Frugal fashionista

Leggings are not pants!

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logoAt a recent gathering of women, I was delighted to hear a stylish young lady proclaim that “Leggings are not pants!” I couldn’t agree more. Leggings are one of the most comfortable things you can wear, but there are ways to wear this go-to wardrobe staple well and ways that they ought not to be worn.

In most cases, I’m not a proponent of fashion rules of any kind, but I do believe in dressing modestly and when it comes to leggings it shouldn’t even have to be said, but please cover your butt and cover your crotch! Even if they are completely opaque, unless you’re wearing them strictly as exercise wear, don’t wear leggings with a short top. Longer tops, tunics and oversized cardigans are the perfect choice. Secondly, for a more flattering look, choose a loose fitting top to offset the narrowness of the legs. A clingy, tight all over look really isn’t becoming.

Personally, I’m not particularly fond of brightly patterned leggings, but if you do like wearing snowflakes, reindeer or other colourful prints on your legs, just go for something simple up top. Here, I’ve paired my only patterned leggings, Safari from cabi, with a top that I bought in Japan several years ago to create a comfy, evening at home look.

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The skirt over pants trend is big this season. Growing up in the “olden days” when girls had to wear skirts to school, I remember wearing pants under my dresses on cold winter mornings and taking them off when I got to school. Perhaps that’s why I’ve had trouble adopting this look, but I do like the less bulky alternative of skirt over leggings.

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Here, in a photo clearly taken before winter arrived in Alberta, I’ve paired a lightweight pair of leggings with a simple pencil skirt that I’ve had for years and the thrifted black lace top that I first mentioned here.

Wondering what kind of footwear to wear with your leggings? There are plenty of options. For a casual, sporty look try wearing them with a cute pair of sneakers. For a dressier look pair good quality black leggings with something more formal, such as a blazer, and wear them with a dressy pair of sandals, flats or pumps. Leggings worn with an oversized cardigan and knee-high boots is a classic look for fall and winter. A pair of knitted or crocheted boot cuffs, all the rage at the moment, add a bit of polish to the look.

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The cardigan I’m wearing here was another thrift store purchase. The t-shirt, from Reitmans, was a gift from a friend, the leggings are from Jockey, and the slouchy black Brash boots are from Payless. I’ve had all these items for at least two or three years, but worn together they create a look that’s right on trend.

It’s a good idea to consider the length of your legs when deciding whether to wear heels or flats with your leggings. If you are short your legs will appear longer if you wear wedges, stilettos or high-heeled boots, but if you’re tall, like I am, flats will also look fine.

Just remember, though, whatever you wear them with, leggings are not pants!

A very different look

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logoMeghan Markle, star of the hit television show Suits, perhaps better known these days for her romance with British Prince Harry, recommends sticking to simple, classic looks rather than over-the-top ensembles featuring glitter and glitz for holiday parties.

“You don’t want to be the girl in a head-to-toe sequin look, where you look like you should be an ornament on the tree,” says Markle. “Be the girl who looks chic and classy and plays it really simple.”

Last Friday, I showed you a classic Christmas outfit that I put together by searching my closet and combining pieces that I’ve had for several years. Today I’m featuring an entirely different look that I wore to two events last weekend. Since the events were held in two different locations, some 350 km apart, and didn’t involve any of the same people, wearing the same outfit for both wasn’t a problem. The first, last Friday, was a Christmas banquet followed by an entertaining evening with popular speaker, author, and radio host, Phil Callaway. The second, on Sunday afternoon, was a ladies Christmas luncheon at my daughter’s church and this time I was the speaker! I was asked to talk about my cancer journey and how God has been present in it. That’s a pretty heavy topic for a Christmas event, but I didn’t want my look to be sombre. I wanted it to say that I might have cancer, but I’m still enjoying life. Here’s what I wore:

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With the exception of the poinsettia corsage, this is an outfit that I could wear anytime, not only at Christmas. The top is my brand new Monaco Cami, one of my favourite pieces from cabi‘s fall collection.  Although it looks like a lace overlay, it’s actually a print. It’s so realistic looking that when I first saw it, I actually had to touch the fabric to convince myself that it wasn’t lace!

