September Tracking Musings ( long)

Thank you, Jenn, for the September wardrobe tracking challenge and your suggestions as we went along. I did not make a capsule as I knew the weather would be a factor and wanted my whole wardrobe at my disposal. This turned out to be a good idea.
Musings:
1. I found that I like to mix things up..old stuff with new; maximal one day or two, minimal the next; wild colors and brights followed by neutral, soothing outfits; casual followed by dressy or a mix of the two.
2. I tried on and wore some older items and identified several pieces that will be donated...low rise jeans, a pair of utility pants that refuse to stay snapped, an uncomfortable pair of shoes.
3. Although I have more clothes than I can wear during a summer season, I really felt a need to update for fall..
4. No buying polyester for summer. It just feels too hot. It is ok for cooler weather.
5. Some items I planned to get rid of came in handy to use on days that could be rough on my clothes or accessories. An old metallic silver bag that had been replaced with a better one will stay around a while longer. It is a tote that. An be loaded with books and be set on the floor without worry of ruining it. Same with some old clothes. They are still needed for messy days. Maybe I will even try to wear a Hard Rock Cafe' Maui sweatshirt with a skirt, as Angie suggested.
6. I found that I really don't have any major wardrobe holes at present except maybe too much neutral and lack of pattern for fall/winter. Next year I will probably need to do some major replacing.
I plan to continue tracking in October. I stopped recording jewelry. socks and scarves as it was just too hard to keep those records. Maybe I will try again, especially noting if I want more color and pattern. A few things have been added.
Numbers:
Tops: Total worn for September was 28. Of those 7 were worn twice, 3X3, 1X4. That was a summer hot weather Joie silk sleeveless top in an Art Deco design in black, cream and greys with a bit of tan. I wore it with a tube skirt, black jeans, black silk pants, and cream jeans.
Toppers: I wore 30 including 2coats. The rest were cardigans of different lengths, light jackets, and a poncho and a long duster vest. Most worn was and old thrifted cotton olive EF jacket. It is an old piece that fits in well with my fall things. I wore it with a mustard floral blouse, a dirty mustard linen knit tank and a deep plum silk top.
Pants (including jeans): 21. Of those, 3 were worn three times and 4 were worn twice. MVPs were new EF russet pants, old Paige jeans, and EF black silk pants.
Shoes: 27. 5X2, 2X3, 1X4 and 2X5 ( Coach blue sequined flats and gold metallic loafers. If I counted the times I wore a silver shoe, it would be 9. I am definitely on team sparkly feet. Some sort of gold metallic shoe was worn 7 times.
Bags: 16 total. Of those 8 were used multiple times. A silver metallic bag came in on top with 13 wears.
Dresses: 5 with EF sleeveless sapphire blue and an orange EF long sleeved coming in with multiple wears.

Skirts: 2 with one wear each. An EF grey linen and EF black tube in a ponte knit.

I feel like I have enough dresses and skirts for my lifestyle and try to wear at least 2 a week. I can change the look of most with toppers and accessories. I have at least one topper for every summer dress.

I do not anticipate adding more summer or even hot fall clothes next year. There were several pieces that went unworn or under used because hot weather here is not as hot or as many weeks as in Kansas. I do not wear shorts or sandals and do not need them. What I do need are more pairs of sun glasses and sun hats.

5 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

GREAT thoughts. Useful.

Joy, may I suggest I editing your large wardrobe further and passing on items that are just okay.

Joy

Veteran

That is a good idea, Angie. I need to clear out all those Halogen pencil skirts and the tops I have for them. They have been around for years. I have kept several basic tops waiting to find replacements but have not found them. They should go anyway.

Anonymous

Pass over the pencil skirts:) And go team sparkly shoes!
One thing i noticed recently is that seasonal variations affect my buying habits. The tops youre saying are too hot could have been bought during a milder summer. I bought 4 short sleeve tops this relatively mild year, but during normal years theyd get maybe 3 weeks of possible use (facepalm).

Suz

You wore a lot of items, Joy! It sounds as if the tracking led to some good discoveries.

How are your eyes doing? Hope the surgery went okay.

Cardiff girl

Can’t go wrong with sparkly feet!sounds like this has been a useful exercise for you.

Suntiger and Cardiff girl, I love some sparkle on my peds. I now wear some short sleeved tops but in my climate before moving they never got worn. I feel cooler with bare arms and when it is cold, I want lots of coverage. Even long sleeved shirts were almost always under a topper.
Suz, thank you for asking. The doctor said the surgery went well. I am scheduled for the other eye this coming Monday. So far my left eye is quite swollen. I still need to wear my glasses but they don't fit well over a big plastic eye patch taped on so I don't mess with the eye. I wear a huge pair of black sun glasses over the regular glasses because of lots of light sensitivity yet. No way can I drive yet. But no pain except if I try to lift something over 15 pounds, which is a no-no anyway. I have no depth perception with the patch which means I keep sticking myself trying to get the top on my insulin needle. I hope in another week or so I will be more back to normal.

krishnidoux

This is very interesting. Thank you for posting. May I suggest dedicating a transparent plastic bin for purged items, so you can keep them in quarantine before getting rid of them.

A good idea. But maybe an opaque bin would be better so I could not see my purged items.

Sal

Hope your eye mends well - it is a great operation that really helps people.

Interesting conclusions - I agree it us good to have some tougher older clothes for messy days. I need a couple of options like this for each season.

Sal that is a good idea. A small "messy" capsule for each season.

EXACTLY, Joy. Onto the edit.

Yes, Angie. I wish I could send DH off on a trip so I could make a big mess. I really want to empty the closet and start over with considering each piece that gets put back.

The patch is the worst, but the operation is so worth it! I had to have a lazer surgery the year after mine were removed, but have been fine for over 20 years, and still only use glasses for long distances (mostly driving). I had them at age 20-genetic.

Thank you for the validation that this surgery is worth it. The second eye is set up for an early Monday morning time so both eyes will be getting drops for weeks.

Barbara Diane

Good luck with the second surgery. Ugh about sticking yourself due to lack of depth perception. And it sounds like you learned a lot about your need for variety.

cindysmith

I wish I could be as introspective as you guys are with these tracking challenges. I can't stay that organized and I can't get honest about what I don't wear or need. Well done, Joy!

Thank you, Barbara Diane. I am a bit discouraged because so far this surgery has not been the miracle it has been for others. People told me they were driving the same day, etc. a week out my vision is still very blurry. I do not dare drive. It could be that it will just take more time and the eyeball is quite swollen. The second eye still has cataracts that are probably causing problems with light. Maybe things will be better after that one is taken care of.
Cindy, getting honest about what to keep or not is still hard for me. I came from a background of using everything. Old worn clothes were used for gardening, then any usable parts were made into quilts or clothes for children. My father will still using his WWII issue wool blankets and khaki green towels over 50 years later. Food scrapes were animal food, etc.

Category