It’s been one week since I started my 4 week shopping hiatus. It’s been a great ride so far. I have been in “wardrobe rebuild” mode for a little more than a year and had not realized it was time to shift gears to “seasonal refresh” mode. Not realizing this was probably the biggest cause of my dissatisfaction. So, problem solved! I'm now becoming re-acquainted with my spring wardrobe. I’ve been doing outfit creation and taking photos etc. I’ve also been reviewing YLF ensembles, stuff I’ve saved on Pinterest, and my log of outfits worn since last June. I've also started reading through the various forum postings on shopping fasts. I’ve made great progress but want to do more outfit creation before I finish this phase.

I also did one set of necessary returns to some B&M stores and bought NOTHING! That was a big accomplishment for me, to not buy anything

Discoveries so far:

Angie's YLF ensembles are THE BEST. I just love looking at them. I’ve
been going through the archives and even the older ones have a lot of
great ideas. They are better than any other types of ensembles I’ve found anywhere on the Internet. Angie you are a ROCK STAR at putting these together! ...or DESIGN QUEEN…or ENSEMBLE GODDESS...or whatever

I had a goal of wearing blush more this spring. I do have a few pieces, but I need to push myself to wear them. I’m going to wait before adding any more pieces and see how it goes with what I have. I re-read Angie’s posting on how to add a new color to your wardrobe and am going to follow the advice about using a capsule approach. https://youlookfab.com/2016/01.....-wardrobe/
.

This led me to rethinking my color palette preferences. I tend to prefer warmer colors, but I also like some cools. My aha moment was realizing that the cooler colors I like are ones that I would pair with cognac or nude, like pale blue, pale grey, celery green, and pale blush. Cool colors that I would not pair with cognac, like bright pink and citron brights, are ones I don’t like as much. So the “goes with cognac” guideline really
works for me. Makes sense given my skin tone, warm blonde hair and blue eyes. Sorted!

That led me to rethink the ED blush sneakers I bought recently but have not worn (Find 1). They are super pretty, comfy, and well made and I was looking forward to wearing them. However, I want to be more careful about footwear purchases because mistakes are expensive. I’m not so sure I want to wear a lot of blush so I decided to return them in favor of a similar item in a different color. The blush sneakers would not be so much a mistake as not the most versatile choice to add to my shoe wardrobe right now. I ordered the Josef Seibel Caspian (Find 2). I love these for fit, comfort etc, but disliked them in black when I tried them a few weeks ago. I’m loving my sliver metallic booties (Find 3) so sneakers in a similar color seem like a better idea than the blush ones. These also fit my need for a pair of comfy all-day walking shoes that are not black.

Last but not least, I found one pair of shoes that I absolutely must have.
(Find 4). I noticed these even before they appeared in Angie’s blog posting today. The “must have” thing doesn’t happen to me very often, and I’ve learned to jump when it does. I love the style, color, and brand, block heel light colored sandals are on my list for spring, and Nordstrom returns are super easy. They will also work with several bags I already have (Finds 5,6,7,8). AND they fit my cool color palette! That’s enough check boxes to override my hiatus, so I just ordered them in a couple of sizes.