Business Casual Lookbook For Spring And Summer (Thrift Store Clothes)

Still want to be affordable, professional, and modest?  Check out my Business Casual Look Book For Ideas.

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Dresses And Skirts In The Winter

So I live in Virginia and it can get cold.  The trouble is I hate winter clothes, long sleeves, and things that are heavy to wear.  In my state it can get cold, BUT it can fluctuate between 30 degree and 55 degrees in just a matter a few days.  In any case, my favorite things to wear are dresses and skirts.  They are easy to wear and when I am feeling fat, they always fit.

One fashion tip that is a go too, especially for us single mothers that may be on a budget is that you should always seek to buy and wear things that can be worn through multiple seasons.  The trick is to know how to transform each piece of clothing so that it can be worn in both winter, summer, fall, and spring.  So today I will show you how I do just that.

The first rule for wearing skirts in the winter time is to get stalkings.  You can wear a skirt in the winter but if you have your bare legs hanging out then you are going to look stupid.  I get fashion, but do not risk getting hypothermia for the sake of wanting to wear a skirt in winter.  You can use tights depending on the dress, but I think fishnets are less boring and add a better feel to what you are wearing.

In addition, depending on how cold it is, you still need to cover your legs even if you are wearing stalkings, which is why I feel like knee high boot combined with stalking give you enough coverage not to be cold and it looks like you are winter ready.

With each skirt that I wear I always will put on a jacket, scarf, hate, beanie, or layers shirts so that I do not get cold and once again to dress appropriately for the winter weather.

   For this brown look I was feeling like I did want to get dressed.  This skirt is actually a tube top maxi dress but since I could not go outside like this, I added a hate (that i got from the beauty supply store for less than $7) and a light jacket.

And of course as always, 99% of my clothing came from the thrift store.  Mommy on a budget what can I say.

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My Dream Wedding

I was recently contacted by a website called Lover.ly.  They asked me to come up with a dream wedding using the fabulous fashions that they have on their site.  Of course I agreed because as a single woman I, like other single women, I am sure have fantasized about our dream wedding and what we want.

I am a firm believer in speaking things into existence.  And when I do get married, it is my hope that I am able to have the wedding of my dreams.  So here is what my wedding would look like.

Destination 

My dream destination would be in Italy.  Although I have traveled to multiple countries in Europe, I have never had the chance to go to Italy.  It has always been a dream to go there, and I think to get married there would be perfect.  Just to give you an idea of the scenes that Italy has to offer you can look at the following picture.

The wonderful thing about Europe is the iconic architecture, the beautiful structures, statues, and I would want myself as a bride to fit in with the uniqueness of what Italy has to offer.

Bride 

The dress that I chose was from Oscar De la renta.  I love this gown because of the high low hem.  I love the summer so I imagine that this is the season I would want to get married.  Italy can get kinda hot so I think this high low hem is a good idea to wear in the summer whether.   I love this dress because it is dressy but still unique.  I think it would fit the Italian theme perfectly, especially with the lace sleeves.  Since I do have tattoos on my body that I love.  But, I do not want them showing at my wedding.  So I feel the neckline would do well as covering the tattoo I have on my shoulder and back.  This dress is sophisticated, chic, and fits into the European background of Italy.  And these Jimmy Choo shoes, oh yes.  The higher the better.

Bridesmaid

Of course I want my brides maid to look good.  I do not worry about them upstaging me.  So I am choosing this silver (almost white) bride maids gown.  This may be taboo but so what.  I think it has a feel and would make my ladies look like live versions of Europeans statues.

Reception Dress 

My reception dress would be the Dolly Couture dress.  I love this dress because although it is short it is will dressy and you can still tell I am the bride while I am in it.  I love to dance so I would not want something that is too formal or constricting that I would trip all over while I am wearing it.  So I feel this dress gives a fine balance so that I can still have fun, but still look like a bride. And even though I want to dance, I still cannot give up the heels.  I am only 5”2.  So these Paradox heels are a must.

Civil Ceremony. 

