Romantic Blouse

Last week my daughter and I got to go thrifting. We had a fantastic time.  She got some skirts she could wear over her pregnant baby bump.

I found the blouse I'm wearing today. I also got a gold shrug that I'll show you later. After packing and moving all week long, it was nice to put on something pretty and stop feeling so grungy.

Stocking Up on Sewing Supplies

Happy to report that I just bought 2 Ziplock bags full of sewing notions, trim and tools and another bag of ribbons at the Goodwill in Atascadero, CA for about $13. That should keep me busy until I go home from my trip. I'll have to add the photos when I get home.

Fashion Collages Coming Soon

I'm out of town right now so I can't post photos, but I'm putting together a bunch of fashion collages with different themes like pattern mixing, frontier looks, textures, and so on. On the train ride up here I cut out a bunch of fashion photos from magazines and then once I got here I bought a tablet of 8x12" drawing paper to glue them all down. Then I'll do some DIY project to go with each collage board, so this is a long term project and I'll have exciting things to share in this blog if you want to follow along. I know I'm not the first person to have ever done this, but it will be fun all the same. And hopefully someone new to the game will find the information beneficial.

Once I got here I glued everything to the appropriate page.  Most of them were big photos so now I need to find smaller photos to fill in all the gaps. My friend gave me a big stack of fashion magazines to help me out but I only brought one with me on the train, because weight is a factor. I always buy stuff when I'm up here, so I always have more weight on the way home to carry.

I also realized that the size of the paper that was best for the collages won't fit on my scanner, so I'll have to take the photos with my digital camera and hope for the best.

Giving Up Off the Rack Clothing

Today I was thinking I bet I could live another five years without buying another off the rack garment. I have a fabric stash, tons of patterns, tons of clothes I could redesign. I like the freedom of designing my own wardrobe. Very few things off the rack fit me anyway. I'm bigger than average. I have broad shoulders and long arms. I have wide calves. Many of us, maybe even most of us, can't wear off the rack clothing without some alterations. Plus people tend to give me clothes. Yardsellr just sent me a free t-shirt for example. Or I can knit or crochet vests and scarves and hats. This is good news since I don't like to shop. I really don't. It's tiring, nothing fits right, it's overpriced and never seems to come in the colors or prints that I want, and salesclerks are well known for being rude to fatter older women. There are so many things I'd rather do with my time than shop. Years ago I made my own wedding dress. I figure if I can do that, I can sew just about anything.

I'd rather spend time in nature than shop.

Nude, Blush, Turquoise

Today I was on Pinterest and got swept away looking at fashions in the color nude, which lead to fashions in the color blush, and then on to turquoise. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll post the screen captures. to see the entire collection, click on the links on 'nude' and 'turquoise' above.
I think turquoise and blush/nude would look very nice together.

Scarf Ideas

Wearing a scarf is a quick and easy way to get more mileage out of the looks you can put together with garments you already have. So get those scarves out of the drawer or closet and give them a walk around the park.

Source: google.com via Annette on Pinterest

Make a Rose Stencil T-shirt

I just cut out a rose stencil that I drew by hand on Bristol board. I thought I'd scan it and post it here for you to use for free on anything your little heart desires, as long as you don't sell the item commercially. It's almost dark so I won't apply it to the t-shirt until tomorrow. So basically for the price of a t-shirt ($5.), two bottles of fabric paint (pink and green about $3.00), and a few on hand craft supplies like tape and scissors, I'll have a new t-shirt.

Rose Stencil by Fayme Harper. Click on photo to see large version.

 

 

Print free rose stencil on card stock or plastic sheets and cut dark area out carefully with a craft knife.
If you are handy with an air brush you can use that instead of a stencil brush. Resize the stencil if you need a larger or smaller one.

Green Outfit and New Heels

Today I went to Payless, about the only local store I can find affordable shoes in wide widths. It sucks to have wide feet and miss out on so many great styles, yet shoe manufacturers insist on catering to the narrow spectrum of shoe sizes.
There was another pair I wanted but they just weren't quite big enough.  I may find them at another Payless so the helpful clerk printed out the stock number so I can call around. The other pair is black with a shiny snakeskin type texture.

