The Thrifty Six are Ballerina Inspired
It was Nancy’s turn to choose our thrifty style theme for May and she really threw me for a loop with Ballerinas. Although I do love a good tulle skirt, I have never really been a ballerina type of girl. In fact, I have only allowed myself to start dancing where other people can see me in the last few years. Before that, just the idea of dancing any dance was completely out of my comfort zone. Maybe I would bounce around my house a little here and there, but in public places I would merely sit and watch all the other people having a great time moving their bodies to the music. As much as I enjoy watching other people have a wonderful time, I got tired of being the wallflower…just because I was too concerned that I might look foolish.
But as I watched other people dancing with wild abandon, I realized that no one is criticizing the way anyone is dancing. In fact, no one dancing is even paying attention to how others are dancing, they are all just caught up in the mood and allowing it to flow through them. So I decided to be more like that. Life is much too short not to dance just because you think you might look silly. Silly is where all the good stuff lives anyway. So I’ll just go ahead and dance whenever I feel like it, silly or not.
But I doubt I will be doing ballet any time soon. I am definitely not that graceful and any attempt at a pirouette would likely land me on my ass with some kind of bodily injury. So I’ll just stick to bouncing and bopping and grooving to my favorite jam bands and bluegrass sounds while I leave ballet to the trained dancers.
So now let’s talk about ballerina styles. What first comes to my mind is tutus, tulle skirts, body suits, ballet shoes, and buns in the hair. I have a few tutus and tulle skirts and numerous pairs of ballet shoes in various colors, but not one single thing was thrifted or preloved. I haven’t been to the thrift store in a few months so I wasn’t all that upset that I Nancy “forced” me to go shopping! I was even less upset about it when I scored some really amazing pieces that I will be sharing in the coming weeks.
I approached my thrift shopping trip with tutus, tulle skirts, and ballerina style dresses as my focus. I don’t like body suits and I have enough ballet shoes that I already don’t wear so I ditched those ideas. But the first thing I do on every trip to the thrift store is check out their long rack of Zara items. This is where I score big every time and this time was no different. However, none of the Zara items that I ended up buying worked for a ballerina theme.
And then I found this pretty peachy pink pleated chiffon maxi skirt. It was the most ballerina of all the things I could find in my size that day. It is White House Black Market, size Medium, and was new with tags. I paid $7.99 for it. And then I built the outfit from there.
Since the goal of this group is to focus on preloved style, I want to highlight the other thrifted items in my outfit. My sparkly black sweater tank is Ralph Lauren which I purchased in my local consignment shop a few years back. There were three in different colors and I bought them all, but the black one is my favorite and gets lots of wear. The pink floral scarf that I have wrapped around the bun in my hair is also thrifted but I can’t remember where or when I got it. Everything else was either gifted or purchased at retail.
When I left the house to take these photos, I felt really out of my comfort zone. Then I saw the photos and realized that I actually do like this very feminine fancy ballerina style on me…proving to myself once again that great things happen when you step outside of your comfort zone. You all should give it a try!
Now let’s see how my beautiful thrifty friends were inspired by ballerinas.
The Thrifty Six is a group of international fashion influencers who meet once a month in our little space on the internet to share our thrifty outfits. On the third Monday of every month, we will all share an outfit based on a theme that features preloved wardrobe pieces. Shopping and reselling preloved clothing is so much better for the environment and you can find some of the best fashions in thrift or charity shops. The Thrifty Six are here to inspire you to shop second hand!
The Stylish Thrifters:
- Emma of Style Splash
- Grace of Graceful Rags
- Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade
- Lucy of Lucy Bertoldi
- Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style
- Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
Emma of Style Splash
Grace of Graceful Rags
Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade
Lucy of Lucy Bertoldi
Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style
And me!
When was the last time you have stepped outside of your comfort zone and danced with wild abandon?
Dancing on the edge,
Shelbee
Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.
Outfit Details: Tank Top-Ralph Lauren (Thrifted) / Skirt-White House Black Market-Thrifted / Sheer Top-Charlotte Russe / Shoes-Caparros (DSW) / Scarf Belt-Target / Hair Scarf-Thrifted/ Necklace-c/o Happiness Boutique / Earrings-Old
24 Comments
Patrick Weseman
Looking very nice there. Was hoping for a pink leotard and pink tights. LOL.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Patrick! I don’t know that I would ever wear a leotard! But maybe I will. I do like to try shocking things!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin
Love it!! Black and pink are such a classic sleek combo.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Tamar! I love pairing soft pastels with black. The high contrast really appeals to me.
