YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Navel musings part 2

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Navel musings part 2 https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2 Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 22 Apr 2026 10:17:54 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php lyn67 on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-917303 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:48:02 +0000 lyn67 917303@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Love this post, and so resonats with me, too. After almost 5 years on YLF I only felt this year that I have curated my basics. It took me so much, not  not only due to limited budget or current     (un)availability of some items, but most of all about non-awareness. I  so can remember! For perking up my wardrobe,  I first started  with  buying  some nice/more unconventional  accesoiries for pennies  and  splurgeing on  some replacement  basic  outerwear (so low and high end  together:-)). That was my way of having  a bit of  fun with fashion and style at a low budget and relatively low availability of  fashionable clothing items(had to travel a lot for my clothes:-)). Then continued with a mishmash of purchasing for  other sections in my wardrobe: tops, skirts, dresses, shoes and bags. But I  can so well  recall the moment when my light bulb went on for pencils...then for day dresses.  Always focused pretty much on one at a time. I kept account of my outfits for all these 5 years (taking picties help sooo much!!!) but I wasn't really aware about what I need (for my lifestyle and my style goals) until last 2 years- when  strictly wrote down all my purchases  in a calendar, per categories, shops, cloting item and all. Then I found myself  analyzing these lists: per seazon, per budget, per colour, per capsule, and so on...you name it.  It helped a lot to see all things in retrospective comming together. I started to feel like I have all  I need and that it all goes with everything in my closet, only at the end of last year year, and   still have some holes!! BUT, these holes are only the icing on the cake I say. It was a big work to reach here- now it comes the real fun!:-) Deborah on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-917266 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:28:41 +0000 Deborah 917266@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I so enjoyed reading your post. I love your either/or list and I find the list process very helpful. I agree that once you have your basics it's easier to work on your "update pieces" for each season. I keep a wish list, and I am finding it gets smaller and smaller, not because I am buying more but because I am more intentional and specific and am desiring less. For our coming cooler season, i have actually dropped a couple of things off my list because as I searched and tried things on I decided they in fact were not consistent with my style goals. It sounds like you are on the right track and making good process. Anonymous on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-917213 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:23:30 +0000 Anonymous 917213@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I loved reading your thoughts on this. I think your idea of an 'either-or' list (or a flexible list) is so important. If you set your mind on finding periwinkle purple gladiator sandals this season, maybe they simply aren't available. So you can either get periwinkle ballet flats or gladiators in a different color, depending on what you need them for. If you have enough other footwear to get you by, you could just hole up and wait until they become available...or like you said, change the list!   carolbee on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-917155 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 01:40:09 +0000 carolbee 917155@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Really enjoyed this post, very thought provoking. Caro in Oz on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-917025 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:44:43 +0000 Caro in Oz 917025@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I agree with Suz - without the right foundation all the extras in the world won't make for a workable wardrobe imo.  This is where the a capsule or core wardrobe becomes important. They are the pieces that underpin everything else you might wear imo. They help (me) make decisions about what to buy next.  rachylou on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-916642 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:53:10 +0000 rachylou 916642@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I am inspired by your post! I want to take a step back now and consider my wardrobe as a whole. It's time to put away the winter things and set out "spring/summer". It's funny about deciding on a style direction and then trying to actually take your wardrobe there. I want a pair of flared trousers... and they have just not been for sale for ages. Then in late winter, I decided I wanted to do pant suits (matching tops and bottoms, not jacket and trousers). Anyways, I got some pieces and have been waiting for spring to break... and well, spring made some mewling sounds and has been slammed aside by some summer weather. Now I feel like I have unworn purchases, and that's sort of against my "wardrobe belief system" haha. missvee on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-916490 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:17:33 +0000 missvee 916490@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think this is a great post and find myself nodding in agreement all the way through. A wardrobe comes together slowly for most of us, and that's okay. I need time to see how new things will work in my closet and I really enjoy finding unexpected pairings with some of my old favourites. And once you have a few decent pieces it seems so much easier to complete capsules or to add a special item. Thistle on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-916479 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:52:56 +0000 Thistle 916479@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I am not quite to where you are yet, much less, Angie, but I know where you are coming from.  It is difficult to form your executive Clothing Strategy when you are still lost in the trenches, trying to understand the details, and knowing what purchase will take you to the next level. Based on the insighfullness of your post, I can see you are making progress. Still, it is difficult, and I feel it is all the more difficult because of the cheap and plentiful choices that constantly surround us. It is easy to get sidetracked, especially if you don't have a clear vision! Suz on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-916471 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:37:10 +0000 Suz 916471@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This is a very thoughtful post, and I can see you're making progress. I have had a similar dilemma and question. When I began here (and even still, to some extent) I could not wrap my head around the fact that so many members seemed to know "just" what they needed for each season. How could they know that? How could they figure it out? It was all a mystery to me.  