Church Chronicle: Ep5: Holy Chic: Mastering Church Fashion on a Budget

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Hello and welcome back to Diary of Black Women podcast.

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I'm your host Connie Morris and today we're continuing our series on Holy Chic,

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the ultimate church attire handbook.

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In this episode, we're going to talk about where to find some stylish and affordable

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fashion, some church outfits.

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We're also going to discuss how to find essential and proper attire without

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breaking the bank and why investing in quality pieces matter.

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Yes, yes, yes. Shopping without breaking the bank. I think that's a girl's dream. Am I right?

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So thanks for joining me here. So we're going to just start right out with how

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to find some stylish and affordable church outfits.

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I know that sounds on old-fashioned church outfits.

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So tips on shopping secrets and hidden gems for that great find.

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And like I wanted to share with you in an earlier episode is that when I went off to Bible school,

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you might be in the same position where you wanna go to church,

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but you're looking through your closet and you go like, I don't have any clothes to wear to church.

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Maybe you used to hang out at the club I don't think they call it the club anymore,

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the bar, whatever they're doing now these days.

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And all you have is bar clothes, you know, and so you got too much V,

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too little material on your outfit.

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And like I said before, when I, a long time ago, I was a bar girl hanging out

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at the club, doing things you know not to do.

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But I wanted, when God called me to get out of that scene, he called me to go

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to church. And when he did, guess what?

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I didn't have any clothes to wear to go to church.

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So I had to scrap through my little closet to find something long enough with enough V to wear.

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And so it gets kind of embarrassing when you don't have church clothes.

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So I know what that feels like.

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But God always makes a way. He always makes a way.

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But so when I started out going to church, I just kind of went through my closet

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and, you know, mix and mash some things together.

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And my heart, first thing was right. My heart was like, I want you,

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Jesus. I don't have the fancy clothes to do the church things.

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Yeah, I had the fancy clothes to be at the bar.

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That didn't take much. But I didn't have the fancy clothes to come into your holy temple.

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And so I would just kind of pray over my little pieces of outfit,

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clothes, and then come to church.

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So that particular day I'd share this story. I had this black dress.

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I had a little too much V, but it was long enough.

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I thought it was a nice V. I didn't think it was showing too much.

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And so I just wandered. I was invited to church. I wandered into church that day.

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And they end up, you know, I get there early. My friend invited me to church,

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and I get there early to church. Well, you know, early bird.

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I told you I was a professional, so I'm known to get to places early.

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And so they rushed me right to the front row. I'm like, oh, my goodness.

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I didn't mean to get here this early.

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I'm sitting on the front row. I wanted to kind of blend in with the rest of

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the congregants. You know how we are, new church folks. Come on,

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give me an amen out there.

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We ain't trying to be seen on the front row. We're just trying to get in the building.

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Come on now. So they rushed me to the front row and me being new to church,

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which is interesting, right?

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And they put me on the front row and they had these, now I know what they are.

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They're lap cloths. At the time, I didn't know what they were.

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I thought they were because I used them to cry on, you know,

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so I didn't know what they were.

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So the lady rushed up next to me and she put one of those lap cloths across my legs.

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And then she put one across my chest. And I'm like, what is going on here?

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And as a preacher was preaching, I can see he's getting frustrated because homegirl,

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like she's going to wrap me up and take me to the back room. I don't know.

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I didn't think the dress was that bad, you know.

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And I'm crying because, you know, the Lord sends you to church and he's ministering

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to me right there on the front row.

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And I'm crying and using the lap cloth. I thought that's what it was for,

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just for, you know, for my tears.

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And so that was my first experience of being at church on the front row and

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understanding like what those lap paws are for.

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So if that's your first experience and you had the same experience as I did,

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go ahead and share that experience.

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But the long story short is I didn't run away from church.

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I ended up staying in that seat that I sat in, and the church was a seat that

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I was assigned to as I was ordained and called to the ministry.

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So God has a way of just calling you out.

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Can I say that? It calls you out, puts you in a spot.

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So I'm feeling like I'm all alone, but yet God is there with me.

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And so being called out, God called me off to go to Bible school.

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Well, remember, I still don't have the clothes to wear to church,

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you know, so I joined the usher, the greeter team, and the greeter team only

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required you to have clothes.

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Just a long look, a long black skirt, no short skirts.

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So had to go out and buy a long black skirt and a white shirt.

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And so I ended up having about four of those and a lot of white shirts because

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white shirts, you need a lot of those when you're serving because they have

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a way of collecting other people's stuff, makeup and different things.

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And so after probably about six months or so after sitting, coming to church,

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mixing enough outfits to get to church, and then finally deciding to serve on

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the greeter, I became a greeter.

