8/30/12 - Today's outfit cost $14 (Top, Skirt & Shoes)

This little lime print top by Adeu was $7; the lime Karen Kane skirt was $3 at Angelic Resale in Conroe;
the Steve Madden ruffled heels were $7 at Goodwill (these were shown on 8/21/12)

8/28/12 - Todays outfit cost: $30 (Sweater, Skirt, Tank, Shoes & Bracelet!)

 

The neat little black and white print skirt with black border was $5. from Family Thrift in Dallas; the Nine West Black peep-toe pumps were $10 from Angelic Resale in Conroe (I like Nine West shoes as they fit my feet very well.  These little pumps have a nice shape with a sturdy, but modern heel and also have tiny side slits that do not show up in the photo.  Plain black shoes do not have to be boring!); there is a black spandex tank with a lace neckline that was $3; the Coral button-front sweater is White Stag and was $7; the great bracelet was $5. at Kohl's.

Woe is Me! I Am Not Shaped Like Barbie!

What is the most commonly repeated refrain by women when they are shopping for clothes?  "Nothing fits right!  My (circle one - or more, if this is you) rear/boobs/belly/arms/thighs/calves/neck/shoulders/feet are too BIG  - or too small!"  This is wailed in a somewhat whiny tone.  It's not just you.  Nope.  It is everyone.  I hear it from dressing rooms all over.  A recent article about a very famous singer (I won't name names since that is not what this blog is about), but her name starts with an "R".  She has a gorgeous figure.  What was the article about?  Her body shape woes!!  What?  Where?  Her toes?  We all have shape issues.  Some are real.  Some are imagined.  Some can be fixed.  Some cannot.  So, what do you do about it?  You WORK with what you have.  As much as I'd like to, no fairy godmother, or Closet Fairy is going to waive a little wand and your body issues will morph immediately to your dream shape.  You can exercise and 'reshape' yourself, but it won't happen in the next 15 minutes.  So you dress what you have - and LIKE it. (stated very emphatically!)

There is not a body issue (I don't like to say flaw, because that is a misnomer - it is simply an issue) that cannot be dealt with. First - be realistic about who you are.  If you weigh in around 200 lbs, there is nothing that will make you look like you are a waif.  So what?  You are not a waif.  Don't try to be one or dress like one.  Dress the best for You.  Who you are now.  Each 200 lb gal is not shaped the same either.  Some have bosoms that could qualify as deadly weapons and some gals have their weight in their lower half.  You are not going to find a minimizing bra anywhere that will make you look like a size C cup or find a spanx that will slim your thighs to matchsticks.  Again - so what?  Own what you have and don't pretend you can make it disappear.  You must wear clothing to appear in polite society - so dress fabulously regardless of your shape.

Do I have issues?  Sure.  I have an extra-extra long waist. Most jackets hit me very wrong if they are 'fitted' or 'tapered' since they nip in about two inches above my waist thus making their 'hip' area far above mine.  The results:  it appears that I have TWO sets of hips!  No one needs two sets of hips.  No one.  This also means that the vast majority of tops are shaped for female hips that are way too high for my hips.  The results:  Many shirts just make me look pregnant.  Again - not a good look for me.  This also means that I have difficulty finding dresses (and I Like dresses a lot).  Have you noticed how many skirts and 'stretchy' or 'knit' tops I use?  That is how I resolve a lot of my clothing problems.  I have also reached that age where middle-age spread seems to spread out everywhere.  But - 'you don't look like it' (I have heard this many times).  Why do you think that is?  Because I work with what I have.  I dress to accommodate my changing figure and camouflage outfit problems.  What are your issues? You can dress around them.

Since every figure is different, there is no One magic answer.  Besides - do you want just One answer?  Then everyone would dress the same.  Yuck.  You are a fabulous You.  Dress You.  You can find a host of sites and articles that will essentially tell you the same thing about 'basic' rules.  They are mostly correct.  However, there are a lot of books out there for review that were written by goobers without a clue. I will list my personal reviews of some books and magazines in a later blog.  For now, just start with some of my previous articles.  Let's start with your top area (follow this link): May I Compliment You On Your Stunning Neckline?  Now, let's go through your closet and find stuff: But I Want a Trend!

Ladies - you are fabulous just the way you are shaped Right Now.  Dress accordingly.  That is what we are here for - to help you be the absolute best you can be now and tomorrow.

God bless you richly.  I know that He has blessed me.

