Ahhh…Black Friday. The day has become an event unto itself…
THE STORY
…It’s the one day a year that shopping becomes a competitive sport. I’m going to be honest with you about it, I just don’t get the whole hullabaloo surrounding Black Friday. In particular, I don’t get the “Hey, Thanksgiving dinner is over…let’s go shopping!” line of thought. Before I go any further, let me state that if shopping on Thanksgiving and braving the masses on Black Friday is your thing, then absolutely have at it. You do you my friend. I’m just sharing my opinion on the situation.
I do love shopping (maybe too much), and even more, I love a good sale. I’m just not willing to get into a street brawl with some stranger over the last $10 sweater on the table. And the odds of encountering rude people increase exponentially on Black Friday. I worked retail for years so I know this for a fact and I just prefer to avoid the entire scenario.
For the most part, I prefer to do my shopping online and the holiday season is no exception. Sometimes I do enjoy hitting the mall and checking out the wares in real life, but it doesn’t take too long for all of the people and the overall sensory overload to wear me out. I do typically go physical shopping once during the holiday season, but I choose a random weekday when things aren’t quite as busy.
And while Black Friday is a no go for me, I do usually partake in Shop Small Saturday. It just seems to have an entirely different vibe, and I love to support the small businesses in my area. The bonus is that I often find way cooler and more unique gifts at small boutique style shops than I would at a mass market retailer.
While I’m talking about small businesses, I want to take a second to direct you to my friend Wendy’s incredible shop, The The Silk Road Fair Trade Market. We actually met a few years ago when I decided to make a point of exploring cool spots near where I live. When I walked in my jaw dropped over the incredibly beautiful handmade fair trade pieces in her shop. Wendy sells everything from jewelry to housewares (online as well), and I never leave without a bag full of goodies. So if you’re looking to shop small and find some unique pieces that also happen to be good for our world than pop over and check out the offerings at Wendy’s shop.
What will I be doing on Black Friday? That’s the day reserved for putting up our Christmas tree. And for continuing to stuff myself with the leftovers my boys send home with me from the incredible Thanksgiving feast at their house. It also includes couch chilling and Netflix watching and maybe just a bit of online retail shenanigans. And for me, that’s all a billion times more satisfying then any $10 sweater will ever be.
PS…Take a minute to swing by my good friend Bettye’s blog, Fashion Schlub. Not only are we sharing very similar thoughts on Black Friday, but you have seriously got to check out her absolutely gorgeous outfit. It involves leopard and floral print and that’s all I’m sayin’…trust me, she really nailed it today!
THE OUTFIT
I shopped my daughter’s closet for this cute little floral boho mini dress. Since I buy her clothes I can claim partial ownership, right? The colors are beautiful and give me all the fall feels and I knew I wanted to style it for work. But what’s a girl to do when a) it’s too cold for a mini dress, and b) it’s a tad too short to be work appropriate?
Enter the skirt extender and over the knee boots. These two pieces solved both issues. They added an additional layer of warmth and also made the dress work appropriate by covering all the exposed flesh. When I do my seasonal swap and send out of season pieces to the attic, there’s a whole lot of summer pieces (including sundresses) that stay in my closet to be worn all year.
The moto jacket over top adds just the right amount of sass. And lucky me, the girl saved the day again. I forgot my moto jacket when I left work, but my daughter had graciously been too lazy to take hers out of the car so the outfit was complete.
THE TIP
Many of your summer pieces can be styled all year round. Sundresses, tank tops and even shorts are fair game for winter looks. A few simple tweaks and you’re good to go no matter what the weather Think layering…
- A chunky knit pull over sweater over your sundresses
- Or a lighter weight sweater or turtleneck under them
- Cardigans or velvet dusters over top
- Over the knee boots instantly make anything cozier
- Tights…even though I despise them, they do serve their purpose
- Cute socks with sandals or pumps
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Dress: Similar; Sweater: American Eagle (Similar); Boots: Amazon; Jacket: Similar; Skirt Extender: Grace & Lace
