 It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Think Thrifted post, so let me refresh your memory on what exactly these posts are. I like love to find cute clothes at thrift stores and style lovely ladies in outfits and post them here as style inspiration. It’s just a nice creative outlet for me without any of the pressures of shooting and editing portrait sessions for clients. These shoots are just for fun, just for me {well, also for anyone who follows my blog}.
For this post, I styled two outfits: one for a college student and one for a high school student. The college student look was modeled by Grace, and the high school one by Kamryn. They are both stunners, clearly.
We’re going to chat a little about classic style and such, so if that interests you, keep scrolling. :)
 One of the reasons I love thrifting so much is because you can find high quality clothing for cheap. I know, that sounds obvious. But think about it: you can also find low quality clothing for cheap, and not just at the thrift stores. I’m talking about that fast fashion – think mall stores and places where they sell ultra-trendy items for dirt cheap. You know, the stuff that stretches/shrinks/tears/etc after just a few wearings? Or those cheaply made bags whose straps break? Or the shoes whose heels fall apart?  I wish when I was younger that someone would have explained to me that just because something might be cheap to buy, that doesn’t always mean it’s a good deal. Necessary note here: when I talk about some thing being cheaply made or well made, I am not talking about “good name brands”. I’ve had expensive brand items fall apart on me, and I’ve had no-name brands last forever. In my experience, one of the benefits of thrifting is that I’m constantly touching and closely examining pieces before I buy them, and it’s pretty easy to tell by the weight of the fabric and other details of a garment whether it will hold up well or not.
So, as I’ve gotten older and a little wiser, I go for quality all the time. It’s hard to walk away from that cute, trendy piece, but I’ve gotten much better at talking myself out of purchasing flimsy items. All of the things pictured here, including the bags and shoes, are ones that seem like they have and will hold up for many seasons and wearings.So how do you spot high quality items? Look for things like a heavier fabric, sturdily attached buttons, even hems, seams that line up, darts for a better fit, real leather straps/handles on bags, etc. Once you’ve established the quality of an item, keep an eye out for things that stand the test of time {such as classic stripes} and have fun/extra details so they’re not boring {such as cute pockets/buttons/zipper pulls}.Now that we’ve veered over into talking style as opposed to just sustainability, let’s discuss these bags. I think you’d be the coolest girl in high school if you found some fun vintage bags to tote your books in, instead of the typical backpack or book bag. The one Kamryn is rocking here is definitely big enough to hold all your school day essentials.And if you’re a college student, you might want a backpack for hiking around on campus. All of the details on this one take it beyond just function and bring in some classic fashion elements. We tied on a silky scarf for that extra bit of panache.Now, as the title suggests, I think these are both looks that won’t go out of style quickly, hence the us of “classic” in the title. Red and tan are colors we see season after season, year after year. Stripes and solids are always “in”. Of course, you can update with pieces like shoes or jewelry to keep it modern and cool.Here’s to all the young fashionistas who are about to go back to school! Why not try out a few thrift stores for your school clothes shopping? It’s so fun finding the treasures out there! :)
This is my beautiful, fun, accomplished, energetic, dear friend Angie. She needed some professional headshots recently, so I met her at her house one afternoon and we picked out cute tops and lipsticks and grabbed some photos of her pretty face. :) I really love how they turned out!
This is Angie’s boyfriend, Ryan. I haven’t known him as long as Angie, but I have been impressed by his kindness and his sweet care of my friend. It makes me happy to see Angie so happy with him! Ryan also was in need of headshots, and we actually did these a few weeks before we did Angie’s. I’d like to think she liked his pix so much that she decided to go ahead and have me do hers as well. ;) We also did Ryan’s shoot in Angie’s cute house, but alas, there was no outfit planning or lipstick choosing for his session. Ha!
Here are some favorites from each other their sessions.Blue eyes + a blue polka dot tie = nice combo.Angie has this great navy wall in her home, and I loved it as a darker, more dramatic background with this emerald green top. {Side note: doesn’t Angie have the cutest hairstyle??}Angie & Ryan~
You are both awesome headshot models, and you made my job so easy. :) Thanks for being wonderful friends!
