The Fashion Model -- Not!

I dared to take a few pictures of myself in some recent purchases.  I was brave.

I love bargains!  And when a friend's two daughters took me thrift-store-hopping (yes, hopping) with them, I was game.  I spent about $40 and brought home about $400 worth of stuff!  Good stuff, okay?  I got ride of a few clothing items in my closet to make way for the new items.

Here we go.

Oh, and not all of these items were purchased at thrift stores.  And there are only a few below.  I didn't want to take the time to change clothes that many times.  Plus taking all those pictures of myself...  No, thanks.

Remember, my body shape is short apple, so I'll be describing some of the clothing characteristics that appeal to my body type.

My first purchase was a new coat!   Off-white, which is not my color but it's tinged with enough brown that it works for me, and sparkly, too!  This is a great coat for those in-between winter/spring days--I'm keeping my old, old brown "movie star" coat for the really cold days, and this coat works very well for days that are 30+ degrees.  The original price was $230, and it was on clearance, plus I had a $10 Kohl's coupon (now you know where I bought it), plus my mom had a 30% off coupon.  Final price:  $44.

The next purchase is below.  If you're a regular reader, you've seen the top before ($4 at Goodwill).  This time around, I purchased the skirt, a chocolate microfiber.  Now, I already have a chocolate microfiber skirt, but it's a teensy bit bit in the waist, and this one fits perfectly.  Note the fullness along the bottom--it's an A-line, good for us apples.  Plus, there are no pockets or bulky fabric (gathers, etc.) around the waist, which helps minimize the tummy area.  Goodwill price:  $4.

Oh, and as long as we're talking apple shape, the top above is V-neck (I'm wearing a modesty panel for obvious reasons), and flared at the waist/hip to minimize the tummy.  Plus, you may not be able to see it in the picture but it does have an empire waist, another apple body plus.

I happened upon the boots at the second Goodwill store on our shopping trip.  My old brown boots were very, very old, to the point I colored in one of the decorative buttons along the side because the fabric had completely worn off.  No one ever noticed, but I knew the boots were nearing the end of their life.  These boots below have heels a tad higher than I would have liked, but they're comfortable to walk around in (for short periods of time!), and they were new.  Coupled with a red half-price sticker, and I was sold.  Final price:  $2.50.

The dress below was more expensive, so it was a splurge.  Back at Kohl's and during the coat-purchase, I found this dress.  I bought a red one from Kohl's with the exact same pattern, and you know how I love blue.  I called Fernando and explained, "You know the red floral dress I have?  Well, there's a blue one just like it here, and it's on sale, 65% off."  He responded, "Get it."  Now I have two fancy dresses--not too fancy for church, plus we have a growing list of weddings coming up in the next few months.  Perfect!

Apple body--notice the V-neck, the flared sleeves (not necessarily apple but it de-emphasizes my rather large upper arms), the empire waist, and you can't see it but it flares nicely a smidgen below the knee.  Yay!

Okay, that's enough looking at me.  I was happy and excited to share my purchases with you!


Back to life,
Christine

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