Oldie but a goodie

[Edited 1/25/07 because 1) parts of my writing was just bad and 2) I realized the order of photos didn't correspond with what I was talking about. Now it looks right.]

It's been a few weeks since I've shopped for clothes, and I'm happy to say that my appetite for shopping has dulled. In fact, I've walked into 2 retail establishments and came out with no clothing purchases! I only bought what I actually need. My latest credit card bill finished off any remaining impulses to shop, which is great!

Ever since my shopping embargo started, I've dug out a lot of clothes that I haven't been wearing much because 1) they were way too big, 2) too boring, or 3) too cutesy. Instead of having to "settle" with wearing clothes just for the heck of it, I didn't have to sacrifice style all that much as long as I made an effort to incorporate them into daily wear. In some cases, the resulting outfits were so "me" that I actually liked wearing them to school or elsewhere. Playing around like this has been so much fun that I could honestly say, "screw shopping!" (Well, for now anyway.)

Let's start with the too-big. Years ago, when I paid no attention to what I wore, I bought outerwear that were a few sizes too big in order to accomodate layers of sweaters and so forth. Sure, that sounds reasonable enough, but I live in Southern California, not the frickin' North Pole! Once I started favoring a more streamlined sillouette, bulky clothes fell out of favor. I've gotten rid of some ugly bulky things that I would never wear again, but I hung onto a few things. Now I'm glad I did. Since the weather's been very chilly lately, big warm jackets come in handy, especially because I've been wearing the same 2 pieces of outerwear during the last few months.

To make the jackets utilitarian again, I started off by throwing them over some casual outfits when I didn't care to dress up, then worked my way up to more creative outfits. I'm definitely liking my black pleather jacket again--now that hooded leather jackets are popular, it even looks trendy! I'm still "meh" about my mom's old blazer--the shoulder pads make me look like a linebacker--but at least I tried. I'm not liking the results, which is why I'm not posting them. Still, the blazer is very warm and just too nice to get rid of. I'll just have to work at it some more.

What's considered the too-boring for me? Turtlenecks. The collar makes my neck feel restricted and itchy, even though it's really not that bad. On top of that, they're just plain and hard to dress up; I tried wearing necklaces over them and things just don't look right. I'll admit that they're very useful, but I hardly ever wore them. Nowadays I'm happy to say that I've made them work for me. Layering a graphic tee or a cute blouse on top makes a t-neck much more appealing. Piling on a chunky scarf works, too!

Lastly, the too-cute:

The last two pictures above feature an impulse-buy--a puff-sleeve top with apples printed on it. As much as I hate to admit it, it's just way too cute for my age. A lot of people tell me I look very young, which is a double-edged sword--good in the sense that I can get away with a lot of things I wear, but bad because as a soon-to-be lawyer, it's hard to get taken seriously when I look too young. I found that wearing cutesy things with "tougher" accoutrements makes for a playful yet age-appropriate outfit.