A lot of us, definitely including me, are hoping to simplify our wardrobes. We hope to be like Claire, even though the way to that seems difficult and unclear. Thinking about it, I realized that sometimes I deliberately choose to complicate my wardrobe rather than simplify it. In this context, a simplifying choice increases my mix and match options (and thus decreases the number of pieces needed) while a complicating choice decreases those options (and potentially increases the number of pieces needed). I'm focusing here on color though this also applies to other aspects of our wardrobes such as the cut of our pieces or our style persona.

One decision I've made to complicate my wardrobe is that I'm committed to white *and* to cream (pic 2). I love them both and I thank Angie for permission to have both in my closet. It's a complicating decision because I wear my cream things with some pieces, and my white things with others, but very rarely does a white or cream piece go with everything.

Another complicating decision is to wear both white and yellow metals. I truly wish I only wore one, but I can't. When you add that I can't stand to mix metals, I've got a situation where I can only wear shoes or bags with metal accessories with some pieces. Also, I have the added expense of maintaining separate white and yellow metal capsules.

Finally, one simplifying choice: I do not wear red at all. Please understand that I love red and love seeing how others use it. But for me it became a headache, seemingly requiring its own wardrobe, and not going with anything else. Now I'm happy with a wardrobe of pinks and purples and cobalt blue, along with white (or cream), navy, and black.

What are your simplifying choices? Do you have any complicating ones?