The best thing I did for my wardrobe this Fall... - YouLookFab Forum

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The best thing I did for my wardrobe this Fall...

Roxanna

Veteran

I had to post this asa big Thank you To Angie. On @LisaP's thread about new purchases, Angie recommended trying the boots on with different outfits, and determine what fits into her style for the next 3-6 months.

Having recently bought a couple of pairs of black boots to fill a wardrobe hole as well as a pair of pants I wasn't sure about, I decided to follow her sound advice and devote since time to trying on the boots wth all my pants to decide which pair to keep.

I had bought a hight heeled black leather bootie and a high heeled suede sock boot to replace my aging black pumps which I rarely wear anymore. I knew I needed black boots, but I want sure I needed both. Usually I would let them sit in the bag and then pull them out hurriedly on a weekday morning to try on with whatever outfit I was wearing and hope they worked. This time I tried them on with every single pair of pants I owned (a LOT, Mostly thrifted) to see which pair went better wth my pants.

I had a mini revelation. A couple of years ago, I wore skinny jeans almost exclusively, which made boots relatively easy - booties, heeled or flat, long boots, heels - everything served to go fine wth ankle cropped skinny jeans.

Having moved away from jeans last winter, I now have a wide range of pants - wide leg, narrow leg, slouchy, ankle length, full length, culottes. And trying them all on, I realized - a different pair of shoes and boots was needed for each. And if I want a luxe look and I'm concerned with proportions, I need to make sure I am wearing the right ones.

So I opened up my style book app and wrote down which shoes and boots went with each pair of pants. There was actually a need for both boots I got - the sock boots went well with cropped wide pants and longer full lengths, while the leather booties went well with skinny ankle pants and jeans.

While I was at it, I tried on my cropped blazer with my fuller wide legged pants to see which proportions I liked best. And I test drove a pair of pants I wasn't sure about by making several outfits wth them (including the boots to go with them!)

The whole process took me a couple of hours, mostly because I have so many pants (around 30.) But it was SO, SO useful. No more running around looking for shoes that go at 7:30am when I am already late, hauling several pairs upstairs to check in the full length mirror! Now I'll just refer to my stylebook app to know which shoes go. Angie was right - a couple of hours invested up front had made me sure about my purchases and saved me time in the long run.

Angie, you are probably smacking your forehead saying "I've been telling you this for YEARS!!" - but it finally sunk in. Thank you

Dressing

28 replies

Latest reply was from

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

*happy dance*

YOU DID IT, Roxanna! You put in the effort and time, and reaped the reward. WELL DONE, and thanks for the shout out.

YES. I have been suggesting this process for years, which is why knowing exactly what you have, how it fits, and how you feel about it - is key. It's never too late to put it into action

For context. Here is Lisa P's thread, and my suggestion:

https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....-new-jeans

"I could have enabled the whole lot, and kept it short and sweet. Maybe that would have made you happy now - but the point is whether these purchases will make you as happy later, since that's where you struggle. So I'm taking the time to work through this with you - FWIW

If you were my client, this is what we would have done:

Pulled out the jeans that you will wear over the next three to six months, and assessed them. What are you happy with, and what are you not happy with? Is there too much repetition, or do you need to duplicate? Do you want to evolve the silhouettes? (You just mentioned in Janet's jeans thread that you have 500 million pairs of pants and jeans! Let's give the new purchases some extra thought. Do they earn a place in your wardrobe?) I think the cropped flares are super cute btw, and they're a top pick too. They are totally flattering.

Pulled out your black pairs of boots and assessed them. Is there too much repetition, or do you need to duplicate? Do you want to evolve the silhouettes? Are they right for your climate? Do you want two more pairs of black boots? Or is another colour the answer?

Created outfits with the new zebra boots and assessed whether you liked them, and how you felt in them. Do you have the items that work with the boots to create fab completed outfits? Or do you need to purchase more to make them work. If so, is that something that you want to do?

This sounds time consuming and overwhelming, but it isn't. It's an hour extra of your life probably, and not an un-fun one! It's worth it. The more you practice the process, the easier it becomes over time".

