Confessions of an unsafe mix and matcher

unfrumped

Long post on wardrobe organization, again.

I
continue to feel as if I’m adding some items I don’t need and not making full
use of the things I have that I like. And the former makes the latter worse. In
between, I do get some things that are very good, but even then, I’m not sure I need them all.

There are all sorts of ways to psychoanalyze
this, but I wanted to try to be more practical.

One thing that happens is that despite having
identified some really good outfits, I still do that on-the-fly mix & match
thing, sometimes idiotically when in a hurry for work. The results are usually
not that great. I might ultimately change into something else, or go off
feeling meh.

The more meh
times I have, the more it feels that something must be missing. Reality
tells me that sure, there are always some great new things out there, but I
have a lot already, so, what’s missing is, I’m not concentrating on my
best outfits.

As an aside, 3 important elements I’ve identified in not-good outfits are:

Proportions—I have just got to stick with certain pairings of tops &
bottoms and not go wandering into things that look like they should match by
color or fabric. ( I don’t mean in relaxed SYC outfit creation times, I mean in
stressed-get-dressed times).

Too-casual outfits—to some extent, “modern” and trending have skewed me more to
more casual or maybe “less serious”
items that look fine in one contex,t but
I then find a nagging sense of not being what I want to present at work. In part it's due to not having a finishing 3rd item that is part of the outfit. (I have some more ideas to improve that, maybe for a later post). It’s
also a function of non-tucking tops,
because flimsier fabrics, more casual tops, and shirttail hems look too casual or sloppy.
I think this is exacerbated by summer dressing and summer retail offerings,
which tend to lack structure and fabric “seriousness”, and so need to remember
that may be SWD (Seasonal Wardrobe Disorder)—probably need to be more “minimal” in summer, repeating the best items.

Footwear-My fussy feet and long days make it hard sometimes to use the most edgy cool footwear--I think. Similar to proportions, even some of my favorite shoes just
have certain things they look best with and then I’m less happy if I try to
push them into other uses. Or, create an outfit which calls for footwear I
haven’t got. Find the sweet spot.

I think this all can be summarized as all
being part of the much-discussed closet
edit, capsule organization, preparing outfits for the week, limiting options,
maybe trading out items or whole capsules weekly from “the boutique”.

But it perplexes me as to why I am not doing
it!

So given that I think I’m influenced by MEH
outfits and that I keep on selecting them, one thing I haven’t ever done, though
threatened to, is to select and set aside multiple outfits for the week. Yes,
even the night before can work, but I have an idea that lining up 5-7 (extras for
mood and weather) choices shows me that I have something for each day, and I’m not “reshelving” tops and bottoms and
then figuring it all out again.

I also believed I’ve fooled myself into
thinking I’m not adversely influenced by having too many items in the main closet.
Obviously, they aren’t all favorites. If I pare that down, I’ll have
hanging space to hang selected outfits nicely, not crammed. That tickles my organization genes and gives me a
reason to make the extra space.

Angie had a very good post about her clients
that mostly wear single ensembles rather than mix and match. I think I’m a
hybrid, in that I have gotten pretty good about insisting that new items work several
ways, but maybe it’s only 3 ways and not 6. Sort of a stylized waltz of wearing
the item way a, b, c and repeat.

Apparently, “My name is Unfrumped and I am an unsafe mix-and-matcher”.

Thanks for reading, and any insights of your own that might be helpful.

8 years ago

Inspiration

11 replies

Latest reply was from Maneera

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Stick with me for a minute here.

I do meal planning this way: I come up with 4 or 5 meals every Sunday evening (leaving room for eating out and leftovers), make a list, and shop for the ingredients. Then, I just fix whatever works best on any given night, allowing for variations in schedule, weather, and mood. I also have a few prepared meals in the freezer, for nights when I'm low on time and/or motivation.

This should work for your outfit planning, no? Come up with a set of outfits each week and prep them, making sure everything's clean and available. Make sure you have a FFBO or two in the "freezer" for days when nothing looks good.

Using closet organization software or the ensembles function in the Finds here might help with storing outfit ideas and combinations, too.

8 years ago

Veteran

I've been slowly coming around to the idea of fewer combinations & just rewearing the best too! Isn't it funny how our instincts lead us to constantly mix & match instead of being happy with one or two killer outfits? And as I come around to this idea, I'm also coming around to the idea of a smaller wardrobe too (still nowhere near minimal). :O So no insights from me, just lots of 'I'm in the same boat'!

8 years ago

Cerinda

Veteran

Sheesh, Unfrumped, you could be writing that from inside my head!

I'm slowly inching toward Jenn's brilliant solution. My September challenge is photographing everything I wear because a) I finally realized my small, ill-lit mirror lies and my computer screen doesn't, and b) I've had it with the rush of meh I get when I get back home and look in the mirror again. I need to get really, really clear about which tops go with which bottoms; yes, it MUST be about proportions, because my palette is so deliberately limited.

