The Love is BACK!

Oh Yeah! I'm back in love with my outfit! This is just soooooooo ME! I was actually inspired by a Bjorn ad that I saw in a magazine. Long flowy skirt, blouse, sweater and fitted belt. So, this is my version.

I felt FABULOUS in this! These are the highest shoes that I have, quite vertiginous (that's a word I seldom get to use!). I actually started to get rid of them last year because they aren't the most comfortable and I didn't wear them that much last year. My daughter talked me out of it and I'm so glad. So, I feel like I'm back on my game! I also have some creative stuff coming up that I'm really excited about.

Top......Thrifted ($3.79)

Camisole......White House Black Market


Skirt......Gift from my aunt

Belt......Chicos via Inherited from my mom

Shoes......TJ Maxx




Because I'm back in love!

After the Love is Gone

When I found this blouse on a recent thrifting expedition, I loved it! The front pleats, the pleats on the sleeves, the crystal button. It flirted with me, beckoning to give into it's charms. I didn't think twice. It was fabulous! It all just worked! But then........ I wore it, looked at these pictures and realized, it was all just momentary infatuation. If it had truly been love, I'd still be feeling it and I gotta tell you, I'm not feelin' this blouse at ALL anymore. To Ebay it goes!

Now on the other hand, completely loving the pants and shoes. The heels were my mother's from about 25 years ago. She always loved them and I absolutely loved wearing them! Moral of this whole story: Sometimes you just don't know, till you know! By the way, I don't even recognize myself putting an unflattering picture of myself on the internet. That dear friends, is what we in the south call, GROWTH! My arm hurts from patting myself on the back....

Top......Thrifted ($3.79)

Slacks......Kenar via Thrifted (.75cents ..... you read that right! They started out with a cuff on them which made them just short enough to be high waters. So off came the cuff and now I love them and the fit is perfect!)


Shoes......Vintage via my mother




Is there a better band in all the world?!

The Black and White of Things

There are no words that could do justice to my love of black and white. Someone could tell me today, "Serene, from now on, you can only wear black and white and shades of both, but no color" and I'd say, "No worries! I got this!" If you look in my closet, there's not a ton of color and not a ton of bright colors. I find that I tire of those quickly. Often, I see splashes of color more as a spotlight rather than the stage. It's crazy because I can see very colorful things on others and LOVE the look, but on myself, it just doesn't feel right. And you know, I'm all about the feelings!

I felt soooooo elegant in this outfit. You'd have to see the jacket close up, but the detail is just really pretty. It's Elie Tahari that I bought brand new in a consignment store for only $5! It had the smallest tears along a seam in the back, but I just repaired those and VOILA! Good to go! Also, the top originally had a slightly elasticized panel along the bottom. Everytime I saw the top in my closet, I would think, "Awww....this is such a pretty top. I can wear this with...." and then I'd see that panel and the blousy effect and leave it alone. I finally decided I had nothing to lose and just cut that thing right off! I'm so glad I did! I used pinking shears and now I'm reaching for this top much more often with no hesitation!

Top......gift

Jacket...... Elie Tahari via consignment store ($5)

Belt......Doncaster Tanner($10?)

Shoes......Thrifted ($5)

Pants......Anne Klein hand me down from my aunt



Even Michael loves black and white!

Maturing Style

As I rapidly approach my 44th birthday, (less than 2 weeks away), I'm pondering my present style as opposed to "back in the day". Back in the day, I was all over the place. As a little girl, I completey emulated my mother. She was the coolest in her bell bottom jeans, butterfly sleeve tops and platform sandals. As a teenager, I just wanted to look like everyone else.....preppy, pink izods, penny loafers and dotted ribbons. As a college student in the mid 80s, I wanted to look like the MTV set. Out came the extreme layered hair styles, the tail, HUGE doorknocker earrings and anything lace! Next life phase, young wife and mother. "Well hello conservative dowdy phase, let's hope you won't be staying long! Make yourself uncomfortable!" Now here I am, on the cusp of mid 40s with kids mostly grown and getting settled in my style while still allowing it to elvolve.

