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

0:00 Hello and welcome back to Diary of Black Women podcast. I'm your host Connie Morris and today we're continuing our series on Holy Chic, the ultimate church attire handbook. In this episode, we're going to talk about where to find some stylish and affordable fashion, some church outfits. We're also going to discuss how to find essential and proper attire without breaking the bank and why investing in quality pieces matter. Yes, yes, yes. Shopping without breaking the bank. I think that's a girl's dream. Am I right?

0:42 So thanks for joining me here. So we're going to just start right out with how to find some stylish and affordable church outfits. I know that sounds on old-fashioned church outfits. So tips on shopping secrets and hidden gems for that great find. And like I wanted to share with you in an earlier episode is that when I went off to Bible school, you might be in the same position where you wanna go to church, but you're looking through your closet and you go like, I don't have any clothes to wear to church. Maybe you used to hang out at the club I don't think they call it the club anymore, the bar, whatever they're doing now these days.

1:27 And all you have is bar clothes, you know, and so you got too much V, too little material on your outfit. And like I said before, when I, a long time ago, I was a bar girl hanging out at the club, doing things you know not to do. But I wanted, when God called me to get out of that scene, he called me to go to church. And when he did, guess what? I didn't have any clothes to wear to go to church. So I had to scrap through my little closet to find something long enough with enough V to wear. And so it gets kind of embarrassing when you don't have church clothes.

2:08 So I know what that feels like. But God always makes a way. He always makes a way. But so when I started out going to church, I just kind of went through my closet and, you know, mix and mash some things together. And my heart, first thing was right. My heart was like, I want you, Jesus. I don't have the fancy clothes to do the church things. Yeah, I had the fancy clothes to be at the bar. That didn't take much. But I didn't have the fancy clothes to come into your holy temple. And so I would just kind of pray over my little pieces of outfit, clothes, and then come to church.

2:49 So that particular day I'd share this story. I had this black dress. I had a little too much V, but it was long enough. I thought it was a nice V. I didn't think it was showing too much. And so I just wandered. I was invited to church. I wandered into church that day. And they end up, you know, I get there early. My friend invited me to church, and I get there early to church. Well, you know, early bird. I told you I was a professional, so I'm known to get to places early. And so they rushed me right to the front row. I'm like, oh, my goodness. I didn't mean to get here this early. I'm sitting on the front row. I wanted to kind of blend in with the rest of the congregants. You know how we are, new church folks. Come on, give me an amen out there.

3:33 We ain't trying to be seen on the front row. We're just trying to get in the building. Come on now. So they rushed me to the front row and me being new to church, which is interesting, right? And they put me on the front row and they had these, now I know what they are. They're lap cloths. At the time, I didn't know what they were. I thought they were because I used them to cry on, you know, so I didn't know what they were. So the lady rushed up next to me and she put one of those lap cloths across my legs. And then she put one across my chest. And I'm like, what is going on here? And as a preacher was preaching, I can see he's getting frustrated because homegirl, like she's going to wrap me up and take me to the back room. I don't know.

4:18 I didn't think the dress was that bad, you know. And I'm crying because, you know, the Lord sends you to church and he's ministering to me right there on the front row. And I'm crying and using the lap cloth. I thought that's what it was for, just for, you know, for my tears. And so that was my first experience of being at church on the front row and understanding like what those lap paws are for. So if that's your first experience and you had the same experience as I did, go ahead and share that experience. But the long story short is I didn't run away from church.

5:00 I ended up staying in that seat that I sat in, and the church was a seat that I was assigned to as I was ordained and called to the ministry. So God has a way of just calling you out. Can I say that? It calls you out, puts you in a spot. So I'm feeling like I'm all alone, but yet God is there with me. And so being called out, God called me off to go to Bible school. Well, remember, I still don't have the clothes to wear to church, you know, so I joined the usher, the greeter team, and the greeter team only required you to have clothes.

