I haven’t been posting as much lately about my adventures in trying to live a more frugal and self reliant life. I have still been researching, experimenting, and trying new things though! Don’t you worry about that!
I have mainly been on Polyvore. It may seem like a very superficial site and some of the items I post seem to be a little….I don’t know, “off topic”?
I can assure you, I haven’t come into any money or lost my mind and started spending like crazy. Here’s one of the main reasons I use it: I am a very visual person. Yes, some items are out of reach(girl’s gotta dream right?), BUT most of these main pieces I have in my closet. Polyvore can be a fantastic medium for putting outfits together. Find similar items to what you already have, and create a virtual closet for yourself.
One of my other favorite things to do is recreating celebrity looks for less. (MUCH less in most cases)
Fashion isn’t everyone’s “thing”, but we all want to put our best foot forward. When you take time for yourself and your appearance, it can give you a fresh outlook and at least for me, give you the motivation to tackle and conquer anything you have going on. No matter how far down you’ve fallen, how many hard knocks life has given you, or how invisible parenting can sometimes make you feel, when you take even five minutes to run a brush through your hair or to take off that holey t-shirt and swap it for a nicer one, I promise you will start to feel energized and uplifted. Spending tons of money on clothes you don’t need is, to me a little ridicules. But what’s NEVER ridicules is investing some TIME in yourself. Investing some energy on your own needs.
We all want to be able to do it all and take care of our family’s every need and do it well! Well I’m here to tell you, you can’t do that for very long without first taking a little back for yourself. So go shopping in your closet! What salvageable favorites can you alter or mend? Is there a piece of clothing that you bought and just never figured out what to wear with it, so there it sits, rotting on a hanger? Find a similar piece and “clip” it to polyvore. If you aren’t interested in trying to create a look with it, you can pose it as a question and ask other’s how they would wear it! (one of my fav features to the site)
A screen capture from the advice tab on Polyvore.
When you do decide or have the means to buy some new items for yourself my best advice is to 1) always shop in outfits. You don’t want too many pieces like I described above that stare back at you mockingly from your closet that you have no idea what to pair with. 2) Look for classic, well made pieces that can be worn many different ways. Stay away from overly trendy items that you would be replacing or donating the very next season. I think it’s more than OK to spend a little extra on an item that you know will last.
I hope my blathering on has made some sort of coherent sense. I also hope that these ideas and thoughts are useful to some!
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Thank you!!