YouLookFab Forum » Topic: DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4 https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4 Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:05:14 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Lisa on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1101314 Sat, 30 Nov 2013 03:12:54 +0000 Lisa 1101314@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Lyn D-I don't think I will have an even split for items for each season.  I am hoping for a similar number of outfits per season though.  I think I'll end up with more items for cold weather, partially because I layer a lot on a daily basis right now (I usually average 3 toppers [blazer/cardigan, LS T or shirt, thermal] and 2 bottoms [jeans/trousers and thermal or fleece lined hose] in the winter, per outfit) and partially because I run on team always cold and layer even during the warmer months.  Our hot months, I am often in a/c, so my guess is less hot weather specific items overall.  I went our past summer with only two pairs of shorts because I could only wear them on weekends when I was outside.  I would wear jeans to any place that had a/c.  Mo-This challenge has been very helpful to me, because I am getting to test out what I've always thought my end goal should be (less clothes in the closet).  Now I can see if I even really like my closet that way! Mo on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1101227 Sat, 30 Nov 2013 00:24:31 +0000 Mo 1101227@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This has been so interesting to follow.  Thanks for sharing along the way.  I think you are very right about the remix threshold.  I love that I can put 5 different tops with most of my bottoms and I like the sense of 'newness' little tweaks to similar outfits gives me.  I am getting better at not feeling I need to be wearing something new or different all the time, though.  Ideally, I hope that finding just the right x, y, and z will make me happy to wear them all many times over, even in the same combinations :) It will be interesting to see what number you ultimately come away with at the end of this.  I like that you are approaching it from a viewpoint of adding in, rather than taking away, like most closet culling does.   Lyn D. on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1101126 Fri, 29 Nov 2013 21:01:12 +0000 Lyn D. 1101126@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I do admire your tenacity Lisa! Do you think you will end up with around 40 items per season, or 40 warm/hot weather and 40 mild/cold? I love the IDEA of a small wardrobe but just can't part with certain items. Perhaps removing and bringing in as needed is the way to go- an equivalent to starting from scratch. Reading your updates with interest. Lisa on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100508 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 17:13:25 +0000 Lisa 1100508@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ JG-Thanks! Museumgal-Thanks!  I don't feel as bad about my unworn clothes by referring to them this way. :) Pil-Thanks!  So far I have found that I do enjoy a smaller wardrobe and I don't mind repeating the same combinations again and again.  I'd rather own a small collection of outfits worn only one or two ways then have endless remixing potential.  I've always tried to have a smaller wardrobe but I would try other challenge such as wear everything twice in a month or a given season.  And I always had so many clothes I couldn't do it.  This time around I am able to test out owning a smaller wardrobe and can add to it until I feel comfortable with the size.  And the extra items in the boutique can stay there.  It just means I have to shop there before I visit a brick and mortar store. Suz-Thanks!  At first I felt like my closet was overstuffed!  I got used to all that empty space.  And it is still quite empty compared to the boutique. :) Angie-You are so right.  Figuring how many outfits/remixing potential I need is a huge insight for me.  This will make me a smarter shopper and when I want to invest in something, it will be a much easier decision to make. Suz-I agree.  I think personal remixing/repeating preferences is a huge insight to owning a larger or smaller closet.  And also makes getting ready in the morning easier or harder.  I'm apparently not a remixing type and I get frustrated and take much longer to get ready when I have to try to remix something.  I'm a real grab and go gal getting ready in the mornings.  And when I grab and go I am much happier throughout the day.  It's like I start off on the right foot or something. Deb-Thanks!  I hope the posts are helpful.  If you have any questions I can try to help. Clearlyclaire-*chuckling* that you thought it was about DH's closet.  He is as minmal as it gets (2 work trousers and 8 shirts).  He never understands a woman's desire for more than that.  He is still baffled as to why I don't wear the same purse until it falls apart and I don't own a lot of bags.  One good thing about this challenge is, I get to see what a minimal closet is really like and see if it works for me.  I rather like it thus far, which is a good thing because if I had culled all my clothes and hated a smaller closet I'd be in trouble. :)  Instead I get to try it out and either slowly add things over time as items wear out or I get tired of them.  Or eventually I can just cull the boutique.  I'll probably really do a mix of the two at some point.  Jewell-Thanks!  It's amazing what marketing can do, even if I am just marketing to myself by calling my extra clothes in a closet a "boutique," it makes me happy to look at them and pick something "new" instead of feeling guilty about having all this extra sitting in a second closet. Jayne-I started the challenge by pulling my favorite items to wear for the weather at that time.  I forced myself to pick my favorite items because I do have a tendency to "save" things and I never figured out what I am saving them for.  