Final Costume - German Girl

Found the dirndl dress at Goodwill for $5. My mother-in-law had the blouse, shawl, and my husband's wig. I already had the hats for the boys, and my daughter's outfit is from an antique mall. I used ties to make the German style suspenders.

I was saving my last costume idea for today because we only wore this last night to a costume Birthday party. Had to save it till the day I had planned to wear it, of course!

We don't celebrate Halloween, but we like to pass out candy to the kids, and sometimes we find a good excuse to put on a costume. Glad this year we had the party to go to!

Pink and Chambray

 

Almost, just almost wore my Ugg style boots instead of these cute wedge booties. How could I, right? They really are so comfy, though, and I think they are cute in an "I-don't-care'what-I-look-like" sort of way. These wedges are really comfy, too, though. Style doesn't always mean uncomfortable.

 

Chambray shirt - Gap - thrifted for $3

White t-shirt - Mossimo/Target - thrifted for $3

Jeans - thrifted for $3

Scarf - H&M - $7

Puffer vest - J.Crew Outlet - $20

Booties - Target - $8

Shop My Closet

Please note I've added a "Shop My Closet" page (see tab on the main page of my blog). Mainly I will try to sell the vintage gowns that I alter. Vintage dresses are delicate and cannot be worn often, so I am hoping to pass them on to you ladies who might get one or two more wears out of them. For now my "vintage collection" is piling up in my closet and I'm running out of events to wear them all to.

Perhaps you need a special dress for a wedding or party. Stand out with a completely unique dress that you are guaranteed that no one else has and buy one of these altered vintage dresses for that special event of yours.

 

The dresses are all listed at either $20 or $25. Free shipping. I only accept Paypal. If you are interested in an item, send me a comment or email me at domesticsophisticate@gmail.com. I will send you my Paypal address if you want to buy. Thanks for looking!

Go To Outfit For Fall

This has been my go to Fall outfit for the past five years. Jeans, boots, sweater and jacket. I probably have more than a hundred outfit photos with a combination like this. But then, you can ever have enough of a good thing? What is your go to look for Fall?

 

Corduroy blazer - H&M - $20

Sweater - J.Crew - thrifted for $3

Jeans - J.Brand - gifted

Boots - Jessica Simpson - gifted

Finally Time for Tights

I've finally caught up to my scheduled posts. I wore this today for church.

 

I found this dress on the clearance rack at Target a few weeks ago and figured it would only work on a warm day, but this morning I noticed that all the colors of the dress were outlined in black, so why not add black tights?

 

Are these platforms not made for this dress?!

 And the green in my bracelet is the exact color of green in the dress.

I just happened to dress my children to match me - they are so cute!

 My son and I are "cool dudes" in our leather jackets.

Dress - Target (from The Webster Miami collection) - $5

Leather jacket - gifted

Tights - Kohl's - $2

Pumps - Steve Madde - gifted

Earrings - hand-me-down

Bracelets - gifted

Spring in the Autumn

I cannot believe that Goodwill had this J.Crew skirt - I'm in love! I thought I'd be pairing it with burgundy tights, boots, sweaters and scarves to make it work for the fall, but the day I wore this, it was 80 degrees out. So yeah, I look like Spring in the Fall!

I spent an entire evening a few nights ago pouring over a search on Pinterest for "Converse Sneakers." I have been wanting a pair for a while now that my Crewcut sneakers are starting to bite the dust. I was so inspired by the outfits on Pinterest styled around the iconic shoe, which is how I came up with this outfit. 

 Loving my pale pink jewelry, too!

 And don't judge me too harshly for looking like Spring. Blush is a Pantone color for Fall this year!

(Image from Pantone.com).

Jersey t-shirt - Banana Republic - thrifted for $1

Skirt - J.Crew - thrifted for $5

Sneakers - J.Crew Crewcuts (I can fit into childrens' shoes just fine) - $19

Belt - J.Crew - hand-me-down

Jacket - gifted

Jewelry - gifted

Teal Accents

The day I chose to wear this pencil skirt and these sky-high leopard print wedges, was a day I stayed home all day and never left my front porch step. Yeah, I felt a little foolish for dressing like this for no purpose but to satisfy my own sartorial taste for the day. But I also felt a little empowered because I did something just for myself and didn't care what anyone else would think.

 

Nail polish to match my earrings.

