My own wardrobe F/W inventory

I have completely enjoyed reading Ingunn and Suz's recent inventory of their fall/winter purchases and discussion of what was tried, what was kept and what was purged. Thank you ladies for your inspiration!

I have decided to undertake the same sort of inventory and see what I've purchased, if those purchases show any sort of trend or pattern, and how I did with my budget after declaring publicly on the forum that I was cutting back.

Here's what I've purchased and kept, by category. Some of these items were actually purchased in July/August and were covered partly by the summer budget so I wasn't really sure to include them or not but figured since they weren't being worn until now, I should at least declare them as purchased for F/W.

Footwear:

Ara black patent booties (already turning into workhorses)
Taupe suede Toms wedge booties (I wear these a ton on weekends cause they're great with jeans)
Black & animal print pointy toe flat Fluevog oxfords (a total impulse purchase at 50% off. Have worn once to work and twice with jeans - need to try with skirts to get more wear out of them0
Dark green suede Calvin Klein pumps (thrifted for $14)

Blazers:

Graphic front print cut-away style from RW & Co (30% off)
Navy Theory Lanai (new and seriously discounted via eBay. This filled my two year old navy blazer hunt)
Blush/taupe wool Zara (thrifted for under $20)

Pants:

Lord & Taylor black watch plaid (bought twice but at 50% off so still totalled only one pair). BTW the new size in petite came yesterday and they are PERFECT!
Lord & Taylor ponte knit legging style (still need to get these shorted)
Black & white micro check bootleg style from Cleo Petite (to replace the slouchy black and white Sears pair from last year that no longer fit)

Skirts:

Animal print pencil skirt from Sears (at 30% off)

Dresses:

Tiered blue INC (at 40% off)
Black/white/purple animal print cowl neck from Olsen Europe (at 50% off)

Sweaters/tops:

Navy cashmere v-neck from Lord & Taylor (bought at 50% off and has been on my wish list for two years)
Camo front mixed media from Dex
Black and white colour block from Cleo Petite
One black and one pink 3/4 sleeve slouchy sweater from Sears (at 30% off)
Anne Fontaine white shirt (via eBay). Strangely enough I'm having trouble figuring out the best way to wear this…silly me…
Multi color silk tank from Olsen Europe

Outerwear:

Berry coloured Anne Klein cashmere blend long dress winter coat from Winner's
Cobalt blue leather down-filled puffer coat from Danier (at 80% discount!)

Accessories:

Rose gold/black Fossil watch (via eBay)
Black Danier Leather handbag (to replace Christopher Kon hobo)
Kate Spade vintage marble necklace (via eBay)

Wow. When I look at that list, I'm a little nauseous. However, I have in the last two months purged 3 large black garbage bags of ill-fitting, no longer in style, poorly made, no longer in love with clothing, footwear and accessories. This includes a bag of stuff I put together last night.

I also purchased baroque pattern jeans, white jeans and a blush Theory blazer that I returned because they simply did not work for me and my wardrobe. I have also walked away from items in store more times than I can tell you.

I am now left with a closet I can honestly say I love.

What does this purchasing list show me?

Two long sought after items were finally found - my navy v-neck cashmere sweater and my navy blazer. PPP resulted in exactly what I wanted and could afford.
I love a mix of interesting looking pieces and classic well fitting pieces.
I still try to find things on sale or on eBay if possible, which helps me stretch my budget. In totalling up all these purchases (as best as I can remember since I don't have the price tags for many of them anymore), I went $142 over what I had set aside for fall/winter. Not as bad as I thought and can pretty much be explained by the blue leather puffer.
Fit is extremely important in an item and I have also become a complete fabric snob. Clothing needs to feel wonderful against my skin and either drape beautifully or be the right amount of "crisp".

I'm actually quite pleased with how this all turned out and I really thank Ingunn and Suz for inspiring me to take a good look in my closet and at my shopping habits.

If you read all this, thanks !

12 years ago

Anonymous

Great analysis, thanks for sharig, Shannon!

Lyn D.