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I’m wearing it with my skinny black pants from Dynamite and the charcoal jacket from Bianca Nygard that I bought at our local thrift store last spring. The silver threads running through it and its big sparkly buttons give it a dressy look.

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And then there are the shoes! Those definitely attest to my frugal fashionista tendencies. I’ve probably had them for close to 20 years! The comfortable Dr. Scholl’s were actually only kept all this time because they worked well with various period costumes that I and others have worn in local community theatre productions, but  now they fit right into this year’s boy meets girl fashion trend! I brought them out of storage, gave them a good polish and they look almost brand new.

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So which look do you prefer?

This week’s or last?

Shopping my closet for festive attire

/ edebock / 6 Comments

logoAs usual, we have a number of festive occasions to attend this Christmas season; some dressy and others more casual. I had considered buying a new dress to wear to a couple of these events, but I wear dresses so seldom that it would spend most of its life languishing in my closet. I also discovered that the dresses I liked best in the stores were very similar to one I already own that I wrote about here. The stores seem to be full of lovely lace overlay dresses, but I definitely didn’t need a second one. Instead, I decided to shop my own closet this season and see what I could come up with.

I wore the lace overlay to the first event, a dine and dance that was also a charity fundraiser. Since the dress is sleeveless and the event was held in our local community hall, an old building that can be quite chilly, I took a lovely scarf along to cover my shoulders.

The second event, last Saturday evening, was also a dance. I knew that the crowd would be largely made up of seniors and that dress would, for the most part, be conservative. I wanted to go for a classic look. After trying on a variety of items in different combinations, here’s what I came up with.

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I started with a black lace panelled skirt that I bought when we lived in Japan and added a red/black sparkly top that was purchased several Christmases ago. The skirt, though fully lined, is lightweight and drapes nicely; excellent for dancing the old time polkas, waltzes and fox trots that we so enjoy. I very seldom tuck anything in at the waist, but the top is fairly short and rather than risk a midriff baring wardrobe malfunction on the dance floor, I chose to tuck.

Again, sleeveless isn’t the best idea in wintery Alberta, so this time I added a lightweight loose-fitting jacket with a sparkly pinstripe that was also purchased for a Christmas season some years back. It did come off for a little while when the venue got warm, but I wore it most of the evening.

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With sparkle in both the top and the jacket, I chose to go with simple accessories and since black isn’t my best colour, a bright lipstick finished off the look.

To see what another Canadian blogger found on a similar foray into her closet, why not visit Sue at High Heels in the Wilderness?

And to see what I’m wearing to a couple of other Christmas events, please come back next Friday!

 

Cabi, clothing company with a heart

/ edebock / 8 Comments

logoCabi, one of the largest direct sale women’s apparel businesses in the US, is probably already familiar to many of you, but it’s relatively new to Canada having entered the market here just last year.

I was introduced to the cabi Fashion Experience in September when I attended a party hosted by two of my friends. I immediately fell in love with some of the items in this fall’s collection, but frugal fashionista that I am, I found the prices higher than I would normally be willing to spend. When I learned that by hosting a party I might be able to get one or more items at half price, I quickly agreed and I was able to add several favourite pieces to my wardrobe!

I love the comfy, casual Ernest Tee. The mix of horizontal and vertical stripes and the cross body seam line are eye catching and the unusual hemline adds additional interest. Its rayon spandex fabric is lightweight and oh so soft.

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In a colour that cabi calls Dove, the cotton and acrylic Shirttail Cardigan didn’t stand out on the hanger, but when I tried it on, I knew I had to have it! I’m sure it will quickly become a wardrobe staple.

These are just two of my new cabi garments, but watch for others in upcoming posts or view the entire collection here.

In addition to the good quality, comfortable, unique garments, another factor that led me to add cabi to my wardrobe was The Heart of cabi Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to encourage and empower women in need around the world. This is accomplished in several ways. For each new stylist, cabi funds a small business loan in her name for a woman entrepreneur in a developing country. Every woman who places a cabi order is given the option of rounding her order total up to the nearest dollar. It may only be a few cents, but together these cents become dollars that fund small business loans that empower women entrepreneurs working to create better futures for their families and communities. Also, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of one item in each collection helps fund The Heart of cabi Foundation’s efforts around the world. In this season’s collection that item is the Heartbreaker Top. Unfortunately it didn’t look good on me or I definitely would have purchased it. I’m always happy to support a company with a heart!

