Fashion Friday: Another Way to Wear the LBD

What a busy last two weeks! They went so fast that I failed to post last week's Fashion Friday.
This is my pick for this week. I wore this from an interview to the grocery store to a girl's night out, and my whole (secondhand) outfit cost $14...

Mini Wardrobe Fave: The LBD

It's already Friday! Sorry for not being very present on the blog this week. Things have been quite busy on the Zero Waste Home Facebook page -Thank you FB fans for your overwhelming response to the pictures that I posted. I have very much enjoyed sharing my simple lifestyle with you and getting to know you better!

Today, I am sharing an obvious, yet important element of a capsule wardrobe: the Little Black Dress. I bought mine off a $2 rack at the thrift store three years ago, and if you've followed my media coverage, you've probably noticed that this dress is my go-to-outfit when I do not know what to wear ;). This dress is super versatile; it can easily be dressed up for a party, or down for the beach. I have had so much fun playing around for these photos, I hope they inspire you to play around with your LBD too!

Worn alone

With a white blouse underneath

On top of jeans

Topped with a striped long sleeve (Max's hat on my head)

Worn as a top, under a leather skirt

Belted at the hips 

Paired with flares

Topped with a nude tank

Under an overcoat

Topped with a white blazer 

Worn as a top, under a colorful skirt

Belted at the waist

Happy Friday!

Fashion Friday: Wearing PJ's out!

Happy Fashion Friday!

A minimalist wardrobe sometimes requires you to think outside the box in order to maximize the use of the few pieces you own. My only pair of PJ's is black and silky but completely opaque, making it descent to wear out. So this week I thought "why not?".

Wearing the top with flare pants

Wearing the bottom with white tee and blazer

How Zero Waste is my outfit?
All (PJ's, sunglasses, bracelet, necklace, blazer, white tee, black flares, nude heels and purse) were purchased used. The sandals were a gift from my mom four years ago -I could not refuse them;)

Fashion Friday: Shorts in Winter

Today is Fashion Friday on the blog! This week I winterized my one pair of shorts -to California weather standards;)

How Zero Waste is my outfit?

Shorts: Purchased from a thrift store 4 years ago. They were a boy's pair of dress pants that I

shortened ;)

Black thermal, Animal print scarf, Sunglasses and Boots: Purchased as-is from the thrift store within  the past 3 years (I have waterproofed my boots for the rain - How-to in my book!)

Black tights and leather jacket: Purchased new within the past 3 years (before I made the vow to only buy secondhand). As you know, I don't like to mention brands, but my one pair of tights, Target's Merona premium opaque, have outlasted any pair that I have ever owned (3 winter seasons with several wears a week later, they are still going strong!).

How-To: Darning

Darning was, with canning, one of those old fashioned techniques that intimidated me; it just sounded hard. It's only after our family evolved into a Zero Waste household and our toes started peeking through socks that I decided to give it a go. I was amazed to find out how straightforward and forgiving darning really is.  If you've never tried it, follow this simple tutorial, and you won't need to collect worn-out socks for dusting again (how many do you really need anyways?), but keep them where they belong: On your feet!

What you need: A garment with a hole, a large needle threaded with a yarn color to match your garment, and an object with a rounded side (e.g., when I repair a sock, I use a cup).

 

Place the object under the hole. 

Run horizontal stitches over the hole, making sure that they cover an extra 1/2" on all sides 

Weave rows of stitches perpendicular to the previous ones.

End your last stitch inside your garment and cut the yarn. When fixing socks, do not make a knot (comfort).

Pat yourself on the back! You've saved a piece of clothing and your budget!

Zero Waste Essential: The Mending Reflex

Repairs are an essential part of our lifestyle. Things are bound to break or get damaged in one way or another, but mending can extend the useful of our necessities. In our prior life, all the examples below would have ended up in the landfill. Today, our "landfill reflex" has turned into a mending one. Whether it involves scrubbing, sewing, gluing, darning or nailing, there is almost always a solution for a break or damage - and boy does it save money!

Here are examples of my recent projects:

Scrubbing: I thought my slipper was ruined when I found a smear of dried up paint on the calf after a wall paint touch up. My scrubber once again came to the rescue and my slipper is now like new.

Sewing: After 12 years, the padding of Scott's snowboarding helmet disintegrated and dropped black powder on his face with each use. I cut and sewed a replacement pad into a wornout wool sweater that I have felted for such repairs. The helmet is more comfortable that it used to be!

Gluing: The bristles of my scrub brush were ready for the compost, but the handle was still usable, so I transferred and glued dowel and handle onto a new brush (glue recipe in my book!)

Darning: My grandmother was a queen at it, and I don't think I do as good a job as she did, but hey, the result still works (Darning tutorial in an upcoming post)

Nailing: Leo's flip flop gave out, a nail across the loose bit now holds it in place. It's been 9 months and it's not budging!

How have you broken the landfill reflex?