Friday's Find

This week, a little something to take my mind off the fact that I have to work all weekend. At least work will be interesting. Lots of stuff to move around.

But here's a little number that is for laying around. I should have pressed it before taking pics, I know, but sometimes one doesn't think of these things until later. It's also hard to get something this long into one shot when you can only stand 3 feet away. I'm learning.

As a rule, I do not buy underclothes second hand. Yuck. But lingerie is a different story. This is a vintage, handmade Yellow Nightie and Bed jacket. I say Handmade, because with close observation, one can see the care that was taken. But It's certainly not homemade. All the seams are finished beautifully. No, someone once bought this at a store. Maybe for a special night in? The bust is not really that wrinkly. It's deliberately crinkly with extra fullness that is soft and feminine.

Here's a back view of the top, which somehow looks orange, despite my tweaking it on photoshop. If I've leaned anything from this piece, it's how brilliant that little cross-over of the straps is. It has give and coverage at the same time. And check out that curved seam. Fit, people!

Finally, I somehow lost the pic of the whole jacket (typical)- but here's the amazing close-up of the jacket sleeve.

I only hope that someday I can run a zig-zag seam that cleanly. Gorgeous! Ladies back whenever this was made sure knew how to relax in Style!

The stats:
Found: Once again, my local Goodwill
Cost: $3.99
Modifications: None, but I should probably press it before I wear it. Or maybe just to soothe my mind.

Inspirations

This week I am inspired.

I'm inspired by so many wonderful blogs and sites. I'm also Tired, which not only rhymes with inspired, but it explains why I have been reading other people's stuff instead of writing my own. I feel guilty, but not that much. After all, I am tired because I am working hard! I am discovering that one of the main things I value is free time.

But today is my day off. Not only have I spent more than an hour reading some of the Fabulous, inspirational blogs and sites which I have linked in the sidebar for your convenience, but I now intend to go do some sewing! I am almost finished with the denim bag I've been making, and I have at least four other bag ideas to work on. I have got to stop getting inspired and actually Do something, or the pile of WIP (That's works-in-progress for you newbs) Will take over my sewing room!

But first, I must do three things:
1. Start some laundry. I am seriously running out of clean undies.
2. Clean the sewing room so I can get something accomplished in there.
3. Fix my hair in pin-curls. I have been thinking about curls all week, and now that I discovered Super Kawaii Mama's site, I have been pushed over the edge. Must. Curl. Hair.

The last time I tried pin curls I was in High school and I did something terribly, terribly wrong. I looked like a teased fright wig  that got surprised. I washed it out instantly. No evidence survives, thank God. So I am going to check out how Super Kawaii Mama does it, because she not only has awesome hair, she has tutorials.

After that, I am going to get some serious sewing done and make room in my brain for some new inspirations! I may even, at some point, get dressed. But don't hold your breath.

A little bragging

So, yesterday I wore this dress to church.

And I totally got at least seven compliments on it. Not that I was counting. Not bad for four bucks.

I love pretty dresses. Who'd have ever thought?

I went shopping with my Mom last week, and got 4 new work shirts. I know, I'm addicted. 

And in other news, my bizarre urge to make Tudor bodices is rip-roaring. Despite the fact that I made one for the other Elisabeth's Bridal shower last weekend. So I found a local Renaissance shoppe that will totally sell my stuff on consignment. Mwa-ha-ha!

I wish there was more time in the day to make stuff! Perhaps I should get an Etsy site? Then I could make a profit on stuff, instead of cluttering up my house with bodices and bags and bell bottoms.
On that alliterative note, I gotta get ready for work.

Friday's Find

This week, a selection  of great tops I have found to wear to work. And yesterday, I found four more. No pics as yet, but I am at least not whining about my wardrobe anymore. I don't actually remember the prices on these, but all were likely under $3. They all came from local Goodwills.
I have to admit that they all look better on than they do on the hanger. 

A brown ribbed T that's long enough even over hip huggers and layers nicely with everything from tanks to sweaters.

A light green Eyelet T, pretty and sweet. 

A pretty Yellow peasant Blouse.

And finally, a Lightweight Grey sweater by Converse One-Star. Albeit wrinkly.















See. I have a lot of clothes.

New Shoes

I have had an ethical dillema this week.
You see, you just can't get good shoes second hand. You can get cute shoes. If you wear a 6 1/2, there's a pair of black Steve Madden Patent leather pumps at my local Goodwill right now. Pristine.

