Hello lovelies! I hinted that this post was coming on Friday – and then I got busy and never made it back to the computer to share it with you. On Friday, my daughter was running a temperature – nothing too high but just high enough that she couldn’t go to daycare. In turn, I was unable to make it into the office. When I finally managed to get my daughter down for a nap, I used the time to do an exhaustive review (and purge) of my closet.

I tried on each and every item that was in my closet. I sorted them into piles of keep, donate, out-of-sight/think about it, and trash. As I tried on the various items, I began to get a clearer picture of what I do and do not like in terms of my style. It was a process that gave me the following insights:

1.While most of my looks tend to have an element of “softness” to them, I really prefer structure. I kept every single one of my structured jackets and blazers, but donated numerous cardigans because they just didn’t wow me when I put them on. The cardigans that remained in my closet are ones that either are a bright color, have an interesting pattern, or are an unusual shape (think boyfriend, cascading, etc.)

2.When I was sorting thru the cardigans, I created a few looks with them and most of them felt more “smart casual” than business casual to me. Therefore, I see myself wearing my cardi’s on Fridays or the weekends vs. a normal workday.

3.Trousers may not be for me….. I currently own 10 pairs of trousers, but there are only 3 that I absolutely love. Those are my Navy blue Ann Taylor suit pants, my grey pinstriped Banana Republic suit pants, and a fab pair of tan Limited trousers that Rae scored for me. The first two pairs are lined, have a nice drape, and are more formal. The Limited trousers are unlined, not as drapey, and have a more business casual appearance. Taking this into account, I am going to start pare down my trouser collection, and begin to search for more suit pants to use with other separates in my wardrobe. I would like to find trousers in a straight leg cut as it is a silhouette I currently do not own.

4.I adore pencil skirts. Every pencil skirt remained in my closet – and I felt fab in each of them. My goal now is to add to my collection – I’ve got my eye on a few Halogen skirts in fun colors.

5.I love color but there is not a lot of it in my closet. The majority of my tops are black, grey, or navy. I have a few that are brightly colored but not nearly enough. I really adore bright blues, yellows, deep purples, and rust/orange. Another shopping goal is to find tops in my favorite colors.

6.My shoe collection is sad – I own 12 pairs of sneakers, 20 pairs of flip-flops, but only 3 pairs of heels (black, brown, and a leopard print). I have fussy feet, so finding cute shoes is always a struggle, so I’ve kept my heel collection to the minimum. As the year unfolds, I am going to be hunting for heels that will be comfortable but are more “fun”!

If you are still reading, then bless you. The total closet clean-out took nearly 3 hours. But it was time well spent, as I feel I have better handle on my style preferences, as well as the true gaps in my wardrobe. Now I can set out to shop with a purpose.