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Yeah, blame me for having to shop! Lol. I love your look! And the way you wear your hair here. Can’t believe that you never liked dancing! I would have thought you danced the night away too!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Hahahahaha, I thought you would get a kick out of my little blame game! I found some really fantastic things during that shopping trip so I am grateful your ballerina theme made me go! This was a really fun theme. I loved what everyone came up with and the posts were all so great to read, too. I think it’s my turn to pick next but I can’t remember!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lucy Bertoldi
I love the flowyiness and sheer of this whole look! So breezy- that skirt is magical! I love the strappy sandls that are just super chic. You look phenomenal!!!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my goodness, thanks so much, Lucy! I couldn’t believe how much I liked this outfit once I had it all put together. Now if I only had somewhere to go!
xoxo
Shelbee
Kathrine Eldridge
I love the beautiful skirt of this look Shelbee! The sheer top is perfect with it. Yay for getting out of your comfort zone!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, my friend! I really appreciate that! I have this same shirt in a light blue floral print that I have been struggling to style…that might take me even further from my comfort zone!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jennifer
Aww you do look like a ballerina!!! I love it!
Jennifer
Curated by Jennifer
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Hehe, thanks so much, my friend! I just giggled and blushed a little! Have a wonderful day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
Now, that is a challenge! I don’t know what I would have done!!! I think your look is fabulous and that skirt is wonderfully full and swishy! Isn’t it funny how one little thing can spark an entire outfit?
I do wish I knew of some great thrift stores around me…we only have Goodwill and I rarely go there.
http://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Ha, thanks, Marsha! I do get so much joy when I can create a fabulous outfit from one little spark of inspiration! I have never been to an actual Goodwill. I think the closest one to me is about an hour away. I do like the Salvation Army Thrift Stores though which I imagine are similar to Goodwill. You can find some real treasures if you are willing to dig around!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
Soooo pretty! You really nailed the ballerina vibe, and it’s such a good look on you. That’s what’s great about these challenges – forcing us to try new things.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Michelle! It is exactly why I love these challenges so much! They force me to look at my clothing differently and some of my favorite outfits have come out of these little style challenges. It is like a giant game of dress up that I play with my favorite fashionable friends! And sometimes I even get paid for it. What a wonderful life!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sally in St Paul
“Sexy ballerina” seems to be a very good style choice for you! 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my goodness, Sally! Thanks so much. I did feel pretty amazing in this outfit even though it was totally out of my comfort zone.
xoxo
Shelbee
mireille
That skirt is such a pretty color and those shoes are really cool! I went thrifting this week as I wanted a white denim skirt and did find one (in another material but even better for the heat) and a couple tops. I went to a new to me place here, Upscale cheapskate and I had found trying different things (too bad the cute Free People overalls were too small for me!) fun! I will be back!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mireille! That sounds like a super cool thrift shop that you found! I love taking my time in the thrift store dressing rooms, too. I try on everything! It is so fun.
xoxo
Shelbee
Emma Peach
This is a beautiful outfit! I love the skirt and shoes. The necklace is really pretty too. I found this theme quite a difficult one but we all did great!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Emma! This was super challenging but I think it’s one of my favorite ones! We all really did do a great job even though we all struggled. That is the part of the fun, I suppose!
xoxo
Shelbee
Katherines Corner
Oh my godness, I wanted to be a ballerina when I was young and graceful, LOL. But my Father wouldn’t allow activities that were not academic. My mum still says she wishes I could have taken lessons. So I obviously love this theme! You look amazing as always, love the top knot and those shoes are great too. It looks like everyone had a fun time expressing their ballerina style xo
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Katherine! Oh, what a shame that you weren’t allowed to dance when you wanted to! I was never very graceful on land (I was much better in the water) and so dancing was never a thing that I desired to do. So this was a difficult theme for me but I was so happy with the result! I think everyone kind of struggled but then we all delivered!
xoxo
Shelbee