Adventures in Thrifting Part 20: Floral Print Mixed Outfit for Style Imitating Art
Do you remember my last Adventures in Thrifting post from July? I featured this exact same dress in dark blue with a white print and I mentioned that I had previously scored another red floral dress at the same thrift store that was the same brand and style just without the few buttons at the neckline.
The dresses are all by Chaps, which is a lifestyle brand owned by the Ralph Lauren Corporation, sold by various retailers and department stores. I have owned some Chaps clothing over the years and have found the quality to be really good but rarely did I find the styles to be in tune with my sartorial preferences. In fact, I kind of thought the brand was geared toward older people. By older, I mean older than me. As it turns out, I am actually in the core demographic that this brand targets…middle aged women who are budget conscious. That is definitely me!
The clothing offered by the Chaps brand is inspired by classic American styles and is often considered polished, preppy, and timeless. For a long while, “polished, preppy, and timeless” read “old” to me. But now I am old-ish, 51 to be exact, and there is something very appealing about the easy comfort and classic styles of this brand that is nearly as old as me, 47 to be exact.
Not only was I drawn to the soft and comfortable medium weight cotton fabric and the flattering silhouette, but the red, white, and blue color palette and the bold floral print are totally my jam.
On the same thrifting adventure, I also spotted this long blue floral sleeveless duster by the infamous and controversial LuLaRoe. Do you remember that brand insanity from a few years back? I used to be a fan of the wild prints offered by this company but quickly recognized the terrible quality of their clothing. I had bought three dresses and one pair of leggings at retail a really long time ago. All of the fabrics pilled after one or two wears which was disappointing given all the rage around the brand. I still have the leggings but I did pass the dresses onto a friend years ago.
All this complaining about their lack of quality, but yet I sometimes buy this brand when I find it secondhand. Because I do still appreciate the unique and colorful prints as well as their boho styles. So if the fabric is tolerable but the print calls out to me, I will probably bring it home.
That was the case with this long floral vest. I have always loved floral prints on darker backgrounds so the navy blue with the colorful floral print really caught my attention. And it is different from anything I have in my collection so despite the awful synthetic fabric, I purchased it.
I had never intended to combine these two thrifted pieces into one outfit until I was brainstorming what to wear for our most recent Style Imitating Art challenge. The dress and vest were hanging side by side in my closet and when I saw them together it was like perfect floral harmony in all the right colors.
Taking inspiration from the artwork for the style challenge, I chose my accessories with a purpose in mind. My tan straw cloche hat represents Mary’s head covering. I added a green ribbon as a hat band to represent the floating green cherubim heads and my gold necklace features a small cross pendant to bring an element of religion into my outfit.
To represent the gold framing the artwork, I wore the same gold sequined ballet flats that I styled with my “official” Style Imitating Art outfit and a pair of gold floral earrings. I chose my woven hemp rainbow belt as it suited the color palette well. Because the vest is a bit oversized, I wore the belt over both layers to maintain a more flattering silhouette. The result was an outfit that is very much me from the burst of colors to the mix of prints to the thrifty quality of buying secondhand.
Do you enjoy shopping secondhand or buying preloved items? Are you a fan of mixing prints or do you prefer to wear one print at a time? Maybe you don’t like prints and patterns at all? Let me know in the comments. I would love to read your thoughts.
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
6 Comments
Marsha Banks
I do remember Lularoe. A woman in our old neighborhood sold it, but I think I only bought one dress from her. My daughter had a pair of plain black leggings that developed this weird hole. It just grew and grew. Have you ever seen the documentary about the company? It was eye opening, that’s for sure!
I do love this combination, and your cloche seals the deal! Your hats are just the best!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Marsha! I do love my hats! Haha. Yes, I did see the LuLaRoe documentary! I thoroughly enjoyed it. The brand was really popular in military communities and our little community was overwhelmed with sales people. Many of them were really snobby, too. The competitiveness got so silly and that really turned me off from the brand long before all the other stuff came to light about them. But I will still buy their stuff secondhand because it’s good for the environment not for the brand! LOL
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
I don’t think immediately about you at the word preppy. I would love to see some photos from the time you were workng in NY. Do you have any? Lovely outfit!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my gosh, Nancy, I definitely went through a preppy stage in college and the years right after college. Unfortunately, there aren’t many photos of me from that time period because I absolutely hated having my picture taken and would hide from any camera that was pointed in my direction!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sally in St Paul
Oh LuLaRoe – I have a number of their skirts that I thrifted and so far, they are holding up better than the dresses and leggings you mentioned. Would not buy them new but I definitely am willing to buy more widely secondhand than retail. I remember Anne Bray writing about whether buying the brand secondhand is still supporting the company, and I have come down on the side that I don’t think people are more likely to buy something new because they think they can sell/donate it down the road. People buy something new because they want it. They may later appease some sense of guilt by donating it but I really doubt that the secondhand market for fast fashion, etc., has an effect on retail purchases.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am very much aligned with your thinking, Sally. I definitely buy more widely secondhand. I have a lot of Zara pieces that I have found in my local thrift store but I would never buy that brand at retail. Same with LuLaRoe at this point and many others. In fact, there are only few retail stores that I shop at anymore. I much prefer thrifting these days! I don’t think it really supports the brand when you buy secondhand either since the brand doesn’t see that money. The item was already purchased and they got their money. My money from buying secondhand goes to the charity that the secondhand store supports or the individual who has consigned an item. While I do still love brand new clothes, my wardrobe has shifted from about a 70/30 split with 70% being new to a 70/30 with 70% now being preloved.
xoxo
Shelbee