YouLookFab Forum » Topic: My season so far

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: My season so far https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 11 Apr 2026 11:19:33 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Elly on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1398700 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:38:47 +0000 Elly 1398700@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ AG-- I really appreciate you analysis. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that preffers certain items one way-- I'm not a hug mixer and matcher. I plan on continuing to post more WIWs as I experiment with styling. Crutcher--- I am hoping to do just that. I have a couple tops and jackets on order to take care of the laundry problem and then hope to sit back and enjoy. If I feel the winter doldrums set in or something catches my eye I'm open, but with only a couple Christmas gifts left to purchase as well I'm looking forward to a nice long shopping break over the holidays . .. hopefully getting to spend some time with the SO and with family. crutcher on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1398386 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 19:09:15 +0000 crutcher 1398386@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Elly, Hi, Again I love your approach to shopping and to your wardrobe...Very organized and well thought through...As you go through the days ahead, I would give myself permission to add or subtract as the need brings...I kept thinking if you are winter bound in January, why not hit the January sales to pick up some color?...What you have sounds very adequate and well planned, I always leave myself some room for something ah...maz...ing that comes along...smile... I envy you your organization and look forward to reading more of the shopping trials and tribulations of our Elly...smile... catgirl on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1398356 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 18:27:22 +0000 catgirl 1398356@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ For someone who doesn't enjoy shopping, you have an amazingly logical and thoughtful approach to your closet and what's going on for you.  I find that really impressive and hope you will post more pictures.  It's okay to wear something only one or two ways.  I have tunics I only wear with skinnies, so I vary up the skinnies in color and pattern just to keep from feeling redundant, but I'm probably the only one who notices. Elizabeth P on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1398323 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 17:45:47 +0000 Elizabeth P 1398323@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thank you for sharing your process Elly (and thumbelina).  I find it somewhat amazing how much thought goes into some peoples wardrobe building processes, and makes me realize I still have a long way to go.  I am still in experimenting mode as well, but I think I could do so much better if I sat back and THOUGHT about things a bit more.  Esp the proportion of real life to fantasy life clothes... So many things to consider and think about! Elly on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1398278 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 16:33:12 +0000 Elly 1398278@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thank you for stopping by, Suz.  I agree that it is very very hard to start changing how you dress if you don't have anything decent to wear while you build. I think we are all looking forward to see how you transition from the highly experimental stage you've been in to the process of refinement. I also appreciate your recognition-- I'm trying very hard to dress for my real life right now and keep things small because I'm at a time in my life where things are constantly changing. I'm just also not willing to put myself through the stress of making sure I have 4 evenings a week to devote to laundry-related tasks or to feel cold or fearful of getting dinged on the dress code anymore --- not if I can help it, and luckily I've been able to put away the money to do it and don't have much else going on because of general life craziness. That said, I also know that the next job may come with entirely different challenges. I find it totally amusing that this time last year I had only one jacket that was rarely worn and saved for special occasions, and  now they have become wardrobe essentials since I can easily layer them over thicker knits and knitwear and flannels without feeling confined with my broad shoulders and chest combo. Suz on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397989 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 02:40:01 +0000 Suz 1397989@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ You've done so much good thinking, Elly, and have a solid plan in place for going forward. I truly think that you and thimbelina are right -- if one ignores all shopping for too long, the problems of wardrobe building feel far more difficult. I know I was in exactly that position when I joined YLF. And now I have a moderately large wardrobe and can stop adding so much each season. I think from here on in, it may be more a process of refinement. Part of that refinement will absolutely have to do with actual lifestyle needs. You articulate so well why you need layers, and what kind; why another coat or jacket may be a wise investment, and so on.  Elly on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397975 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 02:19:57 +0000 Elly 1397975@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This is great -- Thank you Sharon, I've enjoyed your WIWs and your unique style perspective -- I'm hoping that having enough good clothing to get through the week will help unleash my creativity and also take the pressure off future shopping. Alasse -- I'm hoping so! I'm rather tired of constantly replacing the same 6 pieces and never getting beyond replacing my basics. Astrid-- I know you and I have been doing the same dance for awhile, I think a lot of your purchases really have a style to them and flow well, despite being basics. Jenava -- I think you are right about the color. I don't know what I will want, but I'm thinking that some of the ladies on the other thread are right-- that might be the time to add some blush pink. Late January and February are my hardest months usually with the worst weather. Usually the SO and I are able to get away to Arizona to visit his family for a week or so, and B&M shopping might be the opportunity to do that while keeping it low stress. It is also good to know that others are facing issues and coping with layering and that my needs