In some European countries you have to have a civil ceremony on top of having a wedding.  Even though it would be a courthouse that would not give me an excuse to give up my role as a bride.  I still want to look like a bride but not be so dressed up that it would be too much.  So I chose this Watter pant suit.  It is still sophisticated enough to look like your are a bride but laid back enough for a civil ceremony.


When looking at the Lover.ly website I could get lost in all the things that they have to offer.  I am not a bride yet but I love to day dream and visualize.  For those are brides, I suggest you get over there and get some ideas.  For us single people, there is nothing wrong is visualizing what you want and seeing yourself as that perfect bride one day.

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I Whip My Hair Back And Forth DIY Braids

I recently decided to embark on braiding my own hair.  This may not sound like a big deal until you realize that this hairstyle took me a whole day to do, literally.  I am not some master hair braider, in fact I think this is only the third or forth time that I have braided my own hair.  However my desire to save money and not have to deal with doing my hair for a while is what drove me to master this technique.

If I would have went to the hair shop to get my hair done, I can guarantee you that I would have paid any where between $175 to $250 because of the length and time that it would take to do it.  But because of the wonderful world of Youtube, teaching me how to do this on my own, I am proud to say I spend under $30 to buy the hair.  Major difference.  My motto is why pay someone for something I can do for free.  Yes it may have been time consuming but it was free.  And that is my magic word.

My process of doing my hair consisted on watching Youtube video after Youtube video.  I knew exactly what type of braids I wanted so my main key words for these braids were Patra Braids, poetic justice braids, Solange braids, and box braids.  I recommend when looking for how to do your braids or hair for that matter.  Look at many videos by many different people.  Each person has their own style and some videos are better than others.  By watching many videos you can choose what style you want to use or even like I did, use a combination of techniques in order to do your own hair.

For this hairstyle it took me 13 packs of hair.  I did not know it would take this much at first and only bought six packs of hair.  After watching other videos that had the size and length of the braids I wanted I found that it took them in average 12 packs of hair and I had to make a trip back to the store (which is why it pays to watch the videos in advanced).  I personally decided to put highlighted braids in my hair based off something I wanted to do, I did not get it from a video, it was just my personal style.

The length of these braids are so long that I did not cut the pack in half like most people do, this is why I had to use so many packs of hair. In any case my hair inspiration for this style at first was seeing Solange Knowles with them some time ago.  I really love her style and the fact that she is not afraid to be unique.  When I was done, I underestimated how many braids I put on my head and how hard it would be to style it. I wanted to make my part smaller and wanted more braids than what I saw on the videos which is why it took me 13 packs.   Well 14 if you include the colored hair pack I used.  In fact, I may even say 15.  I know I keep changing it, but the colored hair pack I used was a double long braid which I got by accident. But it turned out to be a good accident. So I was able to cut that pack in half, unless I wanted to have my colored braids down to the back of my knees.

After first styling my hair I did this side braid or twist braid.  This is because I braided my hair a little tight and I did not want to put my edges out.  This is another reason why I stopped going to get my hair braided by professionals.  They had no edges on their head.  They pulled their own hair out with braids, and I know for a fact that if they were that careless with their own head they were certainly going to be careless with mine.  The last time I got my hair professional braided I had a headache for a few days because she braided my hair so tight.  I like my real hair and my edges which is another reason why I opt to braid my hair on my own. I got a little side tracked but a side braid can go well with a beanie or a hate, which can be a good style tip for the winter and fall.

This is why for the first day or so, I choose to not put strain on my hair and pull my hair up, until the braids had loosen a bit.  When they did, I chose to do the popular high bun, which was inspired by Beyonce.  I played with this high bun and did it different type of ways on different days.  I also sometimes chose to put a bun on top and the rest down which I felt kinda gave my style a different feel.  Which it what I like.

Since the style of these braids have been done since the “Poetic Justice” days, you know I had to take it old school and imitate the Janet Poetic Justice style.

I used a scarf that match my outfit for that day, but I was still feeling the style over all.  This took a longer time to do because of all the braids on my head and it not that easy to do as it looks but I am still happy about the results.

