WIW: Experimental and two years of tracking - workhorses

Hi All,

Here are a couple of recent outfits from May where I experimented with my golden yellow blazer.

The one with the skirt harks back to a style I wore a lot in the 2007-2024 period - a little bit retro. The one with the green wide leg pants feels more like me now (I was at a very pretty winery and tapas bar for lunch - I don't love the photo of me but I love the memory).

I have now been tracking my wears for two years and here are the pieces I have worn more than 20 times in the last 12 months (excluding activewear and my work vest). These are the true workhorses.

Sweaters

lilac merino 52
navy sweater 22

Shoes

Black and white rollies 46
Brown Lace up boots 37
Grey ankle strap 33

Jeans/trousers

Levis jeans 28
Agolde pinch waist 35
Garcia Jeans 26
Black wide leg trousers 25
Black pull on Sills pants 25

Outerwear

Puffer jacket blue and black 37
Rose wool coat 27

Other

black short sleeve tee 26
navy skirt 21

Plus my white sneakers that got edited out!

The lessons here are that to get an awful lot of wear items have to be worn to my work, or in that hybrid space (for me) between activewear and weekend wear (the puffer and the lilac merino). The navy skirt was worn to work three or four times but is more of a weekend or beach piece - it was worn a lot on my summer vacation. It is mostly a neutral and dark palette - that's because dark clothing is easier at our workplace! It would almost make a capsule transitional wardrobe although it's a bit light on tops - I have more so they get less wear in general.

I am going to track in a different way from now on - I don't think tracking my activewear is worthwhile as it all gets a lot of wear. Even my swimsuits!

Thanks for looking!

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Aritzia

AGOLDE '90s pinch waist jean

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5 months ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Gorgeous pics and great analysis. I agree -- the first is more reminiscent of your style some years' back (but still modern with the neckerchief as a nod to the trend! (And those fabulous boots). The second more in tune with the way you have been dressing lately.

I'd say you don't have to worry about wearing the heck out of (most of) your clothes -- you're doing it! Tracking activewear would be a waste of time for me, too -- I know I wear it and I know (from laundry bottlenecks) when I am lacking something.

I definitely have far more tops than bottoms and get far less wear from most of them than from my bottoms as a result. I am trying to make some peace with this. A substantial portion of my shirts/ blouses are upwards of 8 years old. They have not worn out (for the reason above) and I still love them and reach for them -- just not super frequently. Meanwhile, I often crave more, both for variety and for specific purposes. So it's an ongoing project to decide just how many is the golidlocks amount for me. This is less a problem in winter, where I have fewer merino sweaters (and have them all in constant rotation; I could stand to add a few, for sure). More an issue in spring/ summer/ early autumn when I tend to reach for my button-front shirts. Of which I have quiet a collection.

Sal

Thanks Suz. Yes I agree re activewear - so I have stopped that one now.

I do make my clothes work hard - but I have some pieces that don't get a lot of wear. Like you some of them are older but I still like them, but I might only wear them once, twice or three times a year. And then the party dresses and high summer pieces are a bit hit and miss too - but luckily that's an area where my tastes are quite constant.

I don't love either of these photos; in reality I liked both outfits.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Well Sal, I LOVE these outfits! You got an A+ for your experimental efforts

The gold blazer with the hectic green pants, and crisp white support act is KILLER. One of my all time Sally-faves! You rock that neckerchief too! Fably '70s with the sunnies and boots. Very you!

Another thing that is very you: working your wardrobe hard! Goals achieved, with extra for good measure.

Joy

Your navy skirt looks similar to one of mine that I have trouble styling. I got it last year when I was desperate for a navy skirt but no one was getting any skirts in. Now I am stuck with it. It is from JCrew and is eyelet. I so far have paired it with a white tee and white loafers and bags.

Jaime

I know you don't like the photo but you look super to me in the second outfit. I like the first one also. Clearly that yellow jacket found its proper home. I am far from a tracker but it sounds like you have a good handle on what is going on with your wardrobe.

Thanks Angie! The yellow and green palette would work on you too of course, it's very Angie.

Joy - I liked this skirt in a column of navy and with a patterned blouse. The waist is a bit challenging to tuck in.

Thanks Jaime - I think the angle is putting me off in the photo. It was a very happy day.

Brooklyn

I think the colour combination of the first outfit is interesting and unexpected. It looks modern to my eye, but I think the jacket would look better open, as in the next pic. I love the winery outfit. You manage to look like Spring in early Winter, which is quite a feat.

Thanks Brooklyn. Next time I will try a different top under the jacket. It was a fairly last minute call to try this combination.

The winery look was in May and on a stunning day - it felt like late spring not late Autumn!

I am actually getting a colour analysis this week as a treat - I feel fairly confident I know where I fit in - but it felt like a fun idea with some money my Dad gave me for my birthday.

Star

I love how you look in both outfits. You styling this blazer so well. Very creative. You know I am a tracker too although no longer track in deep winter. No point as I know what I wear. I would not track gear either if I wore it. Fun that you are going for a professional colour analysis, looking forward to hearing about it.

I will report back to the forum on what I am Star. It will be fun.

I like tracking - and have found it useful.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

That gold blazer lights you up like a field of flowers! I think both outfits are great.

I’m impressed with your tracking, and I was thinking recently that I might like to start doing this again. I used to track, over a decade ago.

Dee

Lovely blazer stylings, I've never owned a colorful blazer myself (just your greys, blacks and navys) but you wear this yellow blazer so well.

Always good to get as full picture of what the true workhorses are in your wardrobe, helpful with deciding where you want your wardrobe to go moving forward.

Thanks Mary Beth - I purchased this second hand - blazers are one of my best second hand purchases (three out of my five are second hand). Especially good with something like this that is not the biggest workhorse. It's a fitted style which is not trending right now but I don't let that bother me.

Thank you Dee. This is my only bright blazer now but in the past I have had favourites in red and pink. I loved the red with denim and wore that a lot. I try not to wear a really bright colour with black unless I add a light neutral to the mix as well - it's my one style rule for myself as say red and black, or bright yellow and black, don't really suit me - a bit too high contrast. The tracking has given me permission to spend more on the leggings I really like and to add a third swimsuit to the mix - I wear these pieces a lot. I am trying to not add too many expensive tops either as this is an area where I don't get as good value - whereas jeans and pants seem to earn their keep, as do shoes.

JAileen

I wish I knew this about my wardrobe, but I’m too lazy to do the work. You have some real workhorses - that lilac sweater - wow!

Thanks JAileen - the lilac merino is a go to when I go away to the beach (early morning walks or in the evening when it cools down, as well as sometimes being worn to and from yoga and for any errands then - plus for casual weekend wear.

This category of top works hard for me - and I tend to get a new one every year or two, the older one becomes a walking top, or the less popular option. I think because this is a flattering colour on me it has got even more wear than the previous version.

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