"We're just going to the store," B. reminded me when he caught me adjusting the folds and layers of my dress and slipping into low heels in front of the full length mirror. He had a point. I really don't need to dress up (let alone wear heels) for a quick shopping excursion at a local big-box store. On the other hand, the much-famed tiered, striped Bailey 44 midi dress is as comfortable for me to slip into as my pajamas, and it's a lot more presentable out in public. I'm curled up in it on the couch with a book, blanket and cup of tea as we speak, courting the idea of an afternoon nap.

I've mentioned that lately (probably not permanently, but for now) my tastes are moving away from the muted, moody, earthy hues I was digging so much last fall and winter, and gravitating towards shades that remind me of spices and highly saturated greens and blues - hues that seem more seasonally appropriate as we're heading towards summer. All the same, I LOVE this aubergine dress and don't plan to stop wearing it anytime soon - just not with the dark shades that I sported this past winter.

So to lighten the vibe of the dress, I popped on my ultra-comfortable burnt orange ECCO pumps and grabbed my mustard handbag. I still felt that I needed another pop of color that would marry the brights with the darks, so my burgundy, white and turquoise specs seemed like just the ticket. (I haven't been wearing them much this year so I was glad to have another excuse to break them out.) I felt that I needed a necklace but was honestly feeling a bit stumped, so I grabbed my bronze faux-antique pocketwatch necklace. Comfortable and easy for "just" a trip to the store, and an afternoon relaxing at home. And yet, I could have worn this outfit to work as well.

I've been tidying and slowly culling my closet this Spring, realizing that there has been a shift to what I've purchased. I do buy more clothing than I need, and I know I still have a weakness for sales and discount buys. However, I think that in the past year and a half I've done a much better job at resisting purchases that don't turn out to be good ideas - actually making returns to the store when I'm not convinced that something will work on me - and some of the exceptions actually turned out to be decent, usable pieces that added a fun new spin on my wardrobe. All the same, I have some learning to do about making fewer purchases - only keeping items that are truly "10's" in terms of quality control and longevity in my wardrobe.

On AlreadyPretty, there was an interesting link today to an NPR piece about the cost of cheap fashion that I found really intriguing. An excerpt from Elizabeth Cline's book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion is posted on the page, and I especially liked this bit:

"Clothes could have more meaning and longevity if we think less about owning the latest or cheapest thing and develop more of a relationship with the things we wear. Building a wardrobe over time, saving up and investing in fewer well-made pieces, obsessing over the perfect hem, luxuriating in fabrics, and patching up and altering our clothes have become old-fashioned habits. But they’re also deeply satisfying antidotes to the empty uniformity of cheap. If more of us picked up the lost art of sewing or reconnected with the seamstresses and tailors in our communities, we could all be our own fashion designers and constantly reinvent, personalize, and perfect the things we own."

Great for thought, especially for those of you who are going through/heading towards SYC. I don't believe that "cheap fashion" such as H&M is inherently bad or harmful, but I do want to move away from the idea of filling my closet with short-term, disposable pieces, and move towards having a smaller wardrobe full of pieces that I absolutely love and that unconditionally work on me. Part of this, honestly, will involve getting to a smaller, more sustainable size as my weight has fluctuated much more than I'd like in the last few years, requiring that I buy pieces to replace those that don't fit well anymore. The other part is becoming even more discerning about what I bring into my wardrobe in the first place.

These orange ECCO shoes are a good example of what I feel would be a good long-term buy. They are an upgrade replacement to my bright red and burgundy pumps that are years old and wearing out - but the ECCOs are more comfortable and have a lower heel, and are a surprisingly versatile shade. I hope that the three handbags I brought into my closet this year will also stand the test of time and versatility. I'd much rather have a small wardrobe of classic bags that are made very well and that work with many pieces in my closet than have a pile of cheap bags that are looking shabby and are dating quickly. It's a principle I'm striving to apply to my shopping habits overall. Quality, not quantity. Repeat until it really sticks!