On giving myself permission to grow up and let go (of things I don't want to wear or are no longer useful) .....

I don't believe in hanging on to things "just in case" but still have problems with buying pieces that aren't true to my look or my needs....which are still a moving target. I want to have style, not buy into as many trends, and generally have a wardrobe of better fitting clothes.I’ve just finished my seasonal closet changeover, but instead of just bringing out Spring and early Summer, I pulled out everything and gave it the once-over. And to think I actually used to like doing this.

Observations:

1. I put away 8 pair of fall/winter boots that either didn’t get worn at all, or only once , maybe twice. All were from previous winters and weren't new. This is not great, and bothers me. I know this of myself: I like to update shoes/boots often and should not invest in too many pair for any one season, as chances are I’ll be done wearing them long before they wear out. So do I get rid of these 8 pair ? Am I really going to wear them next winter when I didn't wear them at all this past one?

2. Summer scarves: I have many. Far too many. I never, ever wear them, but always think they look great on a mannequin in a store, or on display somewhere and keep buying them ... but they have no place in my life! One, maybe two really ,really nice ones of the best quality I can afford will suffice for that rare cool day. Out went a big stack of summer scarves.

3. t-shirts: I’ve finally come to agree with Angie that they are inherently unflattering, and difficult to wear unless you are trim enough to tuck them into your jeans/shorts. I have about 6-7 in each of black , grey and white, and DO NOT need to buy another tshirt EVER again. I’m not 25.

4. I seem to have gotten rid of all of my white jeans at the end of last summer with the exception of one pair that look sadly dated now with their ripped knees . I also noticed a couple of small stains on them – so out they went. I have NO white jeans, and do need to buy a pair as I quite like wearing them in summer.

5. I got rid of 9 pair of summer shoes/sandals. Included were 4 pair of high wedges, which although cute, look both dated and impractical now. Also purged were two pair of black sandal/ booties and one pair of caramel coloured open back higher-heeled booties. None had been worn more than a few times, but simply aren’t a look I want now. I have one pair of really nice white loafers from Brown's that are at least a couple of years old and hardly worn , but they are feeling too snug now – just as I was looking forward to actually wearing them. I guess feet do change with age and weight gain. This is something I’d be interested in replacing should the right pair come along.

6. purged 6 pair of casual black pants (not workout tights) from Lululemon - ugh. Too small now. Still need something in this category, but not 6 pair. I'm an idiot, yes.

7. I have exactly ZERO summer weight dress pants, which is a definite problem. I do have one pair of black linen cropped wide legs that should still fit and a pair of black bamboo jersey culottes that should be fun to wear. Major wardrobe hole here.

8. 4 , hangs head, 4 woven gilets – all new within the last 2 years ,and only one made it out of the house and actually got worn – got put into the donate bin. Despite liking the look on others, it is NOT me, and after reading a recent comment by Lynn about style descriptors , I see now that they don’t fit into mine – which until now, I have never been interested in determining . A gilet is too masculine and severe for my liking and does nothing to enhance any of my other clothes. I can now see the value of style descriptors , and will be getting on that immediately.

9. regular jeans: this is where it gets really bad. I have a stack too high to count of Gap Real Skinnies/True Skinnies/Girlfriends in the same size and variations of the same wash and two pair of JBrand jeans that are great- but are bordering on too small now. I have this foolish habit of buying jeans as small as I can get away with (ego) , and of course with daily body fluctuations, the jeans are very often uncomfortable and don’t really fit well. This pile holds nothing that’s great, nothing suitable for work, and nothing current. There are a few pair of cropped flares in there too (all Pilcro) , but are of the stretchy denim variety, which I’ve decided is not my friend. The whole pile is in danger of being donated, or lit on fire.

9. another bunch of summer bags went into the donate pile- mostly ones that didn’t get worn last summer and aren’t current or in a colour that I’ll use now. I have a few that are worth consigning (2 Burberry’s, 1 Coach and 1 Prada) and I’m finally letting myself go that route and quit pretending I’ll ever use them.

Conclusions:

1. Current needs: white loafers, one pair of white jeans , one pair of work-suitable blue jeans, 2 sleeved blouses for work and a couple of looser fit zip up athletic-gear-type jackets for outdoor walks . One or two pairs of summer weight dress pants – not sure about colours yet. Would also like a pair of Birkenstock Arizonas in taupe suede for wearing around the house., and a blush structured bag – to work with a new pair of blush suede mules.

2. create a style moniker or set of descriptors – and tape them to my debit and credit cards.

3. editing and clearing out what was obviously a bigger wardrobe than I admitted to takes more than one year or season. It still feels disorganized, but that's why I'm still here

Thank you for reading along, if you did, and I welcome any comments, ideas, etc.