The longest vest

 

Almost a year ago, I got an idea that I would like an old full-length button-front dress to wear as a vest. This wasn't really my own idea; I saw some bloggers do it and thought it was a cool way to restyle un-stylish clothes.

The idea was a long time in the fulfillment, as I had to wait until I found a suitable dress for a reasonable price at the thrift store. "Reasonable" was not 7.99$, but after months of searching, when I finally found this one, bright red and festooned with black and white roses at that price, I got it anyway. I'm sure it was at least 25% off (because I never shop at the thrift store when there's not a sale going on), so there was that. It took me several more months before I was actually able to wear it (Alphabet dressing getting in the way, among other things).

The first time I tried to make an outfit with it, I wore black pants and a black shirt under it, and it looked so horrible, I gave up and stuffed it back into the closet for a couple weeks. I thought I might have to wait until summer when I could wear it without sleeves underneath.

But then I gave it one more chance, replacing the pants with a short skirt, and it instantly looked better! (I also tied the adjustable tie at the back to make it fit a little less loosely on top, which helped). 

Since temperatures are only in the 40's today, I had to wear over-the-knee boots, but even with my legs 90% covered up, that little swathe of thigh between the skirt and the boots makes all the difference that the pants just couldn't achieve. Weird how these things work.

Anyway, I look pretty dramatic when I walk down the hallways with my oversized vest billowing behind me like a cape. It makes me feel confident and excited about life. So I'm glad I decided to wear this outfit for "Friday Funday!" 

 

Here's how it looks when it's not billowing like a cape:

You might think this post is all about me and my impeccable thrifting sense, but there's so much more going on behind the scenes. Let's zoom out, shall we?

This creeper is what I have to put up with every time I take a picture of myself at home! That is, unless I make him hold the camera. Then I get nothing but close-ups of my boobs.