The LBD-2nd Loved 1st Friday Linkup

Everyone needs a black dress. Of my top ten of things to have in my closet, the LBD is number one. If you have just one LBD, it should be simple and preferably sleeveless because a sleeveless dress is more versatile.

I took my little black dress and restyled it four ways using accessories: bags, scarfs, belts and jewelry. The LBD I am using for my base today was not bought on the second hand market. Five years ago, this September, I went to Macy’s with a mission; to find the perfect dress to wear to the Kansas City Symphony.

My Calvin Klein dress is fitted  with a waist and and was around $100. This dress has been worn so much; it was well worth the investment. I’ve collected other black dresses during the past years (even another Calvin Klein on clearance at Macy’s), but this one is the workhorse.

Even though my dress isn’t 2^nd Loved, the majority my accessories are and I will tell you when they aren’t. Some of the first things I case out at thrift, consignment, and vintage shops are the scarfs, belts and jewelry. I rarely find shoes, but there’s a few here today that I have scored. Bags are never on my thrift radar mainly because I only collect certain vintage bags from a small group of makers.

 Walk on the Wild Side

I am fond of animal prints. However, I use them in small doses. For this look, I added a newly thrifted leopard/cheetah printed belt (Goodwill), Nine West patent leather leopard/cheetah kitten heels (new from Goodwill), and a very large leopard/cheetah/lace printed scarf (Goodwill). A scarf this large is great for throwing over your shoulders if you get a little cool on a summer night and it just looks great, so I grab it a lot.

The bag is an Eric Javits, one of the designers I collect. I did find it second hand on eBay.

I like using tortoiseshell with leopard/cheetah prints and paired my largest chunkiest tortoiseshell necklace. This was bought new at a sewing convention. I’m not enamored with its quality but, at the time, the price was right.

Pearls and Bling

I’m taking my LBD up the elegance notch a bit with this next look. Adding cool greys, pearls and rhinestones never fails.  I would wear this to the symphony on a Saturday night.

Do you like statement necklaces? I certainly do and enjoy wearing Stella and Dot. This  is the Isadora Pearl Bib necklace and one of their retired pieces. Up to this point, I’ve used eBay to find Stella and Dot jewelry. These pieces are second hand but many of them were samples and never worn. I was checking Poshmark the other day, and see that they also have quite a few Stella and Dot listings.

My black pumps are Manolo Blahnik from eBay. I’ve worn them for seven years and they still look pretty good. Their Austrian crystal bling is courtesy of Frilly Feet. Held in place by strong magnets, I can pop these little wonders on and off.

This is also the time to add a special small bag. My bag which borders on an art piece is by Anthony Luciano. This American designer even makes his bags in NYC. There aren’t very many second hand Luciano’s out there and I jump at one when it’s in my price range. The fact that I don’t see many makes me think that ladies hang on to his bags. And why not, they are timeless and gorgeous.

I made my shrug from a Vogue pattern about six years ago. The fabric is chiffon and I wear it with various sleeveless dresses or tops.

Trending Red

Adding a jacket adds seasons to your sleeveless LBD. Knowing red is going to be a very big trend this fall and winter, I wanted to play with my red silk Juliana Collezione (eBay). For a couple of years, I collected JC but I’m done at this point and ready to move on. The quality of these items is excellent, but I have enough of them.

My suede Nickols pumps are thrifted, but not by me. My daughter, Michelle, found these (maybe DAV?) in Joplin and bought them because she just thought I would love them.

I finished the look off with black patent leather belt from Goodwill. The belt was found the same day as my cheetah printed belt. This July was a good month for belts! When I decided I needed a black patent leather clutch last year, this Alfani was picked up on eBay.

Between the red silk and black patent, I decided I didn’t want jewelry. But on second thought, I wonder what a pin on the lapel would look like?

Check out the back of this jacket. Between the textured silk and lattice back, I knew it needed to be with me.

Just a Simple Silk Scarf

I’m ending with a simple look. This look gives a better view of my black patent leather belt, which has a plastic buckle center focal piece.

