Teen Style Tuesday: A Girl In Boys Board Shorts
I pulled this old post out of the archives, since it goes so perfectly with what we have been talking about lately: style personality and modest swimwear. Incidentally, this style personality type (functional, practical, and sporty) is the one I haven’t gotten any feedback on.
This is my daughter with the purely functional style personality, dressed in her everyday clothes. Actually, this solid color t-shirt would be one of her dressier ones. A true everyday ensemble might include a thrift store tee from some old vacation Bible school. Just call her “sporty”.
The shorts are reversible, purchased half-price in the boy’s department at Old Navy. Two shorts for (half the) price of one. An additional benefit is the elastic waist, eliminating the precise fitting necessary with some juniors board shorts.
Don’t the knee-length shorts look elegant? Especially with the shapely swooooosh down the side.
Related Posts:
Spokane Thrift Stores: Value Village on Boone
If you’ve been around here any length of time, you have probably heard me talk about Value Village. The one I go to is on Boone, across from the Arena.
The good:
- Every Monday (with a few exceptions, usually Monday holidays), both Value Villages in Spokane feature 99 cent Monday - every item with a specified color of tag, no matter what price is on it, is only 99 cents. Look on top of the rack for the signage designating the color, or just ask.
- The organization of the racks cannot be beat! Each rack is labeled as to what sort of item is hanging there, the racks are sized, and within the sizes they are colorized.
- I almost always find current items, many brand-new, with tags still on, even in the 99 cent color tag.
- Need to try on? The fitting rooms are all on the east side of the building, used by men and women alike, but they have mirrors inside and most of them lock.
- Plenty of free parking.
The bad:
- Prices start high. (Although that may not be bad — that’s probably why there’s so much stuff left when it gets down to $1.)
- Rejecting a “colored tagged” item and hanging it on the rack outside the fitting room sentences it to the barrel. Where it goes from there, I have no idea, but no one else gets a chance at it.
- With tons of stuff only 99 cents, you can count on a crowd at opening. Most of the people are nice and friendly, though, even the ones that are making their living off it.
The ugly:
Not long ago, the store didn’t have many shopping carts. Apparently, people began arriving earlier and earlier in order to be one of the first in the door. Even if you were waiting out there when they unlocked the door, you were not guaranteed a cart. It was downright dangerous!
During this period was when we began going every Monday. I made a decision that getting a shopping cart wasn’t worth compromising my dignity. Thankfully, they now have alot more.
Now, since most of you are not here; where is your favorite thrift store?
Related Posts:
Style Personality Definitions
The descriptions of all the style personalities in my quiz:
Alternative: A creative and dramatic kind of elegant, you are the trend-setter.
aka: innovator or trendy
Glamorous: Your dramatically polished appearance makes you the most intimidating kind of elegant.
aka: dramatic
Contemporary: Always in style, your elegance is both business-like and classic.
aka: classic or contemporary classic
Timeless: Encompassing the preppy look, your elegance is simple and classic.
aka: classic, timeless classic, or traditional
Nostalgic: A romantic and natural elegance. You feel best in comfortable and feminine things.
aka: romantic
Functional: The most practical form of elegance, you put the FUN in functional!
aka: sporty or practical
I need your help! For your own style only, which term is your favorite and most definitive?
Related Posts:
White Pants: Do You or Don’t You?
White pants, do you or don’t you?
- fashion.org says if you are the least bit pear-shaped or self-conscious about the bum, just say no.
- youlookfab says everybody can, it’s all about fit.
- Individual Chic tells how not to do it. (Icy also has a wonderful pictorial this week on black skinnies and bootcuts with various shoes.)
Does anyone want to recommend to Alyson where they have seen the longer short sleeved tees besides Old Navy? I think Target has some, Aeropostale, anywhere else?
Related Posts:
Blogging Chicks Blogroll
Related Posts:
Fashion Lab: Basic is not Boring
First off, I love what dcrmom has done with these pictures: we see enough of her face that we can determine both the second balance point and the shape. Did you know that she took modeling classes as a teen?
In order not to inhibit y’all from making your honest comments, I’m not going to say too much about these upfront.
My (few) comments:
- There was a concern about scoop necks accentuating *ahem* certain elements of the figure. While I can see that a bit in the blue, for some reason, perhaps the depth of the scoop, I don’t see it in the red.
- Speaking of the red, IMHO it is stunning!
- I still don’t understand what makes crew necks work. But they do. Both black tees look good, don’t they?
