Why You Should Definitely Go Shopping
Quote of the day: “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” Bill Gates
For those of you who like to shop, you’ll be singing the praises of this post from kingdom come, right? Because we are going to suggest to you that shopping is helpful to establish those neurons to build new pathways!
Once more, we are using Madelyn from ADD…and-so-much-MORE to help us understand how fashion & clothing doesn’t have to be considered superficial! I introduced Madelyn in our first challenge where we took a piece of clothing, and restyled it differently, here. Since this is something I do often on the blog, luckily this wasn’t too hard for the 3 of us.
In our second post, here, the idea was to show that no matter what your age, you can take the details about what the young girls are wearing. And feel good about it!
This Challenge
And below is our photo when we started out on this specific adventure!
Now the challenge was to go shopping at a thrift store to find an item to go with something we already had in our closet! Why a thrift store? Madelyn weighs in with her thoughts in a brown font!
Great! Now go try them on – because the whole point is to change your self-image to force a new pathway or two in your brain.
- If you think you’re going to hate it because it isn’t “you,” try it on anyway, while you try on a whole new you.
- Pretend you are a well-paid fashion model who has to sell whatever look some designer puts together, even if you hate it personally.
- Walk around for a bit and see how others respond.
My family ended up going to a local store that sells sample clothing. This means we were definitely limited in our selections and sizes! (My idea was to take photos while we were shopping to show you some of our options along the way; however, the store frowned on this….bummer)! Of course I had to add in a little extra to our day of work!! I wanted us to really try to think outside of our usual box and the items we tend to buy! (Let’s just say that I know how to cause strife–ha ha)
Jodie’s (50’s) Outfit: I went on this shopping expedition wanting to find a great top to compliment my new Chico’s pants!
My first response with choosing an item for these pants is to play it safe with white. Although for our #LoveChicos Girlfriend Event I went with a black striped top. But those are both neutrals, so I wanted to see if I could challenge myself to pick something more fun & daring.
Madelyn’s thoughts:
Good for you, Jodie! You may not wear these pieces together ever again – but I’ll bet you’ll find an equally creative pairing once you get the top home that would never have occurred to you if you had stayed safe with neutrals.
More to the point, you stayed with the spirit of the challenge rather than trying on what normally attracts you when you shop.
Let me give you a little synopsis of what I tried on at the store!
I narrowed my choices down to a lilac (kinda like this one, except it had some flowers along the front) and then the blue vest you see! Even though I really love lots of color, I still worried that this blue might be too bright with the gold pants! But after getting everyone’s opinion, I decided that the blue was the winner! Besides, I don’t really have a ton of vests, especially like this. Whereas, my closet is full of short cardigans.
I’ve been trying in earnest to really pick items that I don’t already have in my closet. I’ve heard many women say they buy something only to find they already have an item like it in their closet. And I’m just as guilty of doing that. I mean, it makes sense, right? You liked it the first time you bought it, so you’re drawn to it again at the store. So I’ve been working hard at evaluating an item before I purchase it!
I have to also address my necklace that I’m wearing here!!
After I wrote the article on wearing your pearls for Sixty + Me (here), I’ve really been trying to practice what I preach! Of course, that meant I needed a new pearl necklace, right? No, but really, I saw this cool choker at Kaitlyn’s in Cherry Creek and figured I really needed it! I love these big, faux pearls and have seen this type of necklace elsewhere. In fact, here’s one with black pearls, but the only ones I could find on my shopping site with the white, were much smaller! Unless you like just one pearl in the middle like this one?
Pants: Chicos (here)~~Vest: Mel & Lisa (similar here in a much lighter color)~~Top: Banana Republic (similar here)~~Sweater: LOFT (similar here)~~Shoes: Jessica Simpson (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here)
Nancy’s (60’s) Outfit: Nancy’s goal was to find some clothes that would go with her new olive colored shoes! She wore the white jeans to go shopping with them as a neutral, so she was open to either pants, dresses or shirts that would give her some more options with these shoes!
Madelyn’s thoughts:
Nancy gave herself a wide-open challenge by using shoes as her anchor piece — and olive is a color that opens the paradigm even farther. She even changed seasons by picking a Spring into Summer color palette, moving away from matching entirely.
If she decides to take the top home, I’ll bet she’ll come up with a few more other ways to pair it, now that her brain is a bit more change-friendly.
Nancy was a great sport and tried on many items that didn’t necessarily match the shoes, yet still looked great since the shoes are a neutral.
One of the shirts she tried on was a peach colored blouse (similar to this one) that looked very nice on her. She even bought a black, open shoulder tunic like this, not so much to wear with these shoes & jeans, but to take on her upcoming cruise!!
In the end the consensus was to get this pastel striped shirt. It’s a lightweight sweater, and I think it’ll work so nicely with the rest of her closet!! All of us really liked how it’s a little longer in the back portion and comes up on the sides at the bottom hem. And I think it can be one of those shirts that will dress up easily, yet can still be casual!!
