How to Style Unusual Clothing for Absurdity Day-Thrifty 6
Did you know that today is Absurdity Day? Because of that Shelbee thought it would be a fun prompt for our Thrifty 6 group of international bloggers.
I decided to have my crew style unusual clothing in an everyday way. What is unusual clothing??
I’m sure the definition is different for each and every one of us, so I’ll let each of us give you our reasonings we chose the pieces we did and how we decided to style the unusual clothing for a day out and about.
Quote of the day: “Let us temper our criticism with kindness. None of us comes fully equipped.” Carl Sagan
There’s nothing more subjective than clothing and style than maybe art. In fact, I could argue that our fashion choices are a subset of artistry.
Or as I’ve been known to say how we dress our bodies is a tool to showcase our unique personalities.
And since I think all of us have a sliver of absurdity in ourselves, the question I might ask you is how do you show off that absurdity?
Some of us are comedians, while others have a flair for storytelling.
But clothes? There are very few women I know who go out of their way to look absurd.
Yet I might contend that because style is so subjective, what one person thinks is normal, another could consider absurd.
Just think about it.
Haven’t you looked back at photos from 30 years ago and laughed at the styles? There was the “norm” then, but things changed. And now they can look funny.
Anyway, my crew’s project was to find a thrifted unusual item and style it for this article.
In the past, I’ve showcased “problematic” pieces. And it’s always surprising how you can look at someone else’s problematic items and find no issues styling them. We all have different perspectives.
- That problematic piece in your closet
- Wearing bright blue pants for spring
- How to wear a jean jacket -This may be a common item in your closet but Lesley never wears this one.
Charlotte’s Unusual Clothing Item-A Gold Fringe Purse
Charlotte had just gone thrifting and found this unusual clothing item for a mere $5.
When my mom told me about this purse, she described it as a dressy, gold purse. Her initial thought was to style it with a fancy outfit because it was gold.
So when we talked about it, we suggested she put together a casual look to go with her “dressy” purse that we had only heard about and not seen.
Yet when she showed up carrying this gold, fringe purse, I have to admit, that I saw it as a casual-style purse. Sure, it’s gold leather, but the size and fringe make it more of an everyday item in my head.
Insider tip: Our own perceptions about clothing and style are tainted by our generational rules and environment. But that is not always how other people see those same items. If you really want to get the “true” spirit of an unusual clothing item, make sure to survey a bunch of different people.
There’s nothing too unusual about the basic outfit. A pair of jeans with a long-sleeve polo shirt. Yet, Charlotte’s footwear adds a bit of spice to the look as they are a blue camo print material.
And the large, fringe purse certainly takes it from ho-hum to something different and unique.
Valerie’s Unusual Item-Crushed Velvet in Chartreuse
Valerie shared this with me about this chartreuse-colored crushed velvet jacket. “I almost walked past this Chico’s jacket in the thrift store, but something made me stop and take a closer look. The color appealed to me, but crushed velvet was not a fabric I would normally wear. However, as I pulled it from the rail, I noticed the beautiful Asian-inspired lining and decided to take a leaf out of Jodie’s book by turning it inside out! Voila— unusual jacket that really ‘pops’ when worn over a column of color.”
Insider tip: Turing our clothes inside out, backward, or upside down can give them a whole different look.
I love how Valerie wore blush pink sneakers and carried the same-colored backpack instead of keeping it dark with black. Also, the way she wore the gold belt is such a great way to showcase a waist.
Jodie-CAbi Chartreuse Dress
The CAbi chartreuse trench dress doesn’t look too unusual. However, the real story came when I tried it on. It’s a trench coat-like material which means it doesn’t drape very well. And they had created these long hems on the inside with a trim so the hem hung wonky. Seriously, I almost purged it.
But then I put on my fix-it brain and decided to see if I could make it work.
1-The belt was attached to the side seams, so I removed the seams and threw out the belt.
2-There was elastic in the back at the waist but because the material was so thick, it bunched up like crazy, so I took that out.
3-Then I cut out the hem along the button band (with my pinking shears) and at the bottom (which is why it’s shorter).
The thing is, you don’t see a ton of difference between the things I did compared to the selling photo of it, but it looks a ton better when it’s hanging on me.
I have worn this “dress” as a duster in the past, and you can see how I used a different belt to pull it in.
For our unusual clothing idea, I decided to pair the dress with a dress extender and see how it would look.
