The Thrifty Six: Wearing Our Soul Colors

Jane chose the colors of your soul for this month’s thrifty theme and what a thought provoking style challenge it has proven itself to be.

While green has been my forever favorite color for my entire life, it cannot stand alone as my soul color. My soul is much too diverse and complicated to be defined by one single hue. A more accurate depiction of my soul in colors would be a burst of every shade perceptible to the human eye because I really do love all the colors. Some I adore more than others while others come in and out of my preference depending on the day or the season or the weather or my mood. But I do not discriminate against any color. In fact, in my recent home makeover projects I have made sure to include all of the colors of the rainbow.

I have not done my kitchen yet but it along with my mudroom/pantry will be in shades of red. The boys’ bedroom is orange and yellow. My dining room and cloffice are green. Blue and indigo cover the walls of the game room. And I chose a very pale shade of violet for my bedroom with a deep navy accent wall. I will share my bedroom makeover soon. Of course, there are millions of more colors between ROYGBIV and one of my favorites of those is teal, the color I chose for my living room, where I spend a great deal of my time. Also, light gray walls set the background for a rainbow of colorful decor in my happie hippie hallway.

While black and white are technically not considered to be colors, but rather shades, they are a constant in my wardrobe as the best colors to anchor any outfit. I almost always incorporate one extreme or the other, often including both black and white. However, nothing can be pure white or pure black except for unfiltered sunlight or the depths of a black hole where no light exists at all. But when it comes to creating colors on physical products, like fabrics used in garment making, black and white are colors that require some sort of dye to produce the desired visual effect.

Oops. I went way off on a color tangent there…

I have to mention that my soul also cannot be limited to just expressions of color. I love a good color blocked outfit as much as any color-loving soul would, but I don’t think I would be as happy in a color blocked world. We are all so much more than just a color, aren’t we?

Prints and patterns are a much more accurate representation of the unyielding chaos and abundant joy that co-exist within my soul. Tie dye and florals, abstraction and tribal prints, patchwork and polka dots, weaving and embroidery, fringe and out of the box styling all found their way into this thrifted outfit showcasing the colors and patterns of my soul.

I started with one of my favorite thrifted sundresses, a tie dye slip dress by Zara in white, pale pink, and pastel blue. These are the exact three colors of the baby afghan knitted by my mother to swathe me in for our drive home from the hospital nearly half a century ago. They are the very first colors that I ever wore.

I added my favorite preloved scarf in a vibrant multicolored abstract print but I used this scarf tying trick to convert it to a long vest. I have had a lifelong love affair with scarves and all of the creative options they offer for styling. I guess I feel like I can relate to scarves. So many people just put their scarves in a box marked scarves and don’t ever allow for something more interesting to be expressed. I like to listen to my scarves and they let me know when they don’t really feel like being scarves anymore. That’s when they are free to choose their own identities. A scarf can be a blouse or a top, a skirt or a sarong, a sash or a belt, a head wrap or a headband, a hair tie or a turban, a hat band or a bracelet. You can tie one to your bag, to your belt, or to your belt bag. You can braid two together for a more creative scarf. And you can sew two together for a colorful wrap. With a little more creativity, a scarf can even become a blanket, a curtain, or a tablecloth. The options are seemingly limitless and I like that.

I accessorized with black and lots of saturated colors to balance the pastel of my dress. My parasol is from Etsy and while I purchased it new, it is made from recycled saris so it still suits the overall thrifty theme of this group. All my other things were purchased retail but have been hanging around my closet room for quite some time except for my new Aztec band Panama hat. I am really drawn to tribal prints because of my deeply spiritual connection to the indigenous tribes of North America. My blue nebula necklace plays homage to my space fascination and my air sign of Gemini.

And there you have it…an outfit that represents the colors and the creative chaos of my soul.

Now let’s check out my thrifty friends to see what colors represent their souls!

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 Thrifters:

• Emma of Style Splash
• Grace of Graceful Rags
• Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade
• Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style
• 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

Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style

Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style

And Me!

How did we do? What are the colors of your soul?

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Dress (Zara) and Scarf-Thrifted / Boots-Roper from Country Outfitter / Belt-Torrid / Hat-Wona Trading / Bag-Burlington Coat Factory / Parasol-Etsy / Earrings-Rainbow Zen / Necklace-Gift from my husband