Elly, what an interesting topic! and everyone has such interesting replies!
for me, planing encompasses the ideas in your thread about feeling 'at home' in what you wear, the thread about events forcing a wardrobe overhaul, and right vs. left brain thinking.
i've found that different 'parts' of the brain (left vs. right, analytical vs. intuitive, logical vs. creative, etc.) process information differently and come up with/present you with ideas in different ways. For a long time i believed that i had to focus on one way OR the other when it came to building my wardrobe. Sometimes this worked, usually when life was 'as normal', & i didn't have to deal with unusual weather or events.
But then.....i started perimenopause, or moved to a drastically different climate, or started a new job, or or or.......and just 'being spontaneously creative' didn't work at all. The last decade or so i've been 'working both sides of the fence', as it were - doing analytical research, reading books and blogs about wardrobe planning and advice, making lists and breaking down my wardrobe via capsules, climate, color, etc. for the 'left' brain.
But i also do things for the right brain - inspiration boards, taking photos, doing a challenge or two, window shopping (no buying allowed!). I also realize that the right brain 'talks' to me in a softer, more subtle language - so i try to keep an ear open and listen for whimsical ideas, those ones that just 'pop into' my head for no reason.
It turns out that when you exercise both parts of your brain, they talk to each other and you get the benefit of BOTH approaches. For me, realizing and then cultivating this process has been the big breakthrough.
I hope this gives a little sense of the approach that is most fruitful for me. It's very much along the lines of Angie's formulas (an idea that i've thought genius for years). You provide a general framework, so you don't have an utter lack of focus, but within that framework you have tons of flexibility. Look at all the different outfits, the variety of styles represented, in Rita's recent challenge for example:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....r-pix-here
My natural inclination is to be spontaneous about shopping, clothes, etc. But i found, thru events that forced a big change in clothing for me, that i was ill-equipped to dress for my new circumstances and *** still feel like me *** . For whatever reason, i am particularly sensitive to what i wear, and this really bothered me!! That was what started me on analyzing clothing, wardrobes, and personal style from the 'left brain' viewpoint. And i found that this information was useful, especially when i let it sit a bit, didn't force it, and it began to 'marinate over' into the right brain - who would figure out how all these ideas worked for me in particular.
If i wasn't so fussy about clothes and style, and didn't face such big changes of circumstances, i don't think i would have been so interested in or needed to look at these topics from the analytical perspective. But i have to say it's a lot of fun, and some of the ideas have really made my life much easier and more fun! Hope this helps, and thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts!! steph
