Wow, great read and responses. I learned so much.
I can empathize with your dilemma. I dress for work and love my work capsules and yet the weekend continues to befuddle me beyond belief. I just finished a week off of work and was a complete disaster at getting dressed because I was only at home and running errands. Today I put on a pretty wackadoo outfit because I was tired of wearing jeans for 5 days straight and was bored because my tops are boring because they are a base layer for a topper.
I look forward to watching your evolution - to echo an above thought - your color palette is very neutral have you thought about adding in some brights. A neutral outfit with a pop of bright color from a scarf, belt or shoes can be edgy. Just a thought.

Suz, the decades challenge has been an eye opener! While researching how to style my new flowy trousers (for my decade - 1920's) I came across the picture below. What makes it 1940's is the button down shirt sleeves rolled so high up the arm. I immediately had to give this look a try, and will be wearing it for real later when my 1920's experiment is completed.

As Gaylene pointed out, it is the little details - when even the roll of a sleeve can have an impact!

I'm so frustrated to be so behind on the forum when great threads like this come up! It's late -- and Easter morning is coming quickly, but find so much to nod along with in your post. How do we create casual and at-home personas that are, well, personal, creative and practical? My investment in better looking loungewear made the biggest difference this year. And being both picky and varied in my silhouettes shows some promise -- although I struggle with finding the right items and proportions for a modern style that compliments my body.

As you look forward, make sure you take a moment to look at the road you've traveled -- you have learned so much and look so consistently fab!

Suz this is a great post. Thank you for sharing. I have only skimmed other comments. I really appreciate your comment that dressing up at home is not practical. I agree and it's something I have been thinking about as I will now be home more than I am at now at work with my new job. I 'think' I will be wearing a lot of my relaxed jersey pieces on my non work days. They look good but are very comfortable and I can work at home in them easily.

I did read Angie's suggestions and I like her ideas for you.

While I can't really make any suggestions, I think that the fact that you are so clearly able to assess where you are at, what you want and what you need is a real step to getting to where you want to be.

Suz, I came across your post late last night, but was far too tired too leave a coherent reply. So, I've popped back to re-read, reconsider and take notes!

Our life-styles are very different - UK, country life-style plus large garden and pets, for me - but our wardrobe needs seem remarkably similar. For my everyday life I need practical, comfortable clothes. Jeans and sweaters are my staples, not glamourous, but perfectly suited to my needs. I, too, found that It wasn't feasible to try to dress this uniform up for out-of-the house occasions: I need completely separate capsules for both. I differ from you, though, in that I'm quite happy with my pared-down home clothes, just as long as I can dress up a little when I go out.

I think you have had some great suggestions here, especially those for statement sweaters and sweater dresses. I love Tanya's suggestion for knitted motos, and Angie has given some great advice - of course she has!

I've no doubt that you will have nailed your perfect home capsule by next winter, and will look forward to seeing where these musings take you.

We always have room for three more Suz :-)!

Wow...I am overwhelmed by the wonderful post Suz...and you look wonderful in all of your photos.

I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota and our winter weather pops up from early October through April, with warm days added in to the mix to make dressing even more complicated...as well as many many days when I leave for work with temps in the 30's and by afternoon the temps are in the 50's or 60's. This past week our temps swung from 10F in the morning one day to 80F one day in the afternoon!!!

I have 3 sets of clothes...work...going out...at home. My poor husband sees me looking "nice" when I'm walking out the door, or just walking in the door because I change into "at home" clothes immediately. 2 big shedding dogs and 3 cats mean that I am constantly covered in fur...so usually wear leggings and comfy tops at home that I change daily to get a fur free look for a few minutes (have a cat in my lap as I type this).

I find that I like nice fabrics and textures...and accessories, and that adding in these finishing touches makes me happy.

I look forward to seeing how your style evolves as you add "school" clothes into your mix.

Suz, i don't have time to read everyone's responses this morning so forgive me if I'm repeating. I admire your diligence in tracking your wears! I have intended to do this, but have yet to be successful. It seems too time consuming for my busy life. Your analysis is wonderful and I can clearly understand your dilemma.

I may not be the best person to offer suggestions as I wear jeans almost everyday year round and have around 40 pairs. I have never become tired of wearing them for some reason. I also haven't had the concern that they are too casual for my lifestyle, and I am a physician! Maybe I am delusional!? I love them, but I do break up my wears with skirts and dresses, even in the winter. I know our winters are similar and like you we still have snow on the ground (and in the air). One thought for you may be sweater dresses. I have a collection of soft merino wool sweater dresses that are cozy, warm and comfortable. They are definitely casual, not formal, and they could work for at home wear with some leggings or warm tights. They also shift to dressier if I add a nice scarf or earrings. They are great because I can alter the accessories to make them look however I want, with a belt, with my shoes or boots, a pair of colorful tights, etc.

