2016 purchases and challenges

The recent thread about 2017 goals made me reflect on 2016, which was a year defined by precariousness and commuting. This was reflected in my daily wear, although over the year my style became a bit more dressy.

My non-athletic, non-undergarment purchases included:

Trousers:
Black wool culottes
Black skinny jeans
Higher rise boyfriend jeans

Tops:
White slim fit collarless 3/4 blouse
White oversized silk 3/4 shirt
White poplin puffed-sleeve 3/4 shirt
Chambray tie-knot short-sleeve shirt
White cotton short-sleeve t-shirt
White linen 3/4 sleeve shirt
Black silk/cashmere 3/4 sleeve ballerina wrap

Outwear:
Navy gilet
Leather moto jacket

Dresses:
Silk trench

Formalwear:
Blue knee-length lace dress
Strapless black gown

Shoes:
Fluevog heeled oxfords (to be consigned)
Fluevog heeled boots (to be consigned)
Fluevog pointed flats
Geox beige sneakers
Clarks deconstructed burgundy oxfords
Sorel booties

I returned most of what I purchased because I wait until the initial excitement of a new garment has worn off for me to identify any problems. For example, I recently posted a fab pair of white denim that looked good and fit almost perfectly, but the slight bunching/extra fabric near the fly area bothered me. Additionally, I decided to consolidate several purchases into one splurge (the silk trench dress) that would give me more joy than the other items combined.

Reflections:
I don't post WIWs very often unless I feel great about an outfit. The most popular outfit seemed to be my most recent post, which involved wearing footwear that, while stylish, left me with blisters and pain at the end of the day (albeit, fewer blisters and less pain than other contenders). A few major footwear purchases in 2016 and 2015 were sadly epic fails--comfortable in the stores, and horribly painful within 10 minutes of walking outside.

Fashionable footwear is the bane of my existence, and it's still really hard for me to look past inappropriate shoes to the remainder of the outfit--indeed, when people post pics here with less-than-ideal footwear, commenters are quick to point it out. I try not to do that, because you don't what kind of factors besides aesthetics go into a person's choice of shoes. It's obvious when someone is wearing bulky New Balance joggers with a fancy outfit, but not obvious when someone has paired something that looks comfortable and casual with something that is dressy.

That said, my style in the past year has taken a dressier turn. I absolutely love my new silk dress, and can't recall being that excited about a garment in recent history. In 2017, I'll probably try to sport dressier wear, despite the foot challenges, and clear out many of the garments that are in the holding zone. I'll play any future needs by ear, although a few silk tanks would be useful at this point, as would a more fitted cashmere seater. The perks of commuting have been identifying which of my garments I value most, so I hope to act on that before I finish my current job and resume living with partner in the spring.

9 years ago

Anonymous

I love these posts and need to. keep better track of my purchases. 2016 was a year more of culling than buying. I wanted it reduce my wardrobe by a third before moving and am not sue I made it, but came close. Most of the purchases I've made have been replacing items that were well worn and expanding my footwear collection, especially a bit more dressy items and booties. I added a couple of bags when needing something larger. I want to wear what I have and consider what I need/want for a new area and lifestyle.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

I agree with Joy. I love these post also. Reading your journey and reflection of what worked and did not work. Especially the shoes because to me they are most important.

Bonnie

Great post and I learned something from it that I am going to try. You said, "I returned most of what I purchased because I wait until the initial excitement wears off for me to identify any problems." That is an excellent strategy and I'm going to add that to my 2017 goals.

Suz

(website)

Terrific summary and it sounds as if you have done some useful reflection. I hope you can identify a few brands of footwear that meet your needs more reliably. I don't have super fussy feet as a rule, but for the past year, they have caused me trouble -- a bad case of plantar fasciitis and some toenail bed damage from aggressive hikes mean I need to be extra careful. Plus, my usual issue of a narrow heel combined with a regular width forefoot and higher arch -- that results in lots of fit problems for lower vamp shoes.

Anyway...for my feet, Ecco shoes often offer a good compromise between style and comfort. La Canadienne is another (pricy) option especially for winter wear.

Re arch support -- for me, it is less a question of needing support than needing the arch to be in the correct place. Arches built into shoes are rarely (never?) high enough to hit my actual arch but in the past, at least, that hasn't seemed to matter as long as the arch was not in the wrong place. (I guess my feet are strong enough that they are okay without the support? Though I do generally like a strap or something over the vamp if the underneath support isn't great.)

Anyway, if it's in the wrong place, forget it -- that's a sign of a shoe that just plain does not fit me. So I keep trying on different brands to discover which ones have lasts that can at least potentially work. So far for me those are: Ecco, Sam Edelman, Stuart Weitzman, La Canadienne, Aquatalia, Franco Sarto, as well as -- ironically -- Topshop and Zara! (In other words, price is not the deciding factor.)

That got longer than I'd like but maybe it will be useful to you or someone reading!

I'll try to be more mindful about commenting on people's shoes.

The best thing about your trench dress is the waist definition coupled with some looseness. Looks fantastic on you.

Here's hoping 2017 is a better shoe year for you. I'll put up with a lot of blistering if the shoe is generally comfortable but other problems I would not.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you GF!

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