First of all, thanks so much for all of your oh-so-helpful suggestions on ways to vanquish Mildred (and her kin). I will definitely be trying them out.

Also, if you were wondering what the final outcome of my LOFT haul was:

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Those two dresses and that pink lace top added up to a whopping $17. Pretty sweet, huh?

Oh, and I got this one too.

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Which was a whopping $17 all by itself. I plan to wear the daylights out of it, though. (I’ll let you know when I figure out what that means)

Sooo…yesterday, I promised to elaborate on the plight of the too-short $5 purple dress (it was actually a petite size—hence the shortness).

As a refresher, here’s how it looked by itself:

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It’s a bit hard to tell from this pic since the cell phone camera angle doesn’t do it justice, but it was a good 6 inches above my knee, which = way too short for comfort or modesty.

I ran into my friend, Sheila, while at LOFT, right after I picked up this dress, and I held it up triumphantly and said, “$4.88, baby!” After she gave me my hoped-for hand-to-chest-and-gasp response at the awesome price, I held it up to my torso and said, “It’s a petite, though, so it’ll probably be too short.”

Without missing a beat, Sheila said: “Oh no. Just wear it with leggings and boots, and you’ll be good to go.”

Sheila is a smart lady, so I did exactly what she suggested…and came up with this:

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Why yes, I am posing next to a huge Campbell’s Chunky Beef Stew display at Wal-Mart at 10:30 at night. You are very observant.

Last night, Mandy, our friend, Lindsay, and I went out for dinner to celebrate Mandy’s and my relatively close birthdays (hers is today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!), and then, afterwards, Mandy and I headed to Wal-Mart.

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…and then documented our wild and crazy, kidless (well, only 1 out of the 10 we have between us was with us) night on the town.

But back to that whole leggings and boot fix for a too-short dress. I think it worked like a charm. walmart2

The dark, thick opaqueness of the leggings made me feel much freer to bend and move. And the boots. Well, the boots just made me happy. As did the scarf and the jacket (all of which can be seen worn in a similar outfit here), since it was actually chilly enough last night to wear them.

Anyhoo, I’m really happy with my $5 tunic/dress and am already scheming up new legging/topper combos to make it stretch all winter long.

So, what about you guys? How do you take somewhat risky (I did not say “risqué”) pieces and make them modest and wearable? I’d love to steal your ideas learn your secrets.

0 Comments

  1. Where did you find those boots?! I have had in my head that image for ages and can’t find them in reality. And I love the scarf/jacket combo. Very happy and fun. 🙂

  2. I saw a saying recently that I loved.. “Modest is hottest!” And so true! I always cover up and ensure that no cleavage spills over by wearing a fitted stretchy tank top under..everything. No, really, everything. I hadn’t thought of it at all, but the other day, my husband told me he appreciated that I wasn’t comfortable showing too much skin, and that he felt like it was a nice way to show respect to him, and our relationship. Holy run-on sentence. Anyway, you get the point!

  3. I really need some good leggings! I had some last year that gave me a terrible muffin-top, so I never wore them. I need to look into getting some that are a little more flattering! That’s a super-cute outfit.

  4. Ok I am going to be the odd one out and say I don’t like the dress. I usually love everything you wear. I love the striped top with the bow. But……..I don’t like this dress and this is why. The band across the middle draws attention right to the stomach area. You don’t have a stomach, but it makes that area look kind of like you do have one. I think a different dress would look better. That’s just my opinion though. I like everything you did get though. And I do like the scarf and the denim jacket.

  5. I have found several cute dresses at end of season sales and I think leggings and boots totally work for them. Also, have you tried one of those slip/extenders before? They have lace at the bottom of the slip that is meant to stick out and make the dress feel longer.

  6. Best thing I ever ran across was a blog post way back when that described how to purchase a plain slip at a thrift store and sew some thick lace around the bottom hem. You can then throw it on under any skirt or dress that is too short and you have added length and a cute lace layer. I have yet to do it because my dresses/skirts haven’t demanded it, but if I ever run across a too-short dress for $4.88 like yourself, I’m all over it!

  7. Wore a too-short denim dress with a white tank, black leggings and brown boots yesterday too 🙂 So glad it’s cooled down a little in S. Texas to wear them!!

I love hearing from you guys!