Claire and I have matching boots.

This delights us. Her and me. Matching. Oh, yes.

We are also both wearing orange. I point this out to her, and that’s how she smiles when she realizes she matches mommy.

This wearing orange…it’s a new thing for me…

I used to be afraid of orange. Or hate it. Or something. I never, ever wore it. I thought it wasn’t my color. But part of my personal style revolution has been understanding how I really feel about colors. I’d never paint my kitchen orange…

…But when I saw this spunky, orange-striped cardigan at the thrift store, I couldn’t resist seeing if orange felt good on me.

Here’s the style board (from my pinterest fashion board) that inspired this outfit:

Sweater: thrift store $3
Dress: thrift store $4
Belt: thrift store $0.25
Scarf: VanHussen, $10
Necklace: Dayspring
Leggings: thrift store $2
Boots: Born

So, what was the result of the Orange Experiment?

I found I absolutely LOVE wearing orange. This photo says it all.

Trina’s fashion tip for the day: Use the cheap deals you can find at the thrift store to experience with colors and styles that you *think* are outside your comfort zone. You may be delightfully surprised.

Have you made any fashion discoveries this fall? What’s new in your wardrobe that you’re absolutely lovin’?Do you wear orange?

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 I found the hat at the salvation army two weeks ago. I was so excited, but restrained myself from jumping up and down in public.  It didn’t occur to me until Saturday night that I should wear it for Easter Sunday (it wouldn’t be the first time I used Easter Sunday as an excuse to wear a hat!)

I sacrificed sleeping in Sunday morning and did my hair in a vintage style using this awesome Youtube tutorial. 
I will be refining this technique to wear to a friend’s vintage wedding later this year. (Sarah, what did you do to your hair for your sister’s wedding?)

Kristina, the dress was thrifted but I LOVE it and have wanted to copy it. Thankfully, I don’t have to -a friend just loaned me a  pattern that’s nearly identical – Simplicity 3877, view A. I would like to make myself several – it’s nursing friendly and has subtle, vintage flair when worn with the right accessories - don’t you think? I chose my pearl earrings from my English grandmother, with the matching strand that Jeremy gave me.

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…to buy maternity clothes.

(This is not an announcement – I am not pregnant!)

I’m 5’9″, so pants only look right if I get them extra long. Thus, I’ve worn highwaters through all three of my pregnancies. I hate feeling frumpy when I’m pregnant. So, my new policy is to buy cute maternity clothes whenever I find them.

In the past I have put something I liked back on the rack ’cause I was no where near a need for elastic waist bands, and didn’t want to think about wearing maternity clothes. But now, having endured a third pregnancy in frumpyness and highwater pants, and I’m not gonna do that again.

Now, of course, I shop almost exclusively at thrift stores, and I’m not anywhere near average, meaning it’s only a few times a year that I actually find something that fits my criteria. So I don’t have a huge closet full of cute maternity clothes. No, but I do have a new pair of Black pinstripe, Extra long, Gap Maternity dress pants in stretch cotton for $1, thanks to the local hole-in-the-wall thrift store and my Company Policy.


(I repeat, this is not an announcement!)

What about you? Do you buy clothes out of season (summer clothes in winter) or maternity clothes even when you’re not pregnant? What’s your latest, greatest thrift store find?

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I was disturbed this week as I brought out my treasured summer maternity bin to find that more than half of the items are too small. How did this happen??? Suddenly, I went to “all set for summer” to “I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!” and the ensuing tears and panic. That’s why when we were scheduled to be at our Christian Radio station’s Sharathon at 6 yesterday, I asked Jeremy if we could leave early enough to hit the Bath Salvation Army for ’1/2 off’ day. They have such a nice, big maternity section, I was sure to find something.

I found a single pair of capris. Extra Large. I’ve never been extra large in anything! I tried not to panic and headed to the Plus Sized Section.

Shopping in the Plus Size section of the thrift store can be scary. Shirts 4 feet wide. Pants that require 2 hangers. It’s enough to make you never eat another potato chip. Yet I have found this aisle to be a good source for fabric and items that can be custom fitted and refashioned with just a few quick zips on the serger. Also, more often than not, my long arms require an extra large to get the right length, so I have been shopping in the plus section frequently in the past year. Now I was looking for summer tops that had potential as maternity wear. I found about 8 tops, tried them on, and took home 2.

The basic rules for turning plus sizes into maternity styles are…

1. Don’t go too big. A 3x is gonna need to be completely cut apart and redesigned – and I don’t have that kind of time or energy right now. Stick to items that are just one or two sizes above your normal size.

2. Make sure it’s long enough. This rule cut down my possibilities in the dressing room by %75. They just didn’t cover the belly enough – or, the ‘projected belly size’ through the end of July.

3. Sleeves are an easy fix. My arms are the one thing that hasn’t gained circumference in this pregnancy (thank heavens!), so I do not need a sleeve hole the size of my thigh! If the shirt is long enough, and not too wide across the shoulders and neck, but the sleeves or sleeve holes seem ginormous, a custom fit can easily be achieved by taking in the under arm seam, tapering out gradually to meet the side seam just above the waist.

I’ll show you what I do with my finds next week….

You can hear our little interview on Family Life Network here. Scroll down, it’s the last interview on the April 7th list. The voices are those of my father-in-law, husband, and myself. It was freaky to be behind the mic on live radio, but I made myself do it just to prove (to myself) that I could! LOL

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It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts, but I just have to show the Beautiful way the Lord provided for me through the thrift store last month! I have wanted a princess-seamed, black, wool pea-coat since I was 17. Never quite able or willing to buy one new (and unable to find a style I liked anyway) I have canvased thrift stores for years for my Dream Coat. Finally, last month, I found it – black, wool, princess-seamed and fits me like a glove! So what if it wasn’t on sale – what’s $8 to be united with my true love? (oh, wait, my true love is Jeremy – well, he likes the coat, too.). I just have to give the credit to God – how else could the perfect coat show up on the rack at my local thrift store, in just my size? (Wonder why it took 9 years? Talk to God – I’m just glad it’s here at last! )

This week’s finds included a pair of jeans that fit perfectly – girls, you know how hard it is to find a pair of jeans that feel like their made for you (12 looooong for me) – well, I got lucky this time! I also found a dress to wear to Rachel’s wedding at the end of the month – hooray! It’s from Dress Barn – I found it just after I finished telling my shopping buddy, Alyssa, how I thought I could never wear anything from Dress Barn after hearing Tim Hawkins on the subject. Oh, well. When you see the dress, perhaps you’ll understand why I caved!

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