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Any fashion New Year's resolutions?

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I know we all are trying on an ongoing basis to fine tune our styles and improve our shopping habits. I don't mean that. I'm talking specifics. Like, get out of loungewear every day or wear my 'fancy' clothes.
Mine is to repeat outfits. Sounds weird, but I have some aversion to wearing the same exact thing except for the most casual, lounging or running errands ensembles. When it's time to 'put on an outfit' aka dress up I almost never wear the same thing again. When perusing the favorite outfits of 2013 thread, I saw most of us had around a dozen. Why I've never repeated any of those dozen is silly. I could easily do each one 4 or 5 times over the year. So, I resolve to repeat the hits, not just the easy, run around, throw this on, looks.
You?

General

63 replies

Latest reply was from Suja

Anonymous

Move more toward soft, warm colors. Get stark white and black outta my life. (Well, except for black workout bottoms!) I want to look like a muscular macaron in 2014!

Emily

Veteran

I like your resolution, Mo! I've been actively doing this over the last year (No[repeat]vember aside) and it works well for me.

My fashion resolution is to use my 5 adjectives to test new purchases and outfits.

deb

Veteran

I need to think about this.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I know some people don't do resolutions. But sometimes outlining a concrete thing instead of nebulous - get fit, dress better - ideas is helpful.

Anonymous

I have long admired those women that practice one in-one out. My goal for 2014 is to adhere to a one in-one out strategy.

always trying

Veteran

buy only what I truly love,,no desperate buying something just because I am going somewhere and have nothing to wear..Mostly I can re-style something I already have.

And I will return shoes that are not comfy from day 1-and will give them a serious in house try.

Biggest thing for me is --do not buy it just because it is a good deal, like on sale.

Laurinda

Veteran

For New Year's Day I will get out my sewing machine and gear to 'optimize' the clothes I have: mending, hemming, adding darts, changing buttons, remaking pocket linings that are too small or worn, etc.

Then continue thoughtful refining of my wardrobe throughout 2014, another round of consignments as the seasons change with minimal hole filling and a few updates as treats. Theme: Do more with less.

shedev

Veteran

Mine is to only buy things I love.

Grey Rainbow

Hi Mo, Great post, thank you! I have been playing around with your "How much is enough" post ever since I first saw it (sorry, don't know how to link to it here). Making lists and charts and trying to figure out my own numbers. And you're right, outlining a concrete resolution -- an action plan -- is helpful for moving forward. I've learned here that I prefer a moderately sized wardrobe, have a high tolerance for repeating outfits, prefer a uniform but want to look fresh while looking the same. Also find inspiration in Deborah's comment recently (on her asymmetric white top and black midi skirt post): I'd like to be that woman who elicits the comment 'I love when you wear that xyz'. Initial resolution attempt:
1. Sequence what follows logically...
2. Wardrobe cull by capsules. Way overdue (I'm not home much; work and travel dominate my calendar). Include shoes, accessories. Figure out repairs, alterations, consign, donate, storage...
3. Identify capsules including frequency by season/climate. Work, dressy work, weekend, house/lounge, gym, field work...
4. Refine repetition frequency tolerance by capsule: 1 week? 2 week? 3 week?
5. Identify real wardrobe holes for function, flexibility. Including color.
6. Color! Oh gee whiz.
Ok, this is kind of a mess. Clearly I need to focus and refine. I'll be following this thread and hoping to get ideas from the fabulous women here!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Mine is to distill the essence.

That probably sounds a bit vague. But Sharon's post the other day gave me a window into how to do it -- along with Angie's invitation to post the year's best outfits.

I'm going to examine what my top happiness quotient outfits have in common. Then I'm going to focus my culling and buying so that I get more of that.

I have a feeling it's going to mean more streamlined items high quality items where cut or or built in details (e.g. colour blocking or leather trim) do the work that accessories might do for someone else. I think of these as essentials that also make a quiet statement.

I'm going to move even more towards a uniform for my at-home wear. Possibly simplifying my colour palette a bit more -- although I'm not fixated on that, because colour does give me a psychological lift.

kkards

Veteran

i have a few
~try on more. when buying something new, try it on and experiment before cutting off the tags. can i make it work with at least 2 other things that i already own.
~get organized. make a list, or use one of the closet/wardrobe apps to understand what i own, what i wear and what i need. find a system that gets my closet organized, so that i spend less time trying to find what i want to wear.
~i'm hoping that the first 2 will lead to the 3rd...spend less, and make what i spend work better

Runcarla

Veteran

I'm so happy with what I've got in my closet right now, and I'm pretty sure it will carry me through a very busy 2014, with a few strategic additions here or there. What I need to do is figure out hair and face. A new, shorter haircut (3 weeks ago) is working out great but I need to take the time to do more than wash and moisturize my face...but what? That's what I hope to figure out...

viva

Veteran

My goal for 2014 fashionwise is to make more mindful fashion choices, which I hope to do by taking the following steps:
1. Dress thoughtfully even if only for myself, even if I am only working at home.
2. Shop from my closet before purchasing.
3. Document what I wear.
I'm so grateful to this forum for giving me tools to do these things and for making it fun to do with some support.

Catnip

Veteran

I have a few.