Veteran

Fantastic wardrobe Shannon!
So much variety and savvy shopping here, and I hear you about wanting only the best now.
I know you found that you were purging a lot of thrifted stuff a while back, and I went through that too. Simply only buying the best quality and fabric has curtailed this for me, so I can totally relate!
It is such a nice feeling to be at the one-in-one-out stage, and to have items that will last for a few seasons and can then be on-sold due to their good label and workmanship.
I missed your navy blazer, but I am glad you got the blue puffer coat, it is gorgeous on you.

Suz

(website)

Yay!! Great job, Shannon! And yes, your purchases have made sense for you and are already serving you well.

Your size has also changed and that always means more shopping. You can't wear clothes that no longer fit. So considering all of that, you've done amazingly well.

I tend to buy (or at least order) in the heat of the moment and forget to look at the budget. I am not inclined towards spreadsheets, but every now and then I think -- hmm. If I did that, I'd have a much clearer picture of what is really going on. A lot of my disinclination arises from the fact that I still haven't completely figured out my true needs, and I'm still (despite all this buying!) in a process of actual wardrobe building. But I think next year it will be more a question of replacing items -- I'll have a clearer conception of what I'm about. I sure hope so, anyway!

Transcona Shannon

Whoops...realize I forgot to include the Spiegel jacket, Jessica Simpson bootcut jeans and my fox tee.

I think lifestyle has a HUGE impact on purchasing habits as well. I work five days per week and see the same people those five days so like a fair bit of variety for my work life.

Caro in Oz

So interesting TS. I hear you about being a fabric snob

rachylou

Definitely interesting. Nauseous? It doesn't seem that bad to me, if we're talking quantity... esp. if you are closet cleaning at the same time. I always get new coats in winter. They're so visible, if you know what I mean.

Jaime

The best part is that you are left with a closet of things you love. And that we love seeing you model, by the way. I can remember you wearing a lot of this list and it is all fab!

Nebraskim

Shannon, I know you are very specific about perfect fit. How big is too big before you purge? I've lost weight and some items are now just comfortably loose, others so huge they kind of fall off. Some I've dumped but others I'm just wearing sloppy. I'm not sure when to let stuff go. I did, after a two year search finally score the perfect black denim skirt this last week.

Not Shannon, Nebraskim, but I have to admit I just didn't buy clothes for a long time during and after my weight loss. My budget didn't allow it. So for months I wore pretty much nothing but gear. I did get one pair of jeans and 3 tops partway through. By the end they were too big.

I never really had a "goal weight." I just wanted to get fit and down to a reasonable level. I ended up losing more than I'd expected. So I truly could not wear the same size of clothes.

Look to shoulder fit in tops and jackets -- that's key. If the shoulders don't fit, nothing will look right. If the shoulders DO fit pretty well, you might get a sort of slouchy oversized look in items with the right cut if they are a bit too large. But too large and you will seem lost or overwhelmed by the clothes.

With pants, again, it's the relationship between cut and size and tells the tale. A looser cut BF jean can be even looser and look fine. A skinny that is very stretchy won't look good sized up because it will just wrinkle and bag in unattractive ways.

Nebraskm - I apologize for being so late to reply to your question(s) regarding fit. Talk about a crazy weekend!

Anyway, Suz has pretty much covered what I also would have said. For me in shirts and jackets, it's the shoulder fit that's key and then second most important is the underarm area. If those two areas fit, IMHO everything else can be taken in when need be. I can also extend the life of a blouse or top that's now too big by doing a semi tuck - this makes the top drape a bit better over the trousers/skirt/jeans and makes the fit look more intentional.

Pants are a whole other story. I now no longer keep anything that I would consider one size too large. In fact, I recently re-purchased the same pair of pants because the first pair I bought really were too big. If they are falling off and I'm constantly hiking them up, they get purged.

I have found that dressing is poorly fitting clothes just makes me feel sloppy, frumpy and unhappy. Angie always says to dress for the body you have now and I couldn't agree more

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.

Thanks, ladies. It's only about 20 pounds (long ago I lost 75 and after 30 years, some crept back). I haven't lost in my upper torso, so jackets and shirts not a problem, but I have dumped quite a few pairs of pants and a couple of skirts.

Robidi

Active Member

Thanks for sharing, Shannon. I enjoyed reading your analysis!

deb

Good job!!!

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