Category: Style Sessions

Sarah loves to mix brands and styles, so it makes sense that thrift shopping is one of her favorite hobbies.

(It also makes sense, with all the mix and matching, that when I asked my two Rhodes interns if they had any candidates for this section, they both suggested Sarah.)

Sarah says about half her closet — including these black ankle boots — is from Buffalo Exchange, a thrift store in her native Austin where people can buy, sell, and trade clothes.

But she also mixes what I call highs and lows, i.e. things from Target with designer pieces.

For this outfit, Sarah paired an eye-popping blue Madewell skirt with a Target blouse and accessorized with a studded clutch.

“I was so sad because they only sold this [clutch] at ‘select Marc Jacobs stores,’ but I found it on eBay! It’s funny,” she says, “because inside it has a tag that says Jacobs by Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs in collaboration with Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs. Longest name EVER!”

I haven’t actually seen the inside of this fun clutch to verify that, but I’m already imagining my new byline.

Rhodes College sophomore Sarah Knowles began college as a business major, because she wanted to go into fashion. She quickly realized, however, that the practical business major wasn’t for her.

Now she’s majoring in English Literature and minoring in Studio Art.

But that doesn’t mean she’s lost her interest in fashion or style or her dream of being in the fashion business.

In this outfit, she combines black leather Michael Kors boots — a present from her mom — jeans, a tank from Urban Outfitters, a black long-sleeve button down, and a faux fur coat.

But let’s talk about the jeans, which Sarah says are very comfortable.

“I would probably wear them everyday if the fabric wasn’t so thin. They’re starting to wear out,” she says.

I know what you’re thinking: Of course they’re starting to wear out, they have holes in the knees.

“The holes are intentional,” Sarah says. “I did like them as they were, but I didn’t really wear them very much until I made the holes, strangely enough. Now I basically wear them all year round!

“I must say, though, I do get tired of people asking if I fell down or if I was attacked by an animal or something. The best is when my grandma says, ‘Oh, you poor thing, tell your mother to get you some new pants.'”

I get it: Sometimes your knees just have to be free. Frankly, that was basically my motto in high school.

On another note, just between you and me, I think we’re going to be learning a lot about layering this week. Stay tuned.

I think I’ve made my feelings known on bib necklaces (pro on the concept, not on the name), and here is a cute one on Penelope.

“I recently wore it to the Phoenix Club party all dressed up, but the beauty of it is that it can easily be transitioned to the day,” she says. “Actually, the beauty of it is that it was missing a stone so it was 75 percent off at Dillard’s.”

In this picture, she’s also wearing a tie-dyed wrap from Gianni Bini, a designer that she just discovered and loves, Bebe jeans, and her Naughty Monkey boots.

And she paired it all with a turtleneck from Target. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I think Penelope has shown us how easy it can be to mix and match basics from Target with vintage pieces or more name brand things.

What else have we learned? Animal print can tie things together, it’s fun to mix up colors and patterns, and we might need to ask Penelope’s mom to do this feature.

Again, I want to thank Penelope McDowell for being this week’s Fashion Plate and Gwyn Fisher and Shalishah Franklin for taking this week’s photos.

(If you want to nominate a Fashion Plate, shoot me an email.)

Today I’m pretty sure most of you out there are going to learn something.

This is one of Penelope’s casual, hanging out outfits, with an oversized sweater from the ’70s that used to be her mom’s, a yellow tank from Target, and patent leather Tory Burch flats. And leggings. Or, wait. I’ll just let Penelope explain.

“I know there is a constant struggle with the ‘leggings as pants’ look, but these provide a nice compromise — jeggings. That’s right. Half jeans, half leggings, all awesome,” she says. “I think Jessica Simpson made these up and they are a great substitute for skinny jeans.”

This is about as get down to business as Penelope gets at MPACT Memphis.

According to her. Not me. Just for the record.

The foundation for this outfit is a gray turtleneck from Target and a pair of Bebe jeans. The blazer is from her mom. Well, it’s from J. Crew, but her mom got it for her. Her mom also got her these shoes, also from J. Crew.

“She has a better sense of style than I do, but I’m still taller. … Sorry, Mom,” she says.

“The blazer goes with every single thing … ever.”

The shoes, which have a camel’s hair texture, also go with everything.

“That’s the thing about animal print. So many people shy away from it, but it’s extremely versatile, because it helps to blend all sorts of colors and shades,” she says.

