I too am feeling uninspired by my fall top collection. It's not quite cold enough for the wool/cashmere sweaters although I'm occasionally wearing very lightweight merino wool, and I have very few shirts/blouses to work with. It's a change of season thing as others have said. I love wearing sweaters but find it tough to find lightweight transitional ones and that's what I want right now. I'm really bored with reverting to jeans, a lightweight black tneck, black boots, but that's sometimes what I do. I have bought a couple of tunic style lightweight sweaters but they aren't quite solving the overall wardrobe problem.

Janet I think you are so right that flared pants seem to demand more refined footwear, I've been noticing that too.

La Pedestrienne I think you have hit on something in saying it might be better to treat tops as statement pieces rather than basics. Or maybe some portion of one's top collection could be devoted to statement tops.

I think sometimes I want to have more great outfits in my closet than I really need and that leads to a feeling of scarcity that maybe is not real.

Suz I'm totally with you on buying up too many classic basics and finding them dull. I am actually NOT doing that this fall so much, and I got rid of a lot in my big purge, but now I keep feeling like I don't have much to wear. I used to go with "add a scarf" and somethings that works wonders but other times I am tired if doing it. Good idea to devote some of the top collection to statement pieces and some to trendy ones that get refreshed yearly. I like that idea.

I guess my answer right now is to keep browsing finds and online sites and hoping to get inspired. You'd think with all the tops shown on the various sites we could all find some good choices...:-)

Janet, you're singing my song. I can only commiserate.

I had on a long sleeve top yesterday, in my favorite orange color no less, and by day's end, all I wanted to do was snatch it off and stomp on it, I was so irritated with the same old boring look.

I was ready to overturn my bureau drawers and chuck all the basics. I may still set fire to the lot of them...

Along with complete boredom with my transitional tops, I have been uninspired to shop for F/W, which is my favorite season. I love F/W clothes! But not this year. I bought nothing at NAS—there was nothing that appealed. The new silhouettes are no friend to my shape. Bleh. The only thing that I find interesting in the current silhouettes are bell sleeves/sleeve detailing. I wore bell sleeves happily in the early 90s, and am glad to have a chance to do it again.

I do like La Pedestrienne's solution. I had begun moving in that direction, and think it's definitely the way forward for me. Only recently I had seen some things that I liked at Zara, including a bell sleeved sweater, but was flummoxed by the sizing. In that particular sweater I started out ordering an L, then went to an M, then down to an S. And ended up going to a local store as well. The rest of my Zara top purchases ran the same size course. Very frustrating.

I think I'm going to give up shopping for a while.

Ah, the top that's easy but special enough to dress up a pair of jeans: the holy grail for almost every woman. It must flatter your face and upper body, as it is the only thing your dining companions really see when you are seated, so interesting necklines, great colors and details are important. La Pedestrienne's idea really made me think. It's so true that a few trendy tops can lift your wardrobe and mood out of the doldrums each season, but finding those tops that suit you will always be tricky, I think. Last year I bought a short, boxy navy cashmere sweater with elbow sleeves and 3 stripes of deep blue sequins across the chest. The boxy proportions, muted sparkle, luxe comfort and wearable color made it an instant favorite. With inky velveteen jeans and hair-calf booties, I felt just-dressy-enough for most evenings out. That outfit is still in rotation--I will probably wear it to a casual birthday party tomorrow--but I'm looking for this year's version all the time. It will take some hunting and luck, but something will click eventually. For you, too, I'm sure. Aren't there are a couple of dark, glittery sweaters at Zara now that might work for you?

Wow, what La Ped said.
I have way too many tops and somehow can't seem to decide which ones to cull.
I think I must drift off of them but a lot still seem useful if I needed it to be a support act under a blazer, or contrasting color, especially for more formal business situations , which are less common but more important when they come up. But then the " basics" can't stand alone in siutsiins where I can't wear a topper.
So I tend to hoard rayon drapeyvT's and some shell tops, then need longer structured stand- alone tops.

I may also just be more fickle than I realize-- maybe I actually get " over" items that I expected to use for many seasons but then prefer the look of a new top , but I don't hate the old one, so I'm stuck.

I'm joining all the voices of commiseration. I'm not loving my tops either, but I have nothing but knits and am actually *wanting* those silk shirts. My new look obsession is a low-buttoned silk placket-front shirt, tied at the waist or semi-tucked. High-rise trousers are disrupting my wardrobe!

Great thread, and wonderful advice from la Pedestrienne.

I'm glad to know I'm not alone! It was just such a weird feeling for me. But then I realized I didn't shop for tops during NAS, and I hadn't been shopping much at all in general lately, which is not a bad thing. I loved my summer tops enough this year that I was thinking I was just in a really good place in general with all aspects of my closet. But when I wore an outfit with a basic black long-sleeved tee under a jacket and then went to take off my jacket when it warmed up, the tee felt drab and shapeless. Then when I went to dress for another occasion, I tried on one button-front top after another to wear under a particular jacket, and the buttons gaped or the tail of the shirt poufed out from the hem of the jacket, or something just looked and felt wrong about each look. That was when I realized my knit top collection needed a little updating. The good thing is the old tees that are feeling tired can go into my ranch capsule.

Yesterday I took a little cruise through the shops. Struck out totally in some of my old standbys like Anthro (not a thing in there appealed to me), but found THREE nice black tops in a boutique I have had success with in the past. All knits, all long sleeves. Each one with something distinctive to it. I brought home all three to try on with my closet. I could see keeping them all if they all suit me as well as they seemed to, because I get a lot of mileage out of my black tops. They are that elusive combination of somewhat basic but with a twist -- the cool-weather equivalent of the cross-neck LNA tee that I wore so much this summer. I'll post pics later.

I also wandered into Nieman Marcus Last Call and found a couple of cashmere sweaters on deep discount that came home with me. One is a silk/cashmere blend, and very lightweight to the point of sheerness and requires a layer underneath, but I love the colors so I'm going to try it out. The other is a star print Equipment cashmere sweater that I adore. It's not itchy in the least, and it's not too heavy or overly warm, which is good for me these days. I'm almost positive that one is a keeper.

So I may have solved my problem in one shopping trip! I'll update with photos later.

I have refound my love for turtlenecks. I purchased one for j crew last year and wore it to death. This year I have purchased more, tissue tees, sweaters, and short sleeve. I really like the covered up top half with the bare skin above booties look.

I feel the same way and I think you answered it for me. I didn't buy anything at the NAS either except a bra. I think we are missing that wardrobe refresh that makes you excited about your clothes and the new season. Also, the weather hasn't changed much so I haven't been able to wear any sweaters yet. I guess a shopping trip is in order. I've just put it off because the stuff I'm really excited about is very high end and not in budget this year. This sweater reminds me of you but very spendy.

https://www.modaoperandi.com/c.....riped-knit