My 32 “ square dusty powder blue Vera silk scarf is unique because Vera Neumann was known for patterns. But this color was perfect and I could tell the silk was thick and luxurious. I have a small collection of Vera scarfs and this is the only solid in the bunch.

With my blue Vera scarf, I added my favorite Rodo vintage bag. This was one hard eBay auction because I wasn’t the only one who saw it as being pretty special. I remember this auction because I was out with girlfriends for dinner. The auction’s end came just when we were finished and everyone was headed for the car. I couldn’t leave the restaurant because I needed this bag. My friend Diane stayed with we to cheer me on and after I won, only then did we go to the car. That is a true friend!

The neutral patent leather pumps were new from TJ Maxx.

You probably can tell by now that I believe in accessories and love the hunt for them. They can come from all corners of the fashion universe: main stream designers, local Kansas City designers, vintage shops, consignment shops, eBay, Poshmark, The RealReal and thrift stores. If it is something that appeals to me and fits into my style, I don’t care where it comes from.

If you don’t have your little black dress yet, I would go get one or two or three. The LBDs will be one of the biggest workhorses in your wardrobe.

Now to the 2nd Loved 1st Friday Linkup. For inspiration, I’m kicking it off with a collage of the wonderful slow fashion stylists that linked up. A lot of these ladies linked up more than once and that was great. I now give you…

Last Months Slow Fashion Stylists from the 2nd Loved 1st Friday Linkup

To celebrate I have made a collage of the lovely ladies (no guys, but you are welcome to participate). There were 19 linkups, of which eight contributors who documented that they were styling with at least one item purchased second hand. Participation doubled and I am ecstatic. The link up button is now on every post that I publish to make it easy for you to link up but you do have to do it on my blog. I am sure you are already following these slow fashion stylists but in case you have missed Starting from the top left and moving clockwise, here are this month’s featured slow fashion stylists: slow fashion:

• Jodie of http://www.jtouchofstyle.com and her IG is https://www.instagram.com/jtouchofstyle/ (actually, that is Jodie’s Mom in the collage)
• Kate of https://timetravelwithkatekitsch.wordpress.com and her IG is https://www.instagram.com/kateskitsch/
• Maggie of https://thriftshopfashionistablog.wordpress.com and her IG is https://www.instagram.com/thriftshopfashionista/
• Sally of https://spicyphilosophy.net
• Penny of http://frugalfashionshopper.co.uk and her IG is https://www.instagram.com/frugalfashionshopper/
• Michelle and her IG is https://www.instagram.com/chele_clark/
• Nicole of https://highlatitudestyle.com and her IG is https://www.instagram.com/highlatitudestyle/
• Rachelle of https://gardner-roe.com/rachelle_river-market-regional-exhibition/ and her IG is https://www.instagram.com/rachellegardnerroe/?hl=en

And for the next two weeks Rachelle is curating the IG account of https://www.instagram.com/artskc/?hl=en

That wraps it up for this week. Thank you for stopping by. I’ll have another blog bit next week. You are certainly welcome to leave a comment or two or three. I love to hear from you.

I link up with some great blogs every week. To see who they are go HERE.

Husband Michael gets credit for the photos of me.

Again, thanks for stopping by. Take care……..

It’s time for the August 2nd Loved 1st Friday Linkup which stays open until August 31st.

Any post on a blog, Instagram, Facebook or the like can linkup to this style celebration. If you can copy and paste the URL in the Linky box, you are good to go!

One item is quite OK—a hat, skirt, pants, shoes, purse, or a piece of jewelry.  That item (or items) can be from a thrift shop, eBay, consignment shop, vintage boutique, one of the online consignment shops such as RealReal–or even something a friend gave you because they didn’t want it anymore.

When you do post, I would appreciate a description about your 2nd Loved item (or items), what type of shop you found it and what drew you to it. Tell as much or as little as you want. To be featured in my collage, which I will put on Instagram along with your links, you have to say what item is second loved. That is a “have to”.

If you have never participated in a linkup before, no fear. Go to Linkup 101 guide that is found on my 2^nd Loved 1^st Friday linkup page (also found at the top in the tab section).

Just click the frog below to link up and join the fun!

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