I can reasonably be classified as a shopaholic.
As the wife of a medical school student, I can also be classified as broke.
Ever since the leaves began to change color, I have been itching to get some new fall clothing. I just love trying out new trends/colors/patterns with each new season of the year! However, this year I have been really trying to stick to a budget since I am the money maker (or as my husband affectionately says, the sugar mama) in our family for the time being. I’ve been saving up my extra earnings from my second job for a shopping trip/girls’ weekend coming up (which I am SUPER excited about!), but until then, I’ve had to nix the shopping and avoid buying new clothes for this fall. This has caused me to get creative with my wardrobe.
Last weekend when getting ready for T.O.O.T., I had one of those “I have nothing to wear” moments. You know the kind: you open your closet and feel completely uninspired by everything you see. I realized I had already worn all my “fall” outfits at least once, if not twice, since mid-September. Now, I know that I am not defined by my appearance. I know my husband thinks I’m beautiful even in sweatpants and no make-up. I know I can have a good time in an outfit my friends have already seen 30 times. I also know that many of my friends wouldn’t even notice if I repeated the outfit 30 times. But I also know that I feel better about myself on the inside when I’m know I’m looking cute on the outside. I wanted to feel good about my outfit, so I decided to dig out some off-season clothes and see what I could put together. I found the answer to my problem laying on my shelf of spring clothing.
In the spring, I found a plain, thin, bright coral sweater at Target. It’s fairly sheer so I always layer a long tank underneath it. By pairing it with “fall” accessories, I was able to make a look appropriate for an outdoor event in mid-October while feeling cute and saving money. And I actually kind of liked that it wasn’t a traditional fall color. Usually I reserve bright coral for spring or summer and pair it with sandals, but it was fun to mix it up in an unexpected way. Now I’m going through all my “spring” clothes looking for ways to re-vamp looks for the cooler weather! And when I (finally!) get to go shopping with the girls this weekend, I’m going to try to find clothing that will be good both for this fall and for other seasons so I can continue to get lots of use out of my purchases throughout the year!
Sweater: Target
Layering tank: Target
Jeggings: American Eagle
Boots: Old Navy
Scarf: Bought on a trip in India (similar)
simplify the chaos 