The lovely Ingunn and Kellygirl (along with Angie) inspired me to get cooking in my own closet.

First mistake: I didn't re-read the blog entry before I got going, so I didn't choose a specific colour scheme.

First discovery: My summer wardrobe had a pretty clear colour theme: blue, blue, and more blue with splashes of white -- and the odd splash of black or another colour. (Nothing wrong with keeping it simple, right?)

Well, my early autumn clothes don't seem to be in colours at all! I have a closet full of neutrals. And I'm a colour loving girl. Hmmm. Do you sense the phrase "wardrobe hole" in the offing?

My goal was to create an "early autumn" capsule of outfits I might genuinely wear from the end of August through the first week or two of October in my climate. Of course actual weather conditions would affect my choices.

Another goal was to use the Leith track pants as one of my bottoms. These have been sadly orphaned in my summer closet. I wore them a few times in May and from that point on, the weather has not felt right. (If I worked in an air conditioned environment, they'd be fine, but as it is...poly pants in summer? No, thank you.) I'm hoping they'll come into their own in September conditions.

I did remember the number of garments to choose -- 6 tops, 3 bottoms, 2 footwear, one belt, one scarf, 2 toppers, and a bag. I stuck with this number. In quite a few cases, I felt limited and suspected the outfits I would have created using different items already in the closet would have been better. But I wanted to try this in a "purist" way just to see what I could see.

Tops:
Equipment silk shirt in winter white/ light taupe/ blue/ black print
J. Crew Cotton tuxedo front shirt
Cassis hi-low silk tab sleeved Tee style top in taupe
Loft knit peplum top (black)
Amber Sun colourblock sweater in berry and plum tones
DVF Tinkit sweater in blush/ white/ black animal print

Bottoms:
Leith track pants
VC tube skirt in navy
Banana Republic slouchy skinnies distressed denim

Toppers & Accessories:
AT military style jacket, navy (details are difficult to see, but it has epaulettes, wrist tabs, etc.
Thrifted denim military style jacket (this one has an asymmetrical closure with high neckline)
VC leopard wedges
Report Marks bootie, light taupe
Leopard belt
Vintage Coach cross body used as clutch
Target "miracle" scarf

I'm not showing every possible permutation, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Some discoveries:

Early autumn transitional is a tough season for me to dress for. In particular, the toppers didn't feel right. At all.

Both are older items, so although they partake of the military theme of this season, there was still something off about them. Also, they felt too dark, too bulky for the time of year, and oftentimes, the proportions didn't feel right to me. But, looking into my closet, I did not have a lot of choice. I could have tried my fuchsia knit jacket, but it's looking worse for (a lot) of wear. Question: what sort of a topper would work? (It will be too warm for my leather toppers so I ruled those out entirely. But it seems I really do have a wardrobe hole for fall toppers. And my short denim jacket didn't work with anything but the skirt, either.)

I need a new autumn bag. Maybe a berry tone, cranberry red...something.

Those Leiths are still really tough for me to style and feel okay in. They didn't really work with either topper. I wasn't crazy about them with any of the tops. Question: What do I need to do to make these work better for me?

If you've read this far, thank you so much! I hope my new collage making works. And I'm grateful for your suggestions or observations.