It has now been a few weeks after purging a whole pile of things out of my closet (proof: the picture below is the back of my car full of things that I donated after my major cleanout) I've been spending an obscene amount of time flipping through blog entries and other people's WIWs and have found both the literal and figurative space to think about how I put myself together.

Here is what I've discovered, for posterity and to keep me honest:
My style is boring by default.
I love shoes and always have. I can deal with heel height, but not blister-causing straps.
I love bags in theory, but I am simply too lazy to change handbags often.
I repeated outfits from my overstuffed closet; now I don't have to sort through a bunch of things I don't like first.
I wear jeans four times a week at most, so I did not need ten pairs. The five I have now, including new trouser jeans from my shopping list, is still too many.
How successful* I am at dressing is related to the formality of the occasion: I love getting dressed up for weddings and evenings out and I feel pretty good in my business casual work attire, but my casual wear needs work.

Here is how I plan to improve and evolve:
I will look for pieces that are more interesting when basics are due for replacement; I will shop carefully from a list and be willing to spend a little more on better quality things.
I will wear brights, even though frankly they scare me, but maybe just on my nails to start as per Angie's spring trends suggestion.
I will accept my bag-laziness and be a seasonal bag switcher.
I will accept my shoe-covetousness**, wear heels more often because I love them, and look for fun footwear that does not give me blisters.
I will continue to edit out things that don't make me feel like my best self.

I feel very lucky to have a resource as encouraging and inspiring as the YLF blog and forum. Thank you Angie for building and sharing such a wonderful online community.

* I am defining success as ending up in an outfit I feel stylish in.
** This is a word! I am as surprised as anyone.