I am a style failure….Yes, it`s true. Being a cowboy pastors wife, lends way to attending different occasions. This time of year we gear up for wedding season. I will be needing to look decent for rehearsal dinners and weddings. Being a cowboy pastors wife might mean the wedding can take place on a ranch, a mountain peak, at the coast, in a church or on the border. There’s no telling what should be worn at some of these occasions. Horseback, got that down….that’s my old faithful jeans, boots, spurs, and a hat. Got it…but dressing up? Well, sometimes I go into a style comma, frantically searching the web, click…click…that`s too much, too short for my age, too teenager, too old, too dressy, too tight. Oh gosh, just order something, so it has time to come in the mail!
We are limited on shopping in our small town, the feed store, which does a great job with some good-looking clothes, and one department store. The thrift stores and vintage shop work, but ya gotta hit it at the right time.
My failures, well here’s a few. Ordered a dress that I thought was fairly cute. I saw a picture of myself, ..this looks familiar…who has this look ? Something reminds me of my childhood…oh good gosh….the dress I thought was so cute…Bam Bam from the Flintstones has the same one. I did match it up with a great pair of…you guest it….orange heels. What is wrong with me?
Thought I would just be in the background taking pictures at a very casual wedding…..got asked to be the Maid of Honor. What was I wearing?…..jeans. I was honored to be asked, loved being asked, nearly cried that I was asked. Surprised I was asked…..in the pictures for years to come.
” Oh that`s the pastors wife”…the only one wearing jeans besides the men!
My failures in this fashion area has caused me to examine three areas: my closet, my fashion judgement and my wallet. I wonder if you too have faced a similar situation. Doesnt every girl, ranch girl or city girl ask that age-old question? What am I going to wear? For the sake of this post, I will cover the first one, the closet. My Closet:
Time to clean it out! What Needs to GO! :
- Anything too tight, too young, doesn`t fit, has dust collected on the hanger line. That BAM BAM dress….goodbye sweet girl….it`s my fault not yours….you were ordered in a computer comma.
- Anything that I bought with the intention of repairing and I never have! No I refuse to keep it for that quilt…I have a hall closet full of those someday projects.
- The shoes that kill my feet!
- The wire hangers that cause that bump on the shoulder look
What Needs to STAY:
- Things I love and that I always grab. You know that favorite shirt, the dress that always gets complimented. The favorite jeans.
- My boots stay! My long sleeve shirts that I work in….gotta have them.
- My black dress stays. Anything basic that I need in building a better wardrobe. White, black, and solid colored shirts, long sleeve, t-shirts, and tanks.
- And anything that I am questioning….put it on notice though. If you don’t wear it in a year, it’s time to part ways.
After completing the cleaning of the closet, you may feel overwhelmed as I did. You may really say, “I have nothing to wear.” But don’t fret, together we can do this, we ranch girls have to stick together!
Do you have something in your closet that you love, what is it? Please comment below.
Join me for the next blog where we will cover:
- Examining My Fashion Judgement
and……..
- My Wallet
Hi Norma,
First of all, you are cute in anything you wear and you always look stylish to me! I also am fashion impaired. I hate dressing up and never know what goes for what occasion. My neighbor (male) just told me I looked like I was going to a shin dig when I was going to a business meeting – back to the closet…
Anyway, I recently discovered zulily.com Some stuff is reasonable and really cute. It changes all the time, so if there is nothing there you like, go back a few days later. I have found some things to spruce up my closet.
Joyce
Thank you Joyce. I love the story about your neighbor. I knew there were women out there that could relate to my dilemma. I will check out zulily, thanks for recommending.
Yes, yes, and yes. Cleaning the closet happens a lot here.
You are so not a style failure… you’re a classy lady, and look great at ALL times!
Me… eh, not so much. I feel out of place if dressed up.. and almost under dressed when in jeans and a shirt… but, oh well. 😛 I’m a work in progress. Coming from a home that was mostly filled with boys, well, dresses weren’t my favorite thing to wear. My mama didn’t even wear a dress much, so I was pretty much clueless.
And now I’m rambling… 🙂
Rachel, Your words brought tears to my eyes, not because of your compliment, although it was so nice. I wanted to tell you what an older rancher women told me the other day. She said, we are just ranch women, she, a very classy lady. She was dressed plain, but elegant. Her speech is always gracious and if I said her name, you would know immediately what I was talking about. She welcomes everyone the same…she loves everyone the same..isn’t that what we all want to do? That’s the Prov. 31 women. I love that other women can relate, thus the purpose for the post. I gave away some things in the closet that I bought last spring because I looked like I was twelve…ha..ha. So I am clueless right along with you. I am working on some things that I hope to be posting by Saturday afternoon, that is between feeding and a water situation. You are so beautiful, more than any dress or outfit on the face of the earth. Love you!
My sister shared with me and I thought it was so helpful. I have a hair d time parting with things. She shared with me how I can be a blessing to someone at the Goodwill who could find the things I hang on to and never us. God wants us to give to others. If I have that hanging in my closet and I am not wearing it let someone else get blessed in wearing it. Open my hands and set myself free and see who God would send to enjoy it. It was so freeing to do this. Bless someone else. It made it easier to clean through my closet and apartment. I trust this could help someone else. It sure helped me. Be a good steward of the things we have. Bless someone!!
So true Kosette. Letting go of stuff and knowing it will bless someone else makes it so much easier. Thank you for sharing.