And if you’re wondering why Penelope is looking down in the previous picture, she’s obviously looking at her shoes! See.

A longtime Michael Stars fan, Penelope ordered pretty much everything from his line when it was on Rue-La-La (if you want to belong, email me and I’ll be happy to share an invitation with you. Even though it means my clicking fingers will have to be that much faster to beat you to the deals. But that’s just an aside).

This lightweight turtleneck dress was one such purchase.

The scarf, she says, was an impulse purchase from Target that she can wear with just about anything. The tights were also a Target purchase.

“I’m constantly cold, so I have to find ways to stay warm when it’s sunny, but breezy out,” she says.

And the Naughty Monkey boots we saw yesterday.

“The boots are also pretty versatile,” she says. “My mom got them for me for Christmas one year and I love how they’re not quite brown or gray, but somewhere in between.”

Penelope McDowell is MPACT Memphis’ communications person. More importantly for my purposes, every time I see her, I love what she’s wearing.

Somehow, I convinced her during the same week of MPACT’s Soul of the City gala — where they released The Voice of MPACT — to show us a few outfits. And somehow she convinced MPACT director Gwyn Fisher to take time out of her busy schedule to snap a few pictures.

With spring just having sprung (tho we all know how dicey that’s been), she says this outfit is half-winter and half-spring.

The cardigan is J. Crew, the jeans are J brand, and the boots are Naughty Monkey. The sleeveless turtleneck is one she bought at a boutique in college.

Penelope says she likes matching colors and patterns, thus the addition of the leopard print belt from Express.

“It took me a long time to get into the skinny belt trend and now that I finally am … I think it’s going away,” she says.

But her favorite part of the outfit? Her owl earrings.

“I bought [them] on my first spring break in Acapulco. A year later, owls were everywhere and the trend is still going strong.”

This is very exciting. Finally, someone has recognized my talent as a style judge.

As part of Springtime in Victorian Village *this* Saturday, I will be judging the Easter Bonnet contest at Mollie Fontaine Lounge at 4 p.m. I’ll be judging alongside musician Brennan Villines and state senator Beverly Marrero (left), who I think will just be perfect for the job.

The entry fee is $10, and the grand prize is a two-night stay at the Shellcrest Guesthouse in the Village.

They haven’t given me any criteria to base my judging upon, but I can tell you right now that my decision will be influenced on cuteness, how well it matches with the rest of the outfit, number of flowers, and overall height. You want to win, just use the woman below as your guide. Or Carmen Miranda but Eastery and without the fruit.

We started this week with re-purposing, and we’ll end it that way, too.

Sophorn originally got this dress from a vintage store in Atlanta about 10 years ago to wear to a ’20s party.

It’s a size 8, and originally, it had cap sleeves.

“I loved the pleated bottom so I took off the sleeves to make it more my style,” Sophorn says. “To deal with the larger size, I usually wear this with a wide belt, which I have several of.”

This red one came from Eye-Con Couture on Union.

“The shoes, which I specifically bought for the extreme points at the end, are from Dillard’s,” she says. “I’ve heard this makes you appear taller and I need as much help as I can get.”

Slimmer, too. Not that Sophorn needs any help with that, but if someone else does, pointy shoes are a good way to go.

(Personal side story: I have a pair of pointy slingbacks that I hate to wear. The heel is a little short in comparison to my other shoes, and every time I look down at the pointy bits, I think, these are witchy shoes. BUT. Whenever I see pictures of me wearing said heels … I think I really should wear those more often, b/c they look great.)

So things we’ve learned this week:

1) You don’t just have to wear something once, even if it’s a bridesmaid dress.
2) Get creative. Dressing is an experiment.
3) Just b/c something isn’t your size doesn’t mean you can’t rock it.
and 4) Pointy shoes are awesome.

Let me take a moment to thank Sophorn McRae for sharing her closet/personal style with us and her photographer Annabella Brandon for doing such a super fab job.

Sophorn had never bought a silver dress before getting this one for last year’s AIA Memphis Architecture Awards.

She got both the dress and the necklaces from Lux, “probably my favorite store in Memphis,” she says.

“Since it’s right down the street from my house, it’s my emergency fashion source, and the owner Tad always suggests the cutest things to try on.”

The slingbacks are from a shop in Portland.

“I am not sure I would wear them with the dress again,” she says, “but dressing is always an experiment, right?”

Exactly.