But, I cannot get the shoes I need second hand. I not only wear a 9 1/2, I have back and foot problems and a really high arch, and I work on my feet all day. I need not just comfortable shoes, I need really good shoes. Last year I found a fantastic pair on clearance and I have loved them all year. Every day at work. On my feet. And they are not nearly as lovable as they once were. In fact, they are downright painful!

Hence my ethical dilemma. What do you do if you are a green- clothes blogger and you need new shoes?!? Buy good shoes and lie about it? Suffer through uncomfortable shoes? Fortunately, neither.

I got a fantastic new pair at the place I never go- Walmart. (To be specific, my mom got them for me. Thanks, Mama.)  They are super comfy, have lovely arches and flexible soles, and get this- They're recycled. At least partly.

They're the Danskin NOW Lynne Sneaker, and they have a spiffy little tag explaining which parts are recycled. The lining fabric is 100% recycled, and the sole is up to 70% recycled, a lot of it from plastic bottles. They're brown, which I like because they won't look dirty. And they look groovy with Bell-bottoms.

Ethical dilemma solved. Sore feet solved. Now if I could just get someone to pay me for my shameless plug of their merchandise.

Too many, or not enough?

Along they lines of personal style, I have been reflecting that I really may have too many clothes. Not that I've done an actual count, or anything. I have five large drawers, six medium drawers and a closet. And If I amazingly get it all clean at once, It doesn't all fit where it goes. But Most of it is second hand! So that means it is okay to have more, right?
One year in College, I waited until the neighbor girls moved out, and then moved my clothes into their empty room for packing. My clothes took up one whole side of the room. To this day I don't know how I got it all in the drawers and tiny closet at school.
In Junior High, My dad made us some really big drawers because the dressers we had didn't accommodate everything. So I guess this problem goes way back. It's probably my mom's fault. I will probably need years of therapy if I want to get over this. And I would definitely rather have tons of cheap clothes that years of expensive therapy. I mean, they're just clothes!
As I sit here typing, though, It occurs to me that I probably don't have too many clothes, I just don't have as many places to wear the nice ones. As I mentioned on Friday, it's mostly jeans and casual tops for me. When I was a librarian, I had Lots of chances to wear lots of other things. I wore skirts all the time and got compliments on my fantastic blouses and necklaces every day. I got a chance to display my somewhat unconventional personality through my outfit every day. And I bemoaned that I couldn't wear my jeans to work. Sigh. I guess I can't be satisfied.
Maybe I just need some more casual tops?

Style Shifts

When I first got married, a whole lot of my friends and acquaintances were also getting married. And I remember telling Adam that I was not going to start wearing Khakis just because we were married. I think he was surprised by this, as guys do not generally change how they dress for decades, but releived, since I only wore khakis when the Choir director made me. It would have been weird for me to suddenly change my style.

However, most of the girls I knew acquired a subtle shift in their outfits once they became Mrs. Not too unusual, as we ladies have a tendency to dress for the occasion, and all occasions feel a little different after such a big life change. But I noticed a positive swath of khakis! And there was just some kind of re-arranging that made the same old clothes they had before look somehow more wifey. I reiterate that these were mostly my friends. I had nothing against anyone, just a sudden desire to make sure I still dressed the same once I got married.

I think that, for me, what I wear is so demonstrative of how I feel and who I am that to change it at all seemed like some kind of betrayal of self. Let alone the guy who liked my weird outfits enough to marry me the way I was. I felt unspoken pressure to conform to an unwritten rule that wives dress a little differently. It was probably all in my head. But it got to me.

Recently I've been noticing moms. I see a lot of them where I work (at a major retailer). And I have noticed two styles of moms: Those who have given up on style and are wearing baggy yoga pants and ponytails, and those who seem to be over-compensating for momdom by having their hair, nails, clothes and face primped and polished to the extreme. (To be fair, I know a lot of moms personally who don't share in these two extremes. But what's life without a little wild generalization?) And I caught myself thinking, "I don't want to change how I dress in order to be a mom, either. (No, there are no big revelations coming up. cool it.) And I realized that I am probably going to be one of those hippie moms I knew when I was a kid that didn't fit in with the other moms in their denim jumpers. These days it's not denim jumpers, but you get the idea.

As a friend and I discussed yesterday, personal style changes with time and circumstances. I didn't make any changes to my wardrobe when I got married because I truly felt more like myself, married, than I did before. I'm sure when I am a mom, I will make style changes to reflect not only what clothes are necessary, but also the different way I'll feel. But the essentials that make up who I am will still be the underlying factor in what I wear.

Because I am really comfortable with my style. I feel like myself in my clothes. One of the perks of spending so many years married without kids is that I've had time to really decide what my style is. It's relaxed, a little retro, and recycled. So there.