So Color Blocked

I recently had one of those days I've heard thrift addicts speak of, when your vehicle just seems to navigate itself to the nearest thrift store despite your stern objections to the rerouting of your predetermined destination.

Have you had one of those days???  It's ok to admit to it!!!  Just nod slightly or blink two times fast; we've all been there.

See what happened was...Ruby (my car) set off on her own course and rerouted me to the Salvation  Army.  "But Ruby it's not  Wednesday, we won't  find  anything  for 50% off," I challenged to no avail. A challenge to which Ruby responds, "You have arrived. "

So, I begrudgingly walk in and begin to peruse, all the time thinking  "I told you  this was a waste of gas."  Until...I arrive at a section of dresses.  I've  had a long-sleeved dress on my thrift list and now that an artic blast is upon us a long-sleeved dress would be perfect.

I spot black knit long sleeves and make  my way  over, as I slide the other garments to the side a lovely treasure is revealed.   Now, this dress is very much out of my comfort  zone.   If you read my previous  post you know thrifting has caused  me to step outside of that zone.

The dress is $9.99 with a yellow tag...not the color  of the day. (Boooooo)  I try it on anyway and (HOORAY) it fits beautifully.

I don't normally photograph myself for posts, but, this dress makes me want to pose in the nearest  intersection pretending to hail a cab (or catch a snowflake) while Color Blocking traffic!

                   @~~~~I'm So Rosie
                       Stay Rosy Y'all

What do you think about my find?  How would you style this piece? 

100% Thrifted

I've been thrifting for almost a year  now and one of the things I love most about  my new found  passion is how versatile my style  has become.   Most people  who know me know that I never repeat outfits.   I don't  put something  together and then wear it the same way ever.  One reason  being,  I won't  remember  the  combination.  Well then you might be wondering  "how do you know  you haven't  repeated  an outfit?"  Trust  me I just know.  The second  reason is, its just more fun to find news ways to wear an item.  I've been reading  lots of blogs that suggest identifying 3 ways to style a piece before  deciding to buy.   That's a really good tip but honestly  if I'm  thrifting  and I love it I'm  buying it regardless if I can figure out right then and there how to style it in  3 ways.

Thrifting has made not repeating outfits  easier on my purse for sure.   So now I find myself purchasing items I ordinarily  wouldn't purchase at retail.  It also makes  trying out a Pinspired outfit  that much more palatable. 

I'm  still new to posting  my ramblings but I hope to one day figure out how to post my pinspirations without  fear of some copyright infringement concerns. I may never get to that stage but if anyone  is reading this just know most my outfit posts  are usually a recreation of some  sort. 

Anyways on to the outfit.   I Thrifted all 3 pieces.  The blazer (100% wool) is so awesome,  when I set eyes on it, I didn't give it a second thought.  The pants are Ann Taylor skinny corduroy.  I hated wearing  corduroy as a kid because  of that noise  they make when your  legs rub together.  You know the noise!  The boots are  Nine West.  I added  a little  sparkle  with a sequins tank and a red necklace  to break up the black.

For some reason  it felt  very  New Years eve(ish)!  I just may repeat  this  one after all !

                      @~~~~I'm So Rosie

                           Stay Rosy Y'all

Salvation Army Soldier

I went marching into my local Salvation Army with my battalion in tow ( my 10y and 8mo. old.) on "Customer Appreciation Day" .  All clothing items 50% off.  

I readied myself for a battle with the crowds... to my relief there were no crowds, no crowds=at ease soldiers.  I was free to peruse at me leisure.  * Well, that is, until baby boy gets fussy and then you know its time to go - and there's mad dash to the register*

I had specific items in mind:
Plaid Shirt
Booties
Polka Dot Pencil Skirt
High Waisted Pants
Camo Pants
China- Tea Cups (really pretty ones, I LOVE tea and so I'm going to have a tea party!!)

I came up short on all these items but I did manage to score a few nice things; including 3 pairs of Aldo shoes.  I left behind a pair of Yves Saint Laurent boots,  a little too worn for my liking.  Some items I'll keep, others I'll give away or sell. 

If anyone is actually reading these post you may recall that I recently took up sewing.  Well, I found a cute little brown (Banana Republic) corduroy skirt during this visit.  The zipper was spoiled so I managed to get it for $.99.  My plan is to use this to learn how to replace a zipper on a garment.   If I do well, this cute skirt will be rocked this fall with printed opaque tights and booties. If not, you may just be picking up a D.I.Y gone wrong from the Goodwill (and saying "WhattheEff").  It may look a little like a tote bag with a crooked zipper!!

              @~~~~I'm So(Sew)Rosie
                       Stay Rosie Y'all

Giving Back - Dressing For A Cause

I'm rockin' denim this month for a good cause!  It's not very often I get the opportunity to wear jeans to work.  So I'm thrilled to be doing so this month in support of the United Way, via my company's Jeans Day campaign.  

A win win for everyone!  I get to wear jeans and do my philanthropic duties, my community benefits from my individual contribution and hopefully my company has a successful campaign.

There are rules, of course, about the type of jeans that can be worn. Obviously, they must be clean, nothing skin tight, NO HOLES, etc.

Wait a minute have the rule makers been shopping lately?  It is dang near impossible to find a pair of jeans that don't look like they're about to fall apart.   Everything is distressed, ripped, frayed and just plain ole' holey. 

This is going to be quite a challenge.  Well, I accept your challenge and raise you 20 outfits styled with work appropriate jeans. Side note: big shout out to Pinterest and all the pinners for inspiration.