 

 Skirt - Target - $4

Top - Banan Republic - $3 (thrifted)

Jacket - gifted

Leopard wedges - Michael Antonio - $9

Earrings - Kohl's - $1

Grey

Jacket - Banana Republic - gifted

Scarf - H&M - $7

Black knit shell - Ann Taylor - gifted

Shoes - Joan & David via DSW - gifted

Jeans - H&M - $20

Bumblebee

T-shirt - Gap - $5

White t-shirt - NY&Co - thrifted for $3

Leather jacket - gifted

Jeans - H&M - $20

Pumps - Vince Camuto - gifted

Necklace - Target - gifted

The Skirt

Skirt (from a suit...see post yesterday for matching jacket) - Goodwill - $2.50

Olive green corduroy jacket - H&M - $20

Cowl neck knit top - Ann Taylor - $9

Pumps - Vince Camuto - gifted

Earrings - $1

Free Shipping for the Bampton Shabby Apple Dress!

Just got this add in the mail - free shipping on the dress below! The cowl neck can be worn over your head like a hood, too. It comes in the coziest colors, plus, it looks so comfortable, flattering, and versatile.

Shabby Apple is one of my favorite dress boutiques. They donate to good causes, their styles are flattering, and most importantly, modest. The only problem with this store is that you can't get anything on clearance since they are a boutique. Sure, they run sales, but usually you can't find anything under $30. The good news is that their full price items hover around $60-90, and that's not a bad price if you are looking for a specific dress for a specific occasion.

Facebook Update

It has taken me a while to figure out the whole Facebook fan page thing. Because of not understanding how it worked, I had created a whole new Facebook identity just to add the page. Then I had many of you like or add as a friend my second identity (Nic Ridley), instead of just liking my page.

 

I corrected this error the other day by adding the page to my original Facebook identity (Vanessa Nicole Ridley) and deleting my second identity Facebook name (Nic Ridley). For those of you who had only friended "Nic Ridley," but had never "liked" my Domestic Sophisticate page, you will no longer be getting the blog updates. If you want to continue following this blog on Facebook, all you have to do is "like" my Domestic Sophisticate page.

 

Thanks friends! :-)

Boucle

I attend a lot of professional events (as my husband's date) and decided to start checking the suit racks at Goodwill for a decent suit in case I should need one. I've since found two suits that were not amazing, but good enough. The jacket I'm wearing is from one of these suits I found. Sometimes it's easy to forget that suits are made to also be worn separately. I can't wait till I can wear the boucle pencil skirt separately from the jacket.

Top - Gap - $5

Jacket - Goodwill - $2.50

Jeans - H&M - $20

Clogs - Kohl's - $11

Earrings - $1

Glinda

 

When I first saw this vintage pink gown from Goodwill that I found a little while ago, I thought of Glinda from The Wizard of Oz. It doesn't have the bling, but it has the pale pink, the princess waist and the sheer overlay over the pink. Close enough for an easy costume. I found the puffed sleeves in my mother-in-law's costume chest, pulled out two rhinestone chokers for the necklace, blinged up my son's sword for the wand (by just draping bracelets over the sword's handle), and made myself a Glinda crown with some old posterboard we had laying around. Voila! I'm Glinda!

There are super cool how-to's online for how to make a Glinda crown, but I only had ten minutes and the supplies I could find around my house. The posterboard is actually one of my son's old posters. I used earrings I already had and poked them through the cardboard to bling up the crown. The picture doesn't show it, but I also used some glitter glue. I just used staples and a smaller strip of cardboard to tighten the back of the crown to adjust to my size head. My mother-in-law had an old tiara that I just wore over the crown, to which I attached a brooch I already had to give it a focal point.

 

Here are some great how-to's if you're interested in something that looks a lot prettier!

Saloon Girl

Have a feather boa and a corset style dress with a bustle? This would be a fun couples' costume idea, too. Western style tie for the guy, three piece suit with cowboy boots and a pair of six shooters.

I found this white dress in my mother-in-law's costume drawer. The ruffles at the bottom and the bustle style in the back reminded me of a saloon girl dress.

My husband said I looked more like a bride or a debutante, but what does he know anyway...

Adding the shawl took away the debutante/bride look, oddly enough.

Inspector Gadget

Most of us have a trenchcoat laying around, and if not, you can probably find an old London Fog trench at your local Goodwill - so why not trying a Sherlock Holmes, Detective, or Inspector Gadget look? Add a derby hat or a fedora, some gloves, a tie, a pair of brogues, and a magnifying glass, and you're all set.

 

I don't have a magnifying glass, so I used the moustache as my prop instead. OK, so I know Inspector Gadget doesn't have one, but I had to add something! 

Perhaps these shoes are a tad too large for me. I'm not a big fan of menswear inspired shoes, so I had to borrow my husband's for this photo shoot.