Thanks for sharing your strategies!
LisaP, Angie, StyleFan, jAileen, Carla, Suz, MaineLady: I don't mind at all hearing about your take on outerwear. I get it (your arguments for buying several coats) and will admire a 'full' outfit on others... but for me, simplicity is more important than matching everything in this case. Since my coats are almost only used for commuting, I don't mind wearing the same two (waterproof and prettier non-waterproof) for an entire season (counting 4 seasons). Even then, a coat I like will be used for years and I won't tire of it. Because my wardrobe is heavy on neutrals I rarely feel my coat is truly mismatched to my bottom choice. And it frees up my mind in the rush of the morning to just choose between 2-3 coats. I get enough fun out of picking 'indoor' outfits with more care the night before.
That being said, I AM drawn to the idea of creating a little outerwear capsule.
Nemosmom, it makes sense to use my 'happy colors' for such a capsule.
Anchie, good idea to look for a patterned item to tie things together. I am considering a patterned coat even...
Sal, your aporoach sounds like how I'm currently doing it.
Rachylou, I've been wondering should I take this approach to prevent accumulating mismatching pieces.
Robin, funny how our tolerance for mismatching is different from item to item!
Jane, your approach is similar to mine. I also try to go for all silver hardware (except maybe for casual wear, when bronze is so much more common).
AJ: I've never heard of wearing one's bag under the coat! Mine would for sure be too large for that :). I'm the opposite with matching bags: indoors I quickly put my bag down so I'm less picky about bag matching outfit.