Tomorrow is never a guarantee, so why save it right?  Since then our weather has gotten colder and although I have tried to layer more, I have to start pulling heavier items from my boutique now.  However, by now I know the number of outfits I need so it's just a matter of creating the right mix of clothing for the colder weather we have.  I think it will take me another week or two to get the working closet reset for the cold weather season.  The boutique has many items I enjoy to wear and I am not wearing right now.  My BF jeans are a great example.  I went nuts to find a pair that worked for me, and I adore them.  But I'd rather sport them with booties or wedge sneakers in the spring than try to squish taller boot into them in the winter.  So for now they are in the boutique.  It is helpful that the boutique is full of clothes I like.  But it also has items I am "meh" about.  That's ok, because at some point I'll just cull whatever I do not wear.  I'm not sure when that will be, not for a while as I plan to run the challenge for a full year (although I won't do check-ins 52 times, that's a lot of posts. :) Alexandra-Thanks!  I have a lot of insight after doing the challenge for the past month.  And plenty of good changes to implement now too. Unfrumped-I agree!  Having a boutique makes it a lot easier to road test ideas.  No extra car trips, long lines, or guilt from having to purge "perfectly good items."  All things I've done in the past.  I think some closet clean-out advice is great when one hasn't worn an item in many years (torn, out of style etc) but when clothes are new or one still likes them, new tactics to reorganize is required. unfrumped on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100504 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 17:09:07 +0000 unfrumped 1100504@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I continue to enjoy your challenge as a way to re-think closet organization and wardrobe editing. For now I'm still keeping all of my "all season" items in my regular closet but am getting ready for the December sweater challenge and end-of-year wardrobe review and edit. Since I still think I have too many lesser-worn items overall and am planning to really focus on which are the best of the best "wardrobe essentials," I'm wondering if it might be fun to try the boutique idea. I like the plan in which you could shop and wear but "return".  I never thought of trying to have  x number of items and then swap out weekly or so and see which ones were missed, or you wish you hadn't "bought" and that sort of thing. That fits my more cautious side a bit better than bagging up and tossing 80% of my wardrobe ( though that might still be a good plan!)  Maybe if an item gets returned, or keeps getting "purchased" and returned, that is a great way to identify a wardrobe loser, particularly the ones that don't seem like mistakes on the surface, so you keep trying to make them work, but just never work out the way you thought they would.  Alexandra on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100248 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 06:00:39 +0000 Alexandra 1100248@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Awesome reflections, Lisa! I am really enjoying following your adventures. I think there is great value in realizing that your instinctive way of shopping doesn't meet your needs, and then adjusting your approach accordingly. Very nice additions this week. I look forward to seeing your WIWs. jayne on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100246 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 05:54:21 +0000 jayne 1100246@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ What a fascinating read.   I love the thinking process before the shopping.  And that you returned things after impulse shopping.  I know impulse shopping is a weakness for me.  And I seem to hate the necessity shopping, knowing I need a pair of black slacks so give me enough to avoid excessive repeating of the ones I have, but still I seem to want to go impulse shopping instead.  Does it help that the boutique is clothes you own to get you to buy necessities from it?  Do you have favorites languishing there you want to 'save'?  Or did you take your favorites in from the start? I am trying to imagine your method backwards since my closet is currently about the same size, 45 items for fall.  I am trying to put clothes I know are orphans in a little corner and get myself to focus on that corner now and then.  It is probably a bad sign that the black jeans hanging there are not ones I want to reach for even though i actually need another black bottom in my regular use group.  I am so enjoying your journey! Jewell on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100238 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 05:18:05 +0000 Jewell 1100238@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I love that the challenge is leading you to so many realizations regarding how you dress and how you shop. Calling one closet a "boutique" makes shopping your closet sound like something far more fun than what I typically think of when I hear SYC. Anonymous on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100166 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:07:44 +0000 Anonymous 1100166@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Wow Lisa! I am much chagrined. I somehow thought this series was about your husband's closet-- not yours, and I hadn't read any of it. SO, I just went back and started from the beginning. Thanks for providing such handy-dandy links. You are so good at that, and I love reading your analytic writing! I'm always so curious to learn why we do the things we do, and your posts do not disappoint.  Two lessons learned that I have in common with you are 1) picking out something that goes with what I'm wearing (but nothing else) and 2) expensive repetition. Boy can I say amen to that! It's like I don't know when to quit until I've had too much of a good thing.  