How does thrifting fit into this you may ask?  Luckily, during my adventures in thrifting I've picked up a few jeans and accessories to create office appropriate looks that are casual but professional. 

I'm 3 days in and here's what I've pulled together so far.  I've gotten a lot of compliments; in part, because people still can't believe I just had a baby.  *I guess that's a good thing- color me flattered*

I fully plan to put my blazer collection to good use during this challenge, but, I have a few thrifted chambray shirts, denim dresses and even a denim skirt that I plan to wear.

If you have any suggestions I would love to see or hear them.  I'd especially like to hear about how you've dressed for a cause.

@~~~~ I'm So Rosie
Stay rosy y'all.

Road Trip

I spent part of my day laying out outfits in anticipation of my upcoming road trip.  I'm REALLY looking forward to some me time.  After all I haven't taken a vacation this year with the arrival of the baby and all.

With the pending season change, I'm thinking I should be ready for temperature swings.  Warm days and cool nights.

Luckily, I picked up a few pieces over the summer and during my ready for fall haul, that will transition well into the fall. I'm still working on my club look, but, I think I have most of my activities covered. 

I hope to eat, drink, party and thrift like a rockstar in my destination city.

All the pieces below were thrifted with the exception of the Camo jacket and the blue shirt.  The Camo jacket from Old Navy was originally $39.95, I paid about $17 after using all my rewards.  I had a Camo jacket long ago that I would "borrow" from my brother.   It eventually went missing.   Hmmmm....

Do you go thrifting when you visit a new city?  How do you go about locating the best thrift spots?

@~~~~I'm SoRosie

Stay Rosy y'all.

What I Wore to Work (9.4.14): Accordion Pleats

I don't know about you, but when I shop I don't shop for an outfit.  I shop for pieces I love or like a LOT. Then, I take my find(s) and see how I can use it with pieces I already own or recently purchased.

Ever since I began thrifting I've been keeping stock of my outfits trying to see at what point I've created a look that was 100% thrifted.  Is that weird?

Anyways, I got pretty darn close with this one.  All the pieces were thrifted with the exception of the cardigan, but, I got it from an outlet so that counts, right? I'm quite sure I didn't pay a lot for it.

Normally I jot down where, when and what I scored on my thrifting sprees but for some reason I could only find my notes on the shoes.  Time for a new system!

Here's what I wore:
Cardigan (Gap) Outlet
Shell(The Limited) Thrifted
Skirt (I.N.C) Thrifted
Shoes (Nine West) Thrifted-Goodwill

I love this accordion skirt.  I thought it would wrinkle and not wear well throughout the day.  Boy oh boy was I wrong, those pleats have some serious bounce back.

@~~~~ I'm So Rosie
Stay Rosy y'all.

My system!

50 Cent

NO, no, not that guy.  The price I paid for these awesome mustard cropped pants!

Yes, this girl scored those pants for $.50.

I'm not saying I'll never shop retail again but I'm feeling some kinda way about paying sale price when I can pay resale price.  

I bought a similar pair (see the pink pants) when the Talbots outlet store in my area was going out of business.  (It was a bitter sweet day).  

For comparison sake, the pink pair retailed for $129.00.  They were ultimately marked down to $69.99, but, I paid about 10 bucks for 'em.  Hold on...let me do the math...now I'm no mathematician but I paid about 2000% less for the mustard pair than I did for the pink. 

I picked up 17 other items on this thrift run for a total of $9.54.  Less than I paid for the pink pants. *shakes head in disbelief*.

So Long Summer

I don't know about you but with school back in session I'm feeling like the summer is unofficially over.  

Each year, I hate to say goodbye to the sweet summer breezes, freedom from elementary school homework, the abundance of delectable fruits and most of all my requisite trips to the beach.   But as much as I hate saying so long to summer; I welcome the cool temps of the fall.

Looking back over the summer I recall my favorite outfit.  It's my favorite for 2 reasons:

(1) It makes me to reminisce on my trip to Savannah, GA. If you haven't been you should totally go; and if you currently live there...lucky you!
(2) I wore my favorite thrifted item of the season with this outfit   This darling mint necklace was my favorite jewelry find so far.  The denim jacket was a thrift find as well from the Salvation Army.

Another thing I like about this outfit is I can easily transition it into the fall with a quick change of accessories. 

What was your favorite outfit of the summer?  I'd love to see it and hear why it was your fave.  Do you have any outfits you plan to transition between seasons?      

Ready for FALL Haul

I'm going on a 3 day thrifting spree to check out my local thrift shops.  I'm in search of items to transition into fall.  Who am I kidding???  I'm in search of whatever catches my eye and is a good price.

Today (8.8.14) was a good day but let's see what tomorrow brings.

Here's what I scored:
Tuxedo Blazer - 4.94
Corduroy Blazer - 3.28
Patterned Blouse - 3.93
Reversible Blouse - 3.93 (I really was fascinated by this shirt, its two shirts in one LOL @ myself...don't judge me!!!)
DB Purse - 12.51

Overall I'm very happy with my weekend finds.  I can't wait to wear the Tuxedo blazer.

This was just the beginning...in my next post, more photos of what I scored.

Like SUMMER

When I put this outfit together I thought it was too neutral.   My 10 year old thought otherwise, "you look like summer", he said.  Like Sun & Sand I thought; and so I went with it.

And guess what,  it worked!  I got lots of compliments today.

Shirt - Express (Thrifted w/ tags...SCORE!)
Skirt - Talbots Outlet
Blazer - New York and Company
Shoes - 9&Co. JCP

@~~~~I'm So Rosie

Stay rosy y'all!