Fashion Friday!

Second Hand September

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Logo by SamThe fashion industry’s carbon footprint is enormous and has grown even more apparent with the rapid rise of fast fashion over the past few years. It now accounts for more carbon emissions globally than those emitted by all international flights and maritime shipping combined. In addition, approximately 10 million tons of clothes are sent to landfills every year. Second Hand September, a campaign introduced by Oxfam in 2019, has inspired thousands of people in the UK to begin thinking more sustainably by buying only second-hand clothes during the month of September. 

This year, I’ve decided to try taking Second Hand September one step further. I’m challenging myself to wear only second-hand clothing for the entire month! 

I’m going to follow the same rules as I did for last November’s “six Items or less challenge”. Underwear, socks, and pyjamas will not be included. I always purchase those items new. Outerwear, footwear, and accessories will also be exempt. Though I do have second-hand items in each of those categories and will try to make good use of them throughout the month, I won’t restrict myself only to those. 

Though my closet contains many more than six second-hand items, I suspect that this challenge might actually be the more difficult of the two. In selecting six items to wear for 30 days, I was able to be very intentional about choosing a colour palette that could easily be mixed and matched to create many different looks, pieces that could be dressed up or down, and pieces that worked well for layering. This time, I find myself working with a much more random mix of items. Most of those are quite casual and I have at least two events this month, including a concert tomorrow evening, that might require a bit of polish. I’ll also have church every Sunday. September is a shoulder season here in Canada and the weather throughout the month will likely range from hot and dry to chilly and wet. To make this work, I’ll likely be pulling second-hand pieces from both my summer and winter wardrobes.   

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Only time will tell. Throughout the month, I’ll be sharing my experience and showing you some of the outfits that I create with my Second Hand September wardrobe, so stay tuned! 

To start things off, here’s what I wore yesterday for the first day of the challenge. I think it has a coastal grandmother feel to it. 

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I’ve had the white frayed hem jeans for three years. They first appeared on the blog here. Thankfully, the archaic “don’t wear white after Labour Day” rule has long been abandoned and while I don’t wear these jeans in the depth of our Canadian winter, I’ll certainly continue wearing them throughout September. The Clarks sandals were a lucky find earlier this summer and the loose and comfortable light grey animal print tee is a new-to-me acquisition. Thanks to regular sales at our local thrift stores, the entire outfit, cost me less than $10!

In closing, I would be remiss not to acknowledge those of you who responded to last week’s post asking for your input about what you’d like to see on the blog. I will be working at incorporating some of your ideas into future posts. 

 

What do you want to read?

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Logo by SamA lot of the fashion blogs that I follow are writing about fall already and, of course, fall fashions have been in the stores for awhile, but I’m not quite ready for a change of seasons yet. Our summers are much too short and our winters too long. I always like to hang onto the last days of summer for as long as I can before I think about making that inevitable seasonal switch.

I am, of course, thinking ahead to topics for future blog posts though and today I thought I’d ask for your input. When I introduced Fashion Friday back in the spring of 2016, I wanted it to be more than just a “look at what I’m wearing today” feature. That seems terribly superficial and my closet wouldn’t sustain something like that for very long anyway. I wanted to present content with a little more substance than that. Many fashion blogs have become what might better be referred to as “shopping blogs”, but I have never been interested in encouraging that level of consumerism nor am I into blogging as a source of income. My intention was to be inspiring and to explore various aspects of personal appearance and how what we wear affects our daily lives. As time went by, I also became interested in topics related to ethics and sustainability in the fashion industry and have written a number of posts along those lines.

Those are some of my guiding ideas, but I’m also interested in knowing what you, my readers, would like to read. Do you want to know what’s on trend? Do you prefer instructional “how to” posts… how to put together outfits in new and interesting ways, how to dress different body types, how to dress on a budget? Are you interested in what’s going on in the fashion industry? Are there specific fashion related questions that you’d like me to try to answer. I have no formal fashion training, but I’ll do my best to search out answers. Where else do you look for fashion inspiration? Do you read other fashion blogs? If so, which ones are your favourites? Why? What do you like about them?

Of course, Following Augustine is more than just a fashion blog, so in addition to your thoughts and ideas about what I might write about on Fridays, I’m open to suggestions for the rest of the week as well. Whether you respond directly on the blog or prefer to comment on Facebook, whether you’ve ever left a comment before or not, please let me know your thoughts. A blog is nothing without its readers!

template, mockup, fall, blank, screen happy thanksgiving

Made in Canada?

