Thank you, Karie, for spearheading the orphans-to-outfits challenge, and to everyone who kept the momentum going! If there is one thing I came away from this challenge with, it's the understanding that I have far too many closet orphans. In fact... I have way too many clothes, period. Why?? Yesterday I made a list and spent the entire day culling my closet:

Weight loss/weight gain. Stuff wasn't fitting, or was too big. I revisited these pieces and if it couldn't be tailored for a reasonable price, I was merciless in donating or putting it on the 'list on ebay'.

Saving for 'good': Surprisingly, I only had a few pieces left in this category, once I culled the stuff that doesn't fit well. I've been very good the past couple of weeks about wearing the 'good' stuff.

Doesn't fit my lifestyle: I didn't have much in this category, once I got went through the other criteria for editing. I looked carefully at these pieces, and asked myself a) is this fabulous? and b) can I use this for costuming a show or monologue that is already in our repertoire? If the answer to either was 'yes', I kept it. And I'm going to wear those fabulous pieces as the weather permits. (The full-length steampunk/western coat is coming out to play come December!)

I gave away two large bags of clothing to charity, and have about 30 pieces to list now on eBay, which I plan to do over the next few days. It was very, very liberating!

In the end, I looked at what was left, and realized my wardrobe hole is hot-weather casual wear - which I thought would be nicely filled with a pencil skirt or two. Last night, I spent some time on eBay and a couple of my fave pin-up sites looking for something playful and, ideally, machine-washable

Then half an hour ago, I found Angie's most recent article... http://youlookfab.com/2013/05/.....cil-skirt/

HOW DOES SHE KNOW?? The woman is a mind-reader! And I am so glad