I love the way your working closet looks. Very clean, peaceful and serene! And I'm happy that you redeemed some of your NAS refresher pieces so that they can begin doing their job of refreshing your wardrobe. I'm all for challenges, but I'd hate to see this fab new current stuff waiting any longer to be worn. Congratulations on all your hard work and thank you so much for sharing your observations with us. We can ALL learn something from this. deb on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100162 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:04:56 +0000 deb 1100162@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Wow, I am impressed. The analytical process you are taking is leading to great conclusions. I am trying to figure out how I can use your process in my own paradigm. Suz on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100158 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:01:53 +0000 Suz 1100158@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ That's such a great point to highlight, Angie. I have been learning some similar lessons in my "no repeat November" challenge. I CAN remix my items enough times not to repeat the same outfit, but I don't necessarily like the outfit combinations that result as much as I like the two or three originals (that I came up with when I bought the item). I would rather repeat two or three favourite combinations than press an item into duty where I don't like it as well. That doesn't mean the item isn't earning its keep! As long as I wear it in the combinations I enjoy.   Angie on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100152 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:53:20 +0000 Angie 1100152@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Great, great conclusions. And what an eye-opener, Lisa. You are sooooo right, that not everything has to match with everything in your wardrobe. You need *sufficient* remixed possibilities. That's all. And that level of sufficiency is a personal thing. Some people want to come up with 20 outfits, and others are fine with 2 or 3.  Suz on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100149 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:52:43 +0000 Suz 1100149@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Fascinating reflections, Lisa. You are learning so much about your shopping habits and your actual wearing preferences. The new four week closet is still extremely compact but looks more interesting and fun. I will be interested to see where next week takes you!  pil on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100148 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:52:33 +0000 pil 1100148@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This is quite an intense challenge, Lisa, especially since you have so many beautiful pieces. Have you concluded that you could be content getting by with a smaller wardrobe? My apologies if you have already addressed this. I read many of the wardrobe analysis posts here but my attention span doesn't necessarily allow for absorbtion of everything that I've read ;) Your patterned sweater approach of rotating between work and weekend makes a lot of sense! Kind of along the same lines, I remember my mother making a comment about shopping at places like KMart back when shopping there was looked down upon more than now. She wouldn't buy the patterned pieces because they would be more recognizable than a solid piece. MuseumGal on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100141 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:47:55 +0000 MuseumGal 1100141@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm really enjoying this Lisa.  I love the idea of thinking about my unworn clothes as "the boutique." JG on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100119 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:31:29 +0000 JG 1100119@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ You have great clothes, have posted a lot of great outfits, and with this challenge are figuring out how to build and utilize a wardrobe. Impressive! Lisa on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 4" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-4#post-1100081 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 01:51:17 +0000 Lisa 1100081@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Hi, This is going to be another long post. I tried to bold some subtopics in case you have a specific one in mind. To read more about the challenge, including the rules, <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/closet-challenge-from-dh-rules" rel="nofollow">click here</a>. For Week 3 recap <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-week-3-recap" rel="nofollow">click here.</a> Hot on the heels of a number of observations from week 3, I wanted to test some of my findings during week 4.  I had learned that I do not have enough toppers for our cold weather so that was an area I knew I wanted to increase in size.  Also during week 2, I realized that I was not happy letting my new purchases that were meant to be wardrobe refreshers sit unworn.  Week 4 was about adjusting my wardrobe size and incorporating items I’ve been missing. My Shopping Plan: I started off by going shopping in the boutique.  Before I began, I came up with a plan. <ol> <li>I decided on my best guess of the ideal number of toppers, layering tops and bottoms I need for the current season.  </li> <li>I compared what I had in the working closet, with my best guess.</li> <li>I came up with a total of 10 toppers, 10 layering tops and 6 bottoms.  </li> </ol> Where did I get 10 toppers and tops from? I had only four toppers before I shopped so this is the area I wanted to increase in size the most.  I was repeating these four items every week and did not like that level of repetition.  I’d rather sport an item every other week to work, although repeating on weekends is ok.  