A Casual Dress Up

As technology advances many aspects of daily life, it can morph very personal experiences into impersonal encounters. Less people are reading hard-copy books on a daily basis because they prefer reading them on their tablet or phone. More people are watching television and movies instead of attending plays and community activities. While technology plays a vital role in our society, it's also important to still partake in "human" experiences.

About a month ago, my sisters came to visit my family. My mother, sisters and I decided to go attend the play, Wicked. Although I'm not a fan of actually participating in plays, I do enjoy watching them. However, it's often hard for me to decide how I should dress for occasions such as these. For this specific event, I decided to dress up, but to still look casual at the same time.

[Shirt: Old Navy, Skirt, Purse: JC Penny, Sandals: Gift]

Skirt Refashion

Okay, so I recently bought a denim skirt from Savers for a total of $3. Let's face it, I only buy cheap clothing. This skirt was VERY cute, but a little long for my taste. I bought it anyways, and I just figured I would hem it when I got the chance. The only sewing machine I currently have use of resides with my family, so I couldn't hem it until the next time I came home. That was TWO weeks away-- way too long to wait before wearing something new I just bought! So I decided to wear the skirt a couple of times. I discovered something. I don't like hate wearing skirts that are over an inch past my knees. That being said, the first thing I did when I got home was hem this skirt so I could actually enjoy wearing it and not counting down the minutes until I could take it off. Hemming it took a total of two minutes and the after product is so worth $3!

Sometimes it's the little things that make our day (like hemming this skirt) and when this happens, savor it!

One piece worn five ways

I'm doing 31 for 31 and what does that mean? 80% of my usual heap of clothes I never wear that fill my closet are out of bounds at the moment. I have very few clothing items to choose to wear and I want to save my favorite clothing combinations for special days. Unfortunately, I have many days this month where I need to look cute and presentable.

What's my solution to this predicament? Write a "one piece worn five ways" blog post. Three days before this challenge started, I found a pretty adorable top at JC Penny. It was even on sale! Let's face it, when it comes to buying clothing I am a cheapskate and won't buy anything unless it's severely on sale or less than $15 to begin with. Anyways, I just can't wait a full month before wearing a new clothing item, so I was hoping i would be able to find at least a couple outfits to pair it with.

After I bought this top, I knew it would go pretty well with a skirt I had also bought recently at Savers (for $3!), but other than that, I didn't think it would go with ANYTHING. I'm the type of person that really needs the clothing I'm wearing to match extremely well or I just can't stand wearing it at all. This isn't a magic shirt or anything, but I was quite pleased to discover that while wearing this shirt, not all of my outfits needed to match exactly. I was also surprised that I was actually able to find five different outfits that this shirt went well with. Needless to say, this shirt was included in my 31 items this month.



An unexpected, but completely matching outfit:



I first put this outfit on as kind of a "well, I know this won't go together, but I'll try it anyways". To my surprise, I actually liked it quite well! It doesn't go together so much that it works. To all the people that says denim goes with everything, I'm sorry but I disagree. I have a hard time finding clothes to wear with denim, but I think this shirt pairs with it quite nicely.

[skirt: savers, cardigan: savers]

Pattern Mixing:



As a general rule for myself, I do not pattern mix. EVER. I hate mixing patterns. I generally can't pull it off and I have no concept of what patterns a person can get away with wearing and what patterns a person should never set outside the house in. However, I think the pattern in the scarf and the shirt go well together. They're both the same shade of green and blue and neither of the designs are too overpowering or overwhelming.

[pants: Old Navy, cardigan: Old Navy]

Why is it every outfit that I've done so far, all the clothing in that picture comes from the same place? Now you know where I like to shop!

Dressing up for something or other:



This might possibly be the world's stretchiest pencil skirt, which is why I have a deep fondness for it. It's stretchy and comfy, while still making you look presentable for church, events or even job interviews! The best part about this skirt is actually the fact that it's from Wal-Mart and only cost me $10!

[skirt: Wal-mart, cardigan: Old navy]

Casual:



Simple, cute and again, extremely comfortable! I love how wearing grey and green helps me accentuate a very neutral and earthy tone. I usually don't like layering a short sleeved top under a sleeveless top, but I like this outfit so much I'm willing to make an exception.

[jeggings: JC Penny, shirt: Old Navy]

Looking adorable without actually having to dress up:



This is the outfit I had planned out when I bought this top, so I knew it would make the cut into the five outfits. It's cute and everything matches. Also? Extremely comfortable. And this skirt is reversible, which makes it a 12 out of 10 in my book.

[Skirt: savers, cardigan: Old Navy]

So what have you learned about me from this post?

1. I only wear extremely comfortable clothing. If it isn't comfy, it isn't worth wearing!


2. I apparently only shop at three stores: Savers, Old Navy, and JC Penny.


3. I wear cardigans like I breathe air.