To top it off, we found this light green necklace too!! We didn’t specifically buy the necklace for this shirt, but I thought it was a good fit.
This necklace really showed up well against the black tunic, and that was much of the reason for getting it! I think the long necklaces are so fun right now. Especially since I couldn’t wear them while I was working. But if you like them too, then check out this one because it’ll be a stand out against a solid colored shirt!
Jeans: Chicos (similar here)~~Striped top: Nally & Millie (similar here)~~Green top: Pleione (similar here)~~Shoes: Chinese Laundry (similar here in a bootie or here in a sandal)~~Necklace: (similar here)
Charlotte’s (70’s) Outfit: Now in my mom’s case, she has every color imaginable already in her closet–ha ha! But I suggested she look for something outside her norm that she could wear with her new Chico’s brown pants.
What she wore at the beginning of the day is a very usual outfit for my mother. Since the pants are brown, she grabs other clothing pieces that are brown or have brown in them.
But I really wanted this shopping expedition to work on expanding our usual! Therefore, if mom doesn’t look entirely happy in these photos–it’s because I was bugging the heck out of her! Isn’t that what all good daughters do??
Madelyn’s thoughts:
Charlotte probably has the toughest challenge – and stands to gain the most from stepping outside the ideas about “outfits” that were practically norms for decades of her life.
Getting used to some of today’s ideas will be a bit easier for Nancy, who came of age on the fashion cusp, and easier still for you, Jodie. What that means is that, to get the brain-benefit, Charlotte can take smaller steps for a while which, to her eye, will seem like bigger changes.
My mom finally came home with this bright, asymmetrical top! And trust me when I say, Rob & I had to twist her arm to get it.
Should I tell you everything she picked out to try on with the pants? No, I won’t. But trust me when I say that she gravitated toward the brown pieces. Finally I went hunting for her and picked out a bunch of different colored tops. I figure her brown pants are a neutral and would go with everything. I started with tops that were pink or blue, but we wound up with this one!
One of the issues that mom didn’t like about it is how low the neckline is in the front. It doesn’t seem low to you? Well that’s because mom is wearing it backwards for these photos. She did tell me that she wore it the other day with a white shirt under it. Way to go, mom since that’s another smart option!
This blouse is amazing in my opinion! Come on, who else thinks that, too?
I just love the colors and how bright they are. And then how the sleeve is so unique along with the fact that it’s asymmetrical. I call that super interesting and fun—just like my mom (when we aren’t at each other’s throats..ha ha). So if you like that asymmetrical detail, then you might like this shirt or if you have all the money in the world, what about this? Ok, so that one is a little expensive. But I think every woman benefits from wearing asymmetrical clothing. Our bodies aren’t symmetrical, so why should our clothing be? If you don’t like this on the hemline, what about at the straps, like this? Or if you like a much more subdued color there is this one!
Okay—so she’s a little happier here in this photo—probably because she know we are almost done!! Ha ha!!
Pants: Chicos (here)~~Asymmetrical top: Blu Ice (similar here different colors but the same kind of sleeve–sorta)~~Brown Print Blouse: Mom made it (similar here)~~Shoes: Dr. Scholls (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)
Don’t Stop Now
I want to remind everybody that making friends with change is what we’ve been up to — taking advantage of neuroplasticity — shaking up our concept of who we are by playing around with what we wear.
The take-away is that, as I explained in Making Friends with Change when we introduced this Series last Friday, science now understands that who we are and what we do is dynamic and flexible until the end of our days — unless, of course, we allow ourselves to remain increasingly “set in our ways” as time goes by.
Make sure to click over to Madelyn’s post about this topic. She has so much information about your brain and how to be good to it!
The Facts
Even if you wouldn’t consider purchasing your clothing online, it can be helpful to look through my links to see what is available! It certainly doesn’t hurt my feelings, if you click on them but don’t like them. Just so you know, one of the ways I make money from this blog is through these linked items.
What this means is that when you click on a linked item, I receive a couple of cents. Those couple of cents can certainly add up! So I appreciate it if you keep clicking to help support Jodie’s Touch of Style!
Keeping in Touch
Are you registered for my email reminders to let you know when a post goes live? I’d certainly love it if you take the time to sign up and make sure all your friends sign up too!! There are other ways to follow my blog. Facebook readers can see my posts by liking my page. Or my Pinterest page has all of our outfits in a nutshell!
And if you’re new to the party, you can always see our outfits organized by categories, here! Don’t forget to check out the deals & discounts too, on this page!
And since you couldn’t go with us on our shopping trip, I found some newer styles to try to push you out of your comfort zone. I’m found these thinking these would be items that aren’t already in your closet. Like the raw hemmed jeans, or a hi-low skirt, or even the flared sleeves!! Come on—push yourselves into trying new styles! And go shopping. All for the sake of your brain health!
