Meredith, I absolutely want to be honest with people! I'd hate to waste your time (or mine)
Let me sort through some things here:
Reading the defining your style threads feels really good, like I'm in control of this thing. Saying I don't usually feel that way about fashion is an understatement.
Your admission that WuW many days is not post-able is reassuring.
I am not so worried about my presentation here in suburbia as I am if I'm invited to speak somewhere or if I get a grant or a job offer. In those cases, I'll need to project vitality (which comes naturally) and being pulled together (which does not).
I really enjoyed the "shop my closet" aspect of choosing shoes and a wrap I already own over new for that wedding. That's a phrase I've heard a lot, but I never understood it like this before.
I have too much stuff, a crapload of stuff; a lot of it needs to go. It only makes sense to do have guidelines, so I don't wind up with an closet orphanage.
I am learning a lot from other people's comments on my posts--way more than I thought possible, in directions that are new for me. The articles and threads are also surprising me with ways to think that I haven't considered before. I love that.
Having spent a couple years thinking through home style, without making any major purchases, I feel much better about being ready to pull a home together quickly if we move; working through my wardrobe systematically could do the same thing for me sartorially.
I appreciate other people's eyes on my photos. It's easier for other people to "see" my figure and what works or doesn't, and you all are much better at noticing details that go right past me, like on the blue and peach colored tops (but I'll learn).
I think what adds up to is yes, keep going, but take it step by step. After I read about 1 neutral and 1 basic color, my blue dresses kept popping out at me. At first I thought I'd pull a few together for a laugh at myself, but that turned into a productive exercise. As I was getting pumped doing it today, I was thinking ahead, wondering if I should do blue tops and bottoms next, or all the black pieces. Or maybe all these dang white, ivory, cream and sand colored collared blouses. Or the blazers and other toppers that i can't figure out heads or tails of. And then my energy ebbed in late afternoon and I thought "what am I doing this for? I have no life. It doesn't matter what I wear to take my kid to school" and I wrote that comment.
So that's where I am. I hope I'll get some more good responses on this batch of blues. I'm going to read some more, don't know what my next post will be. I think that's the way to proceed. Keep going, but slow down a bit, read and think, don't try to do it all at once.
And don't try people's patience by making them think I'm playing. I'm not. This is actually more tiring than I had realized. Not physically, but there seems to be a lot of energy tied up in my clothing and my body.
Thanks for your frank comment.