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Fall Fashions. Imitation Is The Highest Form Of Flattery.

I will be the first to admit that I am not a fan of any other season except for summer.  I hate being cold, I hate wearing sleeves, jackets, coats, all of it.  Growing up I always lived in pretty warm places, and even though in Virginia it does not get that cold, it get cold enough that I have to wear several layers of clothes.

Since I am not a fall or winter type person, my wardrobe is not really stacked for cold weather.  Once again, I look to my favorite pal Pin interest for fall inspiration.  And Pin interest did not fail to disappoint.  

The first look that I found was something very easy, that I am sure anyone can pull off.  All you need is a pair of jeans, a white shirt, and brown blazer.  Lucky for me, I had all this stuff in my closet.  No shopping needed.  The jacket I actually had for a few years, and I could count on one hand how many times I wore it.  But when I put it together trying to imitate this look, I liked it.  I may try to put on this jacket more often.

The second look, it may not look like I did a good job imitating this.  But I did, the colors are just off in my picture.  I chose a button down sweater because that is what I had.  In fact I got the sweater for free at a clothing giveaway (click my blog here).  Since it was free I cannot complain.  Even though my sweater is not exact, beggars cannot be choosers the sweater was free.  My pants in the picture were black even though it does not look like it.  I would give myself an A for effort, not the best imitation  I have done. Just okay.

My third outfit, even I have to give myself an applause for this one.  I had all these items in my closet.  I bought the shirt and the scarf from the thrift store.  The matching animal print jewelry was just something I had in my closet that I got from a jewelry lot through Amazon (click here for my blog on that).  I love lots because you get so much jewelry for such an affordable price.  I felt like my outfit came extremely close to the original, don’t you?

My last outfit I also thought I did a great imitation as well.  I got this jacket from the thrift store a few days ago for only $5.  When I saw it, I just liked it, I did not even have the imitation in mind.  The shirt and pants are something that I already had in my closet so it was not big deal.  And the shoes, I got from a Goodwill trip (see here) I went to a few weeks ago.  I typically do not like the Goodwill because they are more expensive than the thrift, but I got these shoes for around $4.  So I felt like they were a steal.

Overall, I am happy about my attempt of fall fashion.  I like wearing colors so the outfits I chose were able to do just that.  Plus I think it is kinda fun to find things out of your closet to try to imitate things that other people pay a fortune for.

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Free is Always Better When It Comes To Fashion.

This past week I was with a friend and she told me of a place that was giving away free clothes.  I agreed to go with my friend but since my friend was not really the fashion type I did not expect to find any clothing that I would be interested in.

But I was wrong.  The place that was giving away free clothing was in the nice side of town.  It is true what they say is that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  The clothing that they were giving away was clothing that I would wear now.  Since the weather is changing I focused more on getting clothing that was good in the cold.  That is why I got three sweaters and this thick skirt.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at the tag on the skirt and found that it was Ralph Lauren.

As for shoes, I can never pass up a good pair of shoes.  It really did not matter if the shoes were for the winter or not, I picked up the three pairs of shoes that I liked.  The blue pair of shoes were from the gap.

Just when I thought I was done, I went over to the purse section.  Lord knows that I really do not need another purse, but this purse was a clutch.  It was a whole different type of purse than what I normally get, since I typically get these huge bags.  I felt that I needed a smaller bag, especially since it went to well with one of the pairs of shoes that I picked up.

Overall I have no complaints.  The total amount of money that I spend was $0.  The place was kinda of far and since gas is so expensive I guess I could count that as apart of my expenses, but overall I think I made out like a bandit.  I could have also gotten more clothing, but I did not want to look all greedy.  Since the clothing was free I wanted to leave some for other people who may come and not walk out with a whole trash bag full of clothing.  But the trip was well worth it and a pleasant surprise.

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Look Like It For Less.

I have this thing I like to do that consist of going onto Pin interest, finding outfits I like, and try to imitate them with what I have in my closet.  I think this is so fun because it keeps me open to trying new things and colors with my fashion.  Plus I do not like spending alot of money, so I always like creating a fashionable look that doesn’t cost much.