Actually, one of the great things about aging is accepting the you that you've gotten to know. I'm much kinder to 43 year old Serene than I ever was to 23 year old Serene. THAT Serene couldn't do anything right and I let her know it every step of the way! Whew! It's a wonder she made it through! You know what else I love? I love that I no longer use clothes as camoflage, covering a wide hip or creating an illusion of a bountiful chest (never really mastered that!). My closet is my friend now. I've let go of anything that doesn't make me feel fabulous. Too tight jeans? Not gonna diet to keep you, so you're outta here! Size 6 that I squeezed into 2 summers ago? Yeeeaaaahhhh, that was never meant to last. I break with thee size 6! I refuse to wring my hands over what either doesn't fit, or what looks great on my daughter but like a joke on me. At 43, I'm real with myself. I adore thigh high boots, but I'm probably never going to wear them. I wouldn't feel like "Serene" (that's what I call myself because, well, that's my name). As I age, being true to myself is more important than looking young, being trendy or looking like the woman in the magazine.

My mother had such a beautiful style. She was so youthful all the way up until her death. Her uniform? Jeans and a tee shirt and she made it look movie star glamorous. Blue jeans and a Baby Phatt tee looked great on her because that's who she was. She wore what she liked and had an innate sense of what was appropriate for her. I try to have that same sense. If I like it and I feel great in it, I wear it. So far, I've had to reel myself back in every now and then. I can go a bit crazy loving a look on someone and trying to make it work on me. *Refer back to thigh high boots. But, I love that I'm cofortable with my style and comfortable enough to enjoy other's as well. Where I used to imitate, I now gain inspiration. Where I used to force a look, I now modify and come up with my version. Yeah. (Nodding my head with a knowing look) I'm actually loving celebrating another year of being me. Getting to know myself better all the time!

Ode to an Outfit

If I could write a poem to this outfit, it would begin, "How do I love thee? let me count the ways..." If I could write a song to it, I'm sure I would start with, "Oh my love, my darling, I hunger for your touch..." and if I could write a book, I'm sure it would begin, "Scarlett O'Hara was not a beautiful woman..." Have you ever just put something on and just felt so very much like yourself, like the style asthetic of who you are inside? It's THAT feeling I aim for in my clothes everyday!

Paula, at Fashion Over Fifty, asked the question on her blog, "What classic piece do you reach for over and over" and I replied that it's these shoes. I think a t-strap shoe is classic, retro and always looks good. I can't imagine not having these shoes and there is not a time that I wear them that I don't get compliments on them. The cherry on the sundae? I got them at a thrift store in Oregon for only $8! You gotta love it when you find something thrifted that you would have happily spent big bucks for new!

Dress......Belk($50?) gift from my husband

Sweater...... Doncaster Tanner (hand me down from my aunt)

Belt......Michael Kors via TJ Maxx ($19?)

Shoes......Thrifted a few years ago ($8)

Earrings......gleaned from Girl's night clothing exchange



An old favorite for a new favorite!

How I do Casual

I'm just not that casual in my style. If it were up to me, I'd have lived in the 20s and 30s and dressed up all the time. I love the whole civilized notion of "dressing" and always looking your best. And how can you not love June Cleaver, who refused to put away her pearls just because she was scrubbing pots and pans? With all the nasty delicious rainy weather yesterday, I opted for jeans and cowboy boots. I had just gotten the jeans the day before at the thrift store and just loved the slouchiness of them and the wide leg.

I have to be honest....I felt FABULOUS in this! I felt so Sade in Sweetest Taboo (I do love me some Sade!). And now, I'm including a pic of my very fashionable daughter. She's 17 and I love her style. She's got a great sense of herself and what mother doesn't love it when her daughter's motto is "Modest is Hottest!"

Top......Thrifted($3.79)

Jeans...... Thrifted ($5)

Belt......Thrifted ($1)

Boots......Thrifted a few years ago ($8)

Jacket......Elie Tahari via Thrifted($5)

Earrings......gleaned from Girl's night clothing exchange

Haven't found anything about her I don't LOVE!

