The Thrifty Six in Geometric Prints
It was my turn to choose our sartorial prompt for this month’s game of thrifty dress up. Since we are right in the heart of the school year and my eldest child is taking Geometry this year, I decided to focus our attention on geometric prints.
One of the oldest branches of mathematics, geometry concentrates on certain properties of space like the distance, shape, size, and relative position of shapes and figures. More specifically, Euclidean geometry focuses on fundamental concepts such as points, lines, planes, distances, angles, surfaces, and curves.
The first few weeks of Geometry class were a bit of a struggle for my son. But I knew as soon as the concepts clicked in his head, he would be fine. Of course, I was right as mama’s tend to be when we make predictions of this sort. Although it is currently the lowest grade on his first mid-quarter progress report, he has a 91% average in the class. So I’m not only a mama who makes correct academic predictions, I’m also a very proud mama!











When it was time to create an outfit to suit this geometric theme, I really didn’t have a clue what I was going to wear. I have a few things in my closet with geometric shapes but none were really speaking to me or they weren’t preloved or thrifted, which, of course, is the second part of these Thrifty Six style challenges. You have to satisfy the theme in secondhand clothes!
Although I was determined to find something geometric that was already in my closet, I was on a thrifting adventure looking for a used suit for my husband’s Halloween costume (stay tuned for that) when I spotted this very dramatic long shirt dress that features an interesting combination of different plaid designs in autumn colors.
While plaid might not be the first pattern that comes to mind when thinking about geometry, tartan prints are formed by intersecting stripes that meet at right angles to create the characteristic grid-like patterns. Since a geometric arrangement is essential for achieving a plaid design, I thought this dress was a wonderful piece to illustrate geometry in fashion.






Despite my failure to find something I already owned for this style challenge, I was able to style this plaid shirt dress as a duster over a preloved maxi dress that has been sitting in my closet for some time waiting for an opportunity to be worn.
The rich caramel color of the sleeveless halter dress perfectly coordinated with the colors utilized in the plaid print. It also perfectly coordinated with my brown thrifted cowgirl boots. These boots are probably my least interesting pair of Western boots but they are very versatile and I have definitely gotten my money’s worth. I found these boots on a thrifting adventures about 3 years ago for $7.99 and I’ve styled them at least 10 times on my blog and countless other times in real life, making their price per wear well below the targeted $1.00.
Now for the rest of my accessories. In keeping with the brown, black, and white color palette, I added a preloved brown floral scarf, a newly thrifted black and bronze beaded necklace, my black cowgirl hat, an old pair of bronze and black tassel earrings, and a new brown belt that I just picked up on clearance for $3.











I was really pleased with the outcome of this dress up challenge. I love the drama of this plaid duster, the colors are so great for the autumn season, and the Western vibe suits my boho aesthetic.
Now let’s check out how my thrifty friends have styled their geometric prints. Just click on the links or images below for details about each outfit.
- Emma of Style Splash
- Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade
- Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style
- Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style
- Sally of Within a World of My Own
- Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
The Thrifty Six is a group of international fashion lovers 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 not only to inspire you to shop second hand but to also get creative in your closets.
Emma of Style Splash
Unfortunately, Emma is unable to join us this month. Please send prayers her way as she is grieving the recent and unexpected loss of her sister-in-law. Much love and many condolences to you and your family, Emma.
Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade



…but this dress has ‘Curvilinear Geometry’ – a geometric framework of curves in a linear flow.
The flow of these curves is doing wonders for the flow of my curves – OH WOW! I feel sexy in this dress!!!”
Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style

Each of us wore a different item that was a graphic print just to show how versatile it can be.”
Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style

Sally of Within a World of My Own

And Me!



I hope you have enjoyed all our interpretations of geometric prints. If you would like to see more preloved outfits created by this budget- and environmentally-friendly group, please stop back on November 16, 2026, to see how we style Sally’s next style prompt…Moody Maroon…a beautiful color for autumn style inspiration. Keep playing dress up, my friends. It keeps your soul young!
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee




16 Comments
Tahir
I love how you stretched the geometry theme with plaid — the tartan lines in the shirt-dress duster really do read as geometric once you look at them. The caramel halter dress with the brown, black, and white palette is such a rich fall combination, and Jane’s take on “curvilinear geometry” was a fun read too.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Tahir! I really appreciate that. These style challenges are always so much fun to see how each of us interprets them. I hope you have a lovely day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Di
Love your swooping fall tone dress to duster conversion! All of the participants look great in their geometric prints and they all look so different. This challenge was probably difficult for those who don’t wear geometrics often, but everyone came up with something wonderful and creative. Kudos to all of you! Plus glad to hear your son is doing so well in geometry class!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Di! I really love what everyone came up with for this rather challenging style prompt. I actually photographed two different outfits, but the second one didn’t show the geometric print as boldly as I wanted. I’ll share that outfit at some point though because it still came out pretty cute!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jodie Filogomo
Love, love, love the idea of the duster over the dress….and the addition of the scarf just tickles my fancy.
XOOX
Jodie
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, Jodie! Dusters over dresses is one of my favorite layered looks!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sally in St Paul
Your new new-to-you piece fits both the theme and your style perfectly – I think you will get a lot of wear from this one!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Sally! I agree! Have a lovely day, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
Congrats to Archie (I think) on a 91% in geometry! I personally loved that math class, but so many don’t. Now, on to your beautiful look! I have to admit I probably wouldn’t have thought of plaid, but it’s perfect! I mean, it’s lines intersecting and creating quadrilaterals. What could be more geometric? The warm caramel color of your dress really highlights the whole look! Chef’s kiss, my friend!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aww, thanks so much, my friend! I photographed another outfit featuring a thrifted tunic with big bold geometric shapes but it seemed too summery for October so I’ll save that one for another post when the weather gets warmer again in the spring. I loved this plaid duster for a fall outfit. The colors are so good this time of year!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sophie Walker
What a brilliant take on geometry! That plaid duster is lovely, and I’m so impressed by your dedication to thrifting. Such a clever, stylish look.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Sophie! I do love my thrifting adventures and have for close to 40 years!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Wow! I would love to wear this outfit just like that! The colours, the print, love it all! The duster is gorgeous
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aww, thanks, my friend! I can totally picture this outfit on you!
xoxo
Shelbee
mireille
That is a fantastic outfit! The drama of the pattern over the brown is really pretty! Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a lot of prints in my closet, but if I look closely I do have some!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mireille! I was really pleased with how striking this combination ended up being. You feel your wardrobe is lacking in prints and I feel like I don’t enough solids in my closet sometimes! But I think we both do a wonderful creating interesting outfits that suit us.
xoxo
Shelbee