Trying new colors is what I had in mind when I imitated Kate Middleton.  First I would like to say that I admire her style.  It is so good to see a woman, wife, and mother that looks both stylish and classy.

I had all of the things in my closet that I created the look with.  I got the jeans from the thrift store and I know I did not pay any more than $7 for them.  The jacket and shirt I had for many years.  I kept trying to throw the black jacket away, but for some reason it keeps creeping back into my closet, and I don’t know how.

The scarf that Kate is wearing I love and wish I could find it.  Since I did not have one like hers, I chose a stripped scarf that I had in my closet.  I got if from the thrift store for a $1 I think.

My look is not too shabby for already having these things laying around in my closet.

The next outfit I wore to church.  The shirt that I have on is actually a very tight fitting dress.  Since I needed a black strip pattern I used the dress as a shirt and then put a black skirt over it.  I sometimes think I should have grown up in the  60’s.  I really like the whole style of that era.  For this outfit, my dress shirt was taken from my mother’s closer one time when I was visiting and the skirt was given to me.  So the total cost of this imitation for me is free.

I recommended looking around your closet, you never know what new looks you may be able to create.  Also, if you ever see an outfit that you love but cannot afford, always check your local thrift store.  The clothes are affordable and you can find some imitation pieces that come close to the more expensive outfit.

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To The Goodwill we Go.

So I got off from work early and the first thing that came to mind was to go to the thrift store.  But my normal thrift store was on another side of town and I did not feel like traveling.  So with a quick Google mapquest search I found the Goodwill was right near me.

Normally I do not like the Goodwill.  I find it kind of expensive.  Even though it is cheap by normal people terms for Sophia’ el cheapo second hand standard, it is high.  With that being said, I chose to go anyway always down for exploration.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised.  It was still high.  I am used to getting things for $1 at my normal thrift store and it is priced by the quality of the item.  But at the Goodwill all shirts were the same price, pants the same price and dresses the same price. Regardless of label or quality.



I did find that their shoes were cheaper than my normal thrift store.I got some pink boots as well that I did not take a picture of and there were only $5.   Here is just a snap shot of what I got.

As a random note.  I feel that when you go to a thrift or Goodwill, it is so easy to want to buy up everything because they are so cheap.  This will lead your closet with a bunch of clothes you do not like or wear.

So whenever buying if when you buy it you cannot see yourself wearing it in the next two weeks and what you will wear it with.  Then do not buy it.

This Liz Claiborne shirt does not look like much on the hanger.  It actually looks rather butch.  But as soon as I saw it, I loved it, and I knew how I was going to wear it and what I would wear it with.  I knew blue slacks and a pearl type necklace would make the outfit look sophisticated as well as feminine.  And as the case with all button up shirts, I feel you should tuck, leave the first two buttons undone,  and fold the sleeve  because it makes it look classier.

My overall verdicts is I will return again.  I will more than likely use this place for shoes and to go to a thrift store close to my house instead of traveling to the other side or town.  They had good label but not as many as I would like.  Overall I spent $32.

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The Power Of The Thrift

I really wish I could do better capturing my outfits on my camera.  But unfortunately the bathroom has the best lighting not my room which has the  full length mirror.  In any case I get so many compliments when and most people are shocked to know that I get many of my outfits from the thrift store.


Take the picture on the above.  I got the shirt and the pants from the thrift store.  The pants are actually capris.  I think the good thing about me is I am not afraid to try color.  The picture doesn't show it but I actually have on red heels with this outfit.  And I am dark skinned. I tell anyone if I can put on color then they can too.

The crazy thing is that I often go on Pin-interest to look at outfits ideas.  When I go to the thrift store I always keep my ideas in mind and try get the same types of clothing styles.  That was the idea when I got these pants as well as how I paired it with the red shirt.

