innoveightor?

i snagged this sweet pin from my hong kong-dwelling BFF, marisa.

its a great, easy, accessible blog for fashion and this particular pin linked to a post on re-imagining your current wardrobe; getting new looks out of clothes you already own using free means such as belting, tucking, cuffing, etc.

so this info and these tricks were at the front of my cortex when i received a recent old navy order in the mail on saturday.

i had ordered this top (for $7 using a coupon!) because i love the variable dots print and the scalloped hem.i also [shamefully] love a 100% polyester blouse for its non-shrinking, wrinkle-free goodness. 

here's a confession though: i am a serial returner. my mom tried to have an intervention on me in college because of how much i ordered stuff online and then returned 95% of it. 

she says "addiction." i say "empowered consumer."

if they have free shipping and free returns, why would i not order everything possible and try it all on in the comfort of my own home? and i have yet to be blacklisted by any retailers due to my frequent send-backs. i am the boss of the free market.

but anyway, this "pull the trigger now and return it later if it doesnt work out" mentality has led to some impulse-buys, so when my old navy package arrived, i honestly couldnt have told you one single item that i had ordered. maybe the online shopping experience is becoming a little too second nature.

but i pulled out the dotted navy blouse, tried it on and loved it. i penciled it in for my church outfit the next day.

well, when i was getting dressed sunday i felt itchy on my neck. i looked down my shirt and realized that my shirt was on backwards. not accidentally, but in a "i really thought this was how the shirt went" kind of way.

so i flipped it around the correct way and, bum of all bums, i HATED it. 

it was Captain Horatio Sadsack.

granny neckline, but with crazy low cleavage keyhole that would give any of my keen-eyed fellow congregants quite a glimpse of the goods. A: if i want to be a saucy lady for a hot date with jesse, i want it to go all the way and not  just through teeny peephole like i'm viewing an eclipse through a shoebox in the 3rd grade. and B: i dont want to be doing the old keyhole tease routine at church for sure.

realizing the shirt wouldnt work after all = sad moments of the sabbath.

but then--high on reading that blog AND delirious from getting 10 hours of sleep (my parents had the kids overnight)--i decided, "why the hell cant i wear the shirt backwards?" 

i mean, i thought it looked better that way and couldnt tell it was wrong without the tag as evidence, so maybe no one else could.

i cut the tag out, spun that baby right round (like a record baby), added a sassy necklace and belted that bee-yatch:

i dont know if i pulled this off, but just looking at this before/after makes me feel like there's no contest. 

about 17 times throughout the service i did think, "what makes you think you can make up style rules on a whim, oh she of the collection of 14 target v-neck tees?"  despite my misgivings, i felt great wearing my $7 shirt this way.

i did sort of negate it by immediately spilling the beans to every person i talked to because i'm not great at secrets. they'd be all, "jesse did great today, you must be so proud!" and then i'd be all, "oh hey, guess what? this shirt is on backwards, SEE? *flips neck inside out to show where the tag was*." 

subterfuge: i hasnt it.

so while "wear your shirt backwards" might not appear on your standard list of ways to mix up a look, i think it was a good choice in this special situation. and bonus, i got to feel like 4% of a fashion innovator for about 2 hours with my ballsy and effective maneuver!