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On the rise

/ edebock / 5 Comments

logoWhen I was young, a high-rise was an apartment building and a waist band was just that, a band that rested at the waist. Then came the demise of what later became known somewhat disparagingly as Mom jeans and we all became familiar with the terms low rise and mid rise.

So, what exactly is rise? Rise is the distance from the middle of the crotch seam to the top edge of a pair of pants.

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image: http://www.kohls.com/sale-event/jeans-rise-product-guide.jsp

 

The low rise trend started in the early 2000s with some jeans dropping so low that they exposed thong panties and butt cracks. Definitely not a pretty sight! Those jeans had a rise of between 6 and 7 inches. Most denim manufacturers settled on a low rise of between 7.75 and 8.5 inches. My lowest are a pair from Gap with an 8 inch rise.

At first, I had a tough time adjusting to wearing low or even mid rise jeans. After all, I loved my 1980s Mom jeans! Eventually, they wore out though and I had to break down and buy new ones. Of course, I adjusted, but now jeans are on the rise again with higher and higher waists becoming popular once more! Why does the fashion industry do this to us?

As much as I’ve grown accustomed to a lower rise, there are definite advantages to a higher pant. High-waisted jeans do a great job of keeping everything in place! As much as I exercise and eat healthy, a “middle age bulge” seems to have come to stay and it loves nothing better than creating a muffin top over the edge of low rise pants!

With the addition of spandex, today’s denim has a lot more stretch than it did in the 80s which will make high-waisted jeans much more comfortable than they were back then. It will be a while before I go shopping for any though as my closet is full of jeans with a mid rise of about 9 inches and being the frugal fashionista that I am, I won’t be rushing out to replace them simply to go up an inch or two in the waist.

What about you? What’s your favourite rise and why?

Big white shirt

/ edebock / 6 Comments

logoEver since I wrote this post back in June, I’ve had purchasing a looser white shirt in the back of my mind. It wasn’t as high a priority as some other items, however, so I hadn’t seriously gone looking for one. Then, when I was doing my seasonal wardrobe switch last month, there it was hanging on my husband’s side of the rack in our storage room! Purchased over ten years ago for our son’s wedding, it’s been hanging there ever since! I pulled it out and wondered if I could make it work for me.

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On it’s own, it’s pretty big and that expanse of white doesn’t do a lot for me, so I started by rolling up the sleeves…

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Then I went to my closet to see what I could wear with it. I started with a loose fitting cardigan that I’ve had for the past couple of years, then added some bling and a touch of bright lipstick.

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I thought the necklace might be a little over the top with such a casual look, so I also tried a simpler one.

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What do you think? Does it work or should I give the shirt back to my hubby?

Thrifting again

/ edebock / 5 Comments

logoIf you’re in North America, you are without a doubt familiar with the Jockey brand. It’s underwear. Right? But are you aware that for ten years, the company also had a women’s clothing line known as Jockey Person to Person that was available only through home parties? It was a sad day for me when Jockey announced that it was closing that branch of the company in mid March 2015. Not only was a close friend of mine one of Jockey’s top selling “Comfort Specialists”, but I loved their comfortable, affordable styles.

When I worked in our local thrift store one afternoon last week, I noticed that a number of items from Jockey’s final seasons are beginning to come through the store. I couldn’t resist adding this multicoloured polyester blouse with front ruffles and a string tie at the rounded neckline to my wardrobe.

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Though it’s preowned, like most of what I buy at the thrift store it’s in excellent condition. In fact, one would never know that it’s been worn before.

I like the wide elasticized band at the bottom and since I often push long sleeves up to my favourite 3/4 length, elastic at the wrists works well for me.

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Here I’ve paired it with a pair of dark wash Old Navy jeans that were a gift from my sister-in-law, Sue, and a comfortable pair of Natural Soul shoes by Naturalizer that are several years old.

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The anchor necklace from Nova Scotia’s Amos Pewter was made in their Mahone Bay workshop and was a birthday gift from my husband.

