Now that September is almost upon us, I thought it'd be good to take a step back & evaluate my spring/summer wardrobe additions. I'm sure this will be text heavy & I've included photos of the various pieces, so that's your warning. If you're just interested in big picture reflections, rather than the details, jump down to the last paragraph, where I've used bullet points. I should also warn the minimalists that I added 27 pieces to my closet for those two seasons (that works out to around 15% of my total closet), so prepare yourself. hehe I'm a minimalist in most areas of my life, but clothing is an exception. For a variety of reasons, I love having an extensive wardrobe, as long as it all fits comfortably in the available storage space, which it does.

My general philosophy: I strive to be environmentally & ethically conscious in my purchases, so I buy almost all of my clothing secondhand (the major exception is shoes, which I only buy from companies w transparent manufacturing policies). I'm also on a budget but love nice fabrics and pieces, so buying secondhand helps in that too. I tend to yo-yo about my love for style/dressing vs my dislike for consumerism, so this year I tried doing an experiment in which I only shop twice, for about a fortnight each time, focusing on Ebay as a source: once in the spring, spending half my budget on spring/summer pieces, and once in the fall for fall/winter. I had hoped this would let me enjoy planning/shopping twice a year but keep me focused on other aspects of style (aka hugging my closet/learning more about textiles & fashion history/finding inspiration for new combinations of old pieces/chatting about clothes here on the forum/etc.) for the other 48 weeks. I'm pleased to report that this has definitely worked! It's let me enjoy reading about style year-round without an everlasting case of the wantsies. Note that not all of these pieces came from my March shopping; about half were from a Goodwill spree I went on during my trip home for Christmas last December and two pieces came from an in-person thrifting expedition with friends in May, which somehow saw me forgetting all about home goods to try on clothes instead.

I moved last September, from south Texas to upstate NY, so I was still getting used to my new climate. Just last week I had a ridiculously obvious realisation: a four-season climate means that there is in fact three months of summer. Everyone talks so much about winter here, that I'd somehow overlooked that. Since I don't have air conditioning right now, it's a good thing I hadn't downsized my Texan pieces yet! I've attached a photo of my city's climate chart; as you can see, we have about three months of subfreezing weather, three months of over-75/24 weather (which I consider hot for dressing purposes, since I run warm & prefer the cold; having spent several years in south Texas I'm well aware of how much hotter things can get, lol), and six months in between. I plan to undertake a closet evaluation soon to see how closely my clothes adhere to these ratios, mainly out of curiousity's sake.

Anyway, for this spring/summer, I knew I wanted to start playing with some lightweight wide-legged trousers, so for summer especially I needed some lightweight, waist-defining blouses to go with them. I ended up adding five of these to my closet: two solids and three prints. Most of them have a waist a bit higher than my own, which makes them less than ideally flattering, but still provided enough to work with. I also added two of my usual summer waist-surrendering blouses in colours I didn't have yet, because I couldn't resist.

The problem child from this set is that light blue one: not only does the shape only work with narrower trousers, but the colour is not the best for me. I knew all of this when I looked at it on Ebay, but I fell in love with it as an object and ignored my better judgement. It hasn't gotten many wearings, so hopefully next year I'll be stronger. A tea bath did fix the colour a bit at least. My favourites/most wears turned out to be the seashell navy blouse, whose waist tie actually hits at my own waist (this was my first time adding a conversation print to my closet; I think the neutral colours kept the whimsy within manageable levels), the muted French blue ruffle piece, and the grey & white pinstripe little blouse I forgot to photograph (it too had a sash waist instead of just elastic). I expect to wear the brown floral one more during the 'Indian summer.' Next year, I'll be much fussier about making sure the waist definition on the tops lines up with my actual waist, as if it hits at my rib cage I end up looking quite boxy.

My spring tops, by contrast, were ordered with the expectation that I'd be wearing them either tucked into full skirts or over skinnies, so they included two knitwear pieces: a fine (rayon blend) grey/white striped tee and blush lace tee as well as a purple blouse with eighteenth century-esque detailing. No problem children/lessons here! The striped tee got worn the most, but they all got love & I can't wait to continue wearing them when the weather cools off a bit. The purple one, which is a silk/cotton blend, got to come out during the summer as well. For me, knit tops are a staple of transitional weather.