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And that kind of saved me little outfits.

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When you don't have Jesus, you don't have money, right? And so you don't have money.

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So just pinning, pinching things together to get that going,

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learning to work your faith to serve the Lord.

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That's kind of a short version of what happened. So I get sent off to Bible school.

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God pays my way to Bible school. I show up morning prayers every day at 5 a.m., 5 to 6 a.m.

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I think it's six to seven. It was early. It was early.

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I remember getting up at five, so maybe it was six to seven.

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So I get up and go to prayer and showing up at Bible school with my little black

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skirts, come on girl, with my white shirts, because they said you have to dress

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in suits and skirts and blouses.

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So I am still being called to the ministry with not enough clothes to wear.

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But I showed up anyway, God paid my way there.

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And over a period of time, it was a nine month Bible school,

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people were giving me clothes.

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Not just any clothes. I was getting nice suits.

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So I ended up having like tons of suits. But then the Lord, back in that time,

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it was down 2004, 2003, 2004 is when consignment stores became to be a thing.

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And so I became a consignment shopper back when Salvation Armies,

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and I was over in Detroit area, and they give away good stuff over there.

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And the Lord was showing me, which I didn't know how to shop consignment without running to the mall.

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So I was doing that and then shop consignment. And then there was a cleaner where I was living.

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I was staying with my daughter while I was attending Bible school and they would

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clean your clothes for like $1.99.

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So I ended up having all these nice clothes.

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Back in the day, it was Casper and all these nice suits at Salvation Army.

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So God knows how to bless you. So when I talk to you about shopping for church

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attire here, this is from true, true experience.

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And so I want to start off. That's kind of a short story. Took me about eight

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minutes to share that with you.

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There's so much more to it. But I became an expert at thrift shopping.

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Can I say it? Thrift shopping. I call it consignment shopping,

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where you just go into these consignment stores.

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I always go consignment store near me.

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And back in the day, they were giving out really good quality stuff.

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Now, I think the stuff is kind of overpriced and it's not really good stuff

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unless you really kind of know what you're looking for.

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But back in 2004, over 20 years ago, it was good stuff. And so how to find these

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gold mines, unique stuff at affordable prices, you get a skill set.

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So if you don't have anything to wear, consignment shops near me.

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Now they have different stores.

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That you can find without going full price. You can even go to shop off season.

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You can actually, I can't think of the stores. You have your favorite stores,

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but you want to buy quality stuff.

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That's why when I went to the consignment stores, they had quality stuff.

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You can fill the material and find out that the material is good stuff.

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That's the stuff that you have to get dry clean. And you can't throw that in a washer and dryer.

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You have to put that baby in the cleaner. You know, cleaning stuff costs a little bit of money.

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And so finding a nice dry cleaner place near you is also good,

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getting a good relationship with them.

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So you can often find high quality items at a fraction of a price, even jewelry.

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You know, I found so much good stuff that I had enough.

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I came in with, I came in the Bible school with, I told you my,

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I have four skirts and probably like five blouses.

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I didn't need, I can put that in the suitcase, right?

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And when I left, I had a U-Haul full of clothes.

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I remember a lady, she says, Connie, I got some suits for you I can't fit.

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And at the time I was wearing a size 10 and she pulled up in her van.

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It was like kind of a Ford Explorer.

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She had her clothes hanging up in the closet. So you think is she going to pull

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up? And people always say they're going to give you stuff.

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And sometimes people give you junk and you'd be like, okay, you figure you'll sort through it.

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But she had all her suits hanging up in her car because she was from Arizona, I believe.

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And she says, I got a whole car load of suits I can't fit anymore.

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And it was probably like 20 or 30 suits and they were the top of the line suits

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and I could fit every one of them.

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So I took them suits, put them in my closet, which now my closet It was a makeshift

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closet because living in a temporary place with my daughter, the closet was full.

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I had to go buy another temporary, you know, those temporary closet things I

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had to put up. That thing was full.

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That room was one bedroom and it was clothes around the room.

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I had so many clothes because God decided to bless me.

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Because I decided to follow him. But also, I wasn't too shamed to go shop at the consignment store.

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And as I shop at the consignment store, people were blessing me. Okay.

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And so when you are in need and God sends you off to church to shop for church

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attire, just do what he tells you to do, right?

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Do what he tells you to do. And you'll go in there and you'll find some things

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that you will like that will fit that are high quality.

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I'm spending a lot of time on this topic because people like to go out and spend

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too much money on one outfit.

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So you got one outfit for one day when you can take that money and buy about

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four or five outfits, get it dry clean.

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And now you got enough outfits for at least four Sundays and a couple of Wednesdays.

