Summer shopping thoughts and WIW this week

I wrote up a long summer shopping post that I've decided to put aside. The highlights of my navel gazing are as follows:

I planned to shop less than I did, but due to increased pickiness and some items ruined by various incidents, I bought more than I intended to.That said, I shopped better in that I've chosen a higher percentage of items I believe will go the distance for me. (Still need to stop now, though.)

I've also managed to purge a lot of stuff that was just okay, and to not really increase the size of my casual summer wardrobe (an area I have bought too much for in the past)

That said, I have too many dresses, and will probably add one more. I need to institute a 1 in, 2 out policy. I did purge at lot at the start of summer, but have bought almost as many.

I also have too many summer shoes, but the city sidewalks are hard on my shoes and attrition will take care of that over time. I did manage to replace a couple of items that had gotten ruined, which I'm okay with.

I've done well strategically adding summer toppers, one area I thought needed help going into the summer. I also filled out my wardrobe for dressier occasions, since I have more of those now.

(ETA: I purged THREE dresses today, when I only intended to purge two. One never fit; the other two no longer appeared to look like the right proportions, which is a problem I've noticed a lot this summer. A bunch of my dresses look like they either shrunk, or were not the right proportion to begin with and my eye wasn't evolved enough to see it.)

Phew! Here is what I wore all week. Notice how it’s mostly pants? The hot days are currently sporadic, so that will change a bit. If I want to wear my dresses more, I need to plan for it and make sure my legs are shaved. When I decide first thing in the morning, it’s amost always pants. The skirt outfit, from today, was planned.

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6 years ago

Becky

Veteran

Sounds like you've been disciplined with purchasing the items you needed and waiting for ones that were perfect rather than settling. Give yourself a pat on the back!

Cardiff girl

A very thoughtful analysis of your summer wardrobe planning.I really like your outfit in #1 the colours of that skirt and white denim jacket are lovely and the orange bag pops against them beautifully.

Christina F.

Thanks Becky! I realized I shopped a LOT, but almost returned more than half of what I bought (I'm looking at you, Boden; I also don't have Nordie's in my city, so that's all online as well.)

Cardiff girl, I'm glad my local pharmacy tote bag (ie, my lunch bag) is so stylish! as I said on another thread, orange and blue go well together.

Barbara Diane

I can relate to both how the planning ahead and shaving aspects affect ome’s wardrobe selection.
The skirt is fun and the other outfits are nice. And it sounds like you have made a significant improvement in your summer wardrobe.

Toban

Awesome to hear of such success! A high return rate is not unusual when you can’t try in advance. I am always curious about people’s preferences in setting an ideal wardrobe size. You mention you have ‘too much’ dresses and shoes. I am curious about how you define that. After over a year of micro capsules I am trying to find balance in my wardrobe rebuilding, including identifying my ideal level of variety (considering also budget).

Toban, I like my wardrobe to be on the larger side, but living in New York City, I do have space considerations. In the summer, I think I could wear dresses for close to a month without repeating. I don’t know exact numbers. That’s a little on the high side, even for me. I’ve bought some really good dresses since I last assessed everything over a month ago. It’s possible this means I can let a couple more go, now that I have even better options.

cindysmith

You sound more disciplined than me. I've started to feel out of control with the shopping, but it's been a lot of things for my new house, and new clothes thanks to the casualty rate in my wardrobe. I think I've got everything where it needs to be now, so hopefully I can be done shopping until Christmastime

jussie

I really like all these outfits, but number 1 is gorgeous!! That Loft skirt is perfect on you, and I love how you’ve paired it with the white denim jacket and a dark tee shirt to bookend your hair. Well done on your thorough summer shopping analysis :).

Joy

Your planning and shopping discipline will pay off. You look great.

Aida

Thanks for sharing your summer shopping thoughts, it sounds like you did quite well with sticking to your plans overall. It's also worth considering that summer clothing, in general, have a shorter shelf life than fall/winter so that's something to factor in as well.

Great outfits! Particularly fond of #4 and #5 on you.

bj1111

Love the shoe variety. Very summery.

Leg shaving is the downside of wearing dresses. Tanstaafl.

Mainelady

You gave very careful consideration to your shopping needs and that will prove to be a great investment of your time. Also purchasing items that will go a distance is always wise.
Oh my, how I love you skirt outfit with your new hire denim jacket! It sings of summer!

Liesbeth

I like your pants outfits! You wear nyc black well and express indiviuality in styling it! Also, giggling along with the practicqlities of summer dressing. I find it easier to keep my shaving regimen going when there’s a longer period of hot weather as opposed to when I start wearing full length pants again.

cindysmith, I guess I'm more disciplined than I used to be. I bought indiscriminately, and I didn't buy enough summer clothes for work. Of course, I need 75% of my clothes to be things I can wear to work. I didn't realize that until I started going through my summer wardrobe this month, but I needed to make adjustments. I think I'll be better off.

Aida, you've made a great observation here about shelf life. That's why I'm keeping some of the casual clothes I compiled in the past, even though it's too many. Attrition will happen naturally. I don't need to buy more, in the mean time.

bj1111 and Liesbeth, I hate not having shaved legs with dresses and skirts (I mean myself, not others). Not just aesthetically, but it's uncomfortable when the hair is growing back. I'm Portuguese, so the hair grows back fast, too.

Thank you, jussie, Joy, Mainelady!

lyn67

I really love ALLL your outfits here, and think they are the bests of a smart polished casual style ever, and love the metallic shoes!

Murph11

Really lovely! Because of you, I was at Loft when they opened this morning to try that perfect olive jacket... love it!

Loft

Peplum Utility Jacket

View Info

Top Pick

Thanks, lyn and Murph! That jacket is the bomb. I think Angie pointed it out before I tried it on myself.

Bump. (One of my older posts got bumped, but I want people to see this one too.)

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You have SUPER CUTE Summer style. #1 and #5 are my faves.

I like your editing and shopping discipline, and thoughtful strategy. Rock on.

Thanks, Angie! I feel like I'm in much better shape now that I've purged three dresses and realized that I didn't shop for summer work clothes in the past. (And yes, that BR striped dress is on its way to me.)

*HAPPY DANCE*

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