Secrets of a Secondhand Shopaholic

Hello and welcome!  I have lots to tell you about this little outfit, which is loosely based on June 15th’s Inspiration Calendar outfit.  Yes, I am that far behind…

If you’re new to this blog, click here to read about the Inspiration Calendar and how I use it in my daily outfit decisions.

Price Breakdown:

Lime green cardi:  label missing, 1/2 of 2-piece set $3.89 (Goodwill)

Brown cami:  Daisy Fuentes $2.29 (Goodwill)

Skirt:  Harold Powell $5.00 (Baubles and Beads, Houston)

Necklace:  $7.99 Jewelry store in Estes Park

Shoes:  Franco Sarto $14.99 (DSW)

Total Cost:  $34.07

Like most of my outfits, the jewelry is the most expensive item I’m wearing (except for the shoes).  And this necklace is only $7.99.  I love to pat myself on the back when that happens!!

OK, now let me tell you why I love this outfit:

1.  It represents how far I’ve come in style – specifically, USING COLOR.

I have had this skirt for almost 10 years, and I have always worn it with a brown jacket or top, like the outfit on the left:

Since the Inspiration Calendar called for “Pretty Green”, and I didn’t have a green dress, I reached for the lime green cardigan above, which is the prettiest green thing I own.  It brightened up the skirt quite a bit, don’t you think?

2.  It represents how far I’ve come in style – specifically, BREAKING UP MY SWEATER SETS.

Wearing the brown cami under the green cardigan is the result of some excellent instruction from You Look Fab Forum veteran member “Queenie”.  After posting this white sweater set outfit (on the left), in the YLF Forum, and asking for advice, Queenie decided it was time for a “mini-intervention” to help me break my sweater set habit.  Here’s what she said:

Queenie:  “First off I want you to go to your closet and break up any sweater set you have hanging on the same hanger. go ahead… I can wait all day ..

Done? good… Now you can look at your sweater sets objectively as separate items of clothing rather than a pair that needs to be worn together. Your sweater sets are hereby declared divorced and are free to date around ….

And since your sleeveless shirts will all be hung together and your cardis hung together further down the bar, they won’t even see each other in the closet…..”

Is she wonderful or what??  So I took her advice, and the Pretty Green cardi paired with the brown cami about is the result.  Quite an improvement, wouldn’t you say?

Have I mentioned how much I love the YLF Forum!  I’m already practicing my acceptance speech for the Glamour Fashion “Most Improved Fashionista” award, in which they’ll be at the top of my list to thank….

3.  The Lime Green Necklace. I love this necklace that I bought in Estes Park, along with two other bright colored bead necklaces – yellow and light blue. Hello lovers!

4.  And finally, the Harold Powell skirt. Harold Powell is an upscale retail apparel brand in the south (Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, etc.) which features, according to  Answers.com, “specialty clothes for men and women ages 20 through 50, although typically the “updated traditional” styles appeal mostly to young executives and college students.”

I find that interesting, because I am neither a young executive nor a college student…..but whomever their demographic is, I just know I found a heck of a lot of cute Harold Powell clothes in the consignment shops of Houston when I lived there. Here’s a handful of some of the skirts I have – notice the pretty colors and bold patterns:

All in all, my “Pretty Green” outfit was a nice little Comfort Clothes ensemble, wouldn’t you say?