July Update - YouLookFab Forum

July will be over soon. My SYC challenge went great and I
documented almost everything I wore during the month. With the exception of a Blue Ruched Detail Dress and metallic sandals, I didn’t buy anything.

Here are the things I have noted:

1. I prefer to wear shorts A LOT through summer. I love the ease of shorts with a simple blouse since my day at home involves sitting long hours at my desk but also multi-tasking to wash clothes, make beds, walk my dog and cook.

2. I prefer dresses over skirts for home wear. I think it’s because a dress is so effortless…just put it on and you’re done. No need to match separates; which may or may not work and waste your time.

3. I do not enjoy so much variety for things I wear at home. I don’t want a uniform, but I do want fewer options. For example,while you all loved Palazzo pants and Wide leg pants, I didn’t enjoy wearing them at all. They are comfortable – yes, but so are shorts or say, Capri pants. I don’t think I like the idea of wearing any trousers at home. They are OK for weekend grocery shopping trips or exploring the city when I want to cover my legs for modesty (and safety) as I am in public places. Not at home…which means I need no more than two.

4. I still do not enjoy wearing loud colour or print on my bottom half. I like to keep prints only on the top, so all/any patterned pants must go. Patterned skirts, on the other hand, are good. I also didn’t get comfortable with wearing bright colours – orange and yellow to be specific. I have a pair of orange pants and a pair of yellow shorts, but these were both TOO loud for my style preference, even when paired with neutrals.

5. I love printed dresses. I find them to be so very easy to wear because they look great with absolutely no additions needed. For example, solid colour dresses need a scarf or a piece of jewellery and often also a belt to look good. I like to add all those things only when I’m going out; not at all at home. I will try to pare down some solid dresses.

6. I’m loving sandals this season! It’s like I never want to wear closed shoes EVER! But…I do realize that this may be one of my ‘seasonal’ preferences, so I am not going to throw away any of my pointy toe shoes and ballet flats just yet. Everything I own currently fits well into my shoe drawers and nothing is lying without a box. It all fits, so it stays. Though I will be adding no more shoes to my wardrobe this season. I’ve added plenty of sandals – all flat or with 1 inch heel, and they all work beautifully.

7. I am in love with white jeans. I think it’s the YLF effect! Earlier, I had just one pair of white jeans and wore it rarely. Now I’ve also added a pair of cream flared jeans and I find that I reach out for these two THE MOST in summer. They look so fresh when paired with winter colours, which suit my Deep Winter colouring.

8. Cobalt is my BEST colour. I checked, and I have plenty of it in my wardrobe right now. No more additions.

9. The other best thing to happen to me – my cropped denim vest. It’s fabulous! Im wearing it a lot and loving it.

10. I enjoyed wearing my white top. White is not a colour I wore at all earlier, but I am open to wearing white tops that are a little different – good detailing and drape so that I don’t worry about white accentuating my big bust. I will probably wear these with scarves…and I brought home two from Mumbai (these belonged to my sister earlier but she didn’t wear them).

To sum it up, I’ve had a great July. It’s very clear to me than I’m actually simpler than I thought I was! I do not need so many clothes in my wardrobe because I do tend to repeat things I love…and I should be able to! I haven’t gotten through even half of my existing wardrobe this month, and there are so many new combinations I want to try with separates I have already worn.

This has been a great learning month for me. I was inspired by many of you to pare down my closet and simplify my style. I want to do this because

#1 - Gives my style journey a clearer and more focused direction

#2 - I will not feel overwhelmed when I open my closet and see 1000 things that all look awesome yet different and I feel forced to wear them.

The SYC will continue. But instead of a shopping ban, I will now practice restrained shopping. After recently clearing my cupboards, I found that I now have fewer clothes but more accessories. Which is good…accessories can be experimented with. If and when I find a stunning accessory, I will buy it. But I do not see myself buying any more clothes.

My only goals for August are:

Accessorize more. I am loving scarves like never before and want to wear them more often. I would like scarves to become my signature piece over time…but I want this to happen naturally rather than be forced. I may need to pick a few more scarves to be able to have options for all my outfits.

I want to be able to wear button down shirts more. I have quite a few that I love and I want to wear them casually.

I want to simplify my outfits and play around with mixing one dressy piece with one casual one. I also want to experiment with layering,
after the success of the denim vest. Even if it’s a cami inside a shirt, I want to try it. In the past, I hated camis and layering, but I think it gives outfits a little extra visual interest.

I WILL NOT buy any more handbags. I have far too many….and I
use one only on weekends or if I run errands on weekdays (which is not common). It’s not an area in need of additions. The only time I will be open to buying a new bag will be when I travel, as I like to collect them as souvenirs…but then I’ll have a strict one in-one out policy.

