Last week I had my 6-hour simulated exam, followed by 2 days of reviewing the answers, 8 hours a day. After that second 8-hour day, I was just wiped. My fridge was empty, and my mental gas tank was getting close to the E. Since I've seen other people blog about their fabulous vintage finds and realized I haven't gone thrifting for a while, I decided to make a trip to the Goodwill. The supermarket was on the same street anyway. I got 3 interesting tops, and I'll show them on separate posts. It's gotten too hot to wear 2 of them, and one of them needs a little minor repair, but I just couldn't pass them up.
A while ago, I talked about babydoll tops. It's hard to find the right ones without the preggo look. It seems like a couple of things make them work: pleats in the right places, or fabric that drapes the right way. I didn't think that most of the huge tent dresses and blouses would work for a lot of people because they either look like muumuus or maternity wear. However, I think some loose tops can look very good when belted, as Eli of Thrift Eye has demonstrated. Most of the time, the belt is magic.
With this in mind, I decided to take the plunge and buy a striped top, probably from the 80's and home-made, since there are no labels on it. The puffy sleeves aren't my thing, but the colors, stripes, and pleats in the front make this top the cutest thing. My intent was to belt it, since wearing a large belt with my last oversized vintage find works pretty well, as you can see here:
You've seen this green top before, also in its belted form.
To my chagrin, the belting job didn't work very well for my new top this time. Maybe if I had a wider belt, it might work better. Maybe if it didn't have puffy sleeves, it might have looked better. Maybe if I had a wider belt that fits right at the waist, it would have looked better (though my attempt to force a fit did create an interesting twist, if you will). Fortunately, the top actually looks good without the belt, especially with the sleeves rolled up a bit. I didn't think tent dresses would look good on me at all, but I guess you never know until you try it. This particular one also has pleats across the front, and the fabric drapes pretty well. That's probably why it works for me. It looks even better when I layer a shrug over it.
You can judge for yourself.
6 comments:
I like them both belted. But the green top, maybe you felt it looked weird because you were wearing long pants. I dont know if you hate shorts or maybe even a skirt to balance out the proportions. Or if you felt really daring...tucking in the shirt and forgetting about the belt all together. I only have one big belt, at least you have more to play with.
I guess I should have written more clearly--I actually like the green top as belted, just not the striped one. Perhaps the puffy sleeves are throwing things off.
I agree with tucking the top into shorts, though--I tried that today with a different long vintage top and I love it. The problem would be keeping it tucked in.
I like the stripey one better unbelted, but I'd add a big necklace or some badges to break up the pattern a bit.
Good luck getting ready for the Bar!
The shrug and capris definitely cut down on the volume of the top. Maybe if you belted it under the bust, empire style?
I agree with the empire style comment. I also think that a mich thinner belt, something along the lines of maybe white leather or even a ribbon belt, would be more flattering to the slim stripes of the top, as well as more delicate to complement the puffed sleeves. But the top is super cute.
Thank you all for your comments! Next time I'll try the empire style and see what happens.
You ladies are such style mavens. I should let you help me style more often =)
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