I have spent a substantial chunk of change on jackets this spring – yellow Academy from Gap, white leather from Danier, blue lace from I.N.C., black knit from Cleo Petite, floral moto from Club Monaco, black/white bomber from Material Girl. This does not include the jackets I already have (which I won’t list).

For some, this would seem rather obsessive…maybe bordering on pure crazy. But I’ve come to the conclusion that jackets ARE my style. I wear one almost every day, all four seasons. I wear them in the spring and fall as light outdoor wear as well as in the office. I wear them in the winter for layering as protection against the cold. And I wear lighter ones in the summer in the office as protection against the A/C.

I also wear them for structure to rein in voluminous tops, to minimize body con dresses, to professionalize an otherwise more casual outfit, to provide impact to a less exciting outfit, and as my third (a.k.a. “completer”) piece.

In the last three months of spring/summer purchases I have removed a number of jackets from my closet as I felt they no longer fit with my evolving style or worked with other pieces, didn’t mesh with the color scheme I’m slowly working on – black, white/cream, navy, cobalt and touches of sour brights like citron and orange (ok….the yellow Academy blazer doesn’t exactly fit with the scheme overall but works WITH the scheme, if that makes sense), and some just needed some serious updating or upgrading (the CM floral moto will be replacing the bright green floral moto I thrifted last year).

I’ve also gone through a major purge of shoes and sandals that physically no longer work for me or work for my emerging style so I have purchased black pointy toe kitten heels from Calvin Klein, taupe patent pointy toe kitten heels from Cole Haan, bone laser cut oxfords from Dolce Vita and brown/bone hi vamp sandals from Blondo. This has also been a major expense.

What has this purging and buying taught me? I will ALWAYS spend the bulk of my wardrobe budget on jackets and footwear. They are the backbone to my style and the starting point to almost all of my outfits. For me, they make or break an entire look. This has been a major “aha” experience for me and now I have a better handle on how to make up my wardrobe budget and where to concentrate on. Other items like tops, sweaters, pants, skirts, and dresses are the supporting players to the jackets and shoes/boots.