Suz' post today, "Evolving My Style: Part 1"http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....yle-part-1
gave me the exact kick-in-the-butt motivation to get my style goals and musings down in print. I'm home recovering from a bad bug, with one dog at the groomers, one dog napping, and (finally!) both boys at school.

Last month I made the effort to take outfit photos (almost) every day. I've compiled them and reviewed them for themes, holes, positives and negatives. I also reviewed my 2014 photos for the same. I pulled my favourite outfits, and then beside each wrote style descriptors. Interestingly, I could also very easily pull my least favourite outfits, and do the same with those. Just as much info (and more) to be gleaned from the losers. Unfortunately I am so non-tech savvy that I can't seem to post my collages in a decent way. So I've tried to pick and choose my favourites, below.

Photos 1-8 are my favourites from January. Photos 9-22 are some of my 2014 favourites, although I'm pretty sure I've missed a lot. Off the top of my head I can see I haven't posted any outfits with my combat boots, which were workhorses last year.

Style descriptors:
As much as I've followed and studied everyone else's style descriptors, I have never put pen to paper to try to figure mine out. Seems like too much work. However, when I described each outfit the following came to mind:

soft
comfortable
casual
polished
easy
neutral

Am I missing anything? I'd like to add edgy, or even something to do with on trend, or modern with a certain je ne sais quoi, but I just don't know how to put that in words, or if it even fits. Or maybe it can be a goal.

Reflections:

Palette
Most of my favourite outfits were picked from the summer. In the summer I feel best in whites, oatmeal, greys. When I do wear black, it is tempered by bare skin (arms, legs) or hits of white. Although #5 is graphic black and white, I've realized I don't shine in that colour combo - however - I love the assymetrical lines of this outfit. My favourite winter pieces seem to be charcoal, but I am deferring to my purples/wines more and more. I am finding black more and more difficult to wear. I rarely wear patterns although I've dabbled with plaids over the past few months.

Silhouette
Furthermore, most of my favourite outfits had lots of slouch. This worries me now that more tailored looks are coming up this season...My favourite winter silhouettes are slouchy or semi-tucked pullovers. Although I really like how I look and feel in simple dresses, especially in the summer, my real-life looks almost always default to denim of some sort. I tend to wear slouchy denim in the fall/spring, and skinnier silhouettes in the deep winter. Necklines - wow I didn't realize how well boatnecks work for me. I am purging all tshirts with scoop necks this year. I can't believe how poorly they work for me.

Outwear - I am not good with jackets. I have discovered that my 2 year old grey wool coat has been a workhorse this winter, despite rarely being worn last year (photo 23). Although I purchased a bright orange hooded coat, I seem to default to the grey one more and more. My long neck loves the stand up collar and I like the structure it adds to outfits. One thing I notice about my spring/summer/fall outfits is that I lack standouts for outerwear. I have light jackets but nothing that sings to me. Therefore, I again default to pullovers or cardigans/scarves. Maybe another goal is spring/summer outwear in a similar silhouette to my winter coat?...

Footwear:
Very clearly, in reviewing all my outfits, I can see that footwear plays a big role. I love my shoes/sandals to do the talking. Most outfits are very simple, but my shoes might have some shine (silver Trinas), platform (BCHardtoTell), or colour (hits of cognac). I like my footwear to have a bit of edge. I hope this shows.

Goals:
*Be pickier about colours. Try to make them cohesive.
*Put some effort into spring/summer/fall outerwear
*Add more "edge" to outfits
*Wear more of what I love - even if it means repeating. Get rid of the rest. So far this is going well.

If you've made it this far. Thanks for reading. I realize this is more of a "reflections" post. Baby steps for me. Although I'm an analytical person, I rarely get the chance to focus that on my wardrobe. If you have any thing to add that might help me with style descriptors, or how to take my outfits to another level please comment.