are something that many people percieve when in a similar position. Thimblelina-- I agree, I particularly loved your early fall capsule and am looking forward to seeing more of your purchases in action. I have right around 45-50 items right now as well across all capsules and all seasons including a small summer wedding capsule, my interview capsule, and my gallery duds. It feels really great to feel good in my clothes and be able get dressed all week without fretting over   things being dirty. I'm getting really close to not scrabbling together outfits for laundry days, which is my final goal. I know that I will continue wearing things out at a steady rate based on past experience and right now I'm sitting somewhere where I can have new additions without replacing, but also know I will have to replace at a slow rate. Your 6-12 item system sounds perfect for those non-shoppers like us. I find it much easier to pick out statement items and have fun with it when I know I have clothes that are me to get dressed in if nothing catches my eye. I really do feel like I've been luxuriating in each new purchase. I've only had 1 or 2 weeks in the last 3 months where I haven't had time to enjoy each purchase. As for the Clogs, I think I'm going to demote them to yard duties -- they have fabulous soles and footbeds, but as they age they stretch on me and then aren't any good for walking long distances or the stairs at work. thimblelina on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397925 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:33:52 +0000 thimblelina 1397925@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ We should share a closet Elly, we're so similar! I just 'closed' my fall semester capsule of new purchases with 12 items. I bought 5 long sleeve 'dressy' tees that are really more like blouses from Aritzia & Madewell, all in dark rich colors save for one heather gray surplus wrap tee. I bought one flannel shirt, navy & red plaid, also from Madewell. I bought a dark red merino wool boyfriend cardigan from JCrew, and I decided I would try a black & oatmeal cotton colorblocked slouchy pullover by Vince. (scary: I gave up pullovers during menopause but now that I'm a youngish crone guess I'll be brave & add them in again!) I got a knee length, A-line dark denim skirt from Boden. I bought an oversized red paisley scarf that insulates the neck of the cardigan. And I bought two pairs of boots, a bargain priced black leather chelsea and a completely impulse-purchased pair of cognac Frye 'Dorado' tall riding boots found on mark down. I went $20 over my budget. There are still lots of glaring holes; I only own about 40 items of clothing. But I figure if I keep plugging away I'll have one of those terrific tight little wardrobes in about 5 years. Like you, I started a new job with new dress codes. I never knew closed toe woven sandals could be so gratifying! And now that my contract specifies low heels or flats I don't agonize about heel choices & jeans hems... amen to that, right? Don't worry too much about future needs or purchases. Just Be. Here. Now, in your closet. Once the purchase has been made its a sunk cost, period. In five years we could be mowing or even pushing daisies! Pacing really is everything. We know we both don't like to shop. Let's don't give ourselves an excuse to buy nothing for 5 or 6 seasons and end up at exactly this same place again in 2016 or 17, reinventing the wheel. I'm committed to adding 6 pieces per season for life if necessary. I really don't know how long these items will wear in special ed. It's a physically demanding & messy place! I launder everything & with the utmost gentleness & line dry, but still... If we do this heavy lifting now, we will probably never have to buy so much again at one time ever. That's a huge incentive for me! PS: if your clogs hurt, ditch 'em. You can do without them. I got rid of a formerly beloved pair of ugg clogs this year. The wooden soles started to kill me! And they were mules, so I really didn't want to fall or step on a kid flapping around in them. It was hard to do, but it felt great when they were gone. An empty space waiting for something better... xoL Jenava on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397849 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 22:14:48 +0000 Jenava 1397849@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ It sounds like adding color will be important come deep winter.  I know I always get antsy for non-neutrals once that time of year rolls around.  But, it's hard to say what kinds of colors you'll want - something with high contrast and bright (or, even white), or something more muted. Right now, I am craving deep burgundy so that I can wear it with red bottoms and boots.  I've also been layering more, so I feel like I can empathize with your work wear needs.  I've found that having lots of long, thin v and scoopneck t-shirts in neutral colors has been very helpful, and I've been stocking up on cardigans (similar to your jacket dilemma) and skinny pants, which I like as they don't pose a heel height issue. Good luck!  I admire your patience in returning so many items.  I need to be more selective! Astrid on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397828 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 21:29:05 +0000 Astrid 1397828@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thanks for the summary. I'm really impressed on the grasp you have on your wardrobe (planning)! I'm in a very similar situation right now, a lot of things need to be replaced at once. I've not been as successful in my search as you were, but I'm trying to be mindful about it, even with the lack of clothes. Alassë on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397817 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 21:06:57 +0000 Alassë 1397817@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Good thoughts, Elly. It sounds like you have a solid plan in place regarding the addition of colour later on if necessary. Hopefully your purchases will keep up with your wear-out needs this winter - then it will just be buying your winter capsule all at once, instead of spreading it out over a few years. Sharon on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397788 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 19:46:31 +0000 Sharon 1397788@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ It sounds like you have thought things out really carefully, Elly. It's good to go into a purchase with a clear idea of the role you need it to fill. I think it is entirely reasonable to buy enough to get you through a week without laundry. Maybe that can be your basics and you can use the rest of your budget to tinker around the edges and allow