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Logo by SamThose of us who live in small towns in particular are used to hearing the “shop local” mantra, but buying affordable domestically made clothing has never been more challenging. As of 2019, the majority of clothing purchased in Canada was imported from China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia, countries where workers’ rights are often limited or non-existent. Many proudly Canadian brands including Roots, Lululemon and Joe Fresh design their clothing in Canada, but the majority is actually produced elsewhere. The situation is similar for those of you who shop in the US.

As one who attempts to shop ethically, I was delighted to purchase three items recently that boast “Made in Canada” labels. Delighted, that is, until I discovered that even those labels can be deceptive. According to Canadian law, designers can legally use that term as long as the last substantial transformation of the garment occurs in Canada and a minimum of 51% of the cost of its creation is incurred in this country. Some items are partially assembled cheaply in Asian factories and then imported to Canada where finishing details and those all-important “Made in Canada” labels are added. Then, of course, there’s also the question of where the fabric and notions were produced, but that’s another rabbit trail that I haven’t managed to go down yet.

In spite of knowing that they may not have been 100% produced in Canada after all, I’m quite delighted with my recent purchases, two tops and a dress. One of the tops was thrifted which is, of course, an ethical way to shop regardless of where the item originated, but the other pieces were new.

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The dress was totally an impulse buy. It caught my eye as soon as I entered the store, but I didn’t really need another new summer dress. After all, I’d just bought this one a few weeks earlier and had only worn it a couple of times. I looked at everything else in the store, but my eye kept going back to the dress, so I finally decided that I had to try it on. I do my best to be a mindful shopper, but once in awhile an impulse buy just has to happen!

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The dress is as comfortable as a favourite t-shirt and as you can see, it’s easy to dress up or down. The lightweight polyester knit is machine washable and will hardly take up any space in a suitcase when we finally decide to fly again.

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The beautiful floral backdrop is our neighbour’s. She’s an amazing gardener and we thoroughly enjoy the results of her labour! Thank you, Connie!

The art of aging gracefully

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Since I spent much of the past week camping and yesterday participating in a senior’s golf tournament, I don’t have a regular Fashion Friday post for today. Instead, I’m going to share some words of wisdom from Donna Ashworth’s book, To The Women: words to live by. 

Think about it, you have EARNED this face.
Every line, a laugh shared.
Every wrinkle, a year survived.
Every age spot, a day that the sun shone on you.
Some women believe that as they age, they LOSE their looks. Oh my friends how wrong this is.
A beautiful young women is a happy accident of nature but a beautiful older woman?
She is a work of art.
The Japanese have a practice whereby they fill any broken objects with gold, believing that something which is broken has earned its beauty and should be celebrated and decorated rather than discarded.
I feel this way about women.
It took a long time to find out who you really truly are. A long time. The acceptance that old age brings is freeing. It brings with it peace and happiness.
Everyone knows, happiness looks good on us all.
Your body has been changing since the day you were born and will continue till the day you depart. Ride with it, accept it, embrace it. Be amazed by it.
Allow your face to represent your life, your stories, your joys.
Why choose to be an older woman fervently chasing youth, when you could be that older women who knows what she is worth and has earned every minute of her hard-won self-acceptance.
The trick with ageing successfully my friend, is to pay as little attention to it as possible.

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I’ve shared this photo before, but it’s one of my favourites from our time in China. I thought she was beautiful when I first saw her and I still do. I wish I could have spoken to her but language was a barrier. I have no doubt, however, that the well-earned lines on her face tell a story… a story of hardship, a story of survival, but hopefully also a story with some happiness in it. As we age, may our faces also tell our stories with grace and self-acceptance.

 

Something new

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Logo by SamHappy Canada Day! 🇨🇦

As we gradually emerge from the pandemic, I’ve finally been doing some shopping! Regardless of what the authorities tell us, I don’t believe that Covid is completely behind us yet, but we are moving forward with caution.

One of the first things that I needed to do was shop for new bras. I absolutely hate bra shopping! I always have, but while we were in the city for a church conference a couple of weeks ago, I managed to fit in a bit of shopping and I got the deed done. It was gruelling, but I came away with three new bras that fit me well. But enough about that!

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I also bought this, a simple cap sleeve crew neck t-shirt dress, something casual but a little bit dressy for summer. I often wear a medium, but in this case I chose a large because the medium was too clingy and showed off the jiggly bits that I’d rather keep hidden.