What do you guys think?

8 years ago

anne

Veteran

Maneera,

Sounds like your July challenge has given you heaps of insight and advanced you a long way towards your goals. Well done!!

Anonymous

*Applause* Well done you! You've had a great month and discovered a lot about your style. You're a quick learner Manny. Keep up the good work

Helen11

Wow! You've achieved so much in a month. So inspiring. I'll be looking out for your next WIW posts, I love scarves!

shedev

You have some great insights here.

Jenn

(website)

"I don’t want a uniform, but I do want fewer options."

If this was the only thing you learned about yourself in the whole month, I think it would have been a success. It acknowledges your love for variety and multiple silhouettes, and gives you a place to go. All your other realizations will lead you towards which "options" to keep and which to weed out. Congrats!

Wow! Great job figuring things out! Do you think you'll downsize your closet? Or are you happy with the quantities?

What great insight. You did so well!!!

Maneera

Thank you Jenn. I do feel alot better. Everything I've learnt will help simplify my wardrobe. I'll continue in the same fashion for August and I hope that by the time I pack summer clothes this year, only true favourites will remain. I do intend to freshen up my wardrobe every new season to keep it feeling current and new, so it needs to be in a place where there is room for more.

Smittie, I will be downsizing. I'm not sure where! But I do know that I don't want so many options that confuse me. I'll have more clarity once I start this 'Love It, Wear It' approach coz I'll be able to see clearly the things I don't wear.

Thanks for reading my long rant you all!

Sal

Great progress Maneera! It sounds like you have realised what works for your real life....

I agree with your observations. I think white will look great on you, and probably orange and yellow are harder to wear. You look fabulous in dresses!

Well done!

well good luck with the downsizing!
There is something very soothing about a closet that has room to breathe!

Aida

Well reflected, very insightful! And especially useful since it all pertains to your actual life as you live it.

"I don’t want a uniform, but I do want fewer options."

I'm feeling similar. For me, I think it will come down to not having as many options for each type of piece with an ultimate goal of not feeling like I'm 1) forcing myself to wear xyz item because it's hanging there so therefore must get worn, which in turn reduces 2) splitting wears across my favorite items. The tricky part, as always, is identifying which types of pieces are the ones that I will need to have more options for (e.g. skinnies, since I wear them 6-8 months of the year), and which less (e.g. tank tops, since I can only wear them about 2 months of the year). This will also allow me to play more with trends, which gives me joy. I need to mull over this idea more; not sure I should do more shopping, beyond filling a few glaring wardrobe holes, until I get these categories sorted.

I feel you on the dresses vs. skirts thing, too! I've purged most of my skirts but still somehow have half a dozen (and rarely wear them). Probably need to take a stricter look at those and cull further. I do like wearing them in the winter more than in summer, as like you in the summer I'd prefer to just wear a dress (which I don't particularly enjoy in winter).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us Maneera! It's fun joining you on your journey, and clearly your experiences resonate. I always enjoy reading these kinds of posts, as they get me thinking about things for myself that I might not otherwise

Aida.....you've said exactly what I've been thinking. I want more variety in things I love and fewer options in things I may like to wear, but not love right now. And I definitely don't want to force myself to wear things just because they're in my closet. That's NOT having fun with fashion.

Past summers, I've loved wearing casual trousers and capris in the summer and rarely, if ever, reached for jeans. This summer, I still wear jeans coz denims have come such a long way! With super soft and thin denim fabric and lil stretch, it feels better than ever before and I haven't reached for trousers very much. I feel the same as you about skirts ---- they work better for winters coz you can wear them with warm layers on top half (where I'm more likely to run cold) and tights underneath. I do not wear dresses in winter at all.....I run too cold....but skirts I still do in the beginning and the end of winter.

Now that I have this list, I'm planning to go through my wardrobe over a course of 2-3 days. I'll see how and what I feel about every piece, and then remove the ones I'm not sure I'll love into a holding zone. My style preferences DO CHANGE every season, so I will keep 1-2 options in every category. Rest go into a holding zone for a month or so. If I don't miss the things, they will be donated.

celia

It looks like your challenge was well worth it. I hear you about wanting less options and less things in your wardrobe that you feel obligated to wear just because they are there.
Although if you buy too many options of the same 'uniform' you I'm urge in the risk of when your preferences change there are too many things that you have to purge and that is when the ' let's just wear this because it is here 'begin for me.
I also feel that print dresses work better when you work from home, accessorizing a solid color dress to stay home feels like a bit much.
Will be looking forward to see your progress and Fall collection .

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