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And no one asking you where you got the outfit from. So you can just still be cute.

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Online marketplaces and discount, you can find real, real good places.

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Now they have what you call Poshmark.

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I had some bad dealing with Poshmark. So if you had good dealing with them,

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you know, you can use them thread up, you know, eBay.

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TJ Maxx is a place you can kind of find some stuff in there,

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but you'll find a store, Marshall's.

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Then there's some malls, some places that you can buy suits online.

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You can find your place that you like.

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You can even find your favorite consignment where I love to go.

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And I said, what you got today? And I'll go scooting around in there,

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find something, try it on.

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If you need a zipper or something, go put a zipper in it. Because if you know

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how much suits cost, a zipper, putting a zipper in is about $25,

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you know, so enough about that. So let's go on.

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That was a long issue on how to shop and my story.

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Hope that helped you so you could not be so prideful, but you can also save

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money when you shop consignment.

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And then the question is, Lord, what would you have me to do?

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Where is the sales that you ever get that little tinkling in your belly?

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God would say, oh, go over here today, be a random store, and you'll find something

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that you want. Maybe it's a shirt.

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Maybe it could be a blouse. It could be a shirt, a skirt, and you can find a

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quality thing, the quality item that you can mix and match with something else in your closet.

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Let's talk about mixing and matching pieces to create different looks.

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So how do you maximize your wardrobe by mixing and matching.

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So you can invent versatility just by having a black dress, having a white shirt.

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You can get neutral slacks.

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I got tons of scarves here. So you can mix scarves with your outfits, different blazers.

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So you can mix and match your outfits so that you appear to have different types

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of clothing. So you don't have to have.

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Tons of outfits. You can just learn how to use versatility as your tool and change up your scarves.

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Don't be afraid to get creative. A pair of dress with a blazer for a formal

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look or with a cardigan for something more casual.

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The key is to mix and match. You create new looks without constantly having to buy new clothes.

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Sometimes you can look in your outfit, you can look in your closet and say, you know what?

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I need a red blouse. You can go out to the store.

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You probably can go, if you go to a consignment or one of those like Salvation

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Army, they always put their clothes in different, you know, the color codes

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and go find, you know, a red shirt.

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And you'd be like, that says 100% silk for $4.99.

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You know, silk ain't $4.99.

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But how much did it cost to get it cleaned? You can get some wool light and clean those babies up.

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So let's go here. It says investing in quality pieces that will last for years.

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The smart way to shop for church attire. Why quality matters.

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Quality pieces may have a higher upfront cost, but they tend to last longer

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and look better over time.

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So sometimes you go and go get that clearance outfit, but as soon as that baby

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get wet or you put it in the dryer by accident or wash it with the wrong thing, it's garbage.

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But if you buy a quality outfit and get it clean, you don't have to get it clean

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every week, but make sure when they have that cleaning special,

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throw that baby in a cleaner and now you have an outfit or a dress or an item

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that will last you a long time.

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So look for well-made items and classic styles that won't go out of fashion.

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A lot of times, you know, a simple black skirt never goes out of fashion,

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but you buy a plaid, some type of crazy plaid color because it's fashionable,

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a trend right now, it's going to go out of style.

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A nice leather skirt. I mean, people don't buy leather.

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I'm not excited. I might go shopping later. But a nice leather skirt.

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People don't really wear leather these days either, but it's always at the consignment

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on sale. A nice leather skirt with a nice sweater, with a nice blouse, a nice silk blouse.

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You can always find a nice item and bring it up to date.

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Natural fibers like cotton, wool, and silk often wear better than synthetics. They do.

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Well-constructed garments with sturdy seams and quality stitches will hold better over time.

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Another good thing, another good person to have in your Rolodex or on your phone is alteration.

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That person can actually take that favorite outfit that you've had and maybe

00:17:53.219 --> 00:17:55.779
that zipper is broke and put that zipper in there.

00:17:56.119 --> 00:18:01.959
And now you have your outfit is now still good because sometimes it seems like

00:18:01.959 --> 00:18:04.059
the zippers go out for some reason.

00:18:04.239 --> 00:18:06.539
So now you have a good zipper.

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Maybe the hymn goes out. If you're not a sempstress, if you're not a seower

00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.459
like me, go get that $8, get that hymn put back in.

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You know, let's keep going. Let's look at some scripture. Let's see what God

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says about looking sharp.

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Proverbs 31, 30, it reads, Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,

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but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

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That is like a glow on you when you are a woman who fears the Lord.

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Let's look at some decrees. It says, I decree that I will value the fear of

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the Lord over charm and beauty.

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You notice there's a balance, looking good and then having your insides good too.