Style Fan

Veteran

This is great! I plan to do this soon. I have in my head what I think I need to add to my fall/winter wardrobe but really seeing outfits makes it much easier.

Roxanna

Veteran

@Angie this is what I love about you. You truly are a style activist. It would be so easy for you to enable or flatter or encourage us to buy - but you don't. You remind us of our style goals, and or past purchases, and of our wardrobe wants and needs. You challenge us to make our wardrobes work for us, and you help us reach what we say we want - even if our actions don't always line up with that thank you for always being our fashion cheerleader, and giving such sound advice!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Style Fan, enjoy the fun and productive process.

Roxanna, WOW. What a gracious thing to say. Thank you for making me feel like I'm doing my job properly, and for taking the time to write that to me. I'm smiling

Janet

(website)

Veteran

That's great, Roxanna! Well done.

I want to tackle fall/winter tops and knitwear next. I'd love to get to it in the next week if I can.

Totally agreed with what you said about Angie.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Congrats on using Angie’s process to such success. And Angie, thanks for sharing your process (and everything else) with us.

Anonymous

Sigh . This is so great ! I’m envious of your ability to get this done .

Bijou

Veteran

Roxanna, thanks for posting as I missed the latter part of Lisa’s post. This is advice that is useful for me too.

smittie

Veteran

High five, Roxanna!
If you have a lot of pants silhouettes, you definitely need different types of boots.

Sal

Veteran

I think this is a great idea and well done. If you don't actually know where the wardrobe holes are, then how can you fill them!! And definitely with the variety of pants silhouettes around it can make boots tricky.

I need to do this with toppers over summer dresses, and sandals with dresses and skirts.

Runcarla

Veteran

Excellent exercise. Like you, the message finally sunk in. The ‘aha’ for me is thinking about an increment of 3 to 6 months, and ‘do you want to evolve the silhouettes?”

viva

Veteran

Inspiring. Only time will tell just how inspired I am, though. I have little patience for this kind of exercise ... but I just know it would be really really valuable.

notsaf

Veteran

One of the reasons I repeat silhouettes so much is because a like to be able to wear all the shoes with all the bottoms. That said, that itself can be limiting, I'm starting to see the logic of having "looks" that are prepared and at the ready, both I terms of ease of dressing and in terms of style evolution. Keep us posted!

Kathie

Veteran

A variation of this has been my biggest lesson learned from YLF. With every new item, I take 10-15 minutes to try it on with existing pieces. If I don’t instantly love at least 2-3 options, back it goes.

You’ve inspired me to do a bit of a closet review! I’ve been contemplating a new dress, trousers, and jacket, and I really need to assess my current wardrobe holes.

nemosmom

Veteran

Nice job, Roxanna! I need to do this with all of my skirts, and to create some go-to outfits as well. I have been putting it off too long.

And, nodding along with everything you said about Angie. I love how she pushes us to be better!!

gryffin

Veteran

Roxanna - wow!! Well done and congrats! That’s just awesome. I also want to thank you. On a previous post, and apologies I did not have time to respond, my life has been crazy, you mentioned Stylebook. Although it has been mentioned before, it was your post that galvanized me to download andI think I’ve put in 90% of everything I own excepting some scarves. It truly is one of the best and most useful things I’ve ever done. I’ve only been logging outfits for 2 mo but can see Ive worn 55% of my belongings and most of what is unworn is fall/winter, dressy/formal, or bags/scarves! I was interested where you logged you shoe/boot choices into Stylebook. Did you just add that to notes or can you tag items? Because that’s super useful. As a boot/Bootie girl I totally applaud you on doing this. It’s an inspiration! And thanks again for turning me on to Stylebook!!

Roxanna

Veteran

So interesting to read all your comments. Like @LisaP said, I struggled to find the time to do this. But then I realized it wasn't about the time, but a mindset shift. I'm a very accomplishment oriented person. So, if I have a couple of hours, I would much rather browse online and buy a couple of pairs of boots or a dress- because then I have bought (ie accomplished) something. Spending a couple of hours trying on all my pants with my boots doesn't push the same button because I don't see it as accomplishment. Never mind that the new clothes will gather dust while I try to incorporate them willy-nilly into my closet.

