightmare. Like, seriously, just horrible. I may claim to be fashionable, but I have never claimed to be tidy.. This is a work in progress, as I haven't quite femme'd it out to its full potential quite yet.

And now, the fun parts! My re-mixed clothes:



The re-discovered dress! Andy bought this for my birthday, 4 years ago. I think I maybe wore it once, and it has hung in my closet ever since. I was a little bigger back then, and it just hugged me a little too tight, and showed off a bit more lumps&bumps than I preferred. But ta-da! It's my new winter-time skinny dress! You know, instead of skinny jeans? ;) Needless to say, one happy camper here.



Okay, confession here. There are a few new pieces, to spice up my old go-to look. I got these shoes from Aldo on sale, and wanted to wear them before the snow came and hid them away until Spring (they're suede). The scarf is a new find from Ardene's. See how cute their scarves are!? I would have paid triple the price for this pattern in a boutique.



And, to save the best for last, my favorite look this week. This blouse. I love this blouse, but not on its own. It is one of those high-low type blouses, and it sits right on my least favorite part of my hips in the front, and it makes me feel too boxy. But I love the pattern! So I wanted to figure out a way to wear it still, but feel comfortable and not constantly pulling at it. Tucking it into skirts is an obvious look I will utilize, but this outfit makes me feel like a modern, sexier spin on the classic secretary meets school uniform meets Blair Waldorf.

 

Hope you all have had a great week, and hope you have an even better weekend!

 

Xo,

B