As always, I'm a sucker for stripes, so this combination of black + white stripes with that teal purse (a lovely color to be re-purposed) caught my eye in this collection of outfits composed of items costing under $20 apiece.
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| From pennypincherfashion.com |
Strangely enough, my outfit is NOT made up entirely of under $20 pieces. This hiking skirt from REI (purchased specifically for the Yellowstone trip a couple years ago) was a somewhat ridiculous $60. But I am apparently more willing to pay for "performance" clothing than I am other categories. And I've worn it 25 times since the Yellowstone trip (where it was a total champ), so it's working out pretty well for me.
Black knit hiking skirt (Patagonia/REI) [$60], $2.40/wear
Black and white striped long-sleeved T (Kohls) [$5.09], $0.64/wear
Teal puffy vest (Walmart) [$9], $1.80/wear
Mint/black/white floral scarf (thrifted) [$3.99], $1.33/wear
Black fuzzy boots (Walmart) [$20], $2.50/wear
Outfit total: [$98.08] $8.67/wear
Even with the pricey skirt and only one thrifted item, this outfit worked out to an average purchase price of $19.62 a piece, within the range of the original outfit. And I think it was incredibly snuggly and cute with the bright teal vest and the pattern mixing and the goofy fuzzy boots. So I declare a job well done.
This Polish rabbit is also working this color combination, thanks to a teal-green mat and beige wood chips in his cage. A tipped over light pink food dish adds an extra dimension of carefree chic.
In other news...I enjoyed these 15 quotes from Carrie Fisher. RIP.
This post on how often women repeat outfits to work (in professional offices) kind of cracked me up as I am going strong on no repeat outfits at all for at least a couple years now. Though I did come close over the Christmas holiday as I wore the same red bird print top and black tuxedo jacket (with different jeans and necklace) two times--once at my parents' house and once to visit Tam. But I think that I do have it easier than women who have to dress business professional--I feel that it's easier to mix and match things when you're going for business casual.
As far as noticing unique outfits goes, there is a woman in the HR department at my workplace who wears the same bright floral print top + black and white striped maxi skirt + black cardigan pretty much every week during the warmer part of the year. I like that floral + stripes combination too (hah, see above for evidence of that!) but I think wearing such a specific memorable combination of items so often is not a great idea, unless you want that outfit to be the thing people think of when you come to mind...and I think most of us are wanting our workplace associations to be a little more related to our actual work.
The comment thread was fascinating in that some women (who read a workplace fashion oriented blog) are reporting having like 6 tops + 6 skirts or 8 outfits they rotate between or other hard-to-imagine streamlined wardrobes. My favorite is the commenter who reported that she knew a (female) accountant in London who only had two work outfits--she switched between two blouses, ironing one each evening for the next day. Now, I'm not opposed to ironing, but I am pretty happy these days to be in a groove where I might iron 1-2 items per month.
I also just realized that I'm writing about repeating outfits/items of clothing while I am wearing the same vest that I wore two days ago. Hah, so apt. But I think we can agree that today's combination with black and stripes is a very different outfit from this one with brown corduroy...right?
4 comments:
I wear a lot of repeat outfits but they are not particularly memorable so I think I'm ok there. ;)
"Not memorable" is probably the way to go with repeat outfits.
The gal with the memorable outfit that she wears every week probably loves the outfit and wants to wear it all the time.
Hah, good point, and if she loves it, that works for me. In our workplace, it really doesn't matter.
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