From this one, which I hope will continue to have a life of its own!
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....replies=59
PLEASE don’t feel you have to follow along on this angst-filled (but FUN) struggle of mine... I am posting here only because it seems like the best place to hold myself accountable! And maybe it will help someone here in some way...
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I spent an interesting evening sorting through my closet with all of the new advice I’ve received in mind. I looked really hard at everything I’d kept from the last purge, and thought about not only why I loved it and if it was truly useful, but whether it fit me and my current body, and if I’d even worn it any time in the last year (making an exception for formalwear). Based on those criteria, I managed to bag up a huge number of items to consign.
As I was plugging away, I also thought really hard about why some of these items were in my closet at all, and basically tried to come up with some reasons I have made recent purchases. These are the Big Seven I could articulate:
1. The biggest struggle for me is that I have gained some weight in the last couple of years, and that has not only changed m size but also changed my body from an IT with a waist (but not an hourglass) to an IT rectangle. It is a whole new challenge figuring out how to dress for me as I am now with what is (or was) in my closet - some of which doesn’t fit, some of which fits but no longer flatters. I’m also trying hard to lose that weight and get back in shape, so I don’t want to buy items that will not work if and when that happens.
2. I am a true impulse buyer. Blah. See it, love it, buy it (finances permitting), wonder how it fits in later.
3. I am attracted to clothes that I find beautiful or unique, whether or not they suit me personally or my climate and lifestyle. Allsaints and Anthro are the two biggest examples here (not that I have many items of either brand, but I’m constantly tempted!).
4. I do not like dressing conventionally in my profession. I spent a lot of years wearing a single pair of black shoes and a very basic work uniform of black suit separates. It was easy and made sense, but now I find it very boring, and yet I don’t know what the alternatives really are. The good thing is I work for myself in a very informal city, and I have a huge amount of leeway in terms of what I can wear to work most days. As Vix said, I am not a Bawstan lawyah!
5. I like to have variety (or as Aida reminded me, “ a buffet”) in my closet, although I’m not sure how to make it all work together.
6. As Vix so astutely pointed out, somehow I am simultaneously a stingy thrifter/sale shopper and a statement piece buyer. Rarely do I buy middle of the road basics.
7. I’m not a hoarder, but I am a saver. Many of the clothes I finally purged were 10 -15 years old, sitting around because they were good quality or one-time workhorses. I even think a lot of them would still pass YLF standards as retro/vintage or trendy again, but I realized they no longer suit my “Aida list” criteria.
So that’s as far as I got tonight, and frankly, I’m exhausted. Now I’m thinking about my game plan to do something about the above-mentioned issues and make sure I don’t repeat the same mistakes over and over, or invent too many new ones.
If you’re reading along, thanks for sticking it out with me. xo
