Tag: quick read

The Struggle: SUMMER FASHION

Published on by jamielanelleLeave a comment

It was basically 80 degrees today in Seattle, which means yet another summer approaches. I scrolled through my fashion Instagram earlier because I often use my own previous outfits as #outfitinspo, and I only found two really hot summer outfits from last year. The most exciting my hot weather wardrobe got was in Tahiti, where I mostly wore the same three pairs of shorts & shirts because they were comfortable and I was sunburnt.

Those striped shorts from the first picture featured heavily in my few hot summer outfits. I guess they are the most interesting?

My brother has been really digging into his personal style as of late, and continually texts me: “Does this look stylish?” He says, sending me a picture of yet another shirt and shorts look. To clarify, our styles are basically opposite. While Brent loves minimal looks with a bit of pizzazz, my looks are maximalist pattern mixed chaos. Yet we both have the same struggle – summer fashion is, to us, boring.

It’s boring. There I said it. BORING. Yes, there are super cute sundresses but a lot of a wardrobe is built in separates. I am not going to have ten or fifteen different sundresses, and for Brent who prefers more masculine looks, this isn’t even an option. And yes, I’ll admit that you can play around with silhouettes and lengths but unless you’re wearing a dress or romper, most of summer fashion boils down to: shorts/skirt & shirt. That’s it! There are no more layers or fun things to add because it is just too hot. Even today, I had Oliver take some photos of my outfit. When I asked him, he initially seemed surprised.

“This outfit?” He asked, as I handed over my phone.

“Yes!” I responded. I asked why he was so hesitant.

“Well, it’s not really that interesting,” he replied.

“Yes! That’s exactly the point I want to make!”

– Oliver and I, earlier today
The not-very-interesting outfit I had Oliver take pictures of today.

I’ve recently been on a bit of a journey to try and accept more minimalism in my fashion life. I scroll through so many cute accounts and blog posts and videos of people that are just in jean shorts and a white button down and they look so fresh and clean! Then I put the same outfit on myself and I feel like I am missing something critical – think those dreams where you are in class and realize you aren’t wearing any pants, that’s the feeling. I just want to add more: another pattern, another layer, something interesting. While I struggle with this year round to be honest (a couple of my recent forays into trying this out in cooler weather are pictured below) it’s easy enough to quell the something-missing feeling with another layer. “Oh, I’ll just toss on this jacket” I’ll say, or “I can add a collared shirt underneath.” With summer clothing, this becomes cumbersome and sweaty.

Some of my latest versions of simple outfits. In each case, I struggled to post them because they didn’t feel like enough, but the graphic sweaters helped convince me.

What really struck me about this infinite struggle in my life, is that Brent is having the same problem. Is it that less fabric = less interesting? Is it harder for us to somehow make a #look now that we have just less yardage to work with? In Brent’s minimalist style, the outfits above are honestly entirely too much, and in mine they are too little. Yet in summer wear, we feel the same. Does anyone else struggle with this as much as we do?

I decided to go back in time – I’ve traveled before to Del Rio for 4th of July where it is quantifiably hot. I thought perhaps that my Pacific Northwest locale had ruined my own inclinations toward cute summer clothing. So I went back in time… and found that I had very few outfit pictures from our Del Rio trips. You might be tempted to say it’s just because I was too busy enjoying my time with family, and to some degree you might be correct. However, I know that my need to prove that I was cute one day usually outweighs this (and Del Rio is accompanied with plenty of downtime for narcissistic photo shoots). I went back even further to our first trip to Seattle, which was warmer than we thought it would be, and still found no inspiration.

This is the best I could find from ALL 4 trips (three Del Rio, one Seattle). It’s really not a lot.

When I look at all of these pictures, the outfits are cute, sure, but none of them really feel like anything to write home about. I can tell that I’ve tried to spice a few of them up – I added a cardigan, or I included some fun contrasting socks – but for the most part they are just shorts and a t-shirt (or a sundress). They feel lackluster, and are definitely not inspiring. I don’t find myself wanting to repeat or recreate them.

I usually try to end these posts with an upside or lesson – something that we’ve discovered together – but in this case I really don’t know what the answer is. Perhaps I just need to keep wearing what is comfortable and find joy in the simplicity of summer clothing. Perhaps I will always feel like summer fashion is missing something and just wear clothes cause I have to. Perhaps I will find the thing that really cracks summer fashion (though more likely, I’ll realize that the thing is all in my mind).

Perhaps I will just soak up the sunshine while I wait for fall fashion to bring me life in layered patterns again.

Do you have the same struggles? If summer’s your jam, any tips you want to share? Do you have a season that you struggle to dress for? Share in the comments below!

How To: Thrift vs. Consignment

Published on by jamielanelleLeave a comment

As sustainable fashion becomes trendy, secondhand clothing is having a major moment! Rifling through clothes previously owned by others and finding the perfect thing at the perfect price is such a rush! Leaving the store with a bag of new goodies and knowing that you haven’t fed more money into fast fashion certainly helps as well.

A while back, I was bonding with an acquaintance over our love for thrift shopping. We decided that we must go together!

So she picked a couple of stores, and we headed out on our thrifting adventure. Boy was I surprised when we walked into a consignment boutique instead of a thrift store like I was expecting. When we’d talked, I thought we were on the same page! After attempting to explain the error to Oliver, I realized that a lot of people aren’t fully aware of the differences.

While for the most part, it’s not a big deal, there are some key differences which could cause a problem for your shopping or donation adventure!

THE BASICS

Thrift Stores:

  • get their clothes and other items as donations for free
  • often have cheaper pricing
  • quality of clothing is not guaranteed
  • styles are dependent on location/clientele
  • offer a wide variety of items in one location (clothes, furniture, home goods, etc.)
Thrifted pieces: the sweater and the jeans.
Basics, not particularly interesting brands, and purchased for under $20.

Consignment Shops:

  • pay compensation for their donations
  • usually have higher pricing (though still far below market for new items)
  • quality of clothing tends to be higher
  • styles dependent on curator and current market demands
  • often specialize in one type of item (clothes or furniture or home goods, etc.)
Consignment item: this lovely dress.
Quality fabric (100% silk), designer brand, purchased for $45.

It’s helpful to think of consignment shops as more like a museum and thrift stores as a gift shop: museums are curated quality items while gift shops can vary widely in price and quality. 

Thrift stores and consignment shops serve different purposes for different shoppers, so keeping in mind the key differences listed above can help you find exactly what you’re looking for. Some good guiding questions:

  • Are you looking to find a good price on a designer item?
  • Are you looking to save as much money as possible?
  • Are you expecting monetary compensation for in style pieces from brands?
  • Are you trying to get rid of as many things as you can?

When shopping, I tend to prefer consignment for fancier things like event dresses because they will have higher quality and often more modern or in style items.  I also look here for coats and shoes which I consider investment items – items in my wardrobe that I want to last a long time or survive a lot of wear and tear.

On the other hand, I tend to prefer the thrift store for general clothing (sweaters, t-shirts, jeans) as they will have a larger selection that isn’t limited by modernity, trend, or brand. I also find that thrift stores are better for costumes – you’ll be able to see a much wider variety of things and won’t spend as much money on something you will likely only wear once.

That being said – you can’t go wrong with secondhand clothing – especially gifts!

Coat: gift from a friend! (though this would have likely been consignment if I’d purchased it)
Pants: thrifted for $5
Joy of Looking Fabulous: priceless 🙂

Have you ever gotten mixed up in the wrong type of store? Do you have any other questions or information about the differences between thrift and consignment? Comment below!