When I first saw it online, I thought the colour was a warm brown. The ad called it Marron which my Spanish lessons have taught me means brown, but it really isn’t. It’s somewhere between brown and maroon, a colour that I’m calling smoky rose because I have a lipstick by that name that’s almost exactly the same colour.

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I’ve always thought that it must be fun to be one of those people who name lipstick, nail polish, or paint colours! Pink is never just pink, it’s Blushed, Heartthrob, or Pink Giggles. Red might be Love is On or Cherries in the Snow and brown is Iced Mocha or Choco-Liscious. Some of them even sound good enough to eat! But enough of that. Back to shopping!

After a long awaited visit to my dental hygienist, I did a bit of browsing and discovered an independent boutique that I hadn’t visited before. It survived the pandemic, but like many others, business was clearly slow and the discount racks were full. This little top caught my eye and ended up coming home with me. The colours fit my wardrobe perfectly and the asymmetrical hemline adds interest. It will be a great  addition to my summer wardrobe and a good layering piece when the weather is cooler.

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As I mentioned in my last post, I’m going to be taking some time to recharge over the next few weeks, so Fashion Friday probably won’t appear as regularly as usual. It’s not going to disappear completely though, so stay tuned!

Personal style types

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Logo by SamAfter thinking about personal style last week, I thought I’d explore the topic in a little more depth today by looking at some of the most common style types. Each one of us is unique and it’s unlikely that you will fit cleanly into any one of these styles. Instead, you might take inspiration from more than one of them and by combining traits that resonate with you, identify your own personal style.

Sporty  This is the woman who feels at home in athleisure wear. She wants clothing that is casual, comfortable, and allows ease of movement. She might be seen wearing yoga pants, joggers, or leggings with a t-shirt or a hoodie. Her shoes will be sneakers or flats and her accessories minimal. 

Casual.  Similar to her sporty sister, the casual woman likes simple lines and designs. She is focused on comfort and her look is easy-going and relaxed. She wears jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, and sneakers or flat boots with minimal accessories.

Classic  The Classic woman chooses tailored garments in quality fabrics and timeless styles. Her menswear inspired look is polished and put-together. Her wardrobe will include blazers and pencil skirts in neutral colours. Her accessories are simple and complement her outfits.

Dramatic  This is the elegant woman who invests in quality pieces for her wardrobe. Her look is striking and sophisticated. She wears bold makeup, eye catching shoes, and statement jewelry.

Preppy  Originally inspired by North American prep school uniforms, this look includes khakis and chinos, polo and button-down shirts, pleated skirts, blazers, vests, stripes, plaids, and all things nautical. Loafers are a popular shoe choice. Accessories are simple and often involve pearls.

Bohemian  The flamboyant Boho style has a 1960s and early 70s hippie aesthetic. It has a loose, laid back vibe that includes flowing maxi dresses and long skirts in natural fabrics, earth tones, and ethnic prints. Garments are often embellished with fringes, beads, or feathers. Accessories include large brimmed hats, slouchy handbags, oversized scarves, wide belts, long necklaces, big rings, and chunky bracelets. This is a style that often appeals to the artistic non-conformist.

Artistic  The Artistic or Creative woman is another innovative individual who doesn’t mind being a bit unconventional. She wears unique outfits in a variety of bright, bold colours and prints. She also likes to play with unusual shapes, silhouettes, and textures. She wears bold jewelry and statement footwear.

Romantic  This is the woman who chooses soft, flowy garments with pretty, feminine details including ruffles, bows, and lace. She wears muted or pastel colours and floral prints. She likes delicate, traditional accessories and ballet flats.

Minimalist  The title refers to a particular style, not the number of clothes in this woman’s closet. The Minimalist likes a paired down look with clean simple lines. She most often wears classic neutral colours and chooses simple, sparse accessories.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. I wrote about Gentlewoman style in this post and the very trendy Coastal Grandmother style here. There are Grunge and Goth styles, but since they wouldn’t likely appeal to the demographic that usually reads this blog, I didn’t include them. Then there is the Eclectic woman. She loves to try new styles and combinations and mixes elements from many different styles to create one that is uniquely her own.

The photos that I’ve included are a very limited sampling of each style, but hopefully they are enough to give you an idea what each one looks like.