~abi~
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Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Oh myyyy, look at these cuties! I have photographed each of them as a newborn, and I do their family photos each year, so I’ve got an extra soft spot in my heart for these kiddos. I photographed their parents wedding way back in 2008 in Napa Valley, and they later moved to Texas. Each year, their mom Nicole is diligent about scheduling a family portrait sessions. Client-friends like this mean the world to me! Baby Easton is the newest addition to their sweet, sweet fam, and I loved taking his newborn portraits! Here are some of my favorites.Nicole’s parents were visiting from California to meet their newest grandchild, so we had to snag a few pix with them as well. I also photographed their daughter Julia’s wedding back in 2007 {I believe that was the year – I have a bad memory!}, so I’ve known this family for awhile and it’s always good to see them!If this doesn’t look like the most adorable trouble ever, I don’t know what does! ;)After family photos outside, we headed back indoors to grab a few more of the kids together and then get Easton oh his own.He was such a precious model for me.Nicole has a small business making custom t-shirts and such. She added Easton’s name to this cute elephant and made the cute worded shirts in this post. You can find her on etsy here.Too cute!!Nicole~
Thank you for the years and years of fun photo shoot collabs! You’re seriously the best. Love you and your fam!
~abi~
This is my super-handsome boyfriend, Jonathan, and his very cute son, Aiden. I snapped a few photos of them earlier this summer and I wanted to share some of my favorites.They’re pretty fantastic models!
This summer has been one of the best of my life so far, in large part thanks to these two. :) Aiden lives in Texas, but we’ve been able to spend some awesome times with him this summer. And Jonathan and I have had some great adventures together, including a drive from OKC to San Diego for a family reunion with his dad’s side of the family. A few weeks ago, Aiden came up to Oklahoma for a camping weekend with my family at Lake of the Arbuckles. We all had a really great time! Then, just this past weekend, Jonathan’s mother came up here so she could meet my family, and she brought Aiden too. We had another amazing weekend with the fam. We grilled out and went to church together and laughed and loved. I am so incredibly grateful! I never want to forget this sweet season of life.This is when they were really just done with me taking photos of them. haha! Cuties.Jonathan~
You make my life better every day. God really came through for both of us when he brought you into my life {via Instagram}! ;) I’m so thankful for you. I love seeing you continuously seek a better relationship with God and with me and with your son. You’re amazing. Thanks for letting me take pix of you guys. :) Love you!
~abi~
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Miss Isla was super adorable for her nine month old photo session, as she has been since I started photographing her as a newborn. Her big brother, Callum, is also an old pro in front of my lens, as I’ve photographed him since he was born also. Apparently and unfortunately, I’ve been terrible about blogging all my sessions over the past two years, so I only have Callum’s newborn portraits to link back to. I really want to stay on top of sharing my sessions for the rest of this year! Let’s see if I can do it, okay? :)
Anyway, as you can imagine, photographing a nine month old and a two year old together has its challenges. You should have seen me and their parents, Jennifer & Paul, trying so hard for some smiles! Ha. Isla wasn’t really having it, and Callum wasn’t very into sitting still that day {or any day ever, probably, if you asked his mom}. I loooove the pix we got, though. It’s such a true capture of their life at this stage. And they’re such a cool/cute family, it’s hard to not love pix of them. :)Okay, so fun little side story: Jennifer is friends with the mother {also named Jennifer :)} from the shoot I posted yesterday, and that’s how I came to do baby Charlotte’s newborn portraits. And this Jennifer is also friends with my friend Jenna, who I’ve done a ton of shoots for over the years. {I just did Jenna’s son’s birthday party last week, which I’ll be posting soon. And here are a few photos from her beautiful wedding I photographed several years back.} Jenna recommended me to Jennifer for Callum’s newborn portraits. All of this to say: I love my clients and I love how I get new clients from word of mouth! For some reason, it means even more to me when it’s young moms who are trusting me to document them and their sweet children and families. When they hire me again, year after year, it’s awesome and reassuring that my work is valid and valuable to them. And when they recommend me to their friends, it’s such a huge compliment! I’m just very grateful! Thanks, Jenna and Jennifer! :)I adore Isla’s pose here!Oh my word, these melt my heart!Haha! She’s like, “I will not smile at you.”The way her hands are folded here – too cute!The tongue-out pose again! :)This one is so perfect. Us adults saying, “Pleeeeease, can we just take your picture sitting in your chairs??!!” Them, “Nah.” hahaha!Look at Callum’s ear photo bombing here! Sure, I could’ve cropped it out, but paired with Isla’s so-serious expression, this pic just cracks me up every time.Yep. ;)Jennifer & Paul~
Your family is precious and I’ve loved photographing you guys for the past couple of years! Thank you so much for choosing me and trusting me to document your family. Looking forward to seeing you guys on Saturday for Isla’s birthday party!!
~abi~
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by Abi Ruth