My Closet Archives - Thrifty Wife Happy Life

How to Wear Leggings

February 16, 2021 by Katie Haller

*This post contains affiliate links.

I first shared this post way back in December of 2016. I noticed recently that it was getting a lot of views, so I wanted to give it a little update. I’ve always loved this posts because it’s all about my favorite wardrobe item… leggings! But I wasn’t loving the pictures any more so I added some more recent outfits and updated all the links. I hope you enjoy! Read more

Peplum Top Spring Look

March 14, 2019 by Katie Haller

I have had the biggest case of writer’s block for the last week. Every time I go to sit down to write this blog post, my brain goes blank. I have so much to say, yet I can’t get the words out. I took these pictures of this outfit weeks ago, but I just have nothing to go with it. So I decided since I’m a tired working blogging mom who is just trying to get to the weekend, I’m just going to leave this post as what it is. It’s a cute spring outfit featuring my thrifted Old Navy peplum top. It’s 50% thrifted and 100% budget-friendly. Since this outfit is made up of thrift finds and clearance finds, I don’t have the exact links to it, but you can find similar pieces linked below.

*This post contains affiliate links which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a commission for this blog. Thank you for your support!

Shop my closet

Top- Old Navy- thrifted from Savers (similar, similar, similar)
Cardigan- Target- thrifted from Savers (similar, similar, similar)
Jeans- Abercrombie (similar, similar, similar)
Shoes- Walmart (similar, similar, similar)
Purse- Coach outlet- it’s old (similar)
Necklace- Nordstrom (exact)

Feeling Confident with a Transitional Spring Outfit

February 25, 2019 by Katie Haller

For today’s outfit post I wanted to talk about something a little more than just my outfit. Today I’m talking about confidence. This is something that I’ve always struggled with. I’ve always been a pretty shy person and I haven’t always felt very confident in myself. Sometimes I let my lack of self-confidence take over and I don’t try new things.

When I first started my blog, I didn’t really feel confident about it. For me, taking pictures of myself was out of the question, but I still wanted to share my outfits. I did my best to hide my face in all my photos. It wasn’t until I was a few years into my blog that my mom said to me “I really love your blog, but I wish you would share your pretty face more often.” Of course, she said that she’s my mom. I told her that it wasn’t about me, it’s about my outfits. My brother-in-law also commented about it too. He asked why I always cut off my head in all my pictures. The more people started to ask me these questions, the more I started to question why I didn’t want to share my face. It wasn’t just about the outfit, I just didn’t feel confident enough to show myself.

I am still not completely comfortable with taking pictures of myself. I feel silly doing it. I try to take all my photos in the privacy of my yard. I don’t even like to have my husband take my pictures because I’m too embarrassed. But the thing is, I love sharing my outfits. I love having this blog. That’s why I take a big step out of my comfort zone to try to make my blog better. I figured that I’m probably the only one seeing all my flaws. I highly doubt that people are as critical as I am of myself (at least I hope not).

So with that said, today I’m sharing an outfit that makes me feel confident wearing. Even though my pictures are not perfect and my head is down in most of the pictures, because that’s what I’m more comfortable doing, I’m still going to share my post. Having this blog has helped me gain more confidence in myself and in my wardrobe than I ever thought it could. I’m sure a lot of you can relate to me. If that’s the case, don’t let your insecurities or lack of confidence stop you from doing something you love. You might not be the best, but if it brings you joy, then do it!

In today’s look, I’m sharing a transitional spring outfit. With March around the corner, I pulled out my green cami to wear under my grey cardigan I’ve been wearing all winter. (See other posts HERE and HERE) Mixing winter clothes and summer clothes is a great way to pull off a transitional spring outfit. I bought these black jeans at Target last month and I’m loving them. I love that they are high waisted and they fit great. They are only $15, (HERE) so I highly recommend checking them out if you are in need of a pair of black jeans. For shoes, my cut out booties makes for the perfect transitional bootie. I love peep toe and cut out booties during the transitional seasons. Scroll down to shop my look!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a commission for this blog. Thank you for your support.

Shop my closet

Top- Abercrombie (exact, similar)
Cardigan- Target (similar, similar, similar)
Pants- Target (exact, similar)
Shoes- Zappos (exact, similar)
Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (similar, similar)
Necklace- Nordstrom (exact)

Easy Outfit Combination- Black + Denim + Leopard

February 21, 2019 by Katie Haller

Black jeans, denim shirt and leopard print

Today I’m talking about one of the easiest outfit combinations ever! All you need is something black, something denim and sometimes leopard. This is one of my go-to looks when I want to feel stylish and feel confident in my outfit. It can be done with pants, dresses, skirts, shorts… really anything. Today I’m sharing 2 looks wearing the same base clothes (top and bottom). My top is a chambray shirt and my bottoms are a pair of high wasted black jeans. One look is for the day and the other is for the night.

