I haven’t gotten to an outfit post in a while! I have been juggling so many things. I am currently between jobs, and hoping to find temp to permanent work, or direct hire, so hopefully I can get a bit caught up on this blog! I am working on a lot of posts, a little at a time.

This lavender dress is a hand me down J. Jill from my mother. She gave it to me after she retired. It is very comfortable and a soft linen. I have been wearing it for several summers now. I tend to wear it more on the weekends, or when I know I won’t be in chilly, air conditioned rooms. It works great as a simple dress, with a sweater, or as a blouse under a skirt, as I have it here in the next outfit pictures. The skirt I bought new several years ago at Target, however I have kept it and usually end up wearing it several times in the spring and summer. I really like at the bright green in the skirt, as well as the lavender and blue in the flowers. It takes a lot of ironing, with so many folds of cotton fabric stitched down. I am happy to reuse and rewind these items year after year. There is no reason for me to buy a totally new summer wardrobe every year; when I have my favorite floral skirts that I have been wearing for years. Once summer hits, unless I am wearing shorts to go kayaking, or bike riding, I prefer to wear dresses and skirts almost all the time. I find most slacks just too hot in the summer. There is a rare occasion when I will wear slacks, or for instance I found a lovely lavender pair of slacks recently. Yet when the temperatures are soaring, for the most part I find skirts and dresses to be the most comfortable.

The jade necklace in this post was a gift from a lady I used to work for. She had so much lovely jewelry, and passed this piece on to me I so that I could enjoy it. Which I do! The vintage bracelet I found at a great little thrift shop up in Brewster, NY years ago. The ring was a gift; the stone is prehnite and sterling silver, from Sundance.  My shoes are John Fluevog’s that I found at St. Luke’s thrift shop in the West Village, NY.  Those violet socks are made from dropped yarn; they are from Muji.  My hat is made from woven sea grass, it is from Wooden Ships.  I bought it several years ago though, so I am not sure they are still making them.

I went to Unique yesterday; it is this very large thrift shop in Brooklyn, NY. I was in search of another classic solid skirt or two but I did not find one. I did find this lovely sweater from Garnet Hill that I photographed with the lavender dress. They go perfectly together. I decided to buy it since in the fall and winter I wear a lot of grey. This sweater will brighten those grey items up in a cheerful way! While I was at Unique I also found two pieces of linens to use for upcycling into aprons, and one I might upcycle into a floral skirt. I think I may have to make my classic skirt or two that I want for work, it tends to be the safest route to go when one’s weight fluctuates. I like elastic waistbands and I can always make a sash to go around the waist. I have one classic skirt I made in paisley years ago and it has served me very well, for many years.

We I hope you enjoyed this post. I have several more in the works and will aim to get them to you soon! I really enjoyed doing the post about Antonio Lopez’s fashion illustrations; so therefore I have decided to make more posts about art in the future. Inspiration is an important element in keeping creativity going, and I have several artists I like that I’d like to share with you.

 All written material and photos by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2015.  “All Rights Reserved.”

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