5:45 Just a long look, a long black skirt, no short skirts. So had to go out and buy a long black skirt and a white shirt. And so I ended up having about four of those and a lot of white shirts because white shirts, you need a lot of those when you're serving because they have a way of collecting other people's stuff, makeup and different things. And so after probably about six months or so after sitting, coming to church, mixing enough outfits to get to church, and then finally deciding to serve on the greeter, I became a greeter. And that kind of saved me little outfits.

6:27 When you don't have Jesus, you don't have money, right? And so you don't have money. So just pinning, pinching things together to get that going, learning to work your faith to serve the Lord. That's kind of a short version of what happened. So I get sent off to Bible school. God pays my way to Bible school. I show up morning prayers every day at 5 a.m., 5 to 6 a.m. I think it's six to seven. It was early. It was early. I remember getting up at five, so maybe it was six to seven. So I get up and go to prayer and showing up at Bible school with my little black skirts, come on girl, with my white shirts, because they said you have to dress in suits and skirts and blouses.

7:14 So I am still being called to the ministry with not enough clothes to wear. But I showed up anyway, God paid my way there. And over a period of time, it was a nine month Bible school, people were giving me clothes. Not just any clothes. I was getting nice suits. So I ended up having like tons of suits. But then the Lord, back in that time, it was down 2004, 2003, 2004 is when consignment stores became to be a thing. And so I became a consignment shopper back when Salvation Armies, and I was over in Detroit area, and they give away good stuff over there.

8:00 And the Lord was showing me, which I didn't know how to shop consignment without running to the mall. So I was doing that and then shop consignment. And then there was a cleaner where I was living. I was staying with my daughter while I was attending Bible school and they would clean your clothes for like $1.99. So I ended up having all these nice clothes. Back in the day, it was Casper and all these nice suits at Salvation Army. So God knows how to bless you. So when I talk to you about shopping for church attire here, this is from true, true experience. And so I want to start off. That's kind of a short story. Took me about eight minutes to share that with you.

8:44 There's so much more to it. But I became an expert at thrift shopping. Can I say it? Thrift shopping. I call it consignment shopping, where you just go into these consignment stores. I always go consignment store near me. And back in the day, they were giving out really good quality stuff. Now, I think the stuff is kind of overpriced and it's not really good stuff unless you really kind of know what you're looking for. But back in 2004, over 20 years ago, it was good stuff. And so how to find these gold mines, unique stuff at affordable prices, you get a skill set.

9:27 So if you don't have anything to wear, consignment shops near me. Now they have different stores. That you can find without going full price. You can even go to shop off season. You can actually, I can't think of the stores. You have your favorite stores, but you want to buy quality stuff. That's why when I went to the consignment stores, they had quality stuff. You can fill the material and find out that the material is good stuff. That's the stuff that you have to get dry clean. And you can't throw that in a washer and dryer. You have to put that baby in the cleaner. You know, cleaning stuff costs a little bit of money.

10:08 And so finding a nice dry cleaner place near you is also good, getting a good relationship with them. So you can often find high quality items at a fraction of a price, even jewelry. You know, I found so much good stuff that I had enough. I came in with, I came in the Bible school with, I told you my, I have four skirts and probably like five blouses. I didn't need, I can put that in the suitcase, right? And when I left, I had a U-Haul full of clothes. I remember a lady, she says, Connie, I got some suits for you I can't fit. And at the time I was wearing a size 10 and she pulled up in her van.

10:50 It was like kind of a Ford Explorer. She had her clothes hanging up in the closet. So you think is she going to pull up? And people always say they're going to give you stuff. And sometimes people give you junk and you'd be like, okay, you figure you'll sort through it. But she had all her suits hanging up in her car because she was from Arizona, I believe. And she says, I got a whole car load of suits I can't fit anymore. And it was probably like 20 or 30 suits and they were the top of the line suits and I could fit every one of them. So I took them suits, put them in my closet, which now my closet It was a makeshift closet because living in a temporary place with my daughter, the closet was full.