For spring, I added to my outerwear collection: a lined grey trench which proved terribly useful & a blue/grey tweed in a lightweight wool that I originally thought I'd be saving until fall but got to wear quite a bit in early April (it snowed on Easter), which was a pleasant surprise. I also got a Nordstrom wool/cashmere pashmina-style scarf in a soft white; I have a grey one of these that I received as the bridesmaid gift from my sister's wedding & used it so much this past winter that I thought duplicating would be a good idea. It was & I've worn the scarf a ton! All of these were winners; I love living in a climate that justifies a variety of coats. hehe

My lighter weight spring/summer toppers include a waist-defining 100% linen wrap jacket, which I mainly bought to wear with my sleeveless summer fit & flare dresses (I prefer to wear sleeves when it's sunny outside for the extra skin protection but go sleeveless indoors for comfort), the top of a lightweight, unlined linen/wool Theory suit I came across in that Goodwill expedition, and a soft white cardigan. The latter is a HEWI for me & definitely has gotten the most wear of the three! The grey jacket comes in second; I think I might need to nip in the waist of the Theory blazer a bit more to wear with skirts & dresses, but I did pull it out for a few trouser & shorts looks. I just added a purple cotton sweater (when I made my autumn shopping order, placed when LikeTwice had a great end-of-business sale) that's gotten several outings already.

Speaking of trousers, all three of these are from the same Goodwill trip! Two pairs of wide legged ones: teal & grey and the bottoms to the Theory suit, which are a kind of slouchy tapered fit I suppose. The grey ones saw quite a bit of wear in the spring but are too warm for summer (they're a lined tropical wool) while the teal ones were a surprise hit; I wasn't sure when I got them if I'd ever wear them but it turns out I love them! I'm completely converted to wide legged trousers for year-round wear, although I do need to be a bit fussier about hem lengths (luckily it's pretty easy to shorten legs, even by hand). And of course I still need my narrower options for the rainy days. Once again, no inherent problem children here. I'm still learning about the best fit for wider trousers though, thanks to Angie & the forum. Fit has always been my major dressing weakness & I worry I might have unintentionally lost a bit of weight that's exacerbating these issues.

On to skirts/dresses. Only the white skirt is from online ordering (and actually came from my autumn shopping order, placed when LikeTwice had a great end-of-business sale) & while I love it in theory, in practice the white is just a bit too bright for me, which makes it a problem child. Also, I feel like white swiss dot is best suited for high summer, but in weather above 75/24, I don't usually wear skirts, because the fitted waistband makes me cranky in the heat. I knew this was an experiment when I ordered it, so it might end up being passed along next year. I'll give it a full spring/summer season before I decide for sure though. The red skirt comes from my real-life thrifting; I couldn't resist how it was almost scarlet but somehow still muted enough to not overwhelm me! It hasn't gotten a ton of wear yet, but I expect that will change come autumn. It looks more like an autumn/winter colour to me.

The blush cotton dress is a vintage piece I found during my Christmas Goodwill expedition; it's gotten a lot of wear. Once I realised that I had three months of summer, in which I prefer dresses to skirts (that waistband issue), I took a good look at my dresses: only four are completely cotton (and none are linen, sadly). The other two cotton pieces are lined with acetate, which is fine for transitional weather, but not for heat. Considering I have twelve weeks of summer, and wear dresses at least twice a week, often three-four times, I think this is one of the few sections of my closet that could really do with some expanding (the others I expand anyway, because I love having colour & texture & fiber variety, but they're functional as is). Especially since the hot weather means clothes need to be washed more frequently.

Not pictured, but I only made one shoe addition: a pair of medium brown oxfords that haven't gotten a lot of wear in the heat of summer but were very handy in the spring & on cooler summer days. I thought about getting a pair of sandals but ultimately didn't, because I kept thinking summer would be a short season & they wouldn't get enough wear. Luckily my Aurora Shoe Co flats are very comfy even without socks & my feet run cold, so I'm fine in closed-toed shoes until it gets above 90/32.