As you can tell I have a tendency to over coordinate, the jewelry that I have on I got on a jewelry lot through Amazon.  I like buying the lots because you get different types of pattern jewelry for an affordable price.  That is how I cam across the necklace.  In lots you do not always know the exact pieces you are going to get.  But I like it this way because it challenges you to try new styles depending on the type of jewelry you get.  I also like the element of surprise by finding out what you get as you open the box from the mail.  I am a single mother so the small things in life excite me. #TRUESTORY

The photo on below is me last Friday before work.  I wanted to choose something casual because my son had family day at his school after work.  I wore flats this day and felt so naked and short without my heels.  It was terrible.

But I still felt like I look presentable for work even through I was dressed casual.  I felt like this outfit fit to go to work and to my son’s school after. Both the shirt and pants were from the thrift.  The pants are brand from New York and Company.

This shirt is just an example of how you can never judge clothes on a hanger.  When you go shopping you need to know what patterns looks good on you, what type of fashion you like, and how it would look on you? When I got this shirt, I knew I liked the pattern but thought it would do better as a casual shirt, but I like it for work as well. Especially when I do not want to look too dressed up.

As I get older I notice my style has changed.  A lot of it may have to do with being a mother.  I still want to look good but have put the breaks on letting it all hang out. I prefer to cover up and dress up more.

In both pictures I have on a scarf.  That is really my signature thing.  I get my scarfs from beauty supply stores and the thrift and most of them are under $4.  I like having different colors because you can pair them with any outfit and it makes my average hairstyle look intentional and like you put more effort into it than you really did.

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Fashion Forward Friday. Tips and Trick To Buying Affordable Make-up and Jewelry Online.

I am starting something new this week called “Fashion Forward Fridays.”  I wrote a guest post for Comeback mama (click here for it) and it talked about how after I became a single mother I did not have the money or self esteem to look like my old self.

Once I lost the weight and found some cheap go to options for fashion, I quickly found that I did not have to sacrifice how I looked just because I was a single mother.

In this post I would like to address make up and jewelry.  I would love to tell you that I have hundreds if not thousands of dollars to spend in high end cosmetics and jewelry.  But I don’t.  Seeing as how I have bills, mortgage, and private school and all.

I have never been the type that just wants to get high priced stuff.  I have always gone for what I liked over what was high priced, and there is no shame in my game.  I will tell you I got something from the thrift store in a heart beat.

However, jewelry and make up are not so simple, I have chosen to get make up and jewelry from either Amazon or Ebay.  The reason why is because both of this sites have sellers that sell in bulk.

The trick behind getting a deal on Amazon is that there are stores and boutiques that sell jewelry and make up.  Often times they want to make room for the new stock that is coming in.  Therefore they have three options.  They can either throw all the jewelry away and make nothing, put it on the clearance rack and sell it bit by bit, or they can put the mass bulk of it on Amazon and get rid of it in one sweep.

These are the types of deals that you want to go for.  You cannot just go for any deal.  You want to make it a good deal on your part.  So here are some things to look for to make sure you are getting the best deal.

Read the seller reviews.  Often times when you buy in bulk they will not tell you exactly what you are getting, they will only tell you how many pieces.  Some will tell what how many of each piece you will get but not specifically what it looks like (i.e 2 rings, 5 bracelets, etc.) .  But people who have bought from them in the past will take pictures of things they have sent.  Reading the past reviews will allow you to see these pictures and let you determine if you like what you see or not.  This way you know if you want to buy from the seller.

For example, I read a few reviews that said the jewelry was mostly for little girls and they threw it away.  Therefore I knew not to buy  from this seller.

Read the description.  So many people do not get what they want because they do not pay attention to detail in the product description.  Some bulk sales will tell you exactly what you will get such as 5 pairs of earring, 6 bracelets, etc.  Some will say that you will only get one of each item.  This is what you want.

You do not want to have jewelry or make up with 15 of the same exact thing.  If there are one or two on the same thing, then fine you can give the others ones away.  But you do not want to buy a bulk of 50 and get 35 of the same thing.

Also, many sellers will include a picture.  They will say, the items are not exactly what you are getting.  But the pictures will give you an overview of the style of stuff they have so you can determine if you would wear it or not.