Oh Yes, It's Ladies' Night!

What can I say? I'm a total girl's girl! So, Saturday night we had a girls' night at my friend, Mandy's, gorgeous victorian house! We decided to make a clothing exchange out of it. Everybody brought clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories that they no longer wear (or no longer love) and we all picked through and left with new treasures. New to us, anyway. We had all the elements to make it a fabulous evening - food, wine, clothes, good friends and absolutely NO subject off limits!

We had the BEST time! We all picked up some great jewelry. We tried on clothes, made suggestions, drank chocolate wine and I did an impression of what a sausage being squeezed into a casing looks like as I tried to squeeze myself into a shirt 2 sizes too small for me. NOT pretty! By the way, check out Lenora in the last two pictures. What a difference a belt makes, eh?

Now about my outfit....I'm a rebel. Through and through. Magazines tell me light denim doesn't look good on my curves? Oh yeah?! Guess what?! Yeah. It's happening. It's really happening. I'm wearing light denim! How about that? (insert chest thumping and James Dean brood here). I felt soooooo, soooo, hmmmmm, what did I feel wearing this? I felt good. And good is just good enough. You know what I mean? Now that I'm on a rule breaking crime spree, look for me to break more rules in the very near future. I've had a taste of freedom and I'm not going back! I. can't. be. tamed!

Top......TJ Maxx($7)

Jeans......Ralph Lauren via Thrifted ($5)

Scarf used as belt......Inheritted from my mom.

Shoes......Kristen Davis for Belk (gift)

By the way, layering necklaces is such a great way to make a plain top pop! Go through your jewelry and try on the seemingly most absurd combinations. I'm always surprised at what I come up with when I take out preconceptions of what "goes together". A great blog for that is Kanas Couture and Second Skin Style. Both these women really inspire me with ideas and to just be true to what I love!

For all my girlfriends!

Channeling My Inner Sofia

Loren, that is. I just LOVE her! When I put on this dress with the little black ballet flats, I felt just like a 50's/60's screen siren. All girlies need to feel like that sometime.

I got this dress at a Coldwater Creek outlet store in FL. I usually don't shop CC that often, but killing some time I found this dress and fell in love with the color. It was actually about 5" longer, came almost to my ankles. I wore it like that a couple of times and just felt too Laura Ingals circa 1876. I felt like I should have a bonnet on! So I asked a fabulous seamstress friend of mine to take it to my knee and now I've fallen in love all over again. Sometimes it just takes a bit of a tweak to make something go from "myeh?" to "WOW"! It came with a matching fabric belt that was just uninspiring. Now, looking at these pictures, I'm trying to think of some different ways to wear something this colorful and I've got a few things up my sleeve. I'll have to play with it and see how I like the results. I'm thinking opened up and belted? Under another skirt? Hmmmmmm.....

Dress......Coldwater Creek ($20)

Belt......Thrifted (.25)

Shoes......Kristen Davis for Belk (gift)

The Legendary Sofia Loren. She. is. jawdropping!

Keeping it Simple....

Everything I have on today is thrifted. I did not realize it until I had already dressed, but what a cute look for what? $12? I find myself wearing things lately that just make me FEEL pretty. I felt so demure and delicate in this outfit, and as anyone who knows me can testify....I am NEITHER. Of course, I do keep trying to convince my husband that I'm a delicate flower! It's hard to make that believable when I've assumed the hands-on-hips-stomping-right-foot posture!

On a side note, look at the difference between the first and second pictures. The first one is so much more flattering and the only thing that's different is how I'm standing. I am the marketing manager for a large gym where I live, and I'm around body issues daily. In fact, alot of the writing I do is dealing with with health and fitness. These pics really drove home the fact that pictures can be deceiving and completely relative. The only way I've even been able to do this blog at all is to absolutely give up the right to pick myself apart. I have to be honest, it's quite liberating!