8/23/12 - Kohl's purchases $36.35 - SAVED $216.40

If not stated before:  If you Must purchase retail - then you Must save a ton!  Period.  I went to Kohl's and bought the above items: 1 pair of fuchsia/purple/blue Candies shoes (shown on yesterday's post); Croft & Barrow dangle bracelet; Croft & Barrow 2 shades of blue bracelet; Sonoma large stone blue & gray necklace (matches that C&B blue bracelet beautifully); 1 pair of yellow/white/tan Elle wedges (shown on previous post); and a Sonoma large stone purple and gray necklace.  I paid only $36.35 (which includes the tax) and saved a total of $216.40.  If I can do it - you can do it.  If you must purchase at a retail store, then you need to come away knowing that you made a Great buy. 

(Sorry the receipt is sideways - absolutely none of my rotation tools worked today).

8/22/12 - Total outfit cost $24 (Top, Skirt & Shoes)

Take a gander at those shoes!  This outfit is retro/60's/rockabilly.  The skirt is a black and white dotted Joan Leslie purchased at Palais Royal for $11; the fuchsia top is spandex and t-shirt material - I have removed the tag since it scratched my neck so I don't recall the maker - it was $4; do those shoes make a statement or what?  They are fuchsia body, royal blue heels and purple wedge - they look so cute in person - brand: Candies - price: $9 at Kohl's!

8/21/12 - Total outfit cost $13 (Top, Skirt & Shoes)

I tried this outfit with and without the belt.  The belt won.  The top is by J.A.C.  $3 (don't remember where I purchased it - many years ago - sadly you can't see the great embroidery at the neck and cuff in this photo); the skirt is a two layer East 5th piece $3 from Angelic Resale in Conroe; the black ruffled heels are by Steve Madden and were $7 at Goodwill.  

Let's Talk. Now Stop That.

Okay, first you walk into a room.  Then you take a look around.  Then you reflect upon yourself and the impression you made on everyone.  Then you seek shelter...behind a curtain, blending in with the couch, under a table, in the bathroom.... Why, oh why, can't you be the one who is comfortable in your own skin and can mingle with the rest of the humans?  Since you can't really 'change' your skin (well, you can tanorex yourself orange, but I don't recommend it), let's focus on your other outside bits - your clothes.

Too often, people are uncomfortable because they are painfully aware that what they are wearing is simply unsuitable to the situation - they may feel that what they draped themselves in, is not 'classy' enough, 'expensive' enough, 'pretty' enough, 'fashionable' enough, etc.  I would love to say that this is hogwash, but unfortunately the evidence available on YouTube, Facebook and your cell phone, prove that it is absolutely true.  How many times have you seen photos of yourself and wondered what sort of dizzy-pill you took that morning to cause you to dress that way?  Sometimes, it is simply the 'fashion' of the season.  Let's take a long and serious gander at those 80's fashions and be very thankful that we have grown out of those line-backer shoulder pads, over-sized muffin sleeves and Rainbow Bright inspired outfits worn by adults - just a few of the fashion crimes committed by a huge percentage of the population.

Like I said, "Be Thankful" that this has passed and you are no longer bound by those ugly rules of the 80's.  Indeed, you are now bound only by yourself.  I have mentioned in earlier posts that I Love Common Sense.  It solves a multitude of problems.  However, a lot of people throw common sense to the far ends of civilization and act like they have chicken soup for brains.  Don't have chicken soup for brains.  Grab hold of your common sense and come with me.  Sensibly, there are several fashion rules* that you should obey now - and those are the rules of: "Do Not...."  Here are a few:

Do Not....dress like a wild animal. Gals wearing wild animal print from the top of their head to the soles of their feet in cheetah, zebra, leopard, giraffe, etc. just look ridiculous.  We have all seen pictures of actresses wearing Jumpsuits covered in wild animal print - and they ALWAYS fall into the 'what were they thinking' or 'thumbs down' in the magazine reviews.  Do - Wear an animal print on one piece of clothing (and it should never be a jumpsuit), not all over your entire body.  It is pattern overload.
     ** this also applied to cute small animals: while a bracelet with little puppies on it is cute, dressing head to toe as a dalmatian is not.

Do Not....dress like a pirate.  "Argh!" you say, "I would never do that!"   However, if you are wearing head-to-toe leather OR head-to-toe denim, you fall into that category.  Yes, I know - but denim is my 'go-to' material of choice.  Okay.  I have nothing against denim - it is when you put it all over you that you have messed up.  Do - Wear a great denim jacket with a cute top and almost any bottoms - including a white full skirt - it can look really great.

Do Not....dress like a food item.  Ever!!  Do not advertise your love of any fruit, cobbler, etc. by finding all clothing items emblazoned with the food (see above paragraph).  I recently ran into a woman adorned with her fruit of choice in the form of dangling homemade earrings, matching wicker fruit purse and giant fruit embroidered sweatshirt.  She wore this to church.  Um.. Not appropriate.  The purse was great.  The earrings were okay and would have been cute as a novelty accessory.  However, throwing it all together with this huge sweatshirt, more suitable for a picnic, is food overload. 


