Thanks to Sterling I just read the book “Simple isn’t easy” (in German). They are very pro uniform in this book. They basically suggest finding your style, the clothes you look and feel good in and which project the image you want to project (plus hair etc.) and then to get rid of everything that doesn’t fit this vision. Your style should go with the times, but essentially you are sticking with the things that are working for you (of course you can also change if you want to, this isn’t a now and forever kind of decision). I liked that the book was unspecific when it came to what exactly we are supposed to wear. Everyone has to know themselves and make that decision on their own. So I don’t really agree with some reviewers who said the book was too generic to be helpful. Of course I might have it easier because I’ve already spent some time trying to hone my sense about my personal likes and dislikes. Anyway, it was also said that the content was mostly common knowledge and it’s true that I wasn’t terribly surprised by most of it, but I think you need to consider that this book is 20 years old and was written long before there were any blogs and whatnot. So no revelations – but it made me think about my wardrobe, my style and my dressing habits all the same. I want to put some things down here – I’ve thought about all this a while, the book just helped me to clarify a few things I decided I want for myself.

I realized a while ago that although I'm interested in looking at what's new in fashion and can appreciate those looks on others, I'm usually not overly interested in implementing them for myself. So I will pick a new trend if it fits into what I think my style to be, but I won't try to make something work that doesn't feel right to me. I would say personal style is definitely more important to me than fashion.

I also realized recently that I just don't feel fab wearing the jeans that I have. Are they practical? Yes. Are they uncomfortable? To me, no. But they just make me feel totally blah. I have to make a real effort with the rest of the outfit to make the whole thing into something I feel fabulous in. Emphasis on feel, not to be confused with the way I look. Most of the time I can't be bothered to invest the energy and in the end just throw on a simple t-shirt, pullover and sneakers. And the result? Just blah. Put me into a skirt and suddenly the magic happens. Add simple shoes and a plain tee or pullover to the skirt and I feel like all is right with the world. Now where does that leave me? Not in skirts 24/7, I can say that much, because jeans and pants and shorts are sometimes just too practical. But I need to work on changing the ration from my current jeans/tee/sneakers outfits to my skirts/top/oxfords outfits in favor of the skirts.

I really like the idea of paring down to a few silhouettes and then doing as much mix and match as possible. There are three I feel best in right now (in descending order of importance):

1. Straight or A-line or slightly full skirt that isn’t too short with
a) a short tailored pullover
b) a short slouchy pullover
c) an interesting top tucked and with an optional addition of a BF cardigan

2. Slim jeans / pants that fit well in the waist and don’t need a belt with
a) a longer slouchy pullover
b) an interesting top untucked and with an optional addition of a BF cardigan

3. A knee-length dress with an optional addition of a BF cardigan

All of these have the same shoes in common: menswear inspired but still refined shoes which are flat. I want my shoes to be pretty but practical. I’m not going to ditch my sneakers right now, but they might not be replaced once they’ve worn out. I also plan to replace my boring basic solid colored cotton tees little by little. I want something more interesting, to make me feel more like myself in looks with jeans and to take my skirt outfits up a notch. But I definitely don’t want dressy in the usual sense and being polished is not one of my goals either. I'd like my looks to become more feminine, but I still have quite a bit of tomboy in me.

Over all of this goes outerwear of course and we haven’t even mentioned accessories yet. But, I don’t want to dissect what I want my style to look like in detail here, this thread is already long enough. I guess those who are familiar with me can imagine at least a bit what I like when it comes to accessorizing, cuts, colors and patterns. And you know that I also want a rather minimal wardrobe made up of ethical clothing. I might post a separate thread about practical implementation and specific items later on. This one here is just to talk about the general idea that I’ve had.

So, I want to implement these simple formulas in my dressing and buy accordingly. No changing course for now or I’ll never get there. From what I observed about the way I feel in my clothes this plan has a rather good chance of leading to wardrobe happiness. I think the concept should work well with hot weather dressing too - just switch in shorts for the long pants and invest in summer weight dresses, skirts and tops (very big wardrobe hole).

And finally I want to note down a few things that I realized make me feel off, so that I have a list to refer back to when I’m tempted.

I’m not a fan of:

• very oversized clothing, especially too big pants
• belts that ruin the fluidity of a look
• classic button down shirts
• denim jackets and blazers worn as anything else than outerwear
• too fitted clothing (no more pencil skirts for me)
• too much skin on display (no revealing necklines for me, not too much bare leg either)
• very high contrast looks
• very low contrast looks = having no color variation
• too bright colors (Soft Summer with a penchant for deep and rather dark colors here!)
• clothes I feel the need to tug on all day
• clothes I can’t move in
• manmade fibers like polyester
• …

If you made it to the end of this epic, congratulations. I would love to hear your thoughts.