Now, stepping down off my soap box (weight and body images really get me going!) and going to get ready for my Friday. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! By the way, Saturday night I'm getting together with some girlfriends and we're having a clothing exchange.....details and pictures to follow.

Top......Thrifted ($3.79)

Skirt......Banana Republic via thrifted ($3.79 - I had to take it in a bit but soooo worth it!)

Belt......Thrifted ($1)

Shoes......Nine West via Thrifted ($3.50)

I Got All My Sistahs and Me!

Today's outfit is dedicated to my lovely sister, Verena! She bought this skirt from CABI a couple of years ago and I've always loved it. Okay, I might have COVETED it...just a bit. But, alas, twas not to be. My fair sister loved the skirt also. A tempetuous skirt love triangle, if you will. So what does my sweet sib do? She surprise mails me the skirt with a not attached that read, "Surprise! How about I wear it Easter to Labor Day and you wear it Labor Day to Easter?" How cool is that?! Time share for clothes! BRILLIANT!

Stop looking at my roosters and look at me!

Well obviously, I couldn't wait to put an outfit together with it and I LOVE what I came up with. It just felt so girly and Italian for some reason....hmmmm....don't know where that comes from? It actually looks a little like a dress on as I paired a camisole tunic top (tucked in) and added a belt. Slipped on a pair of barely there leather slip ons, throw on my fitted denim jacket and I'm feelin' like a girly girl!

Top......BCBG clearance

Skirt......Cabi via my sister

Belt......Michael Kors via TJ Maxx

Shoes......Via Spaga via Thrifted

Denim Jacket......Bisou Bisou (JC Penny's) I've had that baby for years and we're still just getting to know each other!



For my SISTERS!

Confession Time

It's confession time for me. To be honest, I'm not always as fearless in my style as I would like to be. What can I say, I'm a work in progress. As one of my twins told his sister about wearing a hat, "Just stick it on your head and forget about it. Own it!" Great advice! I try to remind myself, if I love it, then wear it and forget about it. That's what I did with this top. I found this on Saturday at a Goodwill in SC. It was only $1 and I was absolutely drawn to it. It actually looks like a vintage pajama top. I knew if I didn't snatch it up, I would be thinking about that baby all the way home.

I thought white trousers really set off the tangerine in the top. I have to tell you, I felt so exotic wearing this top and actually got tons of compliments. It's true that color really affects your mood.

Top......Thrifted

Slacks......Macy's

Belt......Thrifted

Shoes......Nine West via Thrifted

Necklace......Christina Nicole

Why I love Thrifting/Treasure Hunting...

Years ago I began hitting thrift stores out of necessity. I just couldn't afford to buy things new. I got all of my clothes and most of my kids' clothes from local thrift stores. At the time, it really wasn't chic or trendy. To be honest, I really envied women who could shop at regular stores and buy things new. I mean, new has a smell! A good smell! And I so wanted to smell like the mall, all fresh, new and never worn before.

Over the years, I was finally in a position to hit the mall and hit it I DID! Amazingly enough, I found that those brand new purchases were no more special or treasured than my thrift purchases. In fact sometimes, they had specials, "Free guilt with purchase" or "Buy one get Buyer's Remorse half off".

Another eye opener came when I started selling on Ebay. I became a power seller (average sales of at least $1,000 a month) digging through piles of clothes in South Texas (right on the Mexican border) in steeping hot warehouses called Ropas Usadas (Used Clothes). Ropas Usadas were HUGE warehouses that were packed full of clothes and all of them contained literally MOUNTAINS of clothes. I had to climb up into the pile and just start digging. I swear, I was the only white woman in those places and I would really have to psyche myself up to go. Getting out of the car, I'd began telling myself, "I have a right to be here. This is America". I was sooooooo nervous! But everyone was really nice to me in a "We don't speak the same language" kind of way.

