My goal was to identify and refine my style; have a closet in which everything played nice with everything else; and own nothing that didn't make me super happy. In Angie's terms, I want my entire closet to be one big capsule. Of happiness.

I did some analysis on my favorite items - that is, the ones I knew I reached for again and again, not necessarily the ones I admired the most - and made some basic category decisions. Then I went through my closet and removed anything that didn't fall into those categories (well, except for dressy and interview stuff). It's been really fun AND simplified my shopping wants HUGELY.

One takeaway is that the foundation of all of my outfits is very plain, classically shaped, and lean. Then I have interesting details in a layer, jewelry, or shoes. But if you strip me down, I am basically wearing a slim, thin tank top and some form of pants, and then building on top of that.

Other realizations are that, while I love interesting pieces, I prefer subtle to in-your-eye. Also, some things I love on the hangar but look terrible on me, and I'm just not ever going to wear them so they should go. And I never want to look like an item is wearing me (Look! It's Miyake!) or to get too precious about any one piece of clothing, no matter how expensive.

Bottoms:
All in solids, no prints.
- Dark skinny jeans, pants, or leggings
- Dark/Light/colored slouchy pants/boyfriend jeans
- Dark trousercut jeans or pants, cropped or regular length

Sweaters:
All in solids, no prints - just texture effects.
- Black and gray cardigans, crewnecks, and vnecks in very classic cuts, in fabulous materials like cashmere or textured cotton knits.
- Classic crewnecks in thin cotton, linen, or cashmere in my current colors, like navy, magenta, plum, and forest green.
- White pullovers in cotton or linen for layering, from very basic to avant garde.
- Sleeveless sweaters and vests in a range of colors and fabrics for layering
- One or two "novelty sweaters" in classic shapes with interesting textures in solid colors (like pumpkin or rust).

Shirts:
I have patterns and colors here, but really nowhere else (except in shoes!).
- Fitted classic cotton buttondowns in a range of colors and patterns, from very dark denim to tie prints to florals to white. These can be worn alone or under my solid cardigans and vests.
- Thin, sheerish, long-sleeved, longer-body cotton layering tees in white, black, and a range of grays.
- Long white and black cotton tanks.
- Cotton tanks - white plus a rainbow of colors and patterns.

Dresses:
Worn like like long shirts.
- Solid-color cotton, linen, or cashmere tunics or shirtdresses that can be layered over long tees or tanks, or under long cardigans.

Skirts:
Let the girl out! Sometimes. I have VERY few skirts as I don't wear them.
- Full, floaty skirts in organic materials, in summery patterns and colors, to pair with simple tanks, denim jacket, and sandals or tall boots

Shoes:
Must be comfortable, leather, and easy to get on and off without a lot of interaction.
- Sandals and boots only. (Booties I wear and consider boots. Heels and flats I wear, but consider sandals. No shooties. No sneakeels. The foot is either entirely covered or it's bare.)
- I like shoes that are simple in shape and design, but have at least one interesting thing about them - color, form, toe or heel shape.

Jackets, coats, and blazers
I love me some black. Yes I do. Might as well face up to it!
- Cashmere, cotton, leather, and techno fabrics in black (!!!), gray, green, or white (white in summer only) that are either soft *or* resilient - I need to be able to wad them up when traveling - as well as lightweight and breathable, shaped to my body, comfortable across the shoulders, and have good hand pockets
- A trim, masculine 90's-style Helmut Lang look is a big plus in this department for me (good thing as I own many Helmut coats) - the layers underneath will be girly enough and work fine

Whew... Guess this was a novel. Thanks for reading!