Finally, we have the handmade additions to my closet: a wool knit jacket, a linen/cotton sewn skirt, and a cropped, waist-defining linen knit cardigan. All of these have become favourite pieces & made me realise just how wonderful it is to wear pieces customised for my body & taste. I have the knitting skills to manage this, but I'm new to sewing, so I'm still in the learning stage there. Of course, making clothes is far more expensive than thrifting them, especially if you have ethical constraints in your retail shopping. And the environmental considerations are different. However, I think it's worth it. So for next year (I've already done my fall/winter shopping), I plan to draw up a list of pieces I want, see which ones I can get via Ebay during that shopping fortnight, and then plan to make the rest. This means I'll probably need to move my shopping schedule up. Luckily I enjoy wearing the same shapes in different fabrics, so once I master a pattern, I should be able to use it over and over again. Top of my list for next spring/summer is to find a waist-defining blouse pattern, since it appears all of the purveyors of girly blouses (looking especially at Anthropologie here) mainly design for shorter waisted women. Or just learn how to make a smocked elastic waist I suppose! I'm currently in the midst of making my first fit & flare dress, in a grey linen, and have a fine grey wool flannel standing by for the fall/winter version.

Whew! I know I enjoy meta posts, so I hope you enjoyed that level of detail too. In summary, here are my reflections:

• Even in a northern climate, it's worth it to have a solid hot weather wardrobe, especially when you live without air conditioning.
• A few more fit & flare dresses, in linen or lightweight cotton or cotton/silk blends, would not go amiss.
• Next year a new pair of sandals, in a light shade, have a shoe-shopping priority.
• Waistband placement matters; even if the blouse is full of charming details, they won't make up for an unflattering fit and will skew the proportions with wide legged bottoms.
• Long sleeved knit tops get a lot of use in transitional seasons.
• Trust my gut when online browsing; I had qualms about the light blue blouse but immediately fell in love with the seashell one. Guess which one got more wear? Even the teal trousers; I wasn't sure how easy they'd be to work into outfits, but I was sure that I loved them & loved how they looked on me (I bought them in person). My gut is fairly well honed at this point & a useful tool. Except for when it comes to fit. My gut doesn't care at all about fit. lol
• Speaking of which, I am smaller than I think I am. My fit problems always involve things being too big for me. Try to keep that in mind (ebay is, counterintuitively, better for this, because I can get actual measurements and compare them to actual forum-approved garments I already own, instead of trying to decide for myself by looking in the mirror).
• I'm excited to finally have built up a tiny purple collection; I've loved purple from afar for years but rarely managed to find the shades that actually flattered me.
• 100% silk is great for transitional weather but in actual hot weather (75/24+ for me), silk/cotton blends or cotton voiles are nicer.
• Summer-specific skirts are not a good idea; focus on dresses instead for those fabrics.

• Prints are perfect for adding interest during weather that precludes layering.
• I reach for a lot of blue in the summer.
• Lightweight, wide-legged linen trousers are very comfy, even in humid heat & a nice alternative to shorts, since they are far more elegant.
• I've gotten really into monochrome colour combinations lately, wearing a lighter & darker version of the same colour, usually with a neutral thrown in too.

Next year I doubt I'll be adding a new silhouette to my spring/summer line up, and I won't be adjusting to a new climate, so I'll probably add fewer pieces. Plus, my closets & drawers are now as full as I want them, so I'll be starting a one in/one out policy (with an exception for dresses) that I'm sure will cut down on new additions dramatically. Of course, my budget & (hopefully) transitioning from mainly secondhand shopping to making more pieces will naturally do that as well. While I can see tweaking my clothes a bit next year for fit issues, I think I'm at an ideal place as far as variety, etc for me. So I consider the past shopping venture a success, even if there are a couple pieces that taught me more about what I *don't* wear than about what I do.