Last weekend I went thrifting and found some pretty amazing dresses. It instantly reminded me of a season in my life, back in 2013, when I first shifted the name of this blog from About An Acre to Frugal Fashionable Farmer. That change opened the door for me to write not just about farm life, but also about my love of thrifting and fashion. Back then it seemed like I was always stumbling on treasures that fit me as if they’d been waiting for me to come along. Well… it’s happening again. Last weekend, I hit the dress jackpot.
As I mentioned in a recent post, I’m working hard not to slide into full-on hermit mode. It’s way too easy for me to do, especially now that I need to be close by when Ellen and Reece hang out together. (That miraculous little friendship is a whole other story for another post, and I touched on it a bit over on Facebook if you’re curious.) I could nap in the hammock while they hang allllll day. For now though, I want to focus on this: little pieces of myself coming back to life after years of dormancy.
I’ve always loved taking something that someone else no longer wanted and turning it into something essential for me. Earlier this year I found the perfect oversized ottoman, recovered it, and turned it into a soft-edged “table” that’s Poptart-friendly (because a traditional coffee table is a dangerous obstacle course for an eyeless dog).
Clothes have always been the same story. Last month I wore a clearance-rack dress from a big box store that I’d altered to fit my style. I paired it with a wide belt and BOOM! it looked like it was made for me. Last weekend, it was a thrifted dress I altered and wore out to a show. No photos (sadly), but I’ll do a “worn” post soon so you can see it.
This spark is in my blood. My grandma and mom taught me to sew. Clothes, pillows, dolls, bags - you name it. In high school, thrifting and yard sale-ing became my treasure hunt. I’d scan for prints and patterns, not sizes, because fit was just a puzzle piece I knew how to handle with a few stitches. By 15 or 16 I realized I was the only one in my circle of friends who instinctively knew how to turn cast-offs into one-of-a-kinds.
“Where’d you get that?”
“Oh, I made it out of two flannel shirts, a denim skirt, and a pair of jogging pants.”
By 18, I was working for a moving company, packing up people’s houses. It turned out to be another golden opportunity because when people move, they let go of things. I was never too proud to ask either. Once, I inherited an entire collection of pristine 1960s debutante dresses and hats from a woman moving into a retirement community in Savannah. She told me the stories behind each one, and I still have a few of those dresses and hats, 30 years later.
In my early twenties, I started making original pieces from scratch, showing them in fashion shows around town. I even got invited to have some looks modeled in a UGA exit show, which felt pretty surreal considering I never even filled out a college application. By thirty, I was in a DJ duo, making costumes, bodysuits, bloomers, and superhero-inspired getups that gave me another outlet for the creative itch.
Fashion has always been part of me in some shape or form. But somewhere along the way, over the last five or six years, the spark dulled. Life got heavy, and this part of me went quiet.
Now it’s waking up again.
And I can’t tell you how good it feels to feel that spark return. And as excited as I was to find these amazing little pieces thrifting last weekend, I realized it’s not just about the dresses… it’s about finding pieces of myself again…
Enjoy some old photos from my past and hopefully soon I’ll post some current treasure transformations….
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