00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:59.899
I decree that my life will reflect a deep reverence for God.

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I decree that I will be praised for my devotion to the Lord.

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And I decree that my worth is found in my relationship with God and not in my outward appearance.

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That would humble you a little bit because a lot of time I have friends who's

00:19:21.699 --> 00:19:25.099
bougie and they want to say, well, I got this for such and such of this.

00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:29.599
And I'm like, okay, that's nice. I remember a side story.

00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:32.999
It was a consignment store. I lived in Holland, New York.

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And the lady who owned the Simon story, she always got these fur coats in.

00:19:39.621 --> 00:19:45.581
Well, guess what? I like fur coats, but I'm not paying no umpteen dollars for a fur coat.

00:19:45.961 --> 00:19:50.781
And fur coats are kind of played out these days, but not in my book. A fur coat is a fur coat.

00:19:51.101 --> 00:19:54.101
And she says, kind of got this fur coat for you. And I said,

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how much is it? And she told me the price, which was way low.

00:19:57.341 --> 00:20:00.781
It wasn't even a thousand. I think I paid like $200 for a mink, right? Right.

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And so a mink got it appraised. It was worth 10,000. I got it cleaned and appraised.

00:20:08.281 --> 00:20:17.701
And so, hello, I got me a mink coat for under whatever mink $10,000 costs.

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So I had a secret.

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Be friends with your consignment person because she will hook you.

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And I still have that mink coat It's hanging in my closet. And when it gets

00:20:30.601 --> 00:20:32.401
cold, I'm putting that baby on.

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Yes, I have the paperwork saying it's worth more than $200.

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So these decrees align biblically with principles of modesty.

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What that does, that humble you.

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You know, people go, I'll pay all that money for fashions that last for a minute.

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But if you actually get to know your consignment, know your fashion by touch,

00:20:54.461 --> 00:20:58.741
know your material, You know you're getting a good deal and you're at the consignment store.

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All right. In Titus 2, 7 through 8, it says, In everything, set them an example by doing what is good.

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In your teaching, show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that

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cannot be condemned so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they

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have nothing bad to say about you.

00:21:24.781 --> 00:21:31.381
Wow, do everything right so that no one has anything to say bad about you.

00:21:31.801 --> 00:21:37.241
And so people would try to crack jokes about me going to consignments.

00:21:38.661 --> 00:21:42.121
You get that at the consignment and it'd be a mean coat. Yeah,

00:21:42.261 --> 00:21:43.521
I got this at the consignment.

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What consignment is that? And they want to go raid your consignment because

00:21:47.381 --> 00:21:51.481
you got a mean coat for a certain good deal. You're like, no,

00:21:51.561 --> 00:21:53.481
no, no, you don't get to go to my consignment.

00:21:53.781 --> 00:21:58.981
You go buy your fur coat where you buy yours. I'm going to stick with my consignment.

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Let's decree some things here. I know, you don't have to tell your secret,

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but when they try to make fun of you, come on now.

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They have nothing bad to say because you're saving money.

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I decree that I will set an example by doing what is good and right.

00:22:18.625 --> 00:22:23.525
I decree that my teaching will reflect integrity and seriousness.

00:22:24.045 --> 00:22:27.745
I decree that my words will be sound and above reproach.

00:22:28.365 --> 00:22:33.545
I decree that my life will be a testimony to God's truth and righteousness.

00:22:34.005 --> 00:22:38.525
This one went a little bit longer, but some key takeaways you can take from

00:22:38.525 --> 00:22:40.865
me is, A, I just keep it real.

00:22:41.085 --> 00:22:45.445
But key takeaway, you can find stylish and affordable fashions,

00:22:46.345 --> 00:22:52.765
church outfits at the right prices with the right shopping strategies. Trust me.

00:22:53.665 --> 00:22:58.045
Mixing and matching can create multiple looks from fewer pieces.

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And last one, investing in quality pieces ensure your wardrobe lasts longer.

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I hope you like that information. Don't rob.

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Don't go taking everything from the consignment store, but there's enough to go around.

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If you don't like it when you walk in there, if it's not right, then you leave.

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You'll find your perfect consignment store, the perfect store to find what you're looking for.

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But that will not be an excuse that you don't need to go to church.

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See you at church. So thank you for joining me on this journey.

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Stay tuned for each episode as we bring Holy back with our church attire.

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This is your host, Connie Morris with Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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Don't forget at the end of this series, that's the book, Holy Chic,

00:23:48.825 --> 00:23:52.765
the Ultimate Church Attire Handbook, will be available for download.

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Try mixing it with the podcast. You'll get more out of it. So until next time, God bless you.