I also got a pair of shiny black ballet flats. I hate shoe shopping. I only buy what I need and wear them out before I get new ones.

This blouse I bought for my daughter's wedding years ago. I've already gotten my money's worth out of it long ago. The skirt is from Holyclothing dot com.

Red Maxi Dress

Yesterday I just threw something on and didn't bother taking a photo.  Today I wore my favorite long dress and cringed when I saw the photos. Why is it that the clothes that look the best feel the worst? I took 65 photos and finally gave up. Here are the best photos.

Jumpsuits and Rompers

On Good Day LA Style File they did a fashion forecast and said jumpsuits and rompers are back in style.  Ever since the late '70's I've been wondering why they hadn't been brought back.  Much like a dress, where it's easy to throw on and wear, jumpsuits make it super simple to get dressed. My mom loved wearing rompers too. Now if they'd just bring back culottes.

The one thing to be careful about when making a jumpsuit is to get the crotch length right. Otherwise you'll end up with a permanent wedgie and it will drive you nuts. Adjust the crotch length on the pattern if you need too.

Somehow I don't think I'm going to look the same in a jumpsuit as I did in the 70's though.

My Birthday 3/365

I wanted to dress up for my birthday. Now that I see photos of this outfit it doesn't look as good as it feels. I love these pants.  They are so comfy and it's nice not to have to wear stretch pants. But I don't think they look all that flattering.
I love this top as well, but it's already too small. I can wear it for a few hours but I always take it off the minute I get home.

Today's Outfit is a black blouse and green draw string pants

These are called 'Spoolies' and they usually work really well.  But I got them wet in the shower and the curl fell out.

I like my pictures fine from the waist up. But from the waist down, not so much.

Happy Birthday to Me

Day 2 Green Skirt and Wolf T-shirt

wolf t-shirt close up

back view

metal bracelet

metal ring

Gold Heart Hair Pin

 

I love this skirt that I got from Holyclothing.  I get a lot of compliments on it. As much as I think people judge too much by appearance and not by the content inside, for the first time ever the grouchy lady upstairs passed me on the lawn and said, "You look very nice today." Wow. 

If you look in your jewelry stash you'd be amazed at all the things you have that go together.  I found this metal flower ring in a bag in the bathroom. Then the bracelet I've been wearing also has a metal flower on it. It's too bad you can't see the accessories in the full figure shot so I took some close-ups. 

The top was an after Halloween bargain at Walmart. It's a bit tight, so I need to either re-purpose it or lose weight. I might trace the art and put it on a new t-shirt. 

The heart hair pin is really a brooch. I made a braid and pinned the pin at the top. I think I got it in a jar full of assorted jewelry bits I bought at a yard sale. So the most expensive thing in this outfit is the skirt, which was about $45. new at Holy Clothing.

First Post and Happy New Year

It's New Year's Day and I can't think of a better day to start a wardrobe and fashion blog showing outfits I put together or in some cases just threw on. I'm an artist and an entertainer so I don't exactly dress like the latest mannequin at Macy's. I'm interested in fashion but not ruled by it. Most of the time I laugh at it, but I still have to get dressed and go on with my day right?
I'm also not slender.  That ship sailed about 30 years ago. Now I'm more about doing the best I can with what I have. So if fat old women scare you, best to be moving along.

 This outfit represents my love for color and pattern. The scarf is a recent find at a local shop called J's Fashion or something in Buena Park, CA. The skirt is from Walmart. This year I do need to buy new shoes.  I'm down to the shoes I'm wearing in the photo, and my flip-flops. I hate buying shoes though because I have wide feet and I really don't want to spend more than $20 a pair. So I usually get shoes at Payless Shoe Source. The sequin belt is actually two belts linked together. I found them at the .99 shop down the street. I hope to prove to you that you don't have to spend $300 or more per outfit to have something you like to wear.