Your struggle is so interesting. It's hard to balance the feminine and androgynous edginess in your style. I know my style is not particularly edgy. I veer more towards the feminine and I think that's why my style adjectives include the word Soft. I love how you work things out Suz. I'm sure you will come up with some great ideas for F/W. The good news is there are a few months to think about it -------if and when it actually stops snowing!

I also read this yesterday wehn I had no time/energy to digest, so am popping back now to comment. Not sure I can even do such a great piece of anazasis justice, but I do have soem random thoughts in my head that might help, so here they are... in no particular order.

1. Well, the first and most important thought is that you do need to rest assured that you have an amazing style. Just look at the photos you chose... no matter what they are illustrating, you look fantastic.

2. I hear ya on the winter thing, you know you have my total understanding and empathy.

3. I'm blown away that you wore those two sweaters 30+ times. I think that no matter how much I loved something, wearing it that much in one season would make me sick of it. So I think you should figure out what you liked about those pieces so much, and duplicate or triplicate, but in a different way.... so you get the love and function, but a different look.

4. It's hard for me to relate to the working at home thing, because I don't. And I'm still one to change into lounge wear the second I walk through the door. But I do think that wearing the same things to work in all day, as well as go out in during the day or the evening, would get tiring. I think the idea of a lounge capsule, that FEELS good might be worth persuing. Then when you get changed to do errands, or whatever, your casual clothes feel more new and fresh to you, not same old same old. I love the chance to put on jeans and a nice casual sweater, becasue it's NOT every day that I get to.

5. I know that for me, it's hard to have interesting basics. I seem to feel that if I have a basic piecs, they can't be too interesting because they have to go with everything, and in order to have the edgy piece or interesting piece, I end up with too much... the basic AS WELL AS the interesting. I need to get over this. Do you?

OK, that's it for now.. if I don't post I'm afraid I'll lose this!

I forgot to type...

I bought a felted wool skirt from Eileen Fisher, that, when worn with fleece lined tights (I preferred footless as they stayed up better), wool socks and my boots, were just as warm as pants and looked a lot more stylish.

Suz, much of what you say applies to me, as I work from home several days a week. My favorite work from home outfit this winter was a charcoal Eileen Fisher cotton/merino dress and fleece leggings. I can change out the look pretty easily with scarves of various colors. But the footwear thing just threw it all off. So I get what you are saying.

We need to bring the fashion footwear industry into this thread so that we can create slipper capsules. I wear my faux uggs so much that I can totally justify splurging on real uggs next year -- but I don't really care for how they look. Beyond that, they are exactly what I need. So what's the alternative?

Hi Suz! Like Beth Ann I have felt behind on the forum. There's a decades challenge going on? Must check this out.

As I read your post, I found myself nodding in agreement with all of it. Like you, I seek comfort in my at home capsule, yet want to stand out somewhat when the occasion calls for it. As I look forward, my needs are for fewer smart casual outfits, more stay at home casual, and a few more dressy events like the Opera. Therefore, I am stopping myself from purchasing too many more smart casual outfits, and focusing on adding a few more dresses as well as more at-home wear.

For at home wear, my approach has been to focus on quality. I have a large number of Vince sweaters that are perfectly cozy yet have some style. I have good jeans, and good tops to go with the jeans and sweaters. This has been my big lesson. If these clothes get worn the most, then I'm not going to be thrifty. I also spend more at the dry cleaners. Instead of hand-washing, I bring things to the cleaners, because the clothes will look good longer. It's still a relatively small price to pay to feel better about how I look at home.

Suz - I haven't read through everything, but I have seen lined version of jogger type pants and I wondered if they would work for your climate (assuming you can get Athleta in Canada):

http://athleta.gap.com/browse/.....#style=224

Carolyn on Un-fancy.com has mentioned wool joggers as well but I'm not sure where she got them from.

You've done your homework, Suz, and not only will you be excellent at school, you'll continue to look stylish and modern in any setting.

I'm impressed with your number crunching and in seeing your photos, and hearing your lament on all the jeans wearings, what I see is variety in the wearing of them. You have such nice pieces, in topper form and sweaters, that you make your signature look unique.

Still, I see your desire for a way to add an interesting edge to this formula, and I love Angie's examples to find one-off Suz classics to keep you happy.

I can't wait to hear more about the school project coming up in your life.

A think you have identified a comfortable stylish loungewear capsule is in order. I know you have rebuilt your wardrobe from scratch Suz and inevitably this leads to items being purchased which have to work within several capsules but as times moves on I think it is natural to become more specific with our wardrobes.

After Ruby the puppy entered our lives last summer my loungewear, casual wear items suddenly became a priority. I have purchased quite a few items from Hush which fits my requirements. the only trouble is I now wish to wear these clothes all. of. the. time!

https://www.hush-uk.com/looks_1

This cardigan has been my ultimate workhorse

Love your reasoning, Suz! Thanks! Especially interesting to follow you winter style since we live in similar climates. It is hard to keep up the happiness and style quotient when the temps are going down and the wind is howling. Or it is just dark, dark, dark and icy & slushy all over. You look beautiful no matter, but its important to feel it from inside, too.