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Feeling fabulous

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Can a woman have too many cute jackets? I don’t think so when fall is in the air and she can get them for $3.00 apiece at her local thrift store!

My latest acquisition is a variegated grey denim jacket from Denver Hayes, one of Canadian clothing retailer, Mark’s, popular in-house brands. The fabric is soft and the ruffle trim adds a feminine touch.

I wore it on Tuesday when I went to Edmonton for a follow-up appointment with my surgeon, the one who removed a cancerous tumour from my left parotid (salivary) gland during a delicate seven hour operation in May of 2014. (This was my second cancer, completely unrelated to NETS, the incurable cancer that I continue to live with.)

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Here I am feeling fabulous after my appointment, not only because a woman feels good when she knows she looks good, but also because the appointment went so well. Not only is there no sign of recurrence, but even this long after surgery, healing is still taking place. I don’t have to see Dr. Williams again for a whole year!

On this occasion, I wore the jacket with a pair of black jeans, comfortable for the four hour round trip to the city, and a top that I’ve had for several years. I’m also wearing my comfy grey flats with their cushiony memory foam insoles, perfect for a walk through the mall after my appointment.

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Brand new, but second-hand

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I volunteered at the Good As New, our local thrift shop, on Wednesday afternoon and had hoped to find something new to share with you today, but that was not to be. Though I tried on several items, some didn’t fit and others simply didn’t inspire me. Then I remembered that I had yet to wear one of my recent frugal fashionista purchases.

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The royal blue sleeveless top, originally from Laura, one of my favourite Canadian fashion retailers, still had it’s original $65 price tag on it when I bought it for just $2! I can’t imagine why anyone would buy a garment and then donate it to a thrift store without ever wearing it, but the Good As New has recently set aside one rack especially for brand new items because they receive so many of them. Obviously, in spite of our present economic downturn, we are still a culture of excess!

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When I was young, I refused to wear anything without sleeves because I was very self-conscious about my skinny, toothpick arms. Once I started working out, however, I began to feel differently and now I’m very comfortable in sleeveless tops and dresses.

The polyester/spandex top is just loose enough to hide the little bit extra that I carry around my waist these days and the silver grommets around the neckline and on the shoulders dress it up a bit.

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My sister and I are off on a road trip to visit our brother’s family this weekend. Perhaps this outfit should go with me. The white jacket is a hand-me-down from my daughter, or perhaps I should call it a hand-me-up! The pants are the white crops that I’ve featured in a couple of other posts recently and the shoes are a favourite pair of denim flats from Payless ShoeSource that are several years old and, sadly, almost worn out.

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Black lace

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Screen Shot 2016-03-18 at 11.07.24 PM 3Lace is on-trend for 2016 for both evening and stylish daytime wear. My latest frugal fashionista (thrift store) purchase, a black lace top, is feminine without being too girly and, unlike some lace garments, it doesn’t remind me of my grandmother’s curtains!

For me, versatility is an important factor when I’m shopping for clothes and this top definitely fits that bill. It can be worn with dressy pants, jeans, capris or even a pencil skirt. It isn’t lined, so I can wear it over any number of different camisoles. It looks good over both black and white, but I especially like it over khaki as shown below.

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Black has never been the best look for me, but the khaki camisole underneath seems to soften the overall effect. Even so, this much black close to my face can leave me a bit tired looking. Adding a little extra colour to my face helps overcome that. Hence, the bright lipstick, something that I seldom wear.

Considering the fact that I seem to be perpetually packing and unpacking our suitcases, I also think about how well a garment will pack before I buy it. Again, this top works well. It takes up hardly any space, weighs practically nothing and doesn’t wrinkle. It has to be hand washed, but I can easily wash it out in a hotel sink (after all, isn’t that what they’re for?) and hang it overnight to dry.

At just $2, this was definitely a bargain! I wore it to a conference last week, to church on Sunday and here, I’m wearing it for a day of shopping.

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That brings me to another recent purchase. I bought this handbag brand new at a garage sale for just $8! It still had its tags on, the handles and zipper pulls were still wrapped and the tiny silica gel packs were still inside. It had clearly never been used.

No, it isn’t a Tory Burch (I’ve been asked twice), it’s from La Terre Fashion, but what do you expect at a garage sale? It’s very well made and I love it!

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