So this exercise was actually very helpful as it was an accomplishment - it helped me save time in the future as well as project the image I was (luxe ave polished.) As Kathie pointed out, it doesn't actually take that long, ave it helps weed items that don't work out of my closet before I commit to them.
@Carla - I find that question was an aha for me too!

missvee

Veteran

Thank you for this post Roxanna and to all who replied. I was reminded of management classes years ago when they drummed an old saying into us - If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. It seems so obvious after the fact. I mean, say I want to make a nice meal. I don’t just randomly grab items from the fridge or the cupboards and toss them together. Why should creating a good wardrobe not require time and effort? Thank goodness we have Angie’s gentle reminders! Oh and btw you’ve done a wonderful job with your wardrobe. I love how you integrate new and thrift finds!

rachylou

Veteran

I admire your fortitude! I have a lot of clothes too. I’ve done mini try-on
sets; I’ve never achieved the whole-kit-and-kaboodle. Just from the mini sessions I’ve gotten a lot, so I imagine how satisfying the whole deal must be!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

This is very inspiring. I do frequently do category try ons - trying all my jeans or jackets or whatever to see what fits and looks right. I don't often try to create full outfits though - if anything I tend to keep the other pieces stable so the category is the only variable. Perhaps I need to rethink this!

Toban

Veteran

Brilliant, Roxanna. I spend at least half an hour or an hour with any new piece I buy and try it on with my existing wardrobe. I’ll try to come up with a minimum of 3 outfits with it that I LOVE and can’t wait to wear. I’ll also see how versatile it is (though this is not an essential criteria, it is helpful for knowing how it fits in my wardrobe): Does it go with a variety of shoe types, toppers, pants or skirt silhouettes (if a top or topper)? There is sometimes room for an exceptional item that doesn’t play well with other items if it meets an important need, such as a special occasion dress. And it’s rare that I keep something that I need to make additional purchases for. I do these try on sessions even with new accessories, like scarves and necklaces. I don’t document these outfits, but they are filed in my memory and make mornings easier. I usually show my favorite outfits with a new item to my husband. If he doesn’t love it, I generally return it.

Jane

Veteran

Impressive! Very accomplishment oriented! Well done, enjoy your daily reward of knowing there won’t be the rush of finding the right boots.

Roxanna

Veteran

@gryffin - I'm so glad you find Style book helpful too! Isn't it amazing? I love being able to track what I wear and know the composition of my closet... In fact Looking at my outfits from last winter is what prompted my new style direction!

You can tag items in style book in the notes section which is what I did - I put the boots in the notes section of the pants I would wear them with.

SarahD8

Veteran

Roxanna! You are an absolute inspiration. I have sort of been doing this in fits and starts but I find it easy to get bogged down/overwhelmed. You are motivating me to keep at it! You have gained such excellent and practical insights from your efforts. YAY you!!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Slight tangent: I am simultaneously intrigued by and overwhelmed with the idea of Stylebook. I have a lot of clothes -- it seems like the time it would take to catalog everything would be quite an endeavor! How did you tackle that?

Roxanna

Veteran

@Janet - I totally hear you - as you know I have a large wardrobe too so I was a little overwhelmed too in the beginning. But I hit upon a solution: instead of logging everything at the beginning, I only logged what I wore each day, so that eventually my whole wardrobe was in there. And a fellow Fabber had a great idea - instead of taking photos of every garment, I do an internet image search wth the garment description and then save the exact image or one that's close enough. That saves a TON of time. And honestly, the benefits have been amazing! I haven't been super analytical with my wardrobe before, so these stats are so useful. How old my clothes are, what proportion finger from what brands, what colours are in my wardrobe, etc. Plus I can make capsules and packing lists so easily!

Anonymous

Question regarding Stylebook: I've downloaded the app, and that's as far as I've ever gone. Do you do all of this on your phone , or can it work on a computer too? I can't quite make the hurdle if I have to spend time peering at and typing away on my phone.....

Anonymous

Love this! Like anything else, to get the results, it's best to put in the effort ahead of time. Those few hours you spend surely will save you many of aggravation!