You've really identified something for me: thanks. Just because an outfit should work doesn't mean it should escape scrutiny. That's a really useful insight.

And FWIW, I've been having a week of meh outfits, nothing-to-wear-to-that-October-wedding, and bad hair days. And I thought getting on my game fashion-wise was going to be a fun hobby. Hah!

8 years ago

Alassë

Veteran

What Jenn said. And when you have a chunk of time, there's no substitute for trying on all the outfits in a month-or-two-long mini-capsule, then jotting them down for future reference. All outfit ideas taken care of for the next good while!

8 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

There was a business-focused clothing blogger a few years ago, I think she might have been a personal stylist, who suggested to forget about mix and match plans and come up with outfits. If you need to, find two tops that work with every bottom, or whatever, but don't feel like you have to reinvent the wheel every time you get dressed. I think that works well for anyone who needs to fit within a narrow niche, whether it's due to dress code, the kind of 'vibe' you want to evoke, personal needs like footwear, proportion challenges, etc.

I think photographing all your outfits, or trying them on and making a list, or both, to develop a reference that you can rely on in the future is a great idea.

I tend to, every week or two when I'm putting up the clean laundry, pull together some outfits and hang them in a certain area of my closet. I don't always pull from that every day, but it's there for me to grab if I want to, and there are usually multiple outfits there of varying levels of dressiness. When I worked in an office and didn't have much time in the morning I would always put four outfits together on Sunday before I went to bed (the fifth day would be open for sudden inspiration, or jeans and a top on Friday).

8 years ago

Joy

Veteran

I love to mix and match. My biggest secret is to start with a column of color and add another color, print or a texture. Trying on ahead means settling the proportions problems. The column of color an be address or top and bottom of matching or low contrast to each other. It can be a skirt or pants and top to which is added a mix or match jacket, vest, pullover or cardigan ( inner parts match/blend) or a jacket, cardigan, vest or pullover match or are low contrast with the bottoms and the mix part is top under the outer piece (external parts match/blend). I hope this makes sense.

8 years ago

Runcarla

Veteran

What Jenn described is what I do. Part of my Sunday p.m. ritual is to put together a week of outfits at one end of my closet. I do tend to pick a theme - usually a colour combination - and make a bit of a capsule. I might add an extra combo or two, or sometimes plan on wearing one item more than once in a mix and match way.

An interesting concept borrowed from 'The Vivienne Files' is to add 4 items of a theme colour. I've got navy, black, grey, and white covered for neutrals, and don't stick to the 4 item rule there. However, when I experimented with light blue this spring, I added 4 items (ankle pants, 2 sweaters, and a button down shirt). This fall it is olive. I have a jacket, a sweater, a mottled sleeveless top with olive and other colours, and ankle pants. For winter I'm thinking of purple/aubergine. I already have a leather jacket and v-neck sweater that colour.

8 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

Unfrumped, this is indeed frustrating, given that you know what to do but are struggling to actually put it into action (it sounds like you have already identified some outfits that you like to wear but are mixing and matching despite that). My only question is, how have you identified those outfits? If they are in writing only (words jotted on paper), would it work better to have a visual representation? Are you a more visual person? Or is the issue that you really want to wear top A but don't have a bottom for top A that makes you truly happy, in which case something *is* missing (which is the feeling you said you get)?

8 years ago

Anonymous

Great advice offered by previous posters. I can't add anything to what they suggested.

I lay out my outfit the night before every single night (even weekends) There is no thought that occurs the morning I get dressed. I also take a picture of every single outfit and rate it. Those outfits that are meh are never repeated. This practice takes minutes per day.

I once tried Laura's suggestion of having complete outfits. In theory. it makes perfect sense. I had a hard time implementing it though (life got in the way). It is still something I might consider in the future.

8 years ago

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I love runcarla's concept of adding multiple items in a single color as a refresher. I think that would make me excited to wear new combinations. You're kind of doing that with the burgundy already, too!

8 years ago

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

Ok, so here is what I do.

I mostly wear one thing one way only. It's something that I bought together or paired together when a new item came to my closet...and I continue to wear it in the same way. I happily repeat if needed.

Every so often when I have a free afternoon over the weekend, I play in my closet. I make combinations and take pictures. I do casual, semi formal, dressy, only JFE ---- and I know how combinations in my head actually work out in reality. I NEVER experiment with a look when I'm actually dressing to go out. All mixing and matching happens in free time ONLY. This is because the few odd times I tried to come up with a new outfit combination when dressing within a timeframe, it almost always never worked out and I wasted a LOT of time.

I would also recommend that you cordon off one section of the wardrobe as Weekly Capsule. Create 7-8 outfits on Sunday and hang them in that space. Make sure you TRY them on Sunday. Sometimes minor weight fluctuations can throw off fit completely.....incase that happens to you. Through the week, those should be your ONLY choices, and make sure you have got atleast 2 great FFBO there. Based on your mood and time available, pick an outfit and get dressed.

8 years ago

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