Here is WIW one day this week. This may be a good example for me of how the photo picks up things you tend to overlook just in the check-the-mirror evaluation.

I'm trying belted longer sweater over pants (well, obviously). I loved this taupey-beige linen sweater from Talbot's even though long is usually not my style. Tonal look--very neutral. Boots I picked up last year because of the cool-toned brown color which has been hard to find. They have crochet-lace side panels which is a little weird but in the early fall I thought it gave a lighter look, but usually they don't "show". So trying to create outfits with brown pants and boots.

I liked it at the time because I felt empowered to experiment and try belting. Long-over-pants for me is tricky because I don't wear tall shoes so cuts me in half. Belting over "modern" pants is tricky because the pant waist falls below my natural waist but adds bulk in tummy and a waist-cinched belt tends to sit right above all of that. Hence I gravitated toward a kind of slung-belt that is angled from back to front. It is much easier for me to belt over a pencil skirt where the fabric is continuous and smooth in front or maybe pants that have a high, flat hollywood (?) waist

This was a cold day so I used a wool-blend shell. Have worn this sweater before with a tank top that has a lower neckline, and that is more flattering (no pic). . Now in the photo I can see that quite clearly--the high shell neckline exacerbates the proportion problem. I could easily add color (teal is pretty) that way too and then consider tying in with a colored belt.

Happiness? Not so up there now. I still think belting over this sweater is still a possibility but I need different bottom part of outfit. The tonal look went too far into boring, too.

Using the happiness factor, I'm thinking this is a do-not-repeat outfit. Not because that would be a crime, but because if I create another one that looks better, I would want to wear it more.

Back to the kitchen!

That might be a shift in thinking for me, to be more ruthless!
Another shift would be to think of individual items as part of more experiments. As in, yeah, that's right, I wore this sweater once a week for the last 3 weeks but now I finally got it right! I mean, who cares, and in the end you've nailed a look. I have not done that enough, I think. SYC sessions are great for that of course but sometimes you think it's okay until you launch it.