These black and gray checked shorts used to be black and gray checked teacher pants, but at 97 degrees and 142.784% humidity, it’s just too hot for all that. I cut ‘em, cuffed ‘em, and went about my business!

Shorts, thrifted; top, Forever21; booties, Jeffrey Campbell; no-name bag & earrings

Do you switch things up when the weather is just too hot to bear?

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These pants (a result of the lazy DIY, if you recall) are so cool and breezy–perfect for the hot and humid weather we’ve been having. I added some cognac-colored leather accessories and gold jewelry for interest.

Tank, H+M; pants, thrifted; shoes, Ash; belt, The Limited; bag, Coccinelle; leaf necklace, Forever21; tassel necklace, vintage.

Man, I love summer!

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The project

I bought a pair of black and white striped rayon pants at Goodwill last weekend (I was actually there to donate some stuff, but you know how that goes). They’re run-of-the-mill rayon, elastic waist, straight-leg pants–exactly what I was looking for, but I wanted to make them a bit more harem-ish:

Step 1

I rummaged through my dusty craft container and found a spool of  black satin ribbon, then grouped the pants, ribbon, and a bobby pin (more on that later) on the counter.

Step 2

I cut a small, (approx. 1/2 inch) vertical slit in the hem of the pants. These happened to have a pre-made slit, so I just sliced through it. Don’t bother measuring–it’s not that serious.

Step 3

Cut a length of ribbon approx. 2 times the circumference of the hem. Again, measurements are for losers–just eyeball it and you’ll be okay.

Now, this is where it gets bootleg: wrap one end of the ribbon around the bobby pin. This is what we’ll use as a “needle.”

Step 4

Thread the ribbon through the hem, in one side of the slit and out the other .* The bobby pin makes it easy to grasp the ribbon through the fabric, so just scrunch and pull until it comes through the other side:

Step 5

Now gather the hem, tie a bow et voila! Easy, comfy, pseudo-harem pants!

Rock ‘em and enjoy the breeze!

What do you think? Useful or extra-bootleg?

*That’s what she said.

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The lacy blouse is was a Gunne Sax-ish Little House on the Prairie dress I picked up at a thrift store a while ago, which wound up hanging out in my trunk (aka “storage”) for the better part of a year. I finally dug it out and attacked the dress with a pair of scissors in a half-hearted attempt to create a skirt and top I could wear separately. Except I cut through the back zipper. Oops.

This is why I don’t DIY.

Vintage blouse, clutch, necklace and heels; thrifted trousers; VS blazer

Have a great weekend!

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Based on this post about changing style direction from leather and studs to softer and more feminine, I decided to pull a few items from the back of the closet to see if I could reappropriate all the gray and black into something a bit more douce.

Dress, Victoria’s Secret; sweater, H&M; tights, Forever21; socks, American Apparel; belt, vintage; earrings, The Little Mahatma

I see lots of grays and taupes in my future…What do you think?

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I came across a vintage velvet suit I got from a former co-worker when I was going through some random bags in my closet, and was immediately reminded of the black velvet looks on the runway at Chloe:

Making it work

Hmm…I was hesitant at first, but I figured there was a way to make the Sassoon suit a bit more modern. Though I have an unreasonable aversion to suits (something about two-piece dressing doesn’t sit well with me), I figured if I wore the jacket and skirt separately I’d get more wear out of them and avoid looking completely retro.

I paired the skirt with a sparkly cardigan, lacy hose, and velvet heels.

Vintage cardigan, skirt, and heels; Hustler tights; thrifted belt.

I wore the jacket with high-waisted harem pants and vintage clip-on earrings. Damn, I have a lot of vintage!

Vintage jacket, ASOS trousers, vintage heels

Interestingly enough, the suit, cardigan, and heels all came from the same coworker. Thanks, Patti!

Walkin’ on velvet

Do you ever come across forgotten treasures? What do you do with them?

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The skirt and top are both thrift store finds–the skirt stood out because I’m always drawn to bold stripes, and little boy’s oxford shirts are permanently on my “I need more of these” list.

I picked up this sweater dress (again, while thrifting) because the embroidery reminded me of something Consuela Castiglione would send down the runway at Marni. Plus, I have a thing for cozy sweater dresses–really, I have a thing for any kind of clothing that feels like a lounging robe sans the fear of flashing the neighbors.

Which I would only do if they were willing to pay.

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These old school Liz Claiborne trousers are so Miss Denecke (my second grade teacher), whose life goals must have included looking like an extra from the set of “Knots Landing” and teaching us to properly write cursive. I’m wearing teacher pants and a blazer. It’s (almost) like I’m a grown up!

Speaking of growing up*, have you ever thought about what it would be like to spend your childhood as an unpaid laborer or sex slave? Neither had I until I had the opportunity to sit down with Emily Hill of Stop Traffick Fashion, an online shop dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking through the sale of merchandise created by survivors, who are often sold/kidnapped as children.

Emily with Stop Traffick Fashion merchandise

My heart sank into my toes when she pointed out that much of the world’s supply of cacao–you know, used to make chocolate–was harvested by slave children. I almost cried when I went to ChainStoreReaction.com and saw that Haagen-Dazs…mmm, dulce de leche ice cream…wait, what was I saying again? Oh yeah, so the tears flowed when I noticed that Haagen-Dazs hadn’t yet responded to the Producer Pledge, and I promptly added my name to the letters to several companies on the site.

No one’s saying you have to be perfect, and it’s pretty much impossible to know the entire supply chain of every single item you use, but I figure the least I can do is try. Even if that means scaling back on the desserts and Forever21 binges.

Check out the full article on my Examiner page and try to think of ways you can make a difference.  If nothing else, you can get some holiday shopping done!

*Need to work on my segways, huh?

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Wearing my old lady pants procured on a thrifting adventure (the high-waisted carrot shape looks so friggin’ good to me right now) and sticking to the color palette:

Aren’t you proud?

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I’d never been to this particular location before, so I figured I’d better check it out to make sure my donated goods were going to be put to good use. Plus, I needed some more gray pants and I figured thrift store prices are better than even the best sales.

I definitely found some good loot:

I’m still waaayyy into old lady pants and oversized blazers. The sweaterdress is a size 3x (I never pay attention to sizes when thrifting, it’s almost never accurate due to vanity sizing, etc.) but I figure I can make it work with a belt, and the embroidery seems kind of Marni-ish to me. What do you think?

See how I’m (pretty much) sticking to my color palette? I’m telling you, knowing which specific shades and prints could be easily incorporated into my wardrobe made things so much easier when going through the seemingly endless racks at Goodwill. Definitely a good idea. Plus, I think I may have found my new favorite store.

Do you have any thrift shopping techniques? Share with the class!

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