Part of that was because I simply did not have the base wardrobe in place. I needed the foundation. Without that, no wonder I couldn't wrap my head around paint and finishes....much less pillows and curtains and artwork. Silly analogy, maybe, but there it is.  Worse yet, I wasn't even sure where to put that foundation or which way to orient the building! What was the foundation, really? The lists of "what every woman should own" did not speak to me. (Still don't, really).  That's where defining my style goals became important. Figuring out a style personal.  Well, I'm still working on my personal foundation, but most of the supports are in place. Jeans (a couple of styles). Jackets (at least two good ones per season).  Footwear. Tops - button downs, turtle necks, boat necks, slash necks, etc. Coats - some variety there.  Then I can start to think about supporting players -- including trends. One or two very current bottoms (e.g. slouchy trousers, now). A jacket that is "of the moment." Belts, scarves, bags. Very current footwear. Etc.  Sara L. on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-916468 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:32:02 +0000 Sara L. 916468@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I love your idea of a short list of things that will spruce up your wardrobe and then finding what you can on it.  I have the problem of being able to picture the perfect item and then not being able to find it because what I want is way too specific.  A more general list of items would probably be easier to work with and less frustrating.  rae on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-916455 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:16:19 +0000 rae 916455@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This is a great post, and I really appreciate your thoughts on this. I have been thinking this way as well, though it has been a struggle to focus on one thing with life so in flux.  I love your idea of an either-or list. I know what you mean about straining to find X item... you will probably find a better fit if it is okay to choose within a certain list. And if things don't fall off your list, then they are a real long-term want and you can be like Angie and stalk an item over a year or two! unfrumped on "Navel musings part 2" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/navel-musings-part-2#post-916447 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:04:30 +0000 unfrumped 916447@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ In the mode of needing to think more globally about what I might add to wardrobe over a longer time, like a year, and why, and what is being replaced, and why. It would partly be just for normal budgeting reasons, and for a sense of “enoughness” and what seems reasonable, for   finally realizing that selective intentionality has made the most difference in the past year. This is a good year to work on that because, while I’m not really on the fab fast track, I can see progress and have a better sense of knowing when to hold and when to fold, so to speak. Meaning, I can see wardrobe areas or capsules where it isn’t really important to add or upgrade right now, because they just don’t mean as much to me, versus areas where I can now see I’ll really get a return in terms of fun and the feeling that I’m doing something new-me. So I want to think about that and focus more and not get drawn into “easy” acquisitions— as much as I might in the past. Angie’s group 2 is where I want to focus more—items that complete outfits really well so something really comes into its own, and/or change wardrobe landscape. And also an Angie-ism, I can see that by thinking and planning a bit,   “wardrobe holes” can be also be filled with landscape/game-changers and not just with a routine filler. One of my  inspiration/challenges  is that section in In Style where the “fashion editors” show their monthly purchases for a year, recapping a quarter at a time. It’s somewhat daunting as I haven’t really thought like that. You mean, my purchases this month are a cuff bracelet, a pair of shoes, and one top? I’m not sure I have got the vision to see how a very few purchases monthly will come together over a year. We don’t really see what their base wardrobes are, so we don’t know how any one item moves the style forward. I’ve tended to buy more things at a time in the past year or so–one thing seems to lead to another. The pants beget the top begets the clutch then a jacket. But now, partly because I have overall more items I like and partly because I have a budding sense of strategy, I think I’m more ready to make longer-range plans. I’m still feeling  wary of  whether I will discipline myself to not buy something just because it fits and I like it, and I’m still distrustful of whether something is truly “classic,” and of fashion longevity. Somehow to mitigate that I get back to my epiphany that once a basic wardrobe is shaping up, then shopping in season and wear-now makes a lot more sense and gives satisfaction. So that means doing something that many YLF’ers already do—think, hmm, what will be one great spring-summer jacket that works right now; in the fall, what one or 2 pairs of shoes for fall-winter that go with lots of things right now; pick one new cashmere scarf for winter that perks up all my coats. Instead of randomness. For me I think it  helps to work from an either-or list. I can’t always find what I want and don’t want to look frantically for a specific item. So I like a list that says, here are 5 or 6 items that would really help me upgrade my look—let’s see which 2 or 3  seem most do-able. Then…stop!  Example is, I assumed I would add a fairly high-quality summer oxford but it hasn’t materialized-yet. Now, it’s not over yet, but the idea is, my pants capsule and my bookending colors and my workwear style don’t really  line up with what’s out there as much as I thought, so maybe that is not where I’m meant to go. It might be just patience—I find them later. Or I’ll add some pants that then will work with the shoes I didn’t buy before. It might be, gasp, they just drift off my list and it doesn’t matter. I make do with what I’ve got and I “fix” some other area. I feel like this so old hat to most veterans. It is not just the "quality" over quantity but more the strategic shopping--I guess defining quality in broader terms-- so each purchase really helps in some way, and then discipline to not try to fix everything that could be fixed, but to make do as well. It's been very helpful  already to get so many good pointers on this subject from YLF, but if anybody wants to chime in with more how-to's, that is great.