 Do the math.  See how much the bulk cost and then divide it by the number of items you get.  This will determine if you are actually getting a deal or not.  The point is to get a deal, you do not want to pay store price for bulk items.  For all of that you can just go to the store.

(All jewelry I have on in each picture featured above where bought on Amazon.  All jewelry was bought in bulk and make up items in bulk or discounted price).

If you are like me a woman on a budget, do not feel you have to look like a homeless hobo.  You Can be pretty on a price.  Check out some of the places I have order my items below.

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Modesty of a Christian Woman.

The topic of being modest is something that I have grown to be passionate about, especially among Christian women.  When I speak of modestly I do not feel that you have to be dressed in a turtle neck with your arms and elbows covered.  I could not promote anyone to be that way because I am not the way.

However, I do feel that one should be respectable.  Meaning clothing that shows your nipples, butt cheeks, and vaginal lips should be out of your wardrobe.
The Bible teaches us

“Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control.” 1 Timothy 2:9

So what does that mean exactly.  Well I think it means to dress with respect.  If your main purpose for getting dress is to show as much body as you can in hopes of attracting attention, this is faulty thinking.  Of course men are going to be attracted to your outside.  I think this is the main way in which relationships begin.  Men see something they like and it makes them want to get to know your insides.

This theory all depends on how on how your outside is perceived.  If your outside is showing too much men are not going to want to get to know your inside, they are simply just going to want to have sex with you.

I understand that you want to be desirable to the opposite sex, but revealing too much is sending the wrong message.  It is not sending the “ Get to know me, I could be a future wife” message.

It is sending the “Come and sleep with me and my body is all I have to offer” message.

Showing too much has become popular culture ( read my blog here to read more of what I mean by this).  What a women should want is to attract a good man, and what you wear can say a lot about what you want to attract.


Even after you meet a man and go out on a date, you would like for him to not be so distracted by your protruding nipples that he forgets to get to know you.  You never want your first date to be focused mainly on sex.  If you dress with most of your body hanging out, this is the exact message that you are going to throw out.

One thing that you do not want to do as a Christian women, is to cause a man to lust after you.  You are not only distracting his mind, but down playing your own virtues.

For myself, even though I like looking nice, the last thing I want a man to just see me for is a sex object that is for his own pleasure.  You want him to feel like you have something to offer.  For women looking for marriage, you want him to see you as a future wife and mother of his children.

Being wide open with your wardrobe is going to prevent him from thinking this.  I am convinced that men think in very rationale way.  They are going to think “ If I have a daughter with this woman, am I going to want my daughter to dress or be like her?”

Always keep this in your mind frame when you are deciding what to where.  There are plenty of ways that you can look nice and in style without looking like a nun.  When you learn to not flaunt your body so openly, it forces you to begin to attract men with your personality and your mind.  Isn’t this what you want anyway?


To have a man respect you for you and not because they think you are easy.

After all, we all get older, with children your body and breast change.  Finding a man that loves you for you, will guarantee that he will be able to stick with you through your imperfect stage.

Let a man fall in love with the real you and not for your body.  You need to understand, how to learn the difference. Some men get off on marrying women who look like a Barbie doll so he can show her off to all of his friends.  If this is what you want, then by all means.  But you have to understand that if you get older, gain weight, or do not want to dress tiny little clothes any more, you run the risk running them away or them trading you in for a newer model.


If a man just wants you because you wear short skirts and even smaller shirts, then they are just stuck on appearance.  They are only going to do what is best for them so when they see something better or when they feel you can’t pull off the look, then out you go.

These type of things happens all the time.  It should tell you how deep their love is for the woman, if they no longer feel she can be their arm candy.  They are not in love with a woman like this, they are in love with themselves and only want the woman because she makes them look good.

In short, be modest.  Have respect for yourself and your body.  What you have does not need to be shown to whole world.  You may not get as much attention, but you will get quality attention from the right type of men who you know want you for you and not your body.

My definition of modestly may not fit the traditional view.  But I feel as long as you look respectable to yourself and others, then you are find.


 Check out  looks I have chosen for Chic Modestly.  Looking Good while still covering up.

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