I have been welcomed into a wonderful group of fashion and lifestyle bloggers that focuses on styling preloved clothing and accessories in themed monthly posts (third Monday of the month). I hope that this showcase of secondhand items and outfits provides some shopping and style inspiration for anyone who is interested in creating great looks in a way that is sustainable for our planet and our pocketbooks. Today's topic is Summer Sparkle...and this was a tough one for me bec

Marsha at Marsha in the Middle is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the circa 1755 ink on silk scroll painting "Rooster, Hen, and Hydrangeas" by Japanese artist Ito Jakuchu. She wanted to find something that wasn't from a European artist, and a search of "obscure artists of the 17th century" turned up this piece, in which she loved "the colors, the movement, the flowers, and the roosters (or are they just plain chickens)." source:...

Today I'm continuing with my summer closet edit... -Grey tipped blazer post is here; -Navy short-sleeved jacket post is here; -Light blue Henley t-shirt post is here; -Slate blue skirt post is here. The fifth item leaving my closet is this navy pencil skirt from Walmart that I purchased 8 years ago for $10.50 (on sale). Just like with the slate blue skirt, I last wore this skirt in 2024 because in the summer of 2025, when I'd just left my job, I didn't feel like wearing skirt

Salazar at 14 Shades of Grey is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the July 1, 1919 cover for Vogue magazine by illustrator Helen Dryden. As she put it: "We’re at the height of summer, so I thought a summery image like this would be appropriate, and there’s a ton of inspiration here for an outfit as well (naturally, since it’s Vogue!)" Of course, I loved that there were so many colors and prints for us to work with in this drawing! sour

I have been welcomed into a wonderful group of fashion and lifestyle bloggers that focuses on styling preloved clothing and accessories in themed monthly posts (third Monday of the month). I hope that this showcase of secondhand items and outfits provides some shopping and style inspiration for anyone who is interested in creating great looks in a way that is sustainable for our planet and our pocketbooks. Today's topic is Summer Birthday Party...and I knew I wanted to "cele

Today I'm continuing with my summer closet edit... -Grey tipped blazer post is here; -Navy short-sleeved jacket post is here; -Light blue Henley t-shirt post is here. The fourth item leaving my closet is this thrifted slate blue skirt from M.M. LaFleur that I purchased 6 years ago. The $20 price tag was reasonable given that their skirts sell new for $195 and up. I have previously talked about this skirt as one that is high quality and feels very "fancy/professional" for work

Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the hand-colored etching "The Leader of the Luddites" published in 1812 by the printmaking firm Walker & Knight by an anonymous artist. As she put it: "While I don't condone violence of any sort, I still love what this illustration represents...opposition to technology taking away human jobs...I also love that this image offers some fun sartorial inspiration as well!"

Marsha at Marsha in the Middle is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the color lithograph "Stork Gather" by late 19th century Dutch artist Theo van Hoytema. She learned of this artist from another blogger, and she chose this particular artwork because "storks are beautiful, and the colors just spoke to [her.]" Of course, she had me at birds! source: https://marshainthemiddle.com I found it very easy to pull in pieces to interpret this a

Today I am featuring a denim skirt from Lands End that I like for its dark wash, knee length, and simple, classic silhouette. I consider this my warm season denim skirt because the length is perfect without tights. For cold weather when tights are the order of the day, I wear my somewhat shorter, more traditional "jeans-look" Levi's denim skirt (see Part 1 and Part 2 of my Levi's 30 wears post). A denim skirt is a great substitute for jeans in the summer, and it is more polis

Today I'm continuing with my summer closet edit... -Grey tipped blazer post is here; -Navy short-sleeved jacket post is here. The third item leaving my closet is this pretty blue t-shirt that I've had for 8 years. It's still in good condition after 19 wears, but this particular Henley style top is a bit of an awkward fit on my body, and now that it's a little snug, I don't love the way it looks across the chest because the fabric pulls oddly. I am not sorry to say goodbye to

This post is dedicated to the memory of our friend Iris from the Where Bloggers Live group. I think she would have appreciated this artwork! Salazar at 14 Shades of Grey is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the "Irises" folding screens by early 18th century Japanese artist Ogata Korin. In keeping with the summer season most of us are experiencing, she wanted "something summery and nature-themed" and thought this would be fun to interpr

I have been welcomed into a wonderful group of fashion and lifestyle bloggers that focuses on styling preloved clothing and accessories in themed monthly posts (third Monday of the month). I hope that this showcase of secondhand items and outfits provides some shopping and style inspiration for anyone who is interested in creating great looks in a way that is sustainable for our planet and our pocketbooks. Today's topic is Fringe...which is a tricky one for me because I don'

I am fortunate to have joined a talented group of bloggers for the Global Writing Challenge. Each month, we write about a very broadly defined topic, and the responses are quite varied. We recently welcomed two new members to the group: Amy and Cat. The newly revised group includes Deb’s World, Marsha in the Middle, Suzy Turner, Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After Again, Cat's Wire [Cat], Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa [Amy], and me. This month, I selected the topic o

Jodie and her crew recently styled black and white skirts 3 different ways, and it made me wonder how I have worn black and white skirts in the summer. I found 8 OOTD in my archives to share with you today to keep this summer outfit inspiration with this item going. (And I see no reason that these ideas wouldn't work with black and white pants, shorts, skorts, etc.!) First, a short introduction to the black and white skirt you'll see in most of my outfits...or a re-introduct

Today I'm continuing with my summer closet edit (the first post saying goodbye to my grey tipped blazer is here). My second item is this navy short-sleeved jacket that I've had for 6 years...I actually bought it at the same time as the grey tipped blazer so maybe it's unsurprising to discover that this is another woven zero stretch topper is also a bit too tight and uncomfortable this summer. It's unfortunate that it's leaving my closet with a cost per wear over my $1 goal,

With the official start of summer right around the corner, I have been looking at some of my warm weather clothes to decide whether to keep them or remove them from my closet. I have started my evaluation with my dressier work items [I am currently on a break from working, as discussed here]...not because any of them are too "business-y" to wear outside the office, but because my priorities are different now. I also haven't worn some of them for a couple years, so it makes s

Marsha at Marsha in the Middle is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the painting "Promenade" by early 20th century German Expressionist painter August Macke. She chose this artwork because she had heard of Expressionism but didn't know anything about it, and her search turned up this painting that she found delightful. source: https://marshainthemiddle.com/ The bright greens of the trees appealed to me, so I pulled out my thrifted Eloq

I have been welcomed into a wonderful group of fashion and lifestyle bloggers that focuses on styling preloved clothing and accessories in themed monthly posts (third Monday of the month). I hope that this showcase of secondhand items and outfits provides some shopping and style inspiration for anyone who is interested in creating great looks in a way that is sustainable for our planet and our pocketbooks. Today's topic is my choice of Hemlines...I thought that the Necklines

Salazar at 14 Shades of Grey is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the painting "Allegory of Astronomy" by 18th century French artist Joseph Fratrel. She chose this artwork because she was in the mood for a more classical piece after our recent modern artworks, and her love of anything astronomical/celestial plus Star Wars Day on May 4 ("May the Fourth be with you") made it the perfect option. source: https://14shadesofgrey.wordpress.co

Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the paper artwork portfolio by American artist Karen Hawkins. She chose this artwork because we have had 10 selections in a row that were colorful and she was ready for a more neutral piece. You know that she had me at "paper." Of the artworks shown on the artist's website, I selected this wall hanging from her "book cover + paper collages" section because I liked the