That necklace. (OOTD #6)

August 7, 2016August 8, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / 2 Comments

That necklace.

I think you may know the one I’m talking about.

Kids love it.

Ladies of a certain age remember theirs.

Snooty middle age women think it’s tacky.

All of these are terrific reasons to wear one.

“The Charm Necklace”

❤

This is mine from when I was a kid. I was actually right at the tail end of these being popular. I think girls a little older than me were really more of the target audience back in the late 1980s. I haven’t had much luck finding the history of these collectors items. This link has the most info I can find about them. Someone on this message board says they were called “Jingle Jems” but I can’t find any information about a company called that. I also read that some schools banned these necklaces because they were so noisy!

You can find lots of individual charms and whole collections on eBay by using search terms like “bells 1980s plastic charms” etc. These days the original charms are going for about $10 a piece. I know had a little baby bottle charm at some point but I probably commandeered it for Peggy, my most favorite doll from the 1988 time period.

Here are some of my originals!

I think the mouse used to have a google eye–I think I might glue a new one in his empty eye socket–or maybe a jewel! The little frying pan is totally my favorite!

Red bike! Blue bike!

How weird and wonderful is this ice skating “LUCKY” boot?!

Here are my DokiDoki charms. All of these cuties have come from the every wonderful DokiDoki Crate. Seen here are two Hoppe-Chan (see more here) from Sunhoseki. The thing that looks kind of like a seal is actually a bottle of mayonnaise. So weird and SO AWESOME. I forget his name though.

Toki Doki Unicornos!

This bicycle lunch box charm is a current one from Michael’s–the stores around here in NC are actually running a bunch of this stuff on clearance for a DOLLAR a charm. I hope that doesn’t mean they are going to discontinue the line! I’m hoping it just means there is another series coming out. If you are interested in these charms you should definitely check out your local Michael’s just in case!

Did you have a necklace like this “back in the day”?

Have you added any new charms to it lately?

OOTD #5: HAIRS CUT and then some

July 25, 2016July 27, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / Leave a comment

Hey there fashion fans!

Here are two of my outfits from last week.

Do you notice anything different….?

I cut my hairs!

After seeing my previous OOTD posts I realized that one side of my hair was longer than the other. I trimmed it a bit and then it needed evening out again and then the next thing I knew it was short XD . I’m basically not allowed to have scissors near the bathroom.

{LEFT}: The tee-shirt underneath is actually a cropped top that I originally got to wear with a match-y dress. It came off the post-Christmas deep discounted clothes racks at Belk this January. I like it a lot under the shark bite dresses. Speaking of, this is another one from my mom’s latest trip to Daytona.

{RIGHT}: Thrifted tee. Dress from Maude Vintage. Maude is basically the best vintage store around. Sabrina has been keeping fashion super fresh since 2000! (Sarb, y’all reeeeally need to have a sweet 16 birthday party!) I haven’t found a store that is even in the same league anywhere. If you ever find yourself in mid-Missouri you absolutely have to stop in. But back to the dress–it is one of my ultimate “tropical bird” outfits. I’m always a color explosion when I wear it and I never fail to get compliments on it. PLUS, IT HAS POCKETS 😀 The stretchy belt is modern but came from a thrift store in Daytona. Gotta keep that waist cinched!

{LEFT}: Leggings by xhilaration at Target. Stretchy rainbow shoes from Walmart by Faded Glory–my BFF Rhonda got these for me for my birthday! SO cute and comfy.

{RIGHT}: Cropped cupcake leggings from Walmart. I’ve already told y’all about the Birkenstocks here.

SPARKLY TIGER FACE CLOSE UP!!!!

Accessories!

These earrings are technically Swarovski crystal Christmas presents but I wear the year round because they are gorgeous and throw rainbows everywhere. Got them at Stein Mart a few years ago near the winter holidays. I think I paid $5.99 for them on sale!

Vintage Mardi Gras beads, thrifted somewhere in Daytona.

I always keep the prices on stuff like this, Minnie Pearl style!

