Secrets of a Secondhand Shopaholic

Since the day I decided to write this blog, there have been two significant changes in my daily life:

1.  I have started to read as many fashion blogs as I can.

2.  Every day I come home and take a picture of the outfit I wore.

Both of these changes in my life have affected me in several ways.   First of all, although I have always put some thought into what I wear on a daily basis, now I am even more obsessed about it.   Reading daily blogs on what people wear and fashion is probably like a food junkie subscribing to Cake Photograph of the Week Club.  It really increases the temptation to shop.

And I still feel like a dork taking a photograph of what I wear, yet I am strangely drawn to other people’s websites who do the same…So I turn off that “You are such a dork” voice in my head, and trudge on through.  The result has  been that  I’ve learned some things about my wardrobe.

For instance, one week after taking photos of what I wore every day, I realized that three  out of five days last week I wore a long skirt.  That made me think – do people even wear long skirts anymore?  Am I the only one?  And the fact that I’m short – only 5’3″ am I a fashion disaster?

This would kill me, because I just checked my wardrobe, and I have 38 long skirts.  Eliminating all my long skirts would put a huge hole in my wardrobe.

So here are the long skirt outfits I wore last week:

Black Jacket – Petite Sophisticates (Consignment Shop – $18.99) The inset shows the nice tailored built-in ‘belt’

Black/White patterned Skirt — A.  Byer (Consignment Shop – $12.99)  The inset shows the pattern – I love this pattern  because it looks like a Jerry Garcia tie design.

White sleeveless Turtle Neck — White House Black Market (Goodwill – $2.89) This is one of the best items I have ever purchased.

Purple/Black Jacket – Garfield and Marks (Consignment Shop – $24.99) First of all, I just recently learned how expensive these jackets are when they are purchased new.  Yea for me!

But take a look at how long those sleeves are! I never even noticed until I saw this picture. How embarrassing. Like I said, working on this blog has brought new realizations about my wardrobe.    Time to call my tailor, I guess!

Black Skirt – AGB (Goodwill – $4.89) Five of my 38 long skirts are solid black ones.  This is one of the five.  They all look exactly the same.  If you ever doubted I was a shopaholic, this is proof.

Brown Jacket – Banana Republic (Consignment Shop – $18.99)

Brown/White Flower patterned Skirt – Banana Republic (Consignment Shop – $10.00)  This skirt is on my “Top 10 items I would Save in a Fire” list.  I absolutely love it, and have had it for years.

So here’s my dilemma.  Are long skirts fashionable?

(I feel like Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City asking ‘Can women be friends with their ex-boyfriend?’)

I look at these pictures, and even though they are photos of me, I love the outfits.  If I saw these outfits in a fashion magazine, or on someone else, walking through the skywalk, I would look at them and think to myself, “That’s a classy outfit.”

So  I Googled:   “Long skirt, fashion,”  here’s what I found:

“Usually worn by women in their late 20s and 30s, long skirts are generally preferred by confidant, sophisticated women who can boast a life well lived.”

“Unlike short skirts and mini-skirts, a long skirt looks elegant everywhere that it’s worn.’

OK, even though I’m not in my 20s or 30s, I can live with this ……