song of the day: 'mountains o' things' by tracy chapman (good song)
these were the second set of photos i took of this outfit. the first ones were HORRIBLE. my face had zero color in it and my hair was frightening. so you can just imagine what those looked like if i'm showing you these. sorry, i'm going through an ugly phase. i do that every once in a while. i don't like it.
now on to something nicer. i was checking out archives blog yesterday, and she mentioned that she likes to wear at least one vintage thing in every outfit, even if it's just a piece of jewelry. so that got me thinking about my own outfits. i've noticed that almost every single thing i wear is either vintage or thrifted. when i do put on the odd outfit that has all new stuff, i don't quite feel like myself. strange. just a year ago that wouldn't have been the case. now, all three of us in our little family wear used clothing. it wasn't a conscious decision, nor was it an abrupt one. just kind of a shift in focus. realizing that you don't have to buy new to look good or stylish. plus, it's just a whole heck of a lot cheaper. and truly, i like it this way. so many people come into my shop and talk about how they strive to dress differently and love that i carry stuff in the store that you don't see anywhere else. that is the biggest compliment to me. i like being different.
i even rarely buy a new gift that wasn't handmade. that was my goal last christmas. everyone loved what they got from me and i was able to help out some etsy sellers. it was a win/win.
i don't know how many of you are familiar with dottie angel and her 'challenge of the utmost kind,' but the jist of it is that she challenged herself to buy only handcrafted or second hand things for herself and her house for one year. i've been reluctant to join her in this only because i know the minute i do, i'll want a thousand new things and there goes my integrity! but what a cool challenge for yourself. and what an impact it could have too. i don't know, could definitely be interesting. but if you want to find out more about it, head over to the dottie angel blog. she's super funny and has beautiful photos.
details:
tank-from years ago
skirt-vintage, thrifted
shoes-jessica simpson (what???), thrifted
bag-vintage 'balenciaga' (still not so sure), ebay
