Thrift Haul.

Chris and I spent the weekend cleaning our house. That means I spent the weekend wearing horrible sweats and sporting fright wig hair. That means no outfit pictures. I make this decision for your own good, dear readers. What I have to offer you instead are pictures of my haul from Friday's thrift store shopping spree. Perhaps one can't properly call four items a haul, but remember, I'm supposed to be getting rid of stuff- not gathering it. I cannot resist the lure of the thrift store for long though, despite my good intentions.

Black and white hounds-tooth check skirt.

When I was young my mother gave me a skirt very much like this one. She had made hers herself as part of her going away to college wardrobe. I hemmed my mom's skirt to micro mini length (it was the eighties) and wore the hell out of it. I'm going to keep this one at a more demure knee length like my mother's original. This is the only one of the items I purchased that I intend to keep in its natural state.

Black and white polka dot halter dress.

Chris and I have been taking a social dance class together, twice a week, for about a year. I try to wear a skirt on the days that we dance because I think it feels more romantic to dance in a skirt. I especially like to dance in skirts that have lots of swing and motion. However, I don't own a ton of skirts that fit the bill and sometimes it's not practical for me to be wearing a swishy skirt all day. This halter is made of a slinky, shiny, stretchy knit that I would never wear in *real life* but seems acceptable as a costume. I'm planning to turn the dress into a skirt that I can stuff in my back pack and pull on before class. The Lycra knit is absolutely impossible to wrinkle so it should should be perfectly portable.

Sea foam green maxi skirt.

I adore this color. I'm planning to shorten this skirt to hit just below the knee, and probably narrow it a little. It should be perfect, for our sweltering summers, with a t-shirt and sandals. I'm picturing a casual, Saturday morning, cruising the farmers' market kind of vibe.

Sea foam green maxi dress.

Did I mention that I adore this color? I'm tearing this one apart to use the knit fabric to make a t-shirt. I've had this Jalie t-shirt pattern for over a year. It's hard to find good knit fabric yardage, and when found, it can be expensive. Since I haven't made this pattern before and (as you might imagine) I sometimes have fitting issues with the upper half of my body (enormous front, fairly small back) I don't want to use something I'm going to be sick over if my first attempt isn't successful. The six dollars I spent on this dress makes it a perfect way for me to try out the pattern anxiety free. If it works well, great- I'll have a sea foam t-shirt. If it doesn't I'm only out six bucks.