When I wear clothes...

...sometimes I turn them around and wear them backwards.

Why?

Well, when I buy something I love, I really LOVE it, and I keep it for as long as it--or God, or my husband--will let me. I will wear items until they have stains/bleach spots I can no longer hide, rips/tears/holes that cannot be mended, hems that can no longer be lengthened (or "hidden" with a tank top or slip underneath, depending on whether it's a blouse or a skirt). You get the picture.

I picked up this idea of wearing an item backwards from a magazine or a blog, I believe. Who knows where I originally heard this idea, but it allows you to take a piece of clothing you have and turn it into a new piece of clothing without altering it permanently. I think that is amazing because I don't have access to a sewing machine (though I am thinking about asking for one for Christmas, or saving up my fun monies) or access to large amounts of money to spend. (I doubt any of you do either.)

I know sometimes we accidentally wear clothes backwards or inside out, which is sooo embarrassing. Here is a way you can own your embarrassment: you meant to wear it backwards. (I guess it doesn't quite work with clothes inside-out...) There are plenty of tips like this one to allow you to re-wear you item in multiple ways, but today I just want to focus on taking an item, turning it around backwards, and wearing it. :)

First, I must give you a history of the dress I am using to illustrate my point.

I first bought this dress in 2007, I believe. It is from Target and costs about $17 originally. I adore the colors because it easily works for winter--plums and purples are typically winter colors to me--but I also feel the pattern makes it translate to autumn and spring as well. The fabric is so light and cool, I'll wear it in our hot Arkansas summers, too! I immediately wanted it because it reminded me of a Japanese kimono. The necklace I am wearing was purchased at Target on the same trip and matched so well I couldn't pass it up.

I bought this dress for my friend Theresa's wedding (pictured above). I think I may have actually picked it up en route from Conway via Little Rock (where I was working that morning) to Benton (where her wedding was that after) that September. I swung by my mama's house to change, freshen up, and head back down the Interstate to get there just on time. I had no idea how it would fit; typically I would not wear something this low cut without some kind of shirt underneath. *lol*

By the time of our road trip to see Kings of Leon twice in Tennessee the following month, I had found a scarf pin that I used to hold my dress in place by slipping it over where the neckline v's and center of my bra simultaneously.

Kings of Leon is my favorite band! They also happen to be the favorite or well-liked by many of my best good friends. We almost didn't make it to this concert; it was our second in ten days. Another girl, a "frenemy" as they say, was on the trip with us as she was dating one of our friends, and she got very sick with a stomach virus and had to be taken to the ER right before the opening act, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, of whose girlfriends/wives we met before this girl threw up in an alley. (This is why they are not in the picture.) Now that would not have been a problem at all had she not been drinking all day long while she was sick and we were continually telling her to stop drinking and taking away her alcoholic drinks. That is why she ended up in the ER. And you know what she did when she was released and made it to the second half of the Kings? Ordered more beer. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

This worked very well because I have kept that pearly, gold-frame scarf pin just for this purpose. I think this was in November 2007.

By the way, I do not know this guy. He started talking to my friends. When we found out his name is Bryant, which is the name of my hometown, my best friend took a picture of us together. At the time, we were into chucking the deuces. (So embarrassing now!)

Here I am sporting the dress for my friend Katie's birthday celebration in April 2008. There were some very funny and interesting photos from that night involving trucker hats from a gas station.

This was the wedding of my best friend's roommate's wedding in the summer of 2008 after I had graduated with my bachelor's. I really wish I had some pictures that proved I didn't just wear that scarf pin to hold my dress in place; I often wore reddish, purple, or brown tanks/camis underneath to hide my cleavage. *lol* I also wish you could see my shoes because I am almost certain I have worn a different pair of shoes each time I have worn this dress. In the first picture, you can see my little silver slippers, but over the years I have paired this dress with brown heeled-boots, multiple black kitten heels (my go-to "work" or professional shoes), raspberry kitten heels, brown Mary Jane flats, brown woven wedge sandals, and God only remembers what else.

I have to mention I wore this dress on the first "date" Zach and I had after meeting September 19, 2009. I remember I paired the dress with the new pair of black kitten heels I had gotten to wear to teach class. At that point, I was constantly buying something new to wear each time I went out, a bad habit I picked up from Katie and her sister Kassi. :) But I stuck to one of my classics on this night. I wanted to be comfortable yet pretty as possible.

On September 30, we went to see Les Miserables at The Rep with some friends. It wasn't exactly a date or even a group date; it was more of an outing, especially as Zach had no idea was going to be there until the day before...while I had known all along. This was entertaining as we had started communicating on facebook, and he had told me, "We should hang out soon!" I was very confused, thinking, "Hello?! We are hanging out Sunday!!" Communication problems are the root of all the trouble in the world, I think.

This was taken on my twenty-fifth birthday at my birthday lunch at Mimi's Cafe with Zach's family. Here I mixed things up with a green camisole underneath the dress.

FINALLY, how I turned this dress around:

This was at my friend Amber's baby shower this past December. Zach had just found a job, we had just moved in our new place, and I had no money to spend on clothes. :( It was a sad time. (Just kidding!) But it did force me to be creative with my clothes while we were on such a (tight) budget. (We are always on a budget. It's our way of life. :) Anyway, I was trying so hard to find something appropriate in my closet, but I was bored. Finally, it came to me: I'll turn my kimono dress around! I LOVED how it turned out! Once again, I wish I had a picture of the whole dress because it is gathered in the back typically, so here it was gathered in the front, creating a new waistline. As it was winter, I paired it with my sparkly brown cardigan, tights, and tall boots.

During the summer, I could wear it without any kind of cover-up to have a nice plunging back. I have always been uncomfortable exposing my backside because 1) I have had really bad scoliosis since elementary school, and you could tell looking at my back and body shape; 2) I didn't like exposing my scar once I had back surgery to insert a rod to correct my scoliosis; and 3) my back sometimes breaks out bad, and I don't like to show that off. But right now I'm more comfortable with my scoliosis than ever and my skin looks great, so I think I might just wear this tomorrow with a coverup for work and without one for fun afterward. :)

Go turn a dress or blouse or skirt around! It will give you a new and (hopefully) great look.