11:35 I had to go buy another temporary, you know, those temporary closet things I had to put up. That thing was full. That room was one bedroom and it was clothes around the room. I had so many clothes because God decided to bless me. Because I decided to follow him. But also, I wasn't too shamed to go shop at the consignment store. And as I shop at the consignment store, people were blessing me. Okay. And so when you are in need and God sends you off to church to shop for church attire, just do what he tells you to do, right? Do what he tells you to do. And you'll go in there and you'll find some things that you will like that will fit that are high quality.

12:20 I'm spending a lot of time on this topic because people like to go out and spend too much money on one outfit. So you got one outfit for one day when you can take that money and buy about four or five outfits, get it dry clean. And now you got enough outfits for at least four Sundays and a couple of Wednesdays. And no one asking you where you got the outfit from. So you can just still be cute. Online marketplaces and discount, you can find real, real good places. Now they have what you call Poshmark. I had some bad dealing with Poshmark. So if you had good dealing with them, you know, you can use them thread up, you know, eBay.

13:04 TJ Maxx is a place you can kind of find some stuff in there, but you'll find a store, Marshall's. Then there's some malls, some places that you can buy suits online. You can find your place that you like. You can even find your favorite consignment where I love to go. And I said, what you got today? And I'll go scooting around in there, find something, try it on. If you need a zipper or something, go put a zipper in it. Because if you know how much suits cost, a zipper, putting a zipper in is about $25, you know, so enough about that. So let's go on. That was a long issue on how to shop and my story. Hope that helped you so you could not be so prideful, but you can also save money when you shop consignment.

13:51 And then the question is, Lord, what would you have me to do? Where is the sales that you ever get that little tinkling in your belly? God would say, oh, go over here today, be a random store, and you'll find something that you want. Maybe it's a shirt. Maybe it could be a blouse. It could be a shirt, a skirt, and you can find a quality thing, the quality item that you can mix and match with something else in your closet. Let's talk about mixing and matching pieces to create different looks. So how do you maximize your wardrobe by mixing and matching. So you can invent versatility just by having a black dress, having a white shirt.

14:35 You can get neutral slacks. I got tons of scarves here. So you can mix scarves with your outfits, different blazers. So you can mix and match your outfits so that you appear to have different types of clothing. So you don't have to have. Tons of outfits. You can just learn how to use versatility as your tool and change up your scarves. Don't be afraid to get creative. A pair of dress with a blazer for a formal look or with a cardigan for something more casual. The key is to mix and match. You create new looks without constantly having to buy new clothes.

15:23 Sometimes you can look in your outfit, you can look in your closet and say, you know what? I need a red blouse. You can go out to the store. You probably can go, if you go to a consignment or one of those like Salvation Army, they always put their clothes in different, you know, the color codes and go find, you know, a red shirt. And you'd be like, that says 100% silk for $4.99. You know, silk ain't $4.99. But how much did it cost to get it cleaned? You can get some wool light and clean those babies up. So let's go here. It says investing in quality pieces that will last for years. The smart way to shop for church attire. Why quality matters.

16:06 Quality pieces may have a higher upfront cost, but they tend to last longer and look better over time. So sometimes you go and go get that clearance outfit, but as soon as that baby get wet or you put it in the dryer by accident or wash it with the wrong thing, it's garbage. But if you buy a quality outfit and get it clean, you don't have to get it clean every week, but make sure when they have that cleaning special, throw that baby in a cleaner and now you have an outfit or a dress or an item that will last you a long time. So look for well-made items and classic styles that won't go out of fashion. A lot of times, you know, a simple black skirt never goes out of fashion, but you buy a plaid, some type of crazy plaid color because it's fashionable, a trend right now, it's going to go out of style.

16:59 A nice leather skirt. I mean, people don't buy leather. I'm not excited. I might go shopping later. But a nice leather skirt. People don't really wear leather these days either, but it's always at the consignment on sale. A nice leather skirt with a nice sweater, with a nice blouse, a nice silk blouse. You can always find a nice item and bring it up to date. Natural fibers like cotton, wool, and silk often wear better than synthetics. They do. Well-constructed garments with sturdy seams and quality stitches will hold better over time.

