We've had a bit of a cold snap, and so it was Danny discovered none of last year's clothes fit. At not-quite thirteen, he's now taller than his mama and weighs about the same. He has no problem lending me his clothes but for some reason the child is completely uninterested in wearing mine. I suspect it is the polyester. Anyhoo, off we went today seeking shirts with long-enough sleeves (harder than it sounds) and trousers that don't look like they've been slept in before being worn (also a bit of a challenge). I will say that I'm lucky having a son that is completely indifferent to fashion. He likes checked shirts and jeans without a bunch of crap on the back pockets. As teenage style goes, his is blissfully plain. Danny requested a denim jacket, which we bought, and a puffy ski-vest to keep his arms free when out bird-banding. Two hundred dollars and an hour later he had the jacket, vest, three pair of trousers, four shirts, a dress shirt, and something else I've forgotten. I'm going to be sad when K-Mart goes under (the death knell is already sounding) because you can't outfit a teen in a winter wardrobe for $200. at Target.
My dress cost .99 cents at Goodwill, but I'm easier to dress and don't have long arms or legs. Hard to believe I carried that kid around in one arm. He was such a little thing coming into the world just over six lbs. His dad is 6'4 so I think this might be a yearly shop sort of thing for the next few years.
You can see the leaves starting to turn on the street behind me. the large maple behind our place hasn't started changing yet, but soon I'll be outside doing a daily sweep of leaves off the patio. I loved raking leaves as a child, even if it gave me terrible allergies. We didn't burn them as my mum once ended up in hospital after inhaling god-knows-what in the air from a pile of burning leaves. Understandably she was reluctant to repeat the experience. We didn't burn them on the farm either, but we didn't have that many trees outside of the windbreak. I still like bringing home interesting leaves from my walks, and I always have a basket of pine cones for decorations. Oh, I know you can go to Big Lots and buy silk leaves for decorating, but I prefer the real ones when possible.
Anyway, all this babbling is my way of saying Autumn has arrived, and it is being reflected in our wardrobes. For my part, it wouldn't be autumn without paisley.
Outfit Particulars:
1980's rayon dress-Goodwill
1990's bolero-Goodwill
Carole Dauplaise necklace-Goodwill
Brooch-Sarpy museum sale
Vintage crocodile handbag-Hand-Me-Ups
Shoes-K Mart (years ago)
Fragrance-Norell (thanks, Emily!)
Lippy-Estee Lauder Maplesugar (my standard autumn lippy)
1980's dress-Goodwill
Vintage handbag-Thrift World
Belt-Hand-Me-Ups
Earrings-hand-me-ups
Leaf brooch-can't remember
Vintage necklace-Hand-Me-Ups (has matching earrings and bracelet)
Boots-K Mart
Fragrance-Vintage Revlon Moon Drops (well that was an expensive trip down memory lane for something I'd describe as, "Meh").
Lippy-Wine With Everything (if only that were possible!) my "Other" autumn lippy
Hope you're having a good week so far.
15 comments:
The holidays are in full swing in the Himalayas! It's Dashami & the sacrifices began this morning with the scent of fresh blood & burnt animal hair (Nepalis blowtorch the hair off the skins & eat the fatty layer with crispy skin attached - no part of any animal goes to waste here!) It's also still like 95F & broiling too. Very unusual for the heat & nightly thunderstorms to still be around this far into September.
I had that same paisley rayon dress my 1st year of pharmacy school. I remember I had a similar paisley pleated skirt in rayon too- that was when all things Ralph Lauren, navy & burgundy were in fashion!
I remeber when buffalo plaid with those almost kimono sleeves were in too.
Velvet boots rock! I'm for velvet anything though, I have velvet Kashmiri kurtis for when & if it gets cold here.
Sigh, I will miss Kmart too- I loved their Martha Stewart collection in everything from kitchenware to garden to Xmas decor.
OMG those velvet boots! Those are beautiful. That flannel dress looks really cosy, the sort of thing I'd save for weekends so I could loaf around in style and comfort. Those are nice brooches on both outfits too, especially the Sarpy sale one.
I was so upset when our Kmart closed. I could get shoes for the kids without needing a loan! When they were young, my two didn't care about labels or styles, either. I could gear them up from the sale rack and still get myself something. I still get emails about sales from Kmart, but they broke my heart and I don't read them. Should have, though - those boots are fabulous!
Love your paisley dress with the shaped belt. The color looks great on you.
No Kmarts near me. I miss them. And Shopko. Do you have Ross Dress for Less in your area? A Ross trip requires concentration, as they're badly organized and their stock is wildly variable, but I have made some decent scores. Far better than Marshalls.
Two very different dresses but equally beautiful! The blue is fantastic on you and I love the velvet boots; both gorgeous and practical. I also really love the bolero with the brown paisley dress - what a lovely combination.
My similar aged grandson is not really interested in fashion (thank goodness) either. Jeans and a top and he's good to go. Long may it last - but it won't.
Today, for the first time in ages I wore a brown lipstick and as I only have the one went to the cheap cosmetics shop in town and bought 3 more for less than £6.00!!
Lidl today had Christmas food on display...
Have a lovely weekend.
Paisleys and velvet? Be still my beating heart!!
Loving the necklace in the first photo and the colour of your second dress, what we used to called electric blue in those crazy 1980s.
