Adventures in Thrifting Part 27: Crazy Orange Culottes & Spread the Kindness Link Up On the Edge #815
Do you remember my Bohemian Fruit Bowl outfit from two weeks ago? It featured a newly thrifted tie dyed dress in safety orange layered over my yellow and green geometric print bell bottom pants.
I mistakenly mentioned in that post that I had styled the orange dress over these crazy orange culottes that I found on the same thrifting adventure. It turns out that I tried the two pieces on together in the thrift store and at home but then I never photographed the outfit. Instead, I ended up photographing this wild combination.
I wore this outfit out for a lunch date with my husband a few weekends ago and kept my fluorescent DIY scarf wrap in my rainbow straw bag in case I got chilly dining al fresco out on the river. However, I never needed the extra layer so that piece didn’t make it out of my bag and into my photos.
But this look is colorful and crazy enough that it doesn’t really need another layer to keep it interesting. But you know how I love my layers!
There are a lot of pictures in this post because this ensemble required a bit more fussing than normal. Generally, when I wear a big, billowy bottom piece, I try to pair it with something more fitted on top to keep the proportions balanced. These culottes are definitely big and billowy but I was digging the vibe of billowy over billowy for an easy breezy boho style. But lots of billows still need a little bit of structure to avoid looking like a woman dressed in an ill-fitting cloth sack. That’s where the fussing came in.
So I started with the flowy orange culottes and a teeny tiny fitted white cropped tee shirt layered under a striped crochet tunic. The tunic is very boxy, long, and shapeless, so I added my white macrame belt but secured it loosely around my hips instead of snugly around my waist. If you look closely at the groups of photos, you can see how I slightly changed the belt to create subtle proportion changes. First, it was slung low on my hips. Then I tightened it around my waist to give more obvious definition to the silhouette. Finally, I removed the belt and let the tunic just hang loose and straight.
In the mirror, I preferred the belt slung low on my hips but in the photos I prefer it cinched tighter around my waist. Unbelted was my least favorite in both the mirror and the photos but I wanted to share it anyway just to show how the different ways you wear your accessories can change an outfit.
Speaking of accessories, let’s talk about the rest of mine. First, I love the way this striped tunic coordinates with my rainbow fedora. I have previously styled this hat and tunic together with a yellow dress and the combination always works.
I created a necklace pile with three thrifted wooden bead necklaces in black and teal to coordinate with the stripes of the tunic and then I added teal beaded hoop earrings that I found at a flea market. My new white Furkenstocks have been in regular rotation since they arrived a few weeks ago although this is only the second time you are seeing them here.
Finally, I added an extra long scarf which is really just two coordinating scarves tied together. I liked the contrasting shades of green that don’t appear anywhere else in my outfit. The tie dye scarf was a birthday gift from my oldest son and the green leafy scarf was another thrift store purchase.
Overall, I didn’t love this outfit, but I also didn’t hate it. I do love the joyful burst of vibrant colors and the cheerful combination of many prints but I was not thrilled with the proportions and fit of the whole thing. I can definitely do better with these fun culottes!
I still want to style them with the orange tie dye dress as it was my first idea for these pants but I definitely want to show them styled with a more fitted top as well. I don’t know if I’ll get around to it this summer as short as our summer are, but I’m going to try.
I am certainly open to any other styling ideas you may have so please share them!
In the meantime, I’ll be spending this weekend doing a major closet room clean out. I am a bit nervous and slightly overwhelmed because it is a mess in there! I’m not sure what I’m doing with all of my unwanted things yet. I’ll probably keep some for crafting but the rest of it needs to find new homes with as little effort as possible on my part!
I’m not really into reselling my used clothes either. I have done that in past and honestly I find it way more annoying than it’s worth. Plus I want the stuff out of my house. I don’t want to store it as I slowly sell it off one item at a time. I also don’t love the idea of dumping bags of clothes at a thrift store. I would rather personally pass it on to someone else who needs or wants my stuff. Please feel free to share any creative disposal ideas you have as well!
Featured Favorites
Reader Favorite: Nancy’s Fashion Style
Fashion Favorite: Marsha in the Middle
Other Favorite: Curated by Jennifer
I hope you all have a productive weekend!
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.
20 Comments
Di
I love the pattern and color mixing in this outfit(s)! Even if you are not perfectly happy with it, I’m sure you will find the perfect combination of proportion and pieces-you always do! I don’t envy you the closet clean out! It is very difficult for me to let go of clothing and accessories, I become attached, and only weed out things I am very sure I won’t regret. I consign my best unwanted clothing, and seek out not-for-profit thrift shops for donating things. Once a year our community has a yard sale, and Roger and I put out things that we have saved throughout the year for free for members of our community, but you need storage space for this option! Enjoy your week and thanks so much for hosting the link up.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Di, thanks so much! Closet clean outs can be really stressful. I am very attached to my things as well. Even if I don’t wear it anymore, I have a hard time letting go. I’ve been talking myself through it though and making progress. I used to try to resell on my own but storage is a big issue. I have lots of basement storage but it’s too damp to store clothing for resale. So far, I have been separating my unwanteds into three groups…donate, consign, upcycle. I love the idea of a free community yard sale! I feel like individual yard sales are so much work and you make very little money. I hope you have a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Of you have a neighbourhood app you can announce that there will be clothes to pick up? You have such fun with your outfits! That’s fabulous. Good luck with your clear out. Don’t overthink it to much otherwise you end up with the same amount of clothes! Thanks for the feature!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nancy! I advertised my last major shoe clean out and only a few people stopped by and took a total of maybe 5 pairs of shoes combined. It wasn’t really helpful for me! LOL I had contemplated a yard sale or something. But I find those are so much work and you make very little money. I’d rather just give it all away at this point. So far, I have been separating things to donate, things to sell at consignment, and things to be upcycled. It’s hard getting rid of things that I once loved so much. But I keep talking myself through it and have been clearing out a lot of stuff! Yay me!
