I posted some of my style aspirations to copy cat the other day. http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....for-summer
Today my niece who came over for the weekend from Australia went shopping with me. She worked in clothes retail for years and is great on advice. I got a couple of summer dresses, a leather vest, and boyfriend jeans from thrift shop. But I was thrilled to find two leather belts and this messenger bag from thrift shop....will help with copy cats.
I also found my brown booties and there was a 70% discount on the 2nd Pair of shoes so she advised me to get a pair of metallic cage sandal shoes. I spent a bit more than I normally spend but the boots are soo comfortable so think I'll get my moneys worth. I think these will really enhance my summer wardrobe. Also found a big summer scarf but can't be bothered styling it all now.
Also in response to my claim that my husband thinks I have too many pairs of shoes, she had this advice...." men don't understand how one single ankle boot can not go with all your outfits ".

Cerinda -- Thanks for your support and thoughtful comments on all the challenges in this thread. In answer to your question re: my own challenge -- Yep, boredom is the main reason I would like to wear more color on the bottom half. And I do own other bottoms besides blue denim ones. They just do not get as much wear, so I am trying to change that. They deserve some love.

ElizabethP -- I was enchanted by your lovely travel capsule and was thrilled to see how you put it in action on your recent trip. There were so many fabulous outfits that you created from this one grouping. I love your new challenge idea to get wears in on your transitional pieces. I will be doing something very similar to that for the next few weeks as it is still too warm to fully switch over to my Fall/Winter clothes.

Anne -- I missed your gray vest post and will check that out. I bet that will be a nice Spring transition piece for you, as will the white jeans. You are very smart to look ahead at possible Summer updates while you still have lots of choices in the stores. I need to be more organized about that process.

Sally -- Got busy over the weekend and missed your new thread on your style aspirations. I will be checking that out fully later today. I like your idea of selecting specific silhouettes to wear this season. I am doing a bit of strategizing on that subject for my winter wardrobe as I always seem to get stuck in a rut of skinnies plus boots. Love your new finds... especially the cage sandals. Gorgeous!

Thanks El Cee. Yeah I'm finding it takes a bit of effort to change silhouette but it is well worth it to play around with proportions etc.
I'll have to come back and comment on others challenges tonight.

Last week I missed work due to surgical complications. This week I have been running around because I went to parent week at my sons college. Good news! He's doing well! More good news, I have figured out that one of my pairs of shoes causes blisters when I walk so they need to be binned. I refuse to wear shoes that pinch my toes or rub my feet. I have enough difficulty in life without tender tootsies!

The offending shoes are a pair of Beautifeel loafers, loose in the heel. A perennial problem for me. One walk between my sons dorm and the car park and my heel was sore. The distance was maybe 1.5 miles. Is that too much to expect from flat loafers? I think not.

My vow to make layered outfits for changeable daily weather as been a struggle with other priorities creeping in and warmer weather in general. I didn't get any photos but mostly used jackets to add warmth when needed. I'll try to get back to this project this week. Thank you, El Cee, for the challenge.

Not sure what I said I would do, if anything, but here's what I did. Post coming if I can figure out how to post photos-I think I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. Anyway,
I wore for the first time 2 of my NAS dresses. And with the leggings I bought so I could wear dresses once it was colder than really warm. Instead of my usual- comfy pants.
It feels beyond good to have finally cut the tags and put them to use. I realize that my CPW may be quite low, but my joy per wear extremely high.
I did not receive one compliment. I was shocked. Not sure if it was because of the leggings with maryjanes. I think my crowd might have thought leggings under the dress a bit odd.
One twist was one day the air conditioning was artic and I was cold. Kept my not so warm puffer coat on my legs. Need to try a warmer topper to see if that will work in similar situations, or if I need to revert to pants. Or get warmer leggings.
Biggest challenge-deciding whether to keep newly purchased placeholders. One of them is definitely not exactly what I want but also definitely better than the alternative in my wardrobe.

Staysfit -- Sorry to hear about your surgical complications. Hope that you are feeling much better this week and that you are on the road to a full recovery. Great news about your son. You must be very proud of him. Regarding your shoe challenge -- I do not blame you for binning or passing on those loafers. No matter how pretty they are, they are not worth blisters and discomfort. I have a lot of blister problems with shoes with a high hard back (a lot of oxfords and loafers fall into this category).

Joy -- I know what you mean about the challenges this transitional weather presents. It sounds like you are very wisely deciding to just go with the flow. We are still getting intermittent summer temps here, mixed in with some damp, cold temps. So hard to plan outfits as the weather often changes throughout the day.

Barbara Diane -- That is great that you could put your new dresses into play. I am sure that you will receive tons of compliments on them here on this forum. The ladies here are so much more "style aware" than some of our friends and coworkers. Have you ever tried fleece tights? I actually find them to be warmer than a lot of my leggings.

I continue to be so impressed and inspired by all of your terrific challenges!!! New weekly challenge thread starts tomorrow. Keep up the good work ladies!

Week 2 was all about the marathon seasonal swap: my local consignment shop accepted 23 of the 24 transition/fall/winter items I took in (and will take the 24th after a minor mend). I used credit from my summer consignments to add a second metallic bag to my wardrobe, one large enough to carry computer, tablet, water bottle, and all that. I’m slowly filling the limited closet/drawer space liberated by purged and stored items; light-weight wools are now keeping the darker light-weight transitional items company. This will go on for a while, probably until Thanksgiving.

Lessons learned: How to make consignment (at this particular shop) work for me -- purge mistakes immediately and consign or donate right away; purge at the end of the season, donate immediately, and store the rest to consign later.

My 10 x 10 challenge --10 high-happiness, non-repeating WAH outfits--has had mixed results. Trying to do this was totally eye-opening (Yo, Sterling!). I used 7 bottoms and 11 tops to create (and try, and photograph) 8 transitional outfits and 3 winter ones.

Lessons learned: 1) I could cheerfully wear my black cropped wide-leg trousers almost daily, and they work with a surprising number of tops and toppers in my closet (Thanks, Tanya!); 2) the best fitting jeans in the closet look really dated: hack; 3) summer’s ill-fitting crop kick flares can anchor a significant number of outfits: consign immediately and look for a replacement; 4) two sweaters were splitting wears: return; 5) and 2 bottoms are perilously close to being orphans.

I’ll count last week a success.

So my fun challenge for the coming week is to act on the lessons learned in the 10 x 10: 1) plan for winter; 2) style the pale flares and the patterned black silk slouchy trousers that went unused; 3) and spend some time considering my dominant season and the distinctions I make between WAH, Casual, and Casual Chic.

Cerinda -- Wow! You have had success on many fronts this past week. Kudos! Your consignment strategy is smart. (I always forget to bring things just ahead of season when the stores are most inclined to accept items.) It truly is liberating to get rid of unworn items and to make room for the more utilized pieces. Sounds as if you learned a lot from your recent 10 x 10 challenge. That sort of challenge is a terrific way to identify which wardrobe items are working well... and which are clearly not. Yes... it is eye-opening. I like your new challenge ideas. That "dominant season" thing should be a big consideration for a lot of us.