Warning -- navel gazing ahead: I've decided for a few reasons that I will "make do" with a lot of what's in my closet for this fall and winter.

For one, I'm losing weight, so would rather hold off and make purchases I love when I see where my weight settles. Since I'm still WFH, there's very little external pressure to conform to any kind of dress code. Additionally, (and perhaps a bit sadly, although I assure you this is NOT a pity party) I can still get away with a lot of what's in my closet. This is in part due to the magic of lycra, and the fact that I really didn't buy a lot new at the upper reaches of my weight -- I just strained the limits of what I had.

I knew I had been hiding behind a LOT of black in recent years, but as I've gone through my closet lately, the reality of just how many black pants/leggings/skirts I own has been a bit sobering. For your amusement, here's a very rough estimation of what I found:

• 4-5 pairs of skinny ponte pants (a winter staple around here, but sheesh!)
• 3 pairs of dressier wide leg pants (different styles and fabrications, but again, sheesh!)
• misc. gear -- at least 4 leggings, a pair of knit joggers, and a newly discovered pair of lululemon pants found in the bottom of a forgotten bag from my late MIL's closet.
• 1 pr black jeans
• 1 pair black cotton slim cropped Gap pants
• several pairs of black capris
• 1 pair of black culottes
• 2 black and white culottes
• black and white striped wide leg pants,
• 2 black tube skirts, two black and white tube skirts and one black and burgundy tube skirt

A recent flurry of "hey, stuff fits me now" shopping, shows how deeply rooted this BLACK pattern has become! In recent weeks I brought home a pair of black velour wide leg pants (cozy, had pockets, not too long, loved em. Took 'em back) and a pair of black joggers (um, also going back!!) and a black midi skirt (keeping because it fills a gap and I think has some longevity.)

I think black pants and skirts will always have a place in my closet, but this has been a sobering reminder that I probably don't need to add any more of them until my weight stabilizes!

I have so far allowed myself one new pant for early fall -- a pair of camo joggers. Not needed in any real sense, but they do give me a taste of novelty. Although they will work with the long list of black knit tops in my closet (I'll spare you the list, but it is similar to the pants list!), they are more olive than anything, so, I'll call that a win.

I've also added some new sweaters that will help perk up all those black pants, but am still deciding whether any should go back. I like oversized tops, so I think I can justify keeping most of them as part of my 'future' wardrobe.

They say confession is good for the soul. Here's hoping that "confessing" my darkest secrets here (pun intended) will help break that "default to black' pattern!

If you made it this far, thank you for bearing with me as I rambled. Anybody else have a pattern they're trying to break?! Or a success story about moving past one?