When closet editing means returning

Sorry to be a forum hog, but I had an editing revelation, and it's a different enough topic than my previous posts on editing.

One of my goals for this style year was to add more colors of bottoms than blue and black. I have been successful at adding white, and I've doubled down on liking olive for bottoms, too.

However, I have realized recently that I wear only certain colors of jeans, and that they have to be in MY neutrals, which are now black, blue (denim and navy, olive, and white/ivory. (I have similar thoughts about trousers but I feel more comfortable in other colors of those.) I already had some grey and turquoise jeans that I'm on the fence about keeping. The former don't work as well as I'd like, and I realized belatedly that I just don't like grey jeans much on myself... I prefer white, now that I've found that white AT jeans work (somewhere, Angie is doing a happy dance).

The turquoise pair can stay on as a once in a while item; I just have to think of them as a statement piece rather than an essential.
This will be a helpful distinction for me, because in general, jeans are my most essential essentials, and they have to work as a backdrop to my fun printed tops.

Anyway, this is all to say that I got these burgundy jeans at NAS. They look good on me, and were on my list of things to find. However, I find myself not wanting to rip the tags off, and it led to my realization above. I think it would look good with grey, as in the stock photo, and I've recently rejected grey as one of my neutrals... though I have some items I still like and will let cycle naturally out of my wardrobe. Otherwise, I none of the wardrobe combinations I'm coming up with for them are thrilling me.

Thank heavens for Nordy's, because I can still return these rather than worry about donating, selling, or forcing them to work.

Nordstrom

KUT from the Kloth KUT from the Kloth Donna High Waist Ankle Skinny Jeans (Regular & Petite) | Nordstrom

View Info

Top Pick

Loft

Modern Skinny Crop Jeans

View Info

Top Pick

5 years ago

Anonymous

I think returning is an excellent strategy. That is why I leave the tags on ALL my purchase until I am certain they will work.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I also leave tags on until I decide to wear the new item out and about, and even then, sometimes I still realize a mistake only after I wear it. I have one or two items in my closet that still have tags on that I need to decide whether to return, so I'm taking your insights to heart.

I also relate your thoughts about jeans, relating to colors and patterns. Smart to realize what you will and won't get wear out of! I get so bored of plain dark bottoms though, that I have acquired a nice little collection of patterned pants that I enjoy wearing with simple tops (mostly black). It changes things up enough for my taste.

Kathie

I leave tags on everything until I wear it. Last year, when cooler weather arrived, I realized that I would never actually wear a jacket I’d bought at NAS. It was supposed to be day-to-evening, and after two evening events, for which I never considered it, back it went, in late October. I’ve learned a lot from items I’ve returned.

Good realization! One reason I order a lot at Nordies is their ease of returning items, and conversely have not returned things to other places that i should have. Now those things are sitting unbought in the consignment shop:(

Barbara Diane

I, too, appreciate and use Nordstrom’s generous return policy by returning items I don’t end up wearing. I have an item with tags I’ve had for a while. I just recently realized that I could use the alterations credit to fix the part that keeps me from wearing it. Yay!
Liking something enough to purchase it is the first step, the real test is to liking it enough to wear it. Although before purchasing something I ask myself if I like something better that is already in my closet. If that’s the case I leave the item, unless I need to replace the item I have already.
I am mindful that an item in my closet isn’t in someone else’s, so I try to return items the moment I realize I don’t want them.

kkards

another love for Nordie's generous return policy....especially on items bought pre-season....I'm trying to be much better about a 2 week rule..that is, if I haven't worn it within 2 weeks of buying it, it gets returned.

Suz

Great insight.

I also seem to be fussier than I had previously recognized about jeans colour. Like you, I wear them most if they are denim and white. I do have burgundy, which I wear frequently, and I now have black (verdict still out). But I didn't like the grey ones I had (despite loving grey otherwise and its being a key neutral for me -- something about the wash?)

I will wear a patterned jean, but the pattern needs to be quite subdued. And overall I prefer a patterned pant to a patterned jean. Weird!

Also, I won't wear bright pants. I have no idea why. I love bright skirts and dresses.

Christina F.

sterling, Janet, Kathie, yes, if I didn't already leave all the tags on, I'd learn that lesson now. This reinforces the lesson. Sometimes I don't rip them off until after I've walked out of the house in an item (I wouldn't return after wearing, but sometimes I don't commit until I have).

Janet, I sometimes realize I've made a mistake after wearing an item. Sometimes this happens with shoes, which is unavoidable. It happens less and less frequently with clothes. I'm dubious about the fit of something else I got at NAS, but it's something I've worn so I'm looking into alterations. I too have a collection of patterned pants that I like and will keep, but I have to treat those as statements and have proportionally fewer of them. I don't like to pattern mix too much....

suntiger, that's a shame.

Barbara Diane, that's a great criterion for keeping something. This was my attempt at burgundy jeans, so I didn't have a comparison point, but I already kind of knew that colored denim didn't always work out for me. I was trying a higher quality brand, because I thought quality was the problem previously (a lot of colored denim I've owned has tended to bag out). That turned out to be not the entire problem. Ah well!

kkards, I agree, generally. That's why NAS can be a bit frustrating. I can't wear all that stuff in August. Nordy's return policy is the saving grace of that sale.

Suz, not sure what it is about grey jeans. I'm going to try to see if I grab mine more this winter. I think I'm not unhappy in them, but that I just don't reach for them. If I stop thinking of them like an essential, as the other denim is for me, that may help. I guess it would be more a completer piece, since it's not a statement. I also prefer a patterned pant and am not so much drawn to patterned jeans, probably for the reasons I state above to Janet. When I wear patterned bottoms, that involves more thought and its own capsule of tops (which I do have). I also have some teal pants, a little more subdued than the turquoise ones. I'm trying to figure out if I like wearing them, but I've been kind off trousers lately unless they're wide and cropped. I expect to come around on them again at some point, and these won't go out of style in the meantime.

I also have burgundy Halogen pants from a past NAS. I have them in black as well, but the burgundy ones are less flattering on my backside, and developed a hole in the crotch seam. I may use that as an excuse to pass them on; not sure yet.

Riviera Pants in Marisa Fit

Halogen Kick Flare Knit Ankle Pants

Gretchen

I have to say, the generous return policy is a key factor for me with Nordstrom, and why I shop so much there. I'm disappointed to see other retailers shortening their return windows. It's also why I'm not a huge fan of some of the box shopping experiences (MM LaFleur, Dia&Co, StitchFix, etc). It's great to try at home, but if I change my mind 2-3 weeks later what are my options?

Angie

Fashion Stylist

*HAPPY DANCE*

EXCELLENT insights. I'm impressed. Go and return the items to Nordies if you can, Christina. I'm nodding along with these reasons.

I want to see your turquoise jeans on. LOVELY colour.

Gretchen, I’m with you. Nordstrom knows how to earn customer loyalty. Most other places can’t hold a candle to it.

Angie, I’ll wear the turquoise denim soon. It’s a fun color, and they’re fine to keep now that I think about them more as a statement piece. I wanted the burgundy ones to be an essential, and they just wouldn’t have been. As for those, I packaged them up and sent them back.

Category