Sort of…
My mantra for 2025, chosen in January, is ‘Older and Bolder’. My plan was to wear the heck out all the clothes in my closet, adding a few colourful or bold elements (gold footwear and bag?, leopard print?), and being braver with my style. Second hand first, and B&M a priority.
Wearing the heck out of my clothes…
All but two pair of my 10 bottoms (7 pants, 3 shorts) were new last year, and those 8 bottoms have all racked up over 30 wears. Black linen pants thrifted in 2023 have 13 wears, but will come into their own over summer. New natural coloured 501’s have 10 wears since purchase in April.
Tracking wears has taught me that I wear 1/3 of my tops in cold weather, 1/3 of my tops in hot/warm weather, and 1/3 of them year round. The later category get the most wears and are lightweight flannel button downs and lightweight cotton sweaters. In May I edited 5 cotton sweaters with 50-60 wears each due to visible signs of wear. I have not replaced them, and can promote lesser worn tops that fit the brief when cooler weather returns. I culled 7 items in a fist quarter edit, and another 9 this quarter. 7 were for the trash bin, and 9 were donated.
Shopping…
I’ve added 10 ‘new’ items this year - see Finds below. 5 items thrifted. The Eileen Fisher puffer vest was thrifted, then gifted to me by a fellow thrifter who decided the fit was too snug for her. The vest and the bikini are the only items that haven’t been worn yet. Everything else is in rotation with the Vejas, 501’s, white button down, and navy bucket hat getting a lot of wears. The leopard print shoes, we on my list, but any ‘gold’ has been more of a mustard hue (sweater and puffer vest) and I won’t be wearing them for a couple of months. The Vejas were bought online from Simons - a Canadian department store chain - everything else was B&M.
Style…
I don’t feel like my style is bolder, but it has become ‘crisper’ as I lean heavily into classic - and own it! I’m doing things like wearing silk scarves tied like a man’s necktie with cotton and linen button downs, and using a double breasted blazer jacket as my third piece. As soon as the weather warmed up, I pulled out the prints: red Hawaiian shirt, lemon dress, a new fruit and flower print skirt.
Bolder isn’t just bright colours! It can be body con or architectural shapes, creative styling, prints and textures!
Going forward…
Shopping is more challenging at present due to a variety of factors. I’m not feeling any constraint to styling of outfits because I’m lacking something - so not feeling any pressure to buy - nor loosing the enjoyment in shopping when I do browse. New parameters are just another challenge to overcome!
If you set wardrobe or fashion goals for 2025, how are you doing? Are you sourcing your clothing and accessories differently? Any B&M shoppers out there? Or mostly on line?