Now I want to hear from the rest of you. See you in comments!
(BTW, thank you in advance to Alyson, who is going to model for next week’s fashion lab about combining black and colors. Email me if you would like to help with a future edition.)
Related Posts:
Accent Your Style to Combat Boredom
What is boredom? In his Mother’s Day sermon, our pastor claimed it occurs when something in us is going unused. Which explains why I could never really differentiate between boredom and loneliness. (If you don’t get that, go back and read my post “Why I Won’t Stop Talking”.)
And might explain dcrmom’s troubles, feeling bored with basics but uncomfortable with some of the more dramatic looks (I’m paraphrasing out of necessity, I lost the link to where she explained it for herself.) If she sticks with familiar looks, she may be neglecting to accent within her individual idiom.
This is how it works for me, combining Contemporary Classic* with a strongly Functional* (menswear or sporty) accent:
- My pants (or skirt) will almost always be my main style personality - contemporary.
- Shoes will be on the functional side.
- I try to put everything together well (which is a contemporary characteristic) and feature something menswear or sporty near the face.
- Hair and glasses are contemporary, although hair will be on the messy side.
If I somehow end up going out of the house dressed entirely as a contemporary classic, you guessed it, I will feel boring.
Now, some of you, no doubt, have a single, high-congruence style personality*. Wonderful! Others, however, will be like me, with a style idiom constructed of style personality types that are polar opposites*.
How about you, are you a single style or a blend?
* Some of the vocabulary I use to describe the different style personality types fluctuates. My apologies if it’s unclear.
Related Posts:
Authority Hacks for Hot Weather
How do you project a business-like presence when the mercury edges up? This is the question the southern ladies have been asking and now, a bit earlier than normal for Spokane, the question moves to my front burner, as well.
Details that add authority:
- A collar. A collared shirt, whether a woven button-up or a polo even, beats a tee or tank every time.
- A cardigan can often stand in for a jacket, with the added bonus of not getting wrinkled. In the summer, I usually try to throw a cardigan in my purse for when I enter air conditioning.
- High contrast color schemes such as black & white, navy & white, and so on, project greater authority.
- The best: a tailored dress.
- When substituting a skirt and top, the top must not be revealing!
A brief word about fabrics:
- Silk, I’m told, is the warmest fabric known to man. Not a good choice for summer, although it commonly gets used.
- When wearing white, be decent! It should be lined.
- Don’t worry so much about linen wrinkling as it’s worn. But I don’t like to choose it for something that I’m going to take on and off.
Hey, these are my favorite summer business casual looks, what are yours?
Related Posts:
Not Your Granny’s Birkenstocks
The other day, when we were talking about Crocs, the subject of Birkenstocks came up. Personally, I have never owned any (backless shoes don’t really work in my idiom, but that’s a different post).
Without further ado I bring you Birkenstocks more stylish than your typical “toeless clog” (or should I begin calling them “peep toe clogs”?):
Birkenstock Gizeh, pink wash and black patent birko-flor, $73.95. Star violet pearlized leather - more.
Birkenstock Sparta raspberry nubuck and pearl white pearlized leather, just over $100. (BTW, Bonnie says she finds Birkenstocks at Ross every summer.)
And if you’re into the ankle-strap look: 
It was actually almost a year ago when I hosted one of the final editions of the Carnivale de Couture and brought up my distaste for our ugly habit of wearing honkin’ toeless clogs. This post shall be my entry to the new Fabulous! Festival, next edition at Individual Chic, where Icy has selected the theme shoes.
To participate, entries may be submitted to blogcarnival.
To host the Fabulous! Festival, contact The Bargain Queen.
To view the May 28th Festival, just come back here! Entries will be due May 25th, no theme.
Related Posts:
Teen Style Tuesday: Musicfest
Musicfest Northwest: it’s like adjudications on steroids.
The pianist in our family is also the functional dresser, and the most frugal of all of us. Dressing for an event of any kind can be a challenge.
Inspired by the white blouse fashion lab, she recently picked up this short-sleeved white blouse 
at Value Village. While she could wear it with the “Mother’s Day skirt” shown (we call it that because I gave it to her for Mother’s Day one year), in combination with this black Banana Republic silk skirt
I scored at Salvation Army for $1, she will be sporting the performers unofficial uniform: black & white. And she’ll be dressed.
Very nicely, don’t you think?
I confess I’m not crazy about the practice of performers wearing black &white, it’s not universally flattering. But it’s the way it is. Oh well.
