walmart finery

One of the main tenets I've learned for quirky fashion on a budget is that you can find great things anywhere.  Don't turn your nose up, and don't pass on something inexpensive that you like just because of where it comes from (unless you have a moral obligation against it -- I will never shop at Abercrombie and Fitch or wear anything that displays their logo because of the disgusting racist and ableist ways they've treated their employees, aside from all of the other offensive stuff they've done over the years; if your convictions keep you from buying things made under certain conditions, by certain companies, or from certain materials, go for it!).

I don't buy a lot of things from Walmart -- mostly underwear, winter socks, and a stock of basic stockings -- but sometimes I find rather lovely bits. I will even admit to buying some of the Miley Cyrus-branded t-shirts, because, come on! A heart-shaped British flag wearing a top hat? What's not to love? (Anyway her name's only on the tag. On the inside.) Also, Walmart has great sales -- which is quite possibly my main tenet of shopping: KNOW YOUR SALES. It might take a little bit of time, but it is completely worth it. Figure out which stores have good clearance racks, how well you can expect the things you want to end up on them (Rue 21: almost everything gets there within a few months; Claire's, it's mostly just things from specific collections that you can predict), and how long you might have to wait -- and then it comes down to intuition. Do I buy this now, or wait? Knowing the store helps a little with that. Me, I tend to fit the extra-larges in the younger-oriented stores, like Rue 21 -- and the extra-large sizes tend to be the last things to go. So usually I can wait out Rue 21's sales, and the thing I want will go down to as little as three dollars. Or one.

The basis of today's outfit -- the jaunty little dress -- I snatched up for a dollar at Walmart. I'd been watching it for a while, passed it up for five dollars last week because I was there for something else -- and voila! fate!

I have a profound weakness for stripes. My mother told me I looked like a pirate (which was better than the time she said I looked like a mystic she'd seen on the streets of Lahore, Pakistan, so), but that was sort of the idea. The military jacket was $7 at Rue 21 and is very cosy.

Now, our local Walmart is in the process of moving into a new Super Walmart building in the next month, so they haven't been getting in much new stock. So when my best friend Kyra (whom fate has decreed to live in ALASKA for some reason) told me Walmart was selling Keep Calm And Carry On t-shirts, I was first delighted, and then irritated -- but she told me she'd get me one and send it. The package arrived Saturday morning, and true to form (because Kyra is awesome), it contained a few extras.

The peacock feather is a pen. You can also see one half of a Converse-themed friendship necklace, thereby fufilling one of my abandoned adolescent daydreams. ^-^

I wore my teapot necklace with this, as it seemed suitably British -- and added turquoise stockings to alleviate the effect of all the black. Everything but the shirt and jacket are thrifted.

And now to dye my hair and return to you a new woman.