Do you see yourself somewhere in the list? As I mentioned in the introduction, you will likely fit into more than one category. For example, I see myself as a Casual/Classic dresser, but I occasionally incorporate elements from several other styles.

Thinking about personal style

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Logo by SamHubby and I spent three days this week attending a conference as representatives of our local church. It was a full schedule of making connections, worshipping together, and attending sessions. There was no down time, no time for writing a blog post! We came home yesterday feeling both uplifted and exhausted! I sat down last night to write this morning’s Fashion Friday post and absolutely nothing came to mind! Nothing except the desire to soak in a hot bath and crawl into bed. All this to explain why today’s post is later than usual and why it might be a little thin in content!

We often tend to use the words fashion and style interchangeably, but there’s a difference between the two. Fashion is the clothes, accessories and shoes that are produced. They are what you see when you enter a store or shop online, but style is what you do with them, the way in which you wear those items.

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Style is how we personalize what the fashion industry produces.

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One way to identify your personal style is to choose 3 to 5 adjectives to guide your fashion choices. Check here for an exercise that will help you do that. Pinterest is another excellent tool to help you identify or clarify your own style. This post will show you how that works.

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Personal style shouldn’t be static. We all change as we go through different stages of life and our style needs to change with us. It’s important to evaluate and update our style from time to time so that our outfits express who we are today, not who we were sometime in the past.

What words would you use to describe your personal style? How has your style changed over the years?

Mindful shopper or impulse buyer?

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Logo by SamMindfulness, the practice of being fully aware and in the present moment, has become a popular buzzword these days. There’s mindful meditation and mindful eating, but today we’re going to look at mindful shopping. 

Mindless or reckless, impulsive (and sometimes even compulsive) shopping is a trap that’s easy to fall into especially in this day of online, credit card shopping. Unfortunately, it can lead to buyer’s remorse, unnecessary debt, anxiety, and even relationship problems. It can also mean having a closet full of clothes, but still experiencing that all too familiar feeling of having nothing to wear. 

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So how can you move from impulse buyer to mindful shopper?

When I shop for groceries, I do so mindfully. I shop with a list. Before I leave home, I check the fridge and the cupboards to make sure that the list includes everything we need. Though I might occasionally buy something that isn’t on the list, I read labels and think about what goes into the grocery cart. My husband has cholesterol issues and I’m diabetic, so I take those factors into consideration when I decide what to buy. I don’t buy pineapple or kiwi because I’m allergic to them and I’ve never liked parsnips, so I don’t buy them even if they’re on sale and look really fresh.  Perhaps we can apply some of these same or similar practices to shopping for clothes.  

Here are 10 tips to help you make the transition: 

  1.  Change your mindset. Consider shopping a necessity, not a hobby or a leisure time activity. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyable, but if you’re simply shopping for fun, find another pastime.
  2. Don’t indulge in retail therapy. If you shop because you’re feeling down and need a pick-me-up, find another way to treat yourself. 
  3. Avoid temptation. Don’t go to the mall unless you actually have a reason to be there. Don’t spend your time watching “shopping hauls” on YouTube. Don’t window shop, especially online. We all know that as soon as you look at an item on the internet, you’ll be bombarded with ads for similar items all meant to convince you to buy. 
  4. Make a mindful shopping list. This involves taking stock of what you already have and thinking about what you actually need. Go through your wardrobe and take note of things that need replacing or gaps that need filling.  
  5. Resist the urge to buy something simply because it’s on-trend. Don’t buy something simply because everyone else has it.  
  6. Don’t be seduced by sales. I’m a frugal fashionista and I like a sale as much as anyone else, but a bargain is only a bargain if it’s something you need or something you’ll actually wear. Buying something on sale is still spending, not saving. 
  7. Be cautious of marketing campaigns. “Buy one, get one half price” is only a bargain if you need more than one of a particular item. 
  8. Take a breather before you buy. The next time you’re tempted to buy something that isn’t on your list, something that you don’t actually need, especially something that’s tempting you because it’s on sale, hit pause and take time to think about it. Leave the store and come back later if you’re still convinced that you ought to buy it. 
  9. Think quality, not quantity. Shopping mindfully is about buying less, but buying better, and having a well curated wardrobe that puts an end to that feeling of having nothing to wear. 
  10. Consider cost per wear. Ask yourself if you’ll wear the item often enough to make it a worthwhile purchase.  

