Oh my gracious, when we were getting ready for the boys’ first Upward basketball games of the season last weekend, I realized I had no team colors in my wardrobe. And Sis had none in hers. What ARE we doing with our lives? 😉

I guess I missed that whole burgundy trend when it rolled through.

However, I managed to pull something together… Or, er, actually: to cut something apart in time… So I was set for game one in a grey t-shirt and a maroon t-shirt scarf. [I literally just cut an old maroon t-shirt in one long strip, spiraling around from the bottom to the mid-chest, then tied the two ends together to form one ginormous closed loop, which I then looped around and around and around my neck until I had a length and thickness I liked. Easy! And we were out the door!]

That worked for the first game, but we have a game every weekend…

And I–for better or worse–am that mom who loves to wear her kids’ team colors to their games. It’s a sickness. What can I do. [Here are Hubs and the kiddos at a soccer game last season, with Sissy’s homemade mini cheerleader uniform and pom-poms.]

So I started my search for some maroon and/or grey basics online. I looked under the search terms “burgundy,” “dark red,” “maroon,” and “crimson.” With a color like this, you’ve got to try to find what the retailer calls it to get hits. I found a few options (like this sweater dress from Target, hello), but I decided to go check out Old Navy and the local J.Crew Clearance Store in person to see what I might discover.

Mid-January can be a great time for sales: the Christmas shopping rush is over, and a lot of people have already blown gift cards, too. Not only that, but stores are getting ready for spring clothing and getting rid of winter stock.

Hence I scored three fantastic jersey dresses (not pictured here), a necklace, and a pair of earrings at Old Navy all for $24 total, including tax. Jackpot. Old Navy was kind enough to have gobs of team-colored jewelry on sale for $1.99 each. Thank you very much!

Next, I gave the J.Crew clearance store a try, and I found a team-colored cardi on sale for $13.50. The sales clerk was kind enough to take it right off the mannequin for me. [If you are looking in a store sometimes your size will be sold out on the rack, but on display somewhere nearby that people don’t think to look at.] And I even had a gift card, so it was FREE! Yes!

Also, the felt fabric (top left in picture) will be made into pennants and pom-poms.

In the past, I’ve made Sis a mini cheerleader uniform, but this time, I bought a yard of burgundy micro-gingham ($4) and whipped up a pillowcase style dress. Easy-peasy! She’ll be chanting “Go team, go!” in style! 😉

Okay, so now you get a glimpse into the nerdiness that is me and my rooting-for-my-kids self. You’re welcome. [Or… I’m sorry??] 🙂

So please tell me I’m not alone: anyone else out there have a dressing-in-your-kids’-team-colors compulsion on game days?? Do tell!

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