Following the idea of Mo’s wardrobe size and my personal repeat/remixing preferences (two items per bottom) I added an additional six toppers. I had nine layering knits/LS T’s and that seems to be working ok so far so I only added one more. Where did I get six bottoms from?  I know that I prefer to repeat a bottom more than once a week.  I also know that I have some new bottoms meant to be wardrobe refreshers sitting unworn.  So I added one new bottom.  This still keeps me under seven so I can repeat every week, but now I will only be able to repeat one bottom a week if I want to continue wearing everything every week. I also wanted to add one thermal top and one scarf.  I am assuming as the season progresses I’m going to wear the thermals more often and I enjoy scarves to mix up solid tops. Shopping in Action: I started off with adding two “outfits” based off of my trendiest pair of jeans (grey metallic skinnies) which were purchased as a wardrobe refresh during NAS.  These are a statement pair compared to the more subtle bottoms in my closet.  I created two outfits around the jeans.  I pulled a sweater/jumper that was purchased specifically for the jeans.  Then I added a solid blazer (black) that is a neutral that will coordinate with everything in my closet.  I then added my trendiest turtleneck to pair with the jeans and blazer.  (photo 1)  By adding these four items, I was able to <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-week-2-recap" rel="nofollow">address the issue at week 2. </a> I now have a pair of bottoms that were purchased as a style refresh and are relatively new, fit for the weather of our current season, and were not currently being worn.  I originally thought about just adding in the jeans, but they are a metallic grey and do not remix very well with the other items in my working closet.  Also, one of the sweaters, was purchased specifically to sport with the jeans, as I liked the entire outfit when I saw it in the NAS catalog. Then I built a second outfit using items in the boutique that were not new purchases and now I have my two new outfits. I then added another sweater/jumper that was a new purchase for the season.  A white sweater.  It has a subtle sheen to it and is white, a nice color to mix up from the darker palette I just created with the grey metallic jeans.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I think this sweater will also coordinate with the grey jeans.  Then I reached for two more sweaters/jumpers and a black cardigan to round out my toppers total to 10 items.  The remaining two sweaters were favorites last year and the black cardigan I added because I currently own two black cardigans and neither of them were in the working closet yet. Finally I added a printed scarf that only coordinated with the sweater/jumper I was wearing while I was shopping.  Why did I do this?  Sometimes when I shop I want to freshen up the outfit I am shopping in, so I added a blue printed scarf.    And photo 2 is my shopping haul of 10 “new” items. Reflections on shopping Even shopping my own “boutique” I had some purchasing and returning.  At first when I started pulling items from the boutique that caught my eye.  This is how I shop in the stores, I always go for what catches my eye first before I  consider what I really “need.”  When I looked at my original selections along with the items in my working closet some items were not pairing with anything in the closet!  Now I have a large wardrobe (if you combine the boutique with the working closet) so usually when I make a purchase if I cannot immediately think of a good pairing I don’t worry about it because I know there is SOMETHING at home that will make it work.  And indeed there are other items in the boutique that pair well together.  But those items that would not coordinate well with my CURRENT working closet were “returned” back to the boutique. Sometimes I think it’s a workhorse item and it’s really just excessive repetition. Another habit I have when I shop, is I will see an item that I think is a workhorse piece, and it turns out it’s really not.  When I grabbed the black blazer my first reaction was, I should also grab a black turtleneck, a black pullover, and a black cardigan because black remixes with everything in my working closet.  However, when I looked at them together with my working closet I realized I had four out of my 10 total toppers, all in black!  This is a little too much black for me, especially since I will wear at least two (or maybe three) of these items every week.  So I put two of the black pieces back and reached for a color on the opposite spectrum (the white pullover) deliberately to mix up from all the darker colors I had.  This probably explains why I have some heavy repeats in the boutique (2 black cardigans, 4 black turtlenecks, 3 grey layering knits, etc).  Everything does not have to coordinate with everything in your closet. I don’t anticipate some of my “new” items remixing well with my working closet.  That’s ok as long as every topper and every layering top can be remixed into at least two outfits.  Some items I anticipate will remix more than that (grey vneck that I’ve worn every week since I started this challenge I’m looking at you) and that’s ok because I don’t mind a little bit of creating new outfits.  I just don’t want to have to always come up with new outfits, nor do I always want to be limited with only the same couple of pairings.  Having a small range of flexibility with pieces was my goal. Photo 3 is my current closet with the new additions. And here are the stats. Starting week 4, I had 42 items: 6 bottoms 1 hoodie 10 toppers (added 3 sweaters/pullovers, 1 blazer, 1 bomber jacket, 1 cardigan) 6 knits 3 gear items 1 shirt (for layering) 3 LS T’s (for layering-added one LS T in a print [stripes]) 4 tanks (for layering) 3 thermal layers 3 scarves 2 workout outfits (top and bottom) I'll try to post outfits soon and thanks for reading! Edit to add: Here are <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/wiw-for-dh-closet-challenge-week-4-outfits#post-1100520" rel="nofollow">the outfits.</a>