These leafy looking earrings came from Smiley’s Flea Market in Fletcher. I gave 50 cents for them! They’re really light and easy to wear and the last time I wore them a little girl told me they looked like a Christmas tree! 🙂

I thrifted this beautiful paper bead necklace, but I think it probably came from a group like this one where impoverished women are compensated fairly for their art. I bought a similar one from Ten Thousand Villages years ago and I love it AND I felt super lucky to score such a nice one for a nearly a song. I have quite a nice little paper bead necklace collection. I’ll put that on the “to blog” list!

These two little charms are really special to me. The tiny bottle full of sparkles was made for me by my pal, Violet. TINY SPARKLES! I should have put that in a TINY TUESDAY post. Maybe I will again some day! The other is a pendant with a blue topaz stone. My grandmother gave it to me for my 31st birthday and it’s one of my favorite pieces of jewelry ❤

Oh Betsey.

You are a wicked mistress and I love you so BADDD.

Here are some awesome pieces from her current collection.

I’m pretending they’re part of my own collection, haha!

Betsey Johnson Alligator Earrings

GIANT SPARKLES from Betsey!

New Shark Bites! (OOTD #3)

July 9, 2016July 9, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / 1 Comment

Hey there friends that want to gawk at my funny fashion!

Tropical bird alert!

Here are two of my outfits from this first week of July!

I’ve got THREE great new dresses that Mom got me on her cat-sitting adventure down in Florida. She made a day trip up to Daytona to hit up the flea market (see this post) get me more “shark bite dresses”. I’m talking about the little short dresses that are longer on the sides and come to points–kind of like a shark bite! They are so comfy to wear paired with leggings. It feels like wearing pajamas but looks so cute! I love comfortable sass.

Please excuse my lack of eye make-up as my allergies have been AWFUL and my lashes haven’t been graced with mascara in about a month >:p

{LEFT} Pepperoni pizza tee for $5 off the sale rack at Walmart. Dress was $5 and came from Ross a few years back. I cut about three feet off it (I looked like Holly Hobbie lol) and it became on of my favorites! I’ve even worn it to Carowinds with bike shorts under it. We’ll get to that crazy necklace in another post!

{RIGHT} Shark bite dress paired with a thrifted Elle top from Kohls. Note the awesome polka dots AND stripes together! I have to wear long sleeves at work because it is approximately -14 degrees Fahrenheit at my job. Also note the SPARKLES all over that dang cheetah on the dress! Stay tuned for the rest of the ones Mom got for me.

{LEFT} leggings from the Daytona Flea Market $3

{RIGHT} leggings from Walmart for $3

If you know me well at all you will know that I have awful chronic back pain. My particular pain is in my lower back (L4 &L5 if you’re nerdy enough to know) where I blew a disk about 8 years ago. I LOVE wearing high heels–I have super high arches and heels feel SO GOOD on my feet. Crazy, I know. Unfortunately, heels are awful for my back 😦 Since I’ve had a few weeks of a not-so-happy back I’ve been in my flats, like Birkenstocks. They make for a much happier back.

Now don’t start hating over this, but I snagged these Birks for TEN BUCKS at an outlet sale. I had just blown out an awesome pair that I’d had for years. Birkenstocks, y’all. They feel great!

Tomato Swatch from Spring 2016 collection.

Pink zipper bracelet came from the June DokiDoki crate.

One of my co-workers told me about a new store over in Gastonia called Gabe’s. I was over in that direction delivering sandwiches to Mr. Smith a few weeks back, so I stopped by. OMG y’all, that place is FULL of FUN. So many great deals. I found a whole display rack of zipper headbands that look very similar to my pink zipper bracelet. They were only 50 cents each! I cut the stretchy headband part off and made them in to bracelets. Because really, a zipper headband seems like a bad idea, right?

Here is a little sneak peek at what I’ve been crafting!

I’m trying to get some backstock ready for winter, so I’m back at knitting mitts! I’m having a lot of fun with these colors and the faux fair isle pattern–yay for “baja blast” lol. Let me know if you want to get on my list for winter–it’ll be chilly again before we know it!

What are you wearing this summer?

How hot is it where you are?

Stay tuned for more fashion from the tropical bird!

❤

Tropical bird in flight! (OOTD take 2)

June 2, 2016June 4, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / 4 Comments

Oh, hello!

It’s me, your tropical bird friend!

Thank goodness it’s Thursday!