Thank goodness Danny isn't one of those kids who demands ultra high priced gear emblazoned with logos. Jon & I have said before that if we'd had have kids we'd have ended up with some chav who refuses to dress in anything but grey jogging bottoms and sportswear just to piss us off!
xxx
I think K Mart is great too but we are very worried that ours will close. When we went in a few weeks ago ( midday) there were no checkers at any of the registers. You had to take your purchase through the registers to the Customer Service desk! Admittedly there were very few customers in the store -but NO checkers, really!
JanF
Reading your post on a balmy late summer's day (we're being treated to 25°Celsius today) I broke out in a sweat just from reading the word flannel! That said, the dress is really stunning, and the colour suits you so well! I love those insane velvet boots too. I'm loving the brooch you're wearing in your first outfit.Thankfully, Danny isn't interested in fashion, and you can still kit him out in a shop like Kmart. $ 200 isn't too bad for a whole winter wardrobe! XXX
Beautiful.
Such gorgeously rich colours in that first outfit, you look beautiful! And the blue dress is gorgeous too, the boots are super, very similar to my winter boots but my two pairs are non leather, non velvet and brown and black. They have furry ankle trim.
Bargain new wardrobe for Danny! My nephew wears shocking clothes (see Vix's comment for an idea) and I suspect that's to do with his mum. I do wonder what he'd wear if he had his own choice!
The trees are slowly turning here too. The communal garden is littered with the most deliciously red leaves and the road is scattered with bright yellow leaves. Last night was the first time we had come out of the supermarket to a proper nip in the air, but then it was also dark, so that's probably why! I was very excited to see the supermarket we use has it's teeny little Halloween display up, so I was coveting all sorts, but then I saw a Christmas magazine and was torn. Door garland or Christmas crafts and baking with free coasters!
Temps here are rocking from the 90s to the 40s, and I'm rocking the layers accordingly. The basic layer is heavy tights and a long-sleeve tee. Layering outward are a variety of long skirts, vests and men's shirts worn as jackets.
The 99c dress from Goodwill epitomizes "timeless" styling that can twist from steampunk to elegant, according to taste. Alas, our local
Goodwill now features dispiriting collection of bridal fashions, from the mothers-of to Bridezillas in all sizes. Just the thing for Hallowe'en. Although...looking at those magnificent boots and reviewing the long pink skirt in yesterday's post, I'm wondering if one could "do something" with those heavy satin skirts, hiding the deconstructed waistband under a sweater set. Hmmm.
$200 for a teen's fall wardrobe?! The kid's a keeper!
Ooooh LOVE the blue outfit a LOT!!
@Bibi
Well happy Dashami to you!
Ah the nostalgic scent of burnt hair-as a teenaged smoker I was forever lighting my bangs/fringe instead of the ciggie.
Marshall Field's had a department called, "Country Shop" which was like a better-quality Ralph Lauren boutique. I never liked the "Vibe" I got from Ralph Lauren-there was something icky in all the aspirational-house-in-the-Hamptons thing. *Shudder*.
@Mim
Thank you. I'm sure I'll get caught in the rain eventually and ruin the boots, but for the moment I'm only wearing them in good weather.
@Bobbi
I think they do ship inexpensively and have some deal where you can pick it up at the store (or a Sears if you K Mart is gone) but I know what you mean about having your heart broken and moving on.
The belt is actually just a sewn-in part of the dress (I wish I could find a wide belt like that though).
@Propagatrix
No Ross, unfortunately. Our Shop-Ko's all went to ruin and are closing up one after another. To be honest, they haven't been worth shopping at for at least ten years. They went to a loyalty card scheme and they didn't have employees that stuck around (why would they for minimum wage?) and no one seemed to understand how it worked. You'd end up over-paying and then have another wait at customer service being refunded. It just became too much hassle to shop there, and their prices were no longer competitive.
@Veronica
I suspect once they start dating the desire to dress nice takes hold ;)
Brown lippy is fab-and it sounds like you found a great deal. You know how sometimes you can't decide between red or pink-brown is a great default. So, did you buy a Christmas pudding?
@Vix
I'm sure Danny will get even somehow but hopefully it won't be voting conservative or something horrible like that! More likely he'll move into a house without any furniture or nick knacks that looks as sterile as a lab to get even for all the clutter of his youth.
@Jan
Yeah, that's a bad sign. Ours has been dimming the lights to save money too.
@Ann
Enjoy the warm weather while you can. I know your winters don't get as cold as ours, but dreary rain and damp can be every bit as miserable.
@Regine
Thank you. Welcome to Eat the Blog, it is nice to meet you.
@Melanie
Both, of course! You can't be expected to chose between holidays, that's like playing favourites with children.
@Beth
Layering is the only way to go in our stupid midwestern weather. Menswear is "in" this season so you're bang on trend.
I'm a fan of button extenders...as I've been expanding ;)
I think you can do a lot with those cheap long skirts. I have no idea if you're artistic, but fabric paint and glitter are cheap enough and if you mess it up, well the skirt was practically free.
I have seen people making beautiful Christening gowns from old wedding dresses at thrift stores.
@Miss Magpie
Thank you. Blue is one of my favourite colours (but green will always be my very favourite).
Mmmm, great outfits. I love the paisley dress with the wine dark bolero, and I highly approve of the boots - they look very early-nineties to me, I'd have killed for them.
@Radostin
You're right-the heavy tread on the bottom of the boots does have a 90's vibe-I'd forgotten those.
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