Do Not....dress like Aluminum foil - (sorry, but I witnessed this and had to add the rule) While dining one day, a well-to-do lady in town passed me wearing a silver lame' lace top, silver long-sleeved jacket, silver skin tight pants which were tucked into silver lace up boots, giant silver belt, and of course lots of silver jewelry.  Umm.  There really were no words.  She looked laughable.  It was one of those "what was she thinking?" moments. If planes plummet from the skies because of the sun reflecting off of your outfit - change your outfit - pronto.
 
Do Not....dress like a trollop.  (Yes, I know that is an old-fashioned word - go look it up if you are uncertain about its definition.  It is pretty specific.)   This is always wrong.  Always.  If you are showing any part of your anatomy that only your spouse or doctor should see - don't go out the door.  If your pretty undies are exposed on the top or on the bottom, or on the top of your bottom - don't go out the door.  No one is going to walk up to you and tell you that you look ridiculous, but you definitely will realize something is wrong and as in the first paragraph you will look for a place to hide. Do not ever step out of your abode if there is a possibility that someone may offer you money for favors. 

There you have it.  We will stop for now and let you purge your closet of anything that falls into the above categories.  The Closet Fairy is here to make you fabulous.  You are fabulous - I know it or you wouldn't be reading this.  Take the inside fabulous that is YOU and wear it on the outside so the whole world can see.
Let me know if you need help with finding you.  That is what I do!

*All along my posts, I mention that we will review different rules every week.  So, here you go.

God bless you richly.  I know that He has blessed me!

8/17/12 - Total outfit cost - $20.50 (Skirt, Top & Shoes)

Today it is really all about the shoes.  The creamy eyelet skirt is by WISH and was $5.75 at DoubleTake resale in Montgomery; the Tommy Hilfiger top is many years old and probably cost me $5; the shoes are great: by Elle, purchased at Kohl's for $9.75!!!  While I was at Kohl's I took advantage of them as much as possible.  Spending $36.35 (which includes the tax)  while saving a total of $216.40. 

8/14/12 - Total Outfit Cost $18.57 (Skirt, Top, Sweater & Shoes!)

It is still summer!  The Pink polk-dot skirt is by Nine & Co, $3. at Angelic Resale in Conroe; the light pink sweater is by Talbots, $4. also at Angelic; the pink suede and snake shoes are by Antonio Melani and were $7.57 at Buckner Thrift in Dallas(love these shoes!); the mauve lace shell is by Emma James, $3 at Angelic.

8/13/12 - Total outfit cost $25.(Suit, Top & Shoes)

Suit Day!  I don't always feel like wearing a suit.  This one is by Kasper and it was $20 at Dillards; the lime textured top is by Dressbarn and was $3. at Family Thrift in Dallas; the heels are BCBGirls and were $1.25 at Buckner Thrift also in Dallas (I have these in a previous post).

No Money, You Say? Let's Shop!

So you say that you don't have any money.  Is this something new?  No?  You have been there before.  So have I.  Be it a personal family crisis, work related setback, illness, automobile nightmare, poor money management, the need to put all monies toward something very important.... you get the idea.  Money issues strike all of us at some point.  Even massive millionaires struggle at times (take a look at some the of the Wall Street moguls who are now working at a coffee shop).

I had a sweet relative who lived in NY for a time. Without a doubt, it is expensive to live there. But this was NY - and you need to look great/fashionable/hip/current in Manhattan.  How do you do THAT if you are broke?  How can you be incredibly fabulous with little or no money?  It IS possible. And, it is absolutely necessary in order to be the person you were meant to be..

I just read Another article about the 10 wardrobe staples every gal needs.  Phooey.  It is the Same list you see absolutely everywhere.  Nothing new.  Nothing earth-shattering.  Nothing particularly informative either.
Designers will only tout what they have to offer.  So this one went on about those skinny black pants that are 'perfect' for everyone and stop about two inches above your ankles.  What?  Skinny pants can be for size 0 and tiny gals, but not for everyone.  They are not Perfect for entire world.  There is not one style that works for the entire world.  There is not one dress that works for everyone. 

Stylists keep putting every actress in the spandex bandage wrap dress.  Why?  If you have seen one bandage wrap dress, you really have seen them all.  They are not different.  The actresses (size 0 & 2) all admit that they wear Spanx (sometimes 2 of them at once) to fit in the outfits.  Yuck.    How do you move?  How do you breathe?  How do you go potty?  I like breathing, drinking something, going to potty when necessary, etc.   This is not a perfect dress for everyone, although the actresses look great in them.

