Yearly Review

Elly

2013 was a difficult year for me, but I'm completing it with people I love still by my side and a new FT job. YLF has been wonderful, and I want to participate more in depth now that I have a budget and a less crazy schedule.

In 2013 I bought:
GEAR
zip black gear top (field season)
blue gear top (field season)
olive overshirt (field season)
combat boots (hiking and field season)
Salomon gortex shoes (field season-- possible fail)
new running shoes (not worn yet, replacement)
new red wicking ball cap (field season-- I love this!)
new running shorts (not worn yet, replacement)
4 pair wool boot socks (lifesavers)
fleece hat liner (needed for field season, not in love)
cowboy hat (field season, don't know if it will transition)
2 gray columbia fleeces (worn heavily, saved my butt, but I am wearing them way too much for non-gear purposes because of a lack of warm indoor layers)

CLOTHING/FASHION
burgundy euro sneaks (comfy, lots of compliments, good for work)
blue and white striped cotton camp shirt (eh-- I wear it but it isn't fab)
black fluid polyester chiffon tee (I love this, esp. over a black l/s tee)
4 Gap supersoft l/s crewneck tees (2 black, 1 navy, 2 mocha) (bought on deep discount, but disappointed-- fit is not same as last year's which I LOVED)
Spiegel leather jacket (got for $28-- probably already have my money worth-- good for transitional and fall weather, can wear indoors at work when I'm not getting filthy-- not my dream leather, but great)
5 new boyshort undies (wore 1 pair, trying to decide if they are comfy enough to keep the other 4 to replace my much pricier faves)

Goals for 2014:
1) Purge my closet-- working FT, I have no excuse to hoard things that don't work "just in case". It is time.
2) Purchase a couple warm underlayers (merino baselayer type) and new toppers so I don't have to wear fleece to work all winter to stay warm in our frigid building.
3) Ditto with a pair of fashion boots -- got a pair for Christmas, hope they work.
4) Dive back into the world of makeup after a multi-year hiatus
5) Purchase a few new summer pieces (new knit skirt, new dress, shorts, BF jeans, sandals) plus work tops/toppers
7) Participate in NAS and shop Fall/Winter early in the season
8) Post outfit photos -- I have the camera, shutter release and tripod to make it easy!
9) Replace a few loungewear pieces
10) start analyzing how things work together as a "style", investigate accesories
11) Buy an item or two that makes me feel sexy, 1 more gear piece

What were your 2013 purchases and hits and misses?

How do the goals sound? Reasonable?

How about you ladies, goals for '14?

12 years ago

General

11 replies

Latest reply was from Elly

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

It looks like 2013 was high on practicality, and sounds like you are ready to treat yourself to a more stylish wardrobe. I like your specific goals. I agree just striving to spend more time on YLF will help.

You could start with posting items that you may still want to hang on to during your purge process. Then maybe work on what your capsule needs are. For example, I need casual and smart casual capsules for the different seasons I go through. Then I need a really small fancy capsule. Then I have a work capsule that tends to be more conservative than my other capsules (no surprise there right?) I try to purchase items that work in more than one capsule, but I've got quite a few capsules to think about.

I recall that you have quite a few changes (temperature and work attire) you go through during the year, so you may need more capsules than you think.

12 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Thank you, Denise. Very insightful. I think you have the right idea--- posting items I'm not purging, then starting with capsules. And I definitely need to participate more actively in YLF this year!

12 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Elly, you made big changes this year. And also some very practical purchases for your lifestyle. I'm glad you are ready to move forward with an income and an actual budget. And yes, that really helps -- I know, having recently gone from next to no income to having one, as well. I ended up going a little crazy on my shopping in the past year and a half -- but I am almost finished the wardrobe building phase and feel ready to do some serious refining in the year ahead -- just to give you an idea of the time it can take.

I love Denise's idea of posting items you are considering keeping (during the purge process). Also, it really helped me to consider my actual daily needs very carefully and specifically. I itemized the different kinds of activities I do, e.g.

Work at home, writing or editing.
Shopping/ errands here in town, on foot.
Meeting friends for a meal downtown or a tea or a drink.
Workout wear.
Skating/ winter hiking.
Commuting to my mother's in city.
Appearances/ teaching.
Visits with mother (in her house, taking her on errands by car).
Travel to urban centres for theatre, dinners out, etc.

And I tried to imagine what clothes I need for the various activities in the different seasons. My needs and wants turn out to be quite different when it comes to fabrications in the different seasons -- I really crave the warmth and coziness of sweaters and knits in winter but like wovens best of all in summer. That realization alone was super helpful.