Look #1- Day look

For this look, I accessorized with my leopard loafers and a black satchel purse. The larger purse and the flat shoes make the outfit a little more casual and more appropriate for the day. It’s perfect for wearing anywhere. It could be worn for work or if you want to look a little more put together while you run errands. I always love a good pair of leopard print shoes. They can really make any look pop!

Look #2- Evening look

All I did to make this look more appropriate for the evening was switch out the flats for a pair of heels and the satchel purse for a leopard clutch. This is a look I would wear if I was going out with friends in the evening or a date night with my husband. It’s a very simple way to turn your day look into an evening look.

Like I said, this combination is so simple and you can wear it in so many other ways. It doesn’t take many pieces to complete it. My biggest tip for putting together this combination is to keep it simple. Don’t over-accessorize. The leopard gives the look a big enough statement, so you don’t want to over-accessorize. Also don’t mix your leopard. I find that all you need is one leopard print accessory. Mixing different leopard prints would just be too busy.

For more ideas on how to style black, denim and leopard, you can check out my older posts (HERE, HERE, HERE)

Shop my closet

Pants- Target (exact, similar, similar, similar)

Top- Target (similar, similar)

Satchel Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (similar, similar)

Clutch- ThredUp (similar, similar)

Pumps- Target (similar)

Loafers- Lulu’s (similar, similar)

Watch- Nordstrom Rack (similar)

Necklace- Nordstrom (exact)

Earrings- Etsy (exact)

Sunglasses- Glassesshop.com (similar)

Flare Jeans- Yes or No??

February 18, 2019 by Katie Haller

The last couple of times that I cleaned out my closet, I’ve been debating if my flare jeans were worth keeping. I haven’t worn my flairs in years. This style of jeans got me through my middle school, high school, college years, and most of my early 20’s. It’s hard for me to say that the flair style is completely dead. I see people pull off flair jeans all the time, but for some reason, I feel like I’m not stylish enough to pull them off still.

I decided that the only way to truly decided if flare jeans still brought me joy was to put together a cute outfit wearing them and have a little photoshoot. That’s just what I did. My favorite pair of flare jeans are a pair of Express jeans that I bought years ago. These jeans take me back to 2008. I remember them well because I wore them out many times to the bar in college. I decided to try to style them for 2019, so I wore my ruffled striped top with them. For shoes, I always enjoyed a good pair of heels with my flares. I’m only 5’1, so I always need to add a little height when I can. I decided to try out my strappy sandals. I accessorized it with my leopard clutch and my pink pendant necklace. I feel like this look is cute for a night out with friends or a date night with the husband.

So after having a fun little photo shoot in this outfit, I’ve decided that I’m going to hold on to this pair of flare jeans. I will say that I did get rid of the rest of my flares. If you have one nice pair of flares, I’d say keep them, but from what I found out from my polls on Instagram is that most of you guys are not into the flare style anymore. So are they a completely dead style? I don’t think so, plus everything comes back around. That’s why I say if you have one nice pair still in your closet you should hold onto them, at least for a little longer.

Shop my closet

Jeans- Express (Similar, Similar, Similar)
Top- Shein (Exact)
Shoes- ThredUp (Similar)
Purse-ThredUp (Similar, Similar)
Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (Exact)
Sunglasses- Glassesshop (Similar)

Adding Color to February

February 6, 2019 by Katie Haller

It’s February now and I think most people are pretty excited about that. I never thought much of the month of February until 3 years ago when my due date was set for February. Now every year I look forward to the month because I get to celebrate my little guys’ birthday. He’s turning 3 this year and it’s really hard for me to believe. I still refer to him as baby Jack when I’m talking to my students at school about him, but now I feel like he’s too big to be called that. Now that he’s 3, he is actually remembering things and knows what’s going on. This makes me feel pressured to make sure his birthday is extra special, so it looks like I need to spend some time on Pinterest planning out some birthday ideas.

Anyway on to fashion. Since it’s February, I’m going to try to break out of my leggings and sneakers phase that I’ve been going through for the last month and attempt to put together some more colorful outfits. The grey winter months need a little color. Everyone always really loves reds and pinks for Valentine’s Day, but I’m really loving purple too! This lavender sweater that I’m sharing today was a Christmas gift from one of my students. I don’t always like getting clothes as a gift, because I’m picky and I don’t want to be rude if I don’t like it, but I actually really love this sweater. It’s something that I would have never picked out for myself. I probably would have bought it in oatmeal or grey. It’s nice to have a bright pastel color in my closet. I figured that it would transition well into the spring and also look really nice around Easter. Scroll down to find out all the details!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will make a commission for this blog. Thank you for your support!