Also, since it’s a tad short by itself now, I wore my dress extender under it.
The other “unusual clothing” are these boots which were originally the light brown and medium brown color block. I decided to darken some of the blocks with shoe polish.
So do you have anything you’d consider unusual clothing in your closet? If so, how do you wear it?
Thrifty 6 with Unusual Clothing for Absurdity Day
With the fashion and textile industry being a major contributor to landfills and other environmental pollution, we decided to make it the mission of this little group to focus on second-hand items. Every month we will choose a theme and share our styles with you to hopefully inspire you to shop more preloved and less fast fashion.
Insider tip: If there aren’t many wonderful secondhand shops near you, then I included a list of online shops that I love at the end of this post.
- Emma of Style Splash
- Grace of Graceful Rags
- Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade
- Jodie (and crew) of Jodie’s Touch of Style
- Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style
- Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
Check out the other members of the Thrifty 6 group and see if it would be something you could wear to a Taylor Swift concert.
Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
“For Absurdity Day, I have finally styled this strange sweater turtleneck with sleeves. I am not sure what this thing is even called. I guess it’s kind of like a dickey but not in any traditional sense of a dickey. It is just a turtleneck with sleeves. No bodice. A dickey is just the bodice, I think. So it’s the opposite of a dickey. A yekcid? Whatever it is, I find it rather absurd. It is by Zara and I found it for a few dollars at my local thrift shop last year. I thought it was so weird that I just had to have it. But then I never took the time to figure out how the heck you wear it. I layered it over another thrifted Zara piece, not a very absurd dress, but the print is a little bit out there. My wooden zebra necklace and cowgirl boots were also preloved. And I was absurdly pleased with how this outfit turned out!”
Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style
“I don’t like absurdities in fashion. Just like I don’t like funny clothes. Like funny socks etc. Terrible. (although I do buy them for Gerben, lol) So I interpret this theme in my own way. Namely with this absurdly cheap and perfect coat. From Vinted. I love this coat! When I bought it it was as good as new. And for an absurd bargain price.
The size is perfect, it doesn’t wrinkle at all and I think it’s totally cool! Everything about this coat is perfect. The pockets close with a button, it has shoulder pockets, the belt has a buckle, and it’s double-breasted. Everything I want from a coat! It’s totally absurd!”
Emma of Style Splash
“There’s a lot in my wardrobe that could be considered absurd, so when Shelbee chose Absurdity Day as our theme this month, it was a case of choosing a main focal point so as not to look completely ridiculous! (Some may think I do anyway!) As the weather is atrocious here I decided to start with these boots by Irregular Choice which I bought on eBay. I teamed them with pink skinny jeans and a vintage shirt. I added a green coat and vintage hat (both from eBay) and finished with a pink bag. “
Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade
“Absurdity Day is November’s T6 theme and what’s more absurd than pink and green faux fur?
There’s a trend this season for brightly coloured fluffy coats so when I saw this one, I thought I’d grab myself a piece of the action…
Not only are the colours totally outrageous, it’s got massive hearts all over it; definitely not for the fainthearted!
It goes with nothing, denim is the only thing I can bear it with apart from this Kelly green pashmina which also goes with nothing!
It’s a strong look, not sure it’s my look, I’m calling it ‘fashion through the prism of absurdity’…”
Grace of Graceful Rags
“I don’t have any one piece in my closet that’s particularly absurd, so I made it my mission to put together several thrifted items in the hopes that the overall ensemble would satisfy this month’s theme. I think I succeeded with this teal monochrome look! Where would I actually wear it? No idea, but boy did I feel fabulous (and appropriately absurd) while taking these photos. The faux fur jacket and velour jumpsuit were both thrifted while I was studying abroad in Scotland, and I topped the look off with a fabulous green heart statement necklace that my parents bought secondhand for me for my birthday.”
Online Thrift Stores
These are the ones I’ve used more than once (except Swap, but it comes highly recommended by a friend)
thredUp—this link gives you $10 (and me in return).
Poshmark — here is the post about how to shop the site.
Etsy
ebay
Swap
Uncommon Closet— nonprofit to help women.
Gild the Lily–a local Michigan store that sells online.
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Welcome to Jodie’s Touch of Style. I’m here to prove that it’s never too late to look great. Clothing and style are meant to showcase your inner personality. So let’s have fun and try new things.
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