The best thing about the Ropas Usadas is that you bought clothes by the pound - usually around 35cents a pound! These clothes came from all over the country. I found designer clothes, cashmere sweaters and my best find was a vintage Chanel suit. I bought it for less than a dollar and sold it on Ebay for $202!!!! That's when it occurred to me that people from all over the world were paying big bucks for stuff I dug out of a hot, sweaty pile in South Texas. They felt no shame....these were TREASURES! Ever since, I've been proud to call myself a Treasure Hunter. I still splurge on new things if I really love them, but I've found that what I find on my treasure hunts is just as good, if not better than what I've found at stores.

There is even more that I love about treasure hunting, but more on that later. Until then, I hope you enjoy seeing my finds and I'd love to see what others have found!



This is a great example of Ropas Usadas. It's hot, sweaty, filled with clothes and FABULOUS! I miss it......

When You're Smiling.....



If the earth's surface is 2/3 water, then my face's surface is 2/3 mouth! But, I'm smiling so big because I got to spend the day in Greenville, SC with my sweetie. Greenville is AMAZING! And so is my thrifted dress that I picked up for $5! It came with a couple of small back ties that I just snipped off. I'm looking forward to figuring out many many different ways to wear this cutie. I'm usually not a huge fan of pattern, but this one is just so pretty I couldn't resist it's charm.










Dress: Thrifted.....$5

Belt: Thrifted....genuine leather for just 25cents!

Shoes: TJ Maxx.....around $12

Total: Less than $20 for the entire outfit! But the cuteness I felt was priceless!

Christina Nicole






I met a really interesting woman in Greenville. She's a designer, decorator, architect and she's only 24 years old! Her jewelry is just gorgeous and she makes it out vintage objects. BRILLIANT! I love the idea of taking something that was used for one purpose and finding a way to use it for something completely different all the while preserving it's beauty. I'll be posting more pics of her shop soon, but I wanted to get these pictures up right away. You can check her out here, her facebook page. She is a great reminder that ANYTHING is possible. Like Paulo Coelho always stresses, "Follow your dreams!".

I'm Every Woman!




I do love me some Chaka Khan!  I also love me some really cute shorts.  Being a 44 year old woman, I try to be age appropriate in what I wear, while still being able to be true to what I love.  I found the above shorts at the local Hospice Thrift store and paid 75cents for them. They look so 80s....insert cuddly kitten tee and jellies here. However, I could see through that dated shell to the potential that was there. This was my inspiration....




Another one of my loves is Old Hollywood, so I had to channel my inner Veronica Lake and transform these from 80s tween to 40s silver screen. I rolled up the hem twice and made a cuff, which I hemmed in place. I added a small ribbon detail to the exposed seam on each cuff and VOILA! I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Demille!





Of course, the icing on the is that I have this really cute look and I don't think there is $15 in the entire outfit. The top is TJ Maxx, my thrifted 25cent belt and my thrifted Sam and Libby flats. Words cannot express how clever I felt!






And now, a word from our Ms. CHAKA KHAN....

Make My Day!


Oh the bliss of wearing something that just makes you feel pretty! I found this top at one of my favorite thrift stores around here.....I never leave there empty handed. I love the color and the shiny factor. I'm so seeing wearing this all year round; it's just begging to peak out from under a jacket. I think this is only the second time I've worn this skirt this year, but I just can't seem to part with it. It always makes me feel so girly when I wear it and frankly, I REALLY enjoy being a girly girl.




Now just between us girls...don't you just love the shoes!? I thrifted these in Asheville and I could not believe my score. These babies just love on everything I wear them with and doesn't everything look better when it's loved on? I know I do!



I also must make brief mention of the rosary. I found this on the ground when my husband and I were walking through a dirt parking lot going to see Earth Wind and Fire (my favorite group of all time!). It's just so bohemian looking and adds a bit of whimsy to the outfit. By the way, this entire outfit cost no more than $20....and that includes everything. I can be cute and still afford some pizza! Now THAT'S a good day!



I'm having a blast with this blogging thing! I also have a fitness blog that I love to post on....The Fit Bohemian



A little EWF goodie for everyone!