Packing up my clothes closet today. In addition to sorting, folding, and making a big pile for Goodwill, I’m enjoying putting together some new outfit ideas.
This is a dress and shrug my grandmother made for my mother out of sapphire blue velveteen when she was a little girl. I paired it with the belt from an orange dress I found at a consignment shop in Missouri and a necklace my talented cousin Dawn made for me!
I must say that I owe all of the little bit of “style” I have to my Grandma Jane and to Blake. My grandmother collected and made all kinds of neat accessories and outfits over the years, and I have since been taking them off her hands a few at a time over the summers when we’re home visiting. I think I’m one of the few people in the family that, despite being a foot shorter than her, is near-ish in size. And, beyond that, I think I’m one of the few people that shares her same taste. I love the custom outfit she had made in Sweden, for example, that she said the whole family gave her a really hard time about when she bought it! Other neat items I’ve collected from her include a dark brown leather skirt, a spiky red leather belt, red leather suspenders, a brown bob wig (I’ve since just started cutting my hair in that style, so no need for the wig anymore!,) and several little shrugs, skirts, caps and coats made of velveteen. There are probably other items I’m forgetting…
And I have to thank Blake, of course. He has a really good eye for clothes, especially at thrift shops. Perhaps it’s related to his talent of being able to make amazing dinners out of whatever happens to be around in a kitchen. He spots things I would never have even thought to try on. I usually still protest, “That!?! No way!” But I know well enough these days to try it on, anyway. Who would have thought I’d be lucky enough to find a gourmet-cooking-clothes-horse husband?
In any case, I’m happily surprised at how few boxes it took to pack up my wardrobe. I’m not as much of a clothes horse as Blake, but I do love to wander around thrift stores. He checked out the Goodwill in Bowling Green today and says it has a lot of promise! It’s one of those where they organize everything by color. I love that!
This dress is a beauty! I love that Blake helps you pick out clothes. Jeremy is pretty into fashion. I rely on him to tell me what looks good. ( :