School Spirit, the Shelbee Way & Spread the Kindness Link Up On the Edge #826

This is the third year since my kids got involved in school sports and I’ve been on a mission to find my own personal school spirit style. I have talked a bunch in previous posts about how I’ve been slowly curating my wardrobe to include more purple pieces that suit my personal aesthetic.

I’m not a big fan of fan gear. But only because fan gear usually comes in casual athletic styles that I just don’t like to wear. For me personally, tee shirts, hoodies, and sweatpants are reserved for lounging at home, working out, or activities like painting, cleaning, and yard work. I otherwise don’t ever wear super casual clothing that falls firmly in the athletic/leisure category.

However, during the first football season of Archie’s 8th grade year, I mostly wore black leggings and plain purple tee shirts or Watertown hoodies. And every single game I felt completely and totally out of my element. Sure, I was physically comfortable wearing my lounge clothes to sit in the bleachers and I was dressed in perfect coordination with every other parent in attendance, but it was so far from my preferred way of dressing that my soul was painfully uncomfortable. So the following year (last year) for Ralph’s 7th grade football season, I decided to take a different approach and start dressing more like myself.

It definitely took some creative planning and careful consideration as I’ve slowly been building a purple wardrobe that makes me comfortable but also exhibits my proud mom school spirit. Now in the third year of school sports, the kids have come to expect my wild outfits that leave no questions as to which team I’ll be cheering for. Actually, I’m one of those moms who cheers for every kid no matter what team they’re on. A great athletic performance or outstanding sports achievement deserves recognition from everyone even the opposing team.

While I’ve been creating some really bold head to toe purple outfits for school events, none of them exhibit the school logo. Wanting to show even more school spirit, I decided it was time to make myself a Watertown tee shirt poncho. It’s the best of both worlds…casual athletic style combined with my preferred boho hippie vibe.

I previously shared two of these super simple DIY tee shirt ponchos, here and here, and I have since made myself three more including this one. I have the other two photographed and will share them soon.

To make this tee shirt poncho, I purchased the Watertown Cyclones tee shirt at the pharmacy in town for around $15. For the sleeves, I used an old sheer pink poncho that was basically two oblong scarves attached with a head hole in the middle. I’ve styled the same poncho in a burgundy paisley print but I don’t think I’ve ever worn the pink one so it was good to repurpose it into something I will wear.

To make this easy DIY tee shirt poncho, I detached the scarves from each other, cut the sleeves and sides off the tee shirt, sewed on the pink sleeves, and added a few stitches to create arm holes. The entire project took about 30 minutes…that included the drive to the pharmacy and back!

Because the sleeves are sheer and the sides of the opaque tee shirt have been removed, I need to wear an under layer on the top or else the entirety of my bra is visible. I wore this outfit to Ralph’s first game a few weeks ago on a beautifully temperate Saturday morning so I layered my new Watertown poncho over an old black sleeveless maxi dress. I mistakenly thought the Watertown graphic had black in it but now I think this poncho might look even better over white or gray instead. I might try a different color combination tonight to go cheer on our girls’ varsity swim team.

I really liked the pink sleeves on the purple tee because those two colors are a perfect match for my lilac and pink cowgirl boots. I completed my accessories with a new black straw hat, new football earrings, and a long gold heart necklace. I loved how the heart pendant landed just below the cyclone graphic, giving the message that my heart belongs to the Watertown Cyclones! At least for the next 5 years.

This football game attire serves my personal aesthetic so much better than any leggings and hoodie combination ever could. Go Purple!

This year, Ralph’s team swapped out their old purple and white game jerseys for new gold and purple tops. I love how striking the gold is with the purple numbers but I have maybe two or three things in my entire wardrobe in that color. So I guess I need to start shopping for gold now that I’ve accumulated a lot of purple. Here are a few photos of the modified boys’ football team with my #67!

The center photo is one of my favorites. It shows Ralph getting some tips from Quinn. Quinn is Ralph’s best friend Noah’s older brother who plays varsity football and he is always willing to help out the younger players. We have such an amazing sports community here in our little rural North Country city!

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Shelbee