Until I had built up a minimum wardrobe, the whole idea of "wardrobe holes" was sort of meaningless to me. It took me until this year to really figure out what that meant -- and how people could identify what they needed in advance. In other words, I was in your position -- I always found myself shopping too late for the season, with no clear idea of what my wants were, sort of helter skelter. I think you need a baseline of wardrobe staples already in your closet before you can begin to see what would take your style to the next step. So that's good to focus on for now. By specifying your activities and needs, you will get there sooner.

12 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Thank you, Suz. I've been here at YLF for 3.5 years and I certainly have learned a lot but I also know in many ways I've felt stuck because I haven't had the funds to apply what I've learned to a functional wardrobe . . . so in many ways I am just beginning huge parts of the YLF process!

Suz, you make an excellent point about preferences varying with the seasons. I know that I am similar-- way more likely to wear wovens and anything crisp in transitional seasons and the summer. This year will also be an experiment for me because it will be my first summer at the new job, and I don't yet know what that will require because of changing temps (I don't know how much my work areas swing in temps --- but I do know that we eat outside in the summer).

I also will work on a list of specific activities.

12 years ago

Susie

Veteran

I think your goals sound very reasonable. And Suz gives great advice about thinking about your everyday activities and what you really need for each.

I bought a ton of stuff in 2013 and and not everything was a good choice. One thing that helped me was making notes on why something didn't work so I can avoid the same mistakes going forward.

I am pretty satisfied with my fall/winter wardrobe. For spring and summer, I know that I am probably ok with work wear and very casual (weekends at the lake) wear but I want some better options for smart casual looks that are cool enough for our very hot summers.

12 years ago

Anonymous

Just reflecting, as you have done, puts you ahead of the game. My 2013 resolutions were only partly successful, and I need more self-discipline for 2014. I did manage to build up my hot weather wardrobe where needed, especially finding dresses. I've yet to find the winter things I want most...the perfect boots and dresses. I have three dresses from past years and, with some skirts, I'm finding that I really don't need more this year. I wanted a wool knee length coat and am kicking myself for not jumping on Angie's pick of that citron man coat when it was available.
I want to spend time making winter capsules, the best way to identify needs, before adding more of anything. In general, I like everything in my closet and think it fits. Thanks to YLF, I can find something for every occasion in any season and that is a huge step forward. I need to identify what looks dated and find replacements if needed, then to decide where I want my style to go and what it will take to get there.

12 years ago

Veteran

Those sound like excellent goals, although you'll definitely have a full plate! I'm selfishly excited about your WIW goal, so I can see your outfits. And I've loved reading everyone's advice, as I find wardrobe building/maintenace and style sorting endlessly fascinating!

12 years ago

Elly

Veteran

E-- you make a great point, the goals all total are a lot of work. I may not accomplish them all, but several of them were things that fit into overall lifestyle goals (cleaning the closet is part of an overall downsizing process that I am in year 2 of) or are must dos (buying work clothes), and the SO has already agreed to help me by building time to shop into our trips to the city 2x a year--- just having an opportunity to try on items that are hard to get where I live like bras, premium or unusual denim brands and styles, etc. goes a long way to knocking things off my list quickly.

SO also has 2 sisters, and when we go visit they like to shop (they have a Nordies rack) which is a great time for me to look for lounge-wear and tops and bond with them because I AM SO NOT A GIRLY GIRL SHOPPER and they both are. We have a February trip planned, and then another shorter trip to Denver in March, and a quick jaunt to ABQ in the summer or fall with my mom or the SO.The SO also likes to buy me lounge-wear and gear, which is great.

I feel like if I am going to be spending money and building up a wardrobe I want to analyze along the way and maintain and develop a sense of style and I definitely need YLFs help!

Susie-- I hear you with the hot summers! I hope trends will be good to those of us that deal with heat (or in my case, and un-airconditioned home and workplace). I find dresses or skirts with sandals the coolest option, but I also need pants that can go from a cool office in the morning to lunches outside in the heat for work-- and unfortunately my tops I wear with knit skirts on the weekend and jeans to work don't seem to crossover well.

Joy-- I'm glad you joined us to reflect. I hope next fall and winter are better to you. I too have a hard time with the dress/boot combo and finding the right ones. It does sound like 2013 was good to your closet though!

12 years ago

Alassë

Veteran

I'm looking forward to your posts, Elly! Great list of goals, though quite a mouthful, but I bet you'll make a lot of progress on them.

12 years ago

Isabel

Veteran

Elly, you have been through a lot these last 3.5 years. It must bring you some comfort that you have enough stability to actually start planning out your wardrobe needs and wants.

I think that your goals are great.

Happy New Year.

12 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Isabel, your post means a lot to me. Thanks for keeping up on the saga. Having a FT long term gig is a huge relief and I think moving towards a wardrobe that is more me and helps me look and feel more presentable will be a huge self-esteem boost.

As of yesterday, goal number 3 is crossed off my list -- I wore my new boots after posting a K/R and they were wonderfully comfy.

12 years ago

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