Couldn't bear to give it up

The other day while I was modelling and photographing items to list on etsy, I tried on this dress and took a bunch of pictures of myself in it. After posing in it and looking at the pictures, I realized that I really didn't want to give it up. At least not yet.

The realization surprised me a little bit. I mean, I knew it was a cool dress, but when I bought it over the summer I didn't think it felt like me. I guess my sense of what kinds of things I'm comfortable in has expanded somewhat.


So I wore it to school today for teaching. Nobody commented on it, but I felt all day that a) I looked damn good, and b) I was way overdressed for the environment.

I guess I should be used to the fact that nobody else dresses up in vintage dresses to go to school, but I'm not. It makes me kind of sad, actually, that I seem to be the only one.

Outfit details:
Dress: thrifted in Lawrence, KS, this summer
Shoes: thrifted at my local Goodwill store (I love that place!)

No New Clothes Initiative 2.0

Last winter I embarked on a No New Clothes Initiative in which I didn't buy any new clothes for six months, instead only buying thrifted or otherwise repurposed or recycled clothes. After that project ended, I allowed myself to buy some new clothes (buying mostly basics--jeans, tank tops, tights--and a couple of splurge items) over the summer.


Now, though, I'm ready to take on the No New Clothes Initiative again, this time with an additional rule: no ebay.

The project has already unofficially begun, so I'm going to count the start date as September 27th, just like last year, so that the end date can be my birthday, March 27th.


I do this in part to save money, in part to diminish my environmental impact, and in part because I simply like the challenge. I'm looking forward to this. Part of my love of fashion, after all, is wrapped up in the thrill of finding the perfect item in the midst of all the not-perfect stuff at the thrift store and in the excitement of discovering something wonderful I'd never dreamed of. For me, those joys can't be matched by buying new, mass-produced clothing.


[All outfits featured in this post are fully thrifted.]