Happy new year! This year will be an interesting one. My first year at YLF was all about planning for a move from sub-tropical Florida to 4-season Berlin. Then came a couple years of holding patterns, in my life and therefore in my wardrobe. No way did I want to dress for the stagnation or make changes around it! Things finally seem to be moving ahead and I’m excited. Having things in place in my life means I can focus on dressing for the life I have, and on shaping my wardrobe towards it.

Part of what I think is actually about to fall in place over the next few months is a bigger place to live with storage space for all my clothes in the bedroom—no more running down to the cellar when I can’t find the pants I want to wear, hooray! There is much sorting and assessing of wardrobe to be done. Obviously, this is much easier when everything is visible at once. I expect I’ll continue to be very conservative about permanently moving things out because they aren’t of the moment. If they aren’t on trend for me, why would they be for anyone else, and if I love them, why would I not want to have them available the next time their moment comes around? But still, the whole shape-the-wardrobe thing should be able to happen in a much bigger way this year.

This was my shopping list for 2020:

White tennies for athletics and everyday (got these)
Green old skoolz (Vans)
Blush oxfords
Rain coat
Warm coat
Wide-legged summer pants
Plaid winter pants
Pale or blush/cream cropped cardi (lantern sleeves?)
Long raspberry/burgundy cardi or blazer
Kimono
Red or brown belt
Pink mock T or T-neck ski sweater
Replacement for pale blue T-neck bodysuit.
“Fancy” (aka patterned) pants
Sandals (metallic with ankle bands) (got slides as placeholder)
Holiday topper
Lingerie (some, still in progress)
Ballerina pink tights
Burgundy tights (got)
Otk socks (got)
Big white pullover sweater

Most of these, besides summer and athletic shoes, were not “must”s. The list is intended more as nudges/places to look for serendipity. Still, wowzer, I did not follow through. Items in italics can be taken off the list because they were purchased. Most of the rest are still pertinent.

Here’s what’s changed going into the new year:

Vans are off the list (unless I happen into a new pair super-discounted)

Blush Oxfords: maybe, but burgundy slip-ons for cool weather are higher priority.

“Pink mock T or T-neck ski sweater”
And
“Replacement for pale blue T-neck bodysuit”
are both being reconsidered, in light of what I did buy.

What did I buy? A whole lotta background:
Long underwear tops & bottoms (Uniqlo Heat Tech)
Camis and bodysuits with built-in bras
Intimissimi silk and cotton body-con ls and sleeveless tops. Several, mostly white but also one in navy. I absolutely love how they feel. They are the kind of underlayer La Ped was looking for a while back, that can be worn on their own or absolutely seamlessly, without creating lumps or bumps, under something else. They are not at all compression tops or control tops or whatever in the least, but somehow my lumps & bumps disappear in them. Love them.

New adds to the list:
flat ankle boots, probably black or brown.
Flare jeans (possibly vintage)
Summer dresses (vintage)
Winter hat that’s slouchy in back (called a Beanie here) &/or striped toboggan (hat) with pompom on top.
Slip-on shoes for winter

Shopping plans:

Right now we are on a pretty tight lockdown. In mid- to late January, I want to take a few hours to explore a set of shops I’ve had my eye on for a while. I think they have lots of locally-produced inventory. I hope to find a winter coat and will keep my eyes peeled for pants & other items.

Also in mid- to late Jan, I want to take some things, including the Western shirt with white standup collar and cuffs, to a secondhand shop in the heart of gay Berlin. They always have a rack of floral and other flamboyantly patterned men’s shirts (pic is their show window) That might be a good place to look for a kimono, jeans, and summer dresses. There are two other curated secondhand shops nearby where I plan to look for those things and holiday toppers, and I also want to hit up a couple Humana shops to see if I like weeding through things (eventually).

There are a couple market stands with knitwear that I plan to try once it’s a teensy bit warmer. We looked for a hat for my son at one of them a couple years ago. The merchant/maker told us she’d happily make something to order. I don’t know if I’ll find her again, but market stands in general sound promising for the T-neck ski sweater, hat, and possibly for the white pullover sweater. There are often leather goods stands at the markets, where I can pick a belt and buckle.

Low on the priority list but something I’m looking forward to is starting to sew. I may look for a simple, inexpensive machine, or might try to find one in some kind of “sharing” arrangement. My first couple projects will be a bog coat like cjh posted about and a loose silk top. I have one that feels lovely, but is too faded to wear in a dressy way and makes me look like a blueberry blob without a topper, and another similarly shaped top with a print I like but the fabric does not have the right content for summer. They will be the models/ sorta patterns for this first sewing project. But this is actually towards the end of a list of other creative priorities.

Thanks for reading this! I’d love to hear your comments and suggestions.