17:40 Another good thing, another good person to have in your Rolodex or on your phone is alteration. That person can actually take that favorite outfit that you've had and maybe that zipper is broke and put that zipper in there. And now you have your outfit is now still good because sometimes it seems like the zippers go out for some reason. So now you have a good zipper. Maybe the hymn goes out. If you're not a sempstress, if you're not a seower like me, go get that $8, get that hymn put back in. You know, let's keep going. Let's look at some scripture. Let's see what God says about looking sharp.

18:23 Proverbs 31, 30, it reads, Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. That is like a glow on you when you are a woman who fears the Lord. Let's look at some decrees. It says, I decree that I will value the fear of the Lord over charm and beauty. You notice there's a balance, looking good and then having your insides good too. I decree that my life will reflect a deep reverence for God. I decree that I will be praised for my devotion to the Lord.

19:06 And I decree that my worth is found in my relationship with God and not in my outward appearance. That would humble you a little bit because a lot of time I have friends who's bougie and they want to say, well, I got this for such and such of this. And I'm like, okay, that's nice. I remember a side story. It was a consignment store. I lived in Holland, New York. And the lady who owned the Simon story, she always got these fur coats in. Well, guess what? I like fur coats, but I'm not paying no umpteen dollars for a fur coat. And fur coats are kind of played out these days, but not in my book. A fur coat is a fur coat.

19:51 And she says, kind of got this fur coat for you. And I said, how much is it? And she told me the price, which was way low. It wasn't even a thousand. I think I paid like $200 for a mink, right? Right. And so a mink got it appraised. It was worth 10,000. I got it cleaned and appraised. And so, hello, I got me a mink coat for under whatever mink $10,000 costs. So I had a secret. Be friends with your consignment person because she will hook you. And I still have that mink coat It's hanging in my closet. And when it gets cold, I'm putting that baby on.

20:33 Yes, I have the paperwork saying it's worth more than $200. So these decrees align biblically with principles of modesty. What that does, that humble you. You know, people go, I'll pay all that money for fashions that last for a minute. But if you actually get to know your consignment, know your fashion by touch, know your material, You know you're getting a good deal and you're at the consignment store. All right. In Titus 2, 7 through 8, it says, In everything, set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching, show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you.

21:24 Wow, do everything right so that no one has anything to say bad about you. And so people would try to crack jokes about me going to consignments. You get that at the consignment and it'd be a mean coat. Yeah, I got this at the consignment. What consignment is that? And they want to go raid your consignment because you got a mean coat for a certain good deal. You're like, no, no, no, you don't get to go to my consignment. You go buy your fur coat where you buy yours. I'm going to stick with my consignment. Let's decree some things here. I know, you don't have to tell your secret, but when they try to make fun of you, come on now.

22:08 They have nothing bad to say because you're saving money. I decree that I will set an example by doing what is good and right. I decree that my teaching will reflect integrity and seriousness. I decree that my words will be sound and above reproach. I decree that my life will be a testimony to God's truth and righteousness. This one went a little bit longer, but some key takeaways you can take from me is, A, I just keep it real. But key takeaway, you can find stylish and affordable fashions, church outfits at the right prices with the right shopping strategies. Trust me.

22:53 Mixing and matching can create multiple looks from fewer pieces. And last one, investing in quality pieces ensure your wardrobe lasts longer. I hope you like that information. Don't rob. Don't go taking everything from the consignment store, but there's enough to go around. If you don't like it when you walk in there, if it's not right, then you leave. You'll find your perfect consignment store, the perfect store to find what you're looking for. But that will not be an excuse that you don't need to go to church. See you at church. So thank you for joining me on this journey. Stay tuned for each episode as we bring Holy back with our church attire.

23:39 This is your host, Connie Morris with Diary of a Black Woman podcast. Don't forget at the end of this series, that's the book, Holy Chic, the Ultimate Church Attire Handbook, will be available for download. Try mixing it with the podcast. You'll get more out of it. So until next time, God bless you.