"At least you don't buy clothes from H-E-B."

If there's one personality trait I don't like in people, it's snobbery. Whether it's about cars, fashion, music, or other etc. whatnot, I have no time for snobbish behavior. Growing up, though my grandparents did take me and my sister birthday shopping, most of my clothes were from the local thrift store or my older brother's girlfriends. Seriously.

I wasn't "into" brand names, like some of the girls in class. You know, the girls who made claims that they only wore Polo Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger. I once overheard that I dressed like a "nerd", along with that I wasn't "that pretty" (as in, "Chelsea's nice, but she's not that pretty, and she dresses like a nerd"; 10-year-old girls can be bitches).

I could understand the "nerd" thing: I was, and am, way into books and learning. But that's not the point. The point is, I didn't (and still don't) understand the name-calling zoning in on my personal appearance. I thought I looked nice in my "nerd" clothes!

That's when I began learning the names, along with the difference in quality and style, of the off-brands. Many of these off-brands were actually private labels, available at the Herberger's and JC Penney in Kalispell, MT, a 30-minute drive north from Bigfork: Amy Byer, Arizona Jean Co., Mudd Jeans, ByerWear Too, just to name a few...Even when I started buying my clothing with self-made money, my prom dress was from the JC Penney and $15, while some girls took the 4-hour drive to Spokane, WA, to find their gowns inside a two-story mall.

Side note: After googling the mall for old time's sake, I found out that Kalispell Center Mall is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Weird!

In high-school, I started to shop at Buckle. I put their layaway-payment plan into good use for several years, in order to afford my favorite brand jean, Lucky. While the brands at Buckle are exceptional, the prices aren't, and this has led to a personal decline of shopping there. Since moving back to Austin in 2008, in order to save money while still transcending my closet from a teenager's to that of an adult's, I have generally shopped: where I am working, mostly due to fringe benefits; at thrift stores; at consignment stores, e.g. Buffalo Exchange and Plato's Closet; at the outlet malls.

A product of an environment built on saving money while dressing sharp, I have a secret to share: this 100% Rayon dress is from H-E-B, which is a supermarket chain in Texas and Mexico.

I hadn't gone into my local grocery store looking for a dress. But when I saw the brightly-dyed, sheer rayon fabric, I knew I had to have it. The colors remind me of sherbet. Even though H-E-B has reasonable prices, I was shocked to see it was only $9.99. Paired with a belt I wore in a previous post, it's a sundress made for the weather Austin has experienced this summer.

Ballet Flats: Maurices.

Tote Bag: Gifted; Free People (instead of plastic bags, the stores gives out totes).
Shift Dress: Shoreline, by way of H.E.B.
Belt: Gifted; BKE by Buckle.
Sunglasses: Dots.

Speaking of weather in Austin, the beautiful capitol city has been surrounded by devastating wildfires. I am donating whatever I can to the American Red Cross, as nearly 800 homes have been burned in the nearby town of Bastrop, TX. That fire is still only 30% contained, while other parts of Central Texas have their own fires to deal with.

If you reside in the greater Austin area, I encourage you to donate whatever you can--someone out there just lost everything. The Austin Chronicle is keeping an up-to-date list of places to donate. To those who are not in Texas, if and when a natural disaster strikes in your area, I hope you can lend a helping hand to your local relief efforts. You never know when you may be the person in need.

Pebbles & Boat Shoes.

Looking at these pictures I took of myself this morning, I can't help but laugh at the expression on my face. It's the "Okay, I'm going to give this my best effort!" look, which at 7 AM isn't quite up to par with my effort at, say, 3 PM.
But here I am anyway, in my first outfit post since I admitted I'm not the biggest fan of posting pictures of myself. So far, it's the only existential crisis I've had related to blogging.

It's still hot as hell outside, so I've been wearing a lot of shorts, skirts, and dresses. I bought the skirt I'm wearing last December, during a shopping excursion at the Round Rock Premium Outlets. I fell in love with it because of its army-green color and exposed zipper, but the side pockets are what sealed the deal. Fashionable and functional, these pockets are my best friend: they can hold my phone AND my iPod!I purchased this Pebbles Flintstone graphic tee while at a National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. During the conference, I walked into a Delia's for the first time. Overwhelmed with the selection of shirts, I grabbed the only T-shirt my grandparents wouldn't be offended by. Pebbles' hair used to be completely velvety-soft. After years of washing, there's just a patch of fuzz left. Sad Pebbles!

As for the boat shoes? They were my first employee purchase at Dots this past weekend. They were tax-free due to back-to-school shopping, so I snatched them up for only ten bucks. So far, they've been very comfortable to walk to school in.

Graphic Tee: Junk Food Tees, by way of Delia's; circa 2005.
Skirt: Element, via Billabong Factory Outlet.
Boat Shoes: Dots.