So, back to the "you don't have money" issue.  What to do, what to do?  Go thrifting!  90% of everything you see in my blog was from a thrift store. Hence, I didn't pay much, so I have more, and I don't have duplicates (note: I think I have only posted one duplicate top since March 1). Gals stop me ALL THE TIME to ask where I shop and "how do you get those clothes for so cheap!"  Same answer: Thrift stores.  Now mind you, not all thrift stores are the same.  Not all have decent pricing.  Not all are places you want to go into.  Not all have decent clothing.  If you LOOK like you purchase thrift - then You Are Doing It Wrong!  Contact me and we will set up a thrifting date so you can learn to do it properly. 

Different stores offer different specials, but they all offer specials.  Consignment and Thrift stores vary, but you can find great buys at both.  I find new items with original price tags a LOT, so I know exactly how much I would have paid at the department stores.  Some stores will have Dollar Days where one rack will be just $1. (Take a look at the outfits I have posted that only cost $2.50).  Some will have colored tags with deep discounts on a particular color each day.  Some will have week long specials where different clothing items are 1/2 price.  Take a look around your area and take a visit or make some calls to find what each store offers.  I know what the stores in my area offer, and I am always finding more outlets to shop. 

In the meantime, here are some very basic rules about thrifting:
1. Wear sensible shoes (although they need to be 'cute' shoes.)  Why?  You will walk many a mile when wandering through thrift shops as most stores are not categorized by size.  AND - if you find something that you like and you look in the mirror with icky shoes on, it will ruin your perspective about the garment.  Yes, it will.
2. Always wear something that can be easily slipped on and off.  You need to try on garments that you see at thrift stores as they usually (read: never) can be returned.  And, since you are suffering from 'no money' just don't make the mistake of handing over your cash if the clothes don't fit.
3. Those clothes you are wearing need to be light-weight.  Don't meander about a thrift store with your wool, long-sleeved, turtleneck top and heavy jeans.  And, I don't recommend heavy make-up either.  Thrift stores are notorious for suffering from air conditioning maintenance issues.  Most have operational a/c, but these facilities are not going to crank up the amps when needed, and you probably don't look that great when you have passed up 'glowing' into 'glistening' into 'sweat drops' into a 'fully-turned on faucet'.
4. Be very open minded.  Do not go thrifting if you expect to find a specific item/garment/color/tag.  It just won't happen.  If you are open minded to find 'simply great things', then you are on your way to success. 
5. Do not believe every size tag you see.  Let me repeat that:  Do not believe every size tag you see. While thrifting, you will find great clothes that may be vintage and sizes were Much tinier years ago.  You may wear a size 12 now, but it definitely might have been a size 16 years ago.  Do not be offended.  (If you really want to be offended, go to the fabric store and take a peek at the sizes listed on dress patterns.  It will make you seriously want to cry.)  Try on the goods. Period.  Take nothing for granted.  Someone may have had the clothing altered (I have been blessed to find that they were altered exactly to my size!)
6. There are really Lots of thrift rules, but I said I would just list some basic ones; so here is the one you need to pay attention to: DO NOT BUY THE SAME CLOTHES THAT ARE CURRENTLY HANGING IN YOUR SAD CLOSET!  Did you get that?  People tell me all the time that they want to: change, dress better, get out of a rut, start over, etc.  Yet, they refuse to chose anything remotely different than what they currently wear.  That will not improve anything for you.  That will only reinforce that fact that you are miserable in your current state, and now you have spent your little bit of money on the exact same thing.  Stop the madness.  Contact me and we will fix it. 

That is what I am here for, to make you Fabulous.  Contact me and let's get you there now.

God bless you richly.  I know that He has blessed me!

8/9/12 - Total outfit cost $14.(Jumper and Sweater)

An explosion of pink flowers.  Today is another 'happy' day.  The dress is by Dress Barn, purchased at Angelic Resale in Conroe, new with tags, for $10; the little lime sweater is by V-Knit and was $4; the fuchsia colored heels are by Apostrophe and were puchased at Sears, on clearance, many years ago for about $15.00 (they have held up very well).

Cinderalla Wishes She had These!

8/6/12 - total outfit cost $11.75 (Jumper, Top, Shoes)

The hot days of summer have been blistering!  This little Bobbie Bee very happy jumper was $5.75 at Elite Repeat in Montgomery; the lightweight white shirt is Faded Glory $2. at Walmart (the jumper didn't look quite right with short sleeves and you can easily wear a tissue-tee in summer); the Black and white herringbone heels are by Madeline and were $4.00 at Family Thrift in Dallas.