impulse purchases and statements to creep in. As far as colour is concerned, I think you have to follow your heart. If you are craving colour and fall in love with something coloured, then give it space in your wardrobe, but there's nothing wrong with neutrals if you are feeling good in your clothes. I will look forward to seeing how it all works in your WIWs! Elly on "My season so far" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/my-season-so-far#post-1397776 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 19:19:45 +0000 Elly 1397776@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Personally, I've been feeling a lot of joy and a lot of indecision about my clothes. I'm not used to acquiring so much all at one time-- I do much easier with a few pieces a season. That said, my dress code at work had changed and I needed new things. I've been chronically under-shopping by choice and necessity and this fall I had the budget set aside to get myself set up better, and who knows when that will happen again. While I'm buying pretty minimally, I still worry about what happens if the next job doesn't allow jeans or requires a uniform because then there will be too much to wear. That said, owning 3 pairs of jeans when you wear them daily is a ridiculous response to that. So, this season I felt both a very real need to make some purchases so I could get dressed and a concern that once I had things that I should have made different decisions or waited for better and wondering what will happen next season --- I've made a commitment to myself to keep my wardrobe on the smallish side but have no idea how much turnover I will have. I do know that I'm gonna buy until I can do laundry once a week and will consider a February refresher. Mostly I'm ready to be done shopping. I've decided that I'm going to just enjoy my things and learn from there. I tallied it up and have made 17 purchases, and I still have items coming to me. That said, I've realized that I need more toppers and shoes than I started off looking for to get through the season comfortably, and still haven't found all the tops I started out searching for for laundry reasons. I've probably returned over 80 items. So, this season, including NAS I've purchased: 1 layering tee 1 sassy sweatshirt 1 zip hoodie 1 scoop neck welted sweater 1 cowl neck curved hem sweater 1 solid-color flannel shirt 1 navy and coral patterned chiffon blouse 1 navy silk blouse  out of season 1 navy long cardi for patterned blouse 1 olive green hooded sweatshirt/top 1 black belt 1 pair of dark straight leg jeans 1 pair of black straight leg jeans 1 pair of slouch skinnies in medium distressed wash 1 pair of gear/ casual weekend cargo pants 1 drape front blouse-- mostly for transitional seasons and gallery openings 1 pair of doc martens 1 replacement pair of sneakers several heatgear underlayers That is 17 items, mostly black, navy, and grey. And I'm STILL shopping because I'm not to the point where I have enough clean clothes! It wasn't until I got close to having "enough" clothes to get through the workweek that I realized everything I was keeping was black and grey because I'd returned so many pieces.  I returned 2 pair of ponte pants, 6 pair of jeans, several tops at NAS, probably 5 or 6 button downs, several blouses, and 20 sweaters and sweatshirts and probably 15 pairs of shoes, several belts, several bags, and several scarves. AT the start of the season I had 2 pair of work appropriate bootcut jeans and 1 pair of weekend bootcuts, 1 gallery type blouse, a denim jacket, two black leather jackets, navy and black layering tees, an army jacket, and several pieces from my interview capsule, and red boots to start the season. I still have 2 flannel shirts, 2 sweaters, 2 jackets, 2 hats, and 5 pair of boots on order, and one belt. I have no idea where my clothing budget is at (although I know it is under my maximum) because of the returns. What I've learned so far: Part of this is that my workplace is so darn cold that I'm wearing 2-4 layers inside at all times, but I still have bursts where I climb ladders or stairs a lot and will get momentarily hot if I'm in one huge sweater. I also wear very closed footwear with wool socks for the cold. I love my sneakers and think that they are equally good for transition season, but don't imagine them getting much wear once the snow flies. I hadn't planned on adding jackets, but I realized that I was a month and a half into the cold season (7 months, give or take) and I was sick of black leather and blue denim because I was wearing them everyday all day long for warmth at work, and the olive every weekend and things were showing wear. I have different jacket and top needs during the workweek and weekend-- during the workweek I need layers that I will wear almost all day indoors, where on the weekend I wear my jackets mostly out in public and take them off at home. The olive gets worn a ton in fall, but is too light for winter with most items. So, I'm looking for black/gray alternatives since most of my work bottoms are blue. I still find that I like to wear my items mostly one way-- I have two sweaters that I like to wear with skinny pants, two tops I like to wear with bootcuts or slouchies, one pair of jeans I like two with only two styles of shoes. I have plenty of bottoms, but not too many. Usually if I get creative it is to sub in a different pair of shoes, different topper, or different colored bottom but keep the basic proportions the same -- so it is important I vary my shillouttes when purchasing because I won't mix it up much at home. I'm feeling very mixed about color. I like everything I've purchased and think that all the dark neutrals flatter me, but it wasn't my intention to have an entirely neutral winter wardrobe. I'm okay with it now, but I have a feeling in January and february this might not be the case -- so with my last few purchases I'm trying to add a little more color that fits well with my existing pallette, or will add something to the 1-2 items that feel a little dull by themselves. I will let myself add scarves to the couple pieces that would suit and then re-think this Jan. and Feb. and add a couple tops or sweaters if desired then, especially if the items will transition into our spring. I'm also wearing my hair down and glasses more than ever before, and I think this affects my color and pattern preferences.  I also amnot wearing my 2.5 year old clogs at all this winter for comfort reasons and my favorite red boots may only have one season in them. I had to replace my sneakers already-- I think last year's shoes were just worn very heavily with only 3 pair in rotation most the winter. I need more shoes. My work bag has popped a seam, which has made a replacement more pressing.