preloved outfit, thrifted style, bohemian summer style, silk wrap skirt, kimono wrap, ruana, robe, moccasins, Shelbee on the Edge

The Thrifty Six in Dark Colors

Welcome to The Thrifty Six. We are 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! 

This month was Jodie’s turn to choose our style theme and she presented us with the challenge of creating a preloved outfit in dark colors for summer time. I do love rich, saturated hues of most any variety but I have found myself much more attracted to lights and brights during the dog days of summer. But that is not saying that I don’t have warm weather clothing in darker colors…because clearly, I do.

When we shared our Summer Layers last month, I featured a preloved outfit that was passed onto me from my dear blogging friend Daenel of Living Outside the Stacks. As I mentioned in that post, she sent me a big box of beautiful fashions that no longer suited her. But, boy howdy, they suit me!

So when Jodie presented us with our dark colors theme, I went straight back to my newly inherited Daenel-wardrobe and it did not disappoint.

The double layered silk wrap skirt and floral robe were both included in that magical box of sartorial wonder. I absolutely adore the way they coordinate with each for the perfect pattern mix. The robe has an attached tie at the waist which is meant to be secured in the front. But the billowiness of the robe was too much with the full skirt so I tied it in the back instead to create more definition at my waistline.

Sticking with darker colors to bring the rest of my outfit together, I added an old thrifted button front tank top in olive green, my thrifted brown suede moccasins, and my dark red Panama hat. The hat has an attached turquoise beaded band that did not match my outfit so I covered it up with a fabric belt from an old olive green dress.

I completed my accessories with layered wooden necklaces and leopard print earrings that were all acquired from a flea market. In fact, the only elements of this outfit that were not preloved are my hat and hat band. The most expensive item was my suede moccasins at $19.99. My hat was under $10 and my necklaces, earrings, and tank top were each $5 or less. The green hat band came from a gifted dress and, of course, my skirt and robe were also gifted from Daenel, making this a truly preloved and thrifty outfit!

I do recognize that the colors I chose for this outfit could be considered more “earthy tones'” than “dark colors”, but that’s the fun of these fashion challenges…interpreting the prompt in our own individual and creative ways so we can present you all with lots of unique style inspiration!

Now let’s check out my thrifty friends in their dark colors for summer time.

The Thrifters:

Emma of Style Splash
Style Splash
“I rarely wear dark colours, especially in summer, so this was a departure from my usual style. The starting point was this skirt that I bought in a charity shop for £6 (from Monki). Then I remembered these shoes (also £6 from a charity shop) that pick out the tan in the skirt’s print. I kept the dark theme by adding a black top that I bought on holiday and finished off the outfit with a tan bucket bag.”
-Emma
Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade
Preloved Vintage Handmade
“‘Dark Colours’ is the T6 theme for July and I’m going all out with black black black!
I love black for summer, it makes such a statement; then adding texture just brings it to life…
…I’m mixing quilted leather, ribbed jersey, satin, wool and an interesting stud effect on my jacket.
Elevated with jet and silver jewellery it’s so far from being dull…
…black is the brightest colour in the summer sun!”
-Jane
Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style
Jodie's Touch of Style
“Even though I usually wear color, color and more color, I like the idea of thinking about the opposite of what we normally wear. For me, that’s dark colors especially in the summer. I had the three of us use three different ways to incorporate dark colors as part of a summer look, and mine was with whimsy. Thus the thrifted tulle skirt with print mixing and a secondhand lunch box as my purse. I even incorporated wearing a scarf in the outfit but not the traditional way.”
-Jodie
Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style
Nancy's Fashion Style
“Now that’s a theme to my heart! I didn’t have to think long and hard for that one. Black is my favourite colour, also in summer, and green is next! And although a lot of people say that black isn’t a colour, for me it is. The pre-loved item is the skirt, bought on Vinted. Very cheap, as new, and the seller told me I could also pick it up at her house as it was just two minutes away! Win win. It’s a very swoosy skirt and pretty thin so I need to remind myself to wear an underskirt with it!”
-Nancy
Sally of Within a World of My Own
Within a World of My Own
There are a couple ways I like to style dark colors in summer:
Lightened up with white: In the left outfit, I paired a dark top half (thrifted dark teal blouse and black cardigan) with a contrasting, white-based thrifted floral skirt, a less-expected inversion of the more typical white T + dark print skirt outfit formula.
Brightened up with an accent color: In the right outfit, I picked up the green color from the black-based thrifted floral skirt with a simple T.”
-Sally
And Me!
preloved outfit, thrifted style, bohemian summer style, silk wrap skirt, kimono wrap, ruana, robe, moccasins, Shelbee on the Edge
“Like last month, the big box of preloved beautiful that Daenel sent to me had what I needed for this thrifty challenge. This gorgeous dark brown and deep red wrap skirt and kimono robe in shades of brown suited the dark colors theme perfectly. I added an olive green tank top, my tall brown moccasins, two layered wooden animal necklaces, and leopard print earrings…all picked up at thrift stores or flea markets. The only part of my outfit that was not preloved is my hat which I altered by adding an olive green fabric belt as a coordinating hat band.”
-Shelbee

Be sure to check back on August 19, 2024, for our next challenge. Emma is choosing our theme.

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.

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.

8 Comments

  • jodie filogomo

    OMG, I totally screwed up. For some reason I thought our Thrifty 6 was next Monday. I’m so sorry Shelbee and I had the photos all ready and everything.
    My editorial calendar is usually right, but for some reason I counted the Monday’s wrong.
    OXOX
    Jodie

  • Sally in St Paul

    What a delightfully 100% Shelbee outfit – it’s so your style, I don’t even think about whether the dark colors are “summery” or not! Removing the top layer so your arms are bare really helps the summer vibe, but it works either way. I would never have thought to style those tall moccasins for a summer look!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      Awww, thanks so much, my friend! In the end, I prefer this outfit without the robe but I really liked that pattern mix, too. These tall moccasins are definitely not great in the humidity. My legs were really sweaty. LOL I think these shoes are best in the fall when it is cooler but still dry. Once the snow comes, they get shelved until the ground dries out which is usually in July! So they are definitely limited to just a few months a year.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Nancy

    I love your outfit! The colours are so beautiful and those boots are fabulous! Perfect for shorts on a festival weekend……….not the one I had…….mud……lol.

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      Thank you, Nancy! These boots are really special but I really can only wear them comfortably in dry, cool weather. My legs were so sticky and sweaty inside of them after these photos! I am so sorry about all the mud. Mud makes festivals difficult to enjoy, for sure!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

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