Category: Fashion

My Style: December 2024

December has flown by in a mix of telework, a few days in office, and fun holiday events. My office style was a mix of comfortable, warm and a little bit of velvet + sparkles. Since joining my new company with much more of my job being remote, I’m feeling on the cusp of a bit of a style change… so I’m curious to see where it evolves in 2025.

Here are my December 2024 work looks:

As for my non-work looks, it’s been a mix of sparkles and getting bundled up!

I wore this pretty sparkly polka dot dress and rhinestone covered cardigan to the Baltimore Symphony orchestra with a friend. Fleece-lined tights and knee-high boots kept me warm underneath for the chilly walk from the parking garage to the venue.

For outdoor events, I’ve been depending on my fluffy puff hat, from a Trunk Club purchase that I made years ago. That leopard print coat has also been in heavy rotation for years and years after being thrifted!

New vs Secondhand Tally

This month, I count 4 items that I purchased retail and 14 items I purchased secondhand!

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My Style: Style Remix with Velvet

Earlier this year, I started a new series based on some feedback on my PocketfulofJoules Instagram account. A very sweet Instagram friend sent me a DM saying how much they enjoy seeing different ways to style the same items over and over again as inspiration for their own looks. (Psst…you can find a bunch of these saved under the “OOTD Breakdown” highlight on Instagram). So, I thought it would be fun to start highlighting some remixes here on the blog.

You can find my previous posts here:

For today’s highlight, I’m going to focus on remixing with velvet.

Velvet is one of those *fancy* fabrics that some people only bring out for special occasions. However, I really enjoy wearing ALL the stuff in my closet, so I frequently remix festive items for my normal life… velvet included.

Here is some of my favorite velvet items from my closet re-mixed over the years:

I find that it’s extra easy to mix velvet into your wardrobe around the holidays. So if you have something that’s been shoved to the back of your closet because you feel like it might be too fancy, now may be the perfect time to mix it into your wardrobe.

I hope you like this new series and please let me know if you have a particular item you want me to highlight for you!

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Repurposing a Vintage Button into Wearable Jewelry

I recently checked out a new crafty store with a friend and ended up sorting through some beautiful vintage buttons. They had a ‘fill a bag’ special, so I ended up with an assortment of vintage, antique and sparkly bits and pieces. Did I have a plan on what to do with them? Mostly nope. Except when it came to this one:

How gorgeous is this? There were four of these vintage buttons which looked to have abalone stone on them. I just loved them on sight. My friend added one to her bag and I added the remaining three to mine. I was only planning to buy one, but then I felt kind of guilty leaving the stragglers behind.

And it was a good thing too, because somewhere between purchasing her buttons and getting into her car, my friend’s buttons disappeared!

Luckily mine made their way home with me, so I decided that I’d not only make myself a necklace from one of the buttons… I’d make one for my friend too.

Each button had four little holes for securing them:

So I threaded some elastic string through a hole, knotted it twice and started adding beads. When I ransacked my bead drawer, my green beads and metallic beads were calling to me. So I made two similar versions of a necklace – one with just a few metallic beads near the button, and the other which alternated gold and green beads in sets of 5.

Here’s what the back looks like with the elastic secured:

I love how they both turned out and I gave my friend first pick of which one she’d like to keep. She chose the necklace on the right, so the one on the left is mine:

I really enjoyed upcycling a vintage button to make a unique piece of jewelry that will live on. I think these will look great alone, as well as layered with a metallic chain necklace.

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