The Week in Review: What We Wear

Since starting a new venture in fashion writing, I’ve come to nurture a heightened awareness of textiles, garments, ensembles, accessories and the overall look of passersby. I mentally note what works and what doesn’t. When reading fashion magazines I clip clothes, shoes and accessories I find interesting for my own Look Book—pages of which I will scan and share with you at a later time. I then use my Look Book to search for thrifty alternatives to high end designers.

While thrifted fashion finds were minimal this week, I’m still hopeful. Planning to fully utilize secondhand means to expand my wardrobe is especially important given the current size situation. I’m still losing weight, slowly but surely. But it’s not the most ideal time to commit to an entirely new wardrobe. I’m cautiously looking for clothes that fit…for now. But I am really searching for a few pieces that will fit even better… a few weeks from now.
In the meantime, I have been hitting the books for fashion inspiration.

I found this nostalgic book in New Hope, PA. While it wasn’t thrifted, I did buy it from an independent book store…on sale.





I enjoy the color and pattern of some of the fabrics, but will be the first to say that 70’s fashion isn’t cut for every body type. Some of the ensembles highlighted are ill-fitting, and judging by some of the hesitant body language in the models’ posing, they weren’t entirely comfortable either.

The women are amateurs at best, likely friends of the author and not models by trade. But that’s okay. Actually I think the real-woman look in outfits that border on costumes lends a little charm to the idea. And while I’m not limiting my fashion focus to just bell bottoms and polyester, there is a guilty pleasure in admiring the craze of past eras.

After all, fashion is a continuum of ideas and past inspiration. Take the shirt dress. We have the 60’s to thank for this current trend. Of course the modern take on the trend means a shorter hem and a skinny belt at the waist, but I love the look all the same.

Now if only I can thrift one in my size.

What thrifted fashion have you found?