First, shop more and try on more clothes in real stores. Online shopping is fine, but I would like to reduce the huge number of returns.

Second, try to speed up the process of getting to a fully functional wardrobe of clothes I really love and therefore be able to purge all the items I don't like quite so much.

Finally, and most important, explore new looks that will add variety to my wardrobe instead of always buying the same things, even though I love them.

April

Veteran

-- Shop more, try on more (not necessarily "buy more" but go to more stores and get into the fitting rooms.)

-- Create those mini-wardrobes in New York and CT and leave them there. Just do it already!

-- The right shoes. Always the right shoes.

unfrumped

Veteran

--Wear everything I buy right away unless it is totally out of season (winter coat bought in August, for example). Meaning, I want to get things into rotation at least a few times even if they are intended for a later "mini-season". I can wear it less often at first if I have it targeted for a specific weather period or something, but don't let it sit. That helps me see if it was truly the item I thought and where to go from there. This seems so simple, but I was not doing it.

--It's the shoes, stupid!
--Please shoot me if I buy another scarf within 12 months.
--Relax about handbags. I do not spend much % time with a handbag so I need to relax on that as a major style issue. Otherwise I pressure myself into buying some I don't use. Hone in on 2-3 (winter/summer colors).

Greyscale

Veteran

Along with some broader goals about careful shopping and budgeting, there's a very concrete one: get clothing mended/altered ASAP instead of letting it sit for ages. I have three pairs of jeans in desperate need of hemming, shoes that I love that are coming apart at the sole, a dress I can't wear til it's shortened, a vintage purse that got beat up on my recent plane trip.

carter

Veteran

This is still an evolving list for me, but here's where I am so far:

Sort out my current color issues. While I may always have a rainbow in my closet, I would like to nail down 2-3 very specific shades of a couple colors as a "signature". I'd like to have make sure I have some basics in these colors as well as more statement-y pieces...jacket, coat, shoes, handbag...so that even if I want the base outfit to be neutral, I can still have some color (thanks, Karen!)
Add more rich texture, particularly for Fall and WInter.
Find some tops that when simply combined with a bottom make a complete outfit. The vast majority of my tops are plain and simple basics (V neck sweater, button down shirt). I need interest in details, color blocks, cut, some patterns.
Figure out my shoe mess. I have way too many that hurt my feet, and I have a bajillion different heel heights. One of the first things I'm going to do is have all of my dress slacks and bootcut pants hemmed for 2-2 1/4" heels. Everything else needs to work with flats (no more than 1" heel). Anything higher than 2 1/4" (except for a couple very dressy sandals that don't get worn enough to replace) will be purged and/or replaced.
Add some soft white tops. As much as I love bright white, it's just too harsh for my winter skin color.
Continue to purge. I still have too much, so when something better comes in, the runners up need to leave.

Dee

Veteran

Mine would be to make my closet more cohesive in terms of color and style-descriptors. This will probably involve purging more of the orphans I'm not reaching for any more and a little bit of buying to fill specific wardrobe holes.

Secondary to this will be to stick to a budget. Last year I'd bought a lot to fill in after some weight loss and didn't necessarily overspend, but spent proportionally more of my income than was probably necessary.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I'm pretty happy with my trans-seasonal/winter wardrobe & for the first time in years I actually have a summer wardrobe at the start of summer. So for me it's wearing & fine-tuning my summer capsule.

Other than that I want to minimise & update my dressy capsule but that involves finding my perfect tux style suit which is proving difficult.

Gigi

Veteran

Fun thread! Some of my resolutions are:

1. Buy only items that really make me happy and not ones that only "kind of" make me happy.

2. Step outside of my comfort zone and wear things that I wouldn't normally wear because they are a little "out there" for me.

3. Add more "edge" to my outfits (which is probably going to be linked with resolution 2 above).

Windchime

Veteran

1. Start posting wiw's on ylf.
2. Get closer to finding my style adjectives.
3. Continue setting high standards for new wardrobe additions.
4. Expand my jeans and casual capsule.
5. Add more footwear which looks great and also supports my fussy feet.

Meli

(website)

Stick to an $1800 budget
Make fewer buying mistakes

TraceyLiz65

(website)

Veteran

Mine is to refine my purses and jewelry.

Windchime

Veteran

Meli--you and I have the same budget. Let's see how we do.

Mo--after I posted, I realized that a couple of my goals are more general than you are looking for on this thread. Why do I always notice these things AFTER I post?!

Sharon

Veteran

My goal is a small but perfectly formed wardrobe. I want to know that anything I choose will make me feel great and that nothing I choose is chosen because I feel like I need to justify the purchase price by wearing it. So, to make that concrete:
-Buy mostly neutrals, being very judicious with colour
-Only buy an item if it is perfect, not because there is one detail that really appeals to me
-Repeat outfits I love
-Buy good quality

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Lol Windchime - it's all a process, right? Even posting hee hee hee!

qfbrenda

Veteran

Good question! My main goals:

cutting back on sheer numbers in my closet
limiting the colors more than I have in the past
be pickier about future purchases

Anonymous

without reading anyone else's:

to shop smarter, less frequently; add a little pattern and not to offend anyone but worry less about my clothes and live s little more in my resl life (cooking, sewing, exercising) and less online

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