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As a mindful shopper, you’ll learn to make intentional choices that help you save money while feeling good about what you’re wearing. Does that mean that you should never make an impulse purchase?  No, of course not, but don’t fill your closet with them. An occasional splurge, as long as you can afford it, might turn out to be something that you love and wear over and over again.

For the most part, I try to limit my impulse buys to second-hand shopping. Once in awhile, like last week, I’m lucky enough to find something that’s on my mindful shopping list in a thrift store, but that’s not likely to happen very often. The prices in our local volunteer-run, not-for-profit thrift stores are very low. When I can buy a top, a dress, a pair of jeans, or a pair of boots for less than the price of a latte, I know that cost per wear will be extremely minimal and even if I don’t end up wearing the item very often, I won’t have lost much. In that case, I can afford to let mindfulness go out the window!   

Musing about sandals

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Logo by SamWhen I took my sandals out of storage this spring, I realized how worn they were getting. That’s not surprising considering the fact that the newest pair is at least five years old! I only know that because I’ve been keeping track of all my clothing, footwear, and accessories purchases since the beginning of 2018 and there aren’t any sandals on the list!

I have a couple of pairs that are still quite serviceable, but really, it might be time for this girl to be thinking about buying some new ones!

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Fishermans sandals are very much on trend for 2022, but something about a closed toe sandal just doesn’t sit well with me. They’re great for women who are self-conscious about exposing their toes for any reason, but when I wear sandals, I want my golden summertime toes to show.

Then there’s the recent popularity of fishermans sandals with socks. That one is a definite no for me! I haven’t spend all these years teasing hubby about wearing socks with his sandals to succumb to that fad!

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What about you? Are you a fan of this look? I always say that, first and foremost, we ought to wear what makes us happy.

I’m not a girly girl, but if I do go shopping for sandals, I’ll be looking for something a little more feminine looking than the closed toe fishermans sandal; something more like this pair from Naturalizer. I like a sandal that’s casual, but a little bit dressy looking, and something that I can comfortably walk a long way in.

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Sadly, the Naturalizer stores in Edmonton closed last year and I’d have to order these online. Not only do I much prefer shopping in person, but I have very narrow, difficult to fit feet. Ordering shoes online just doesn’t work for me. So, for now, until I have an opportunity to shop and try on, I’ll just continue wearing my old sandals and musing about new ones.

And then…

As usual, this post was written earlier in the week so that it would be ready to post first thing this morning. Yesterday, after getting my monthly injection, I stopped at one of our local thrift stores to drop off a bag of books that I’d finished reading. Of course, I had to take a look around and guess what I found? Sandals! Almost brand new Clarks in my size for $2.00! Similar sandals online sell for $110 and up. I’ll still be keeping my eye out for a dressier pair similar to the ones above, but in the meantime, I’m delighted with my find. They’re comfortable and supportive and the soft sage colour goes well with my summer wardrobe.

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On a totally different topic, I recently had the privilege of writing a guest post for the parenting blog, Leaf and Steel. I hope you’ll pop over and check it out here. 

Capri pants… flattering or frumpy?

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Logo by SamOne of the bloggers that I follow recently wrote a post listing several items that she thinks women over 50 should eliminate from their wardrobes. She used words like frumpy, dowdy, and matronly to describe how she thinks these items make us look. First on her list was capri pants! Several readers agreed with her, but I most definitely do not! Capris are easily my favourite summer pants.

To be fair, I should mention that the blogger in question did specify that “capri pants that end at the widest part of your calf, are unflattering and can look dowdy.” Capris come in a variety of lengths and widths and a few inches can make a big difference to how flattering they look. A tapered pair that ends either just above or just below the widest part of your calf will look much more flattering than a wider, baggy pair or one that ends at the widest point.

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Capris are still very much in style for 2022 and those of us who wear them find them to be very versatile. They can be worn with heels or flats and dressed up or down depending on what you wear them with. The downside to capri pants is that they can make your legs appear shorter which is particularly challenging for women whose legs are already proportionately short. One easy way to overcome this is to tuck your top into your pants. Personally though, since I’ve been blessed with long legs, I prefer to wear a longer top that skims over and hides my muffin top!

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Everything that I’m wearing in both these photos is old and has appeared on the blog before. The nice thing about living where we have distinct seasonal changes is that we have something “new” to wear twice a year! I always look forward to bringing my capris out of storage in the spring.

Do you wear capri pants? Do you consider them flattering or a fashion faux pas?