xoxo
Shelbee
Gail Is This Mutton
A very harmonious pairing of the fedora and tunic. Good luck with the closet clear out. I’m the same lately, I can’t be bothered to sell clothes these days so I give them to charity/thrift shops.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Gail! I cleaned out a bunch of stuff yesterday. I’ve been separating it into three groups…donations, consignment items, and crafting/upcycling. I should be able to move it all pretty quickly out of my house! As an avid thrifter, I don’t want to see my donated stuff in the stores where I shop (because I might buy them back! LOL) so I have a friend who is going to drive them to a thrift store an hour away and donate them for me! I hope you have a lovely weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Your True Self
Hi, Shelbee – Love how your hat goes with the colors in your outfit! I have the same dilemma about how to dispose of extra clothes. I was going to maybe start a clothing shop on my blog…Thanks for the link up – Angie, http://www.yourtrueselfblog.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Angie! I used to sell on my blog and on Poshmark, but then I still have to keep the things in my house until they sell. And I found that things sell very, very slowly. Keeping it all organized is an additional hassle. So far, I have been separating out things to donate, things to consign, and things to use for crafts. I usually can sell my things outright to the consignment shop and not have to wait for them to sell in the store. The consignment shop makes more money for themselves that way and it’s so much easier for me while I still make some money. I wish you luck with whichever avenue you choose for clothing disposal!
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
I really like those culottes a lot. I thank you for sharing so many photos of your outfit styled ALL the ways with the belt as it really helps to show just what a difference that can make on the feel and look of an outfit.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Joanne! I wish I was comfortable making videos to really show the movement of an outfit. But I will never be comfortable with making videos so lots of pictures is the way I’m gonna do it! LOL I hope you are having a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
Ya know…I actually like this outfit better without the belt at all. It doesn’t create that false sense of trying to capture the flowiness…if that makes sense. But, I can’t wait to see it with the orange dress…whenever that might be. I, too, struggle with what to do with the things that no longer feel like me. I’ve been dividing them into different piles. One goes to Goodwill because that’s what we’ve got. The other goes to one friend, another to another friend, and so on. I have just been giving things away because it’s just the easiest way. You make so little at consignment shops, and, like you said, when you list on Poshmark or eBay, you still have them waiting at your house. Then, you also have to do the whole shipping thing! I did joing a group on Facebook for Gudrun, and people are crazy over there! They pay top dollar for used clothes so I have actually sold quite a bit there.
Thanks for the feature, my friend, and for this week’s link up! Hope your weekend is fab!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Marsha! It’s funny, I liked the outfit belted better in the mirror but in the picture I like it better unbelted. I filled nine 30 gallon trash bags with unwanted stuff. Six will be donated and the other three I am taking to consignment. I usually just sell the bags to the consignment store for a set amount instead waiting for the consignment proceeds. It works out better for both me and the consignment store! I make less than if I took a percentage of what she sells it for but it’s so much easier this way! I get a few dollars and she can do whatever she wants with the stuff after that!
xoxo
Shelbee
Ayla Eliza
I really enjoyed reading this post. Your approach to personal style and fashion inspiration is amazing. Fashion is all about confidence and expressing your personality. I love discovering brands that focus on timeless style and quality pieces, like https://royalbull.shop/. Thanks for sharing these helpful fashion ideas!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Ayla! I really appreciate your comment. Have a wonderful day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laura
I absolutely love your fearless approach to fashion! Those orange culottes are such a fun thrift find, and I enjoyed seeing how changing the belt placement completely transformed the silhouette. The rainbow hat and colorful accessories are so cheerful, too.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, Laura! That is such a wonderful compliment! I appreciate you!
xoxo
Shelbee
mireille
This outfit is so fun and cheerful! I have been surprised lately at some of the combos I have liked when I have paired flowy with flowy! Today, I am wearing a pair of wide leg pants with a very fitted tank and then I added this new thrifted lacy tank that is flowy and I was like wow: it works! It’s really fun to combine different unexpected things together. A little harder for me when it is hot, but still manageable.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Mireille! I also have been surprised lately by flowy on flowy combinations. Remember years ago that was like a big no-no because it makes you look bigger than you are? Ha. It actually doesn’t do that at all! Today I am wearing wide legged pants with a knee length dress and a cropped top. I am finding that when you pair a shorter top over the long flowy pieces, it gives some structure and makes it more flattering. Layers are difficult though when it gets too hot and humid! But I still manage using very lightweight layers.
xoxo
Shelbee
mireille
Looks like my comment didn’t post, so here I go again =)
I love the happy and cheerful vibes of your outfit! I have been surprised at some of the more flowy combos I have tried recently like today: I am wearing flowy pants and a fitted tank, but added a lacy flowy vest. It’s really fun to try new things and you have really been inspiring me!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I just posted your original comment! I have it set to mediate all comments so I can ensure that no spam gets through and also that I respond to every comment. I am so flattered that I’ve been inspiring you! You have been inspiring me as well!
xoxo
Shelbee