Everyone seemed to love the last OOTD post! {I guess everyone loves a silly colorful outfit!} There is plenty more where that came from, so I guess this will be another regular feature!

Here are two looks from this first week of June!

{LEFT} tank top: thrifted, but via Hot Topic…

…because who doesn’t want Daryl Dixon on their boobs?!

{RIGHT} t-shirt: black capped sleeve tee, thrifted;

“FASHION DESIGN” parrot dress* from the Daytona Flea Market.

*I am completely addicted to these dresses and wish I had one for every day of the week!

{LEFT} Cheetah earrings: Burkes Outlet. {RIGHT} Engraved kittens with bells: thrifted.

Thrifted necklace–beads are probably plastic, painted to look like faux rock.

Medallion necklace by Piddly Links from my mom’s jewelry box.

Thrifted chunky bead necklace–I like these because they feel a little like pearls.

{LEFT} Let’s talk about palazzo pants. I am addicted. I got this pair at a dang CVS and had I known how much I would love them I would have bought EVERY PAIR. There is something about them that feels simultaneously super chic and so lazy. You’ll see more of this pants style in the coming OOTD posts! SHOES: gladiator sandal by ‘So’ at Kohls. I want this silver pair so bad! I l actually lucked out and got this orange pair on the sale rack two seasons ago for $7. They’ve been comfortable AND held up really well.

{RIGHT} leggings: xhilaration from Target. SHOES: galaxy clogs by Dansko. You don’t even want to know how much I paid for these! Really, you don’t. Okay, I’ll tell you! I snagged these at a crazy outlet sale for $35. They retail for at least $129. My lucky dang day!!!

I was painting my nails out on my carport the other night and spied this snake skin out of the corner of my eye! Hey there snake skin! After I posted the picture on Facebook, my friend Moose commented and thinks it belonged to a black snake. AND IT CAN BE USED FOR CRAFTING. Moose said he uses the skins and shellacs them on walking sticks as a decorative texture. I am sooooooo trying this out! I have a little wooden trinket box that I am going to glue this bad boy on to! Stay tuned for THAT awesome craft tutorial coming soon. And don’t my nails look great? XD

What are you wearing this season?

What is your must have piece?

❤ Tell me all about it! ❤

And now you witness the tropical bird.

May 27, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / 6 Comments

OOTD…

“Outfit Of The Day.”

Y’all have asked for it, and I am trying to deliver!

Unfortunately I don’t have a timer on my camera phone and the camera phone is my only camera. I don’t have a very good mirror for doing a full length selfie and I refuse to ask Mr. Smith to take glamour shots of me! So here is what I am left with sharing: cut up parts of my body, hahaha! I promise I will at least buy a big mirror, if not a fancy camera. I’ll just have to see if you all even really like looking at my wacky clothes! Seriously, my fashion inspo is a tropical bird on a touristy vacation!

Here are two days of outfits from this week!

{LEFT} t-shirt: vintage {RIGHT} sleeveless top: Vera Wang

{LEFT} thrifted watermelon earrings

{RIGHT} dangly cluster earrings from a flea marker in Cherokee

{LEFT} gifted yellow multi-strand delight from a co-worker. Lady bug clip at left came from a jewelry store in Savannah (I bought it after mom and I saw the Lady Chablis last summer). The clip was too heavy to stay in my hair but it works perfectly as an accent on this piece! {RIGHT} Cherry necklace came from Fantastic Finds in Newton.

{LEFT} leggings: Walmart, dress: flea market, shoes: Reebok high tops from Ross.

{RIGHT} pants: BONGO, shoes: Miz Moos, socks: DeFeet ***

***These socks were part of my birthday present from Mr. Smith. 🙂

I always have a Swatch or two (or 5!) on! This is one of my most favorites. “sorry, not available in colour” is the perfect one to wear with my over-the-top colorful outfits! Also here are a spirit band I found at work (caption: OUTTA SIGHT) and a thrifted handpainted wooden birdy bracelet! The grapefruit La Croix water kinda matched my look, too. My can is hidden by my coozie from my favorite fabric store, Mary Jo’s!

What do y’all think? Should I make outfit posts a regular feature?

Tell me what you think!

❤