Editing my Wardrobe

I’ve been in somewhat of a fashion rut lately. I blame this on several factors, but it is mostly because I just pull out whatever is comfortable, or at the top of my drawer, and the cycle keeps repeating itself as the clean laundry gets put away. It is also largely due to my job… People say that you should dress for the job that you want, and not the job that you have, but what happens when you have the job you want, and it often involves doing things like putting large pieces of pottery into the back of cars, wedding flower beds, cleaning up olive oil spills, and chasing mice out of retail spaces. So needless to say, I don’t exactly dress to impress on a typical work day. Not that I look terrible or anything, but my wardrobe tends to lean towards what I can only describe as “farmy”. I wear a lot of jeans and tee shirts, and rely heavily upon accessories for any additional flair. Of course I do have a few work occasions in which I get to dress up (somehow I don’t think brides would appreciate me bopping around their weddings directing traffic & caterers in my usual work attire) But there is always the prep period when I am getting dusty tables out of the storage barn, setting up chairs, and hauling racks of wine glasses around, so cute shoes, and summery dresses are often out of the question.

This trend of dressing, sadly tends to carry over into my days off, which are usually spend catching up on laundry, cleaning, errands, groceries, e-mails, volunteer meetings etc, and though I would love to jazz things up a little bit, jeans and tee shirts just seem to be my universal wardrobe… which I guess is better than sweatpants.

When I moved, I was once again reminded, of what a clothes-horse I actually am, and I began to feel a little guilty about the lack of wear some of my clothes have been getting. Sure some of that is seasonal and situational. I have sweaters that are ready to be put away for the spring and summer, and let’s face it, there aren’t too many every-day occasions that call for a Nicole Miller little black dress, but there is a lot of stuff in my wardrobe that IS everyday attire, and it’s not getting worn.

Yes, I do have a few things stashed in my closet that probably shouldn’t be worn anymore. Every woman I know has at least one thing in her closet that doesn’t fit but might fit again “someday.” And the more I think about this, the more I wonder why we hold onto this stuff. I mean who are we kidding, styles change, and just because it used to fit, doesn’t mean when/ if it fits again that it’s something you should be incorporating into your current fashion choices! So I’m learning to let go… slowly.

My new goal for this season (meaning spring & summer) is to wear EVERYTHING in my closet at least once. Again, there are a few exceptions to the rule as I don’t plan on making much effort to wear most of my sweaters or winter coats over the next few months, but in general, if it doesn’t get worn by August, it probably shouldn’t be taking up precious closet space.  I mean if I have it, I should have it for a reason, whether it be for a special occasion, or interview, I should be wearing the clothes in my closet, rather than coveting ones in the stores. So if it doesn’t get worn by the end of the summer, it is getting donated (possibly to goodwill, or maybe just to a friend’s closet, but the main point is that it will no longer be in mine) This goes from everything from shoes, cardigans, jewelry the whole lot. Because let’s face it, if I’m not wearing it, someone should be! 

So here I am, giving myself a wardrobe makeover. In a desperate attempt to break out of my fashion rut (while sticking to a tight budget) I’m essentially going shopping in my own closet. I’m taking a few extra minutes in the morning to pull stuff from the back of the rack and the bottom of the drawer, and am trying to pair my old clothes and accessories in a new way. We will see how well it works, but I’m already excited about some of the outfit prospects.

This little project makes me wish I was a little more crafty. I have friends who take old dresses and turn them into skirts, and salvage the fabric from one thing, and turn it into something cool and fresh looking. Sadly, my sewing skills are seriously lacking, so I don’t think any of my old clothes are going to be getting a chic transformation, but I’m hoping that they can at least be accessorized in a way that makes them feel refreshed. The only thing in my wardrobe that I have been able to successful convert is my favorite scarf, which actually used to by my favorite sweater… I was desperately in need of a project, and was having some termination anxiety about putting the sweater in the goodwill box. Sure it was itchy, and had shrunk, and actually looked horrible on me, but the color was great, and it had some sentimental value. So I got out my seam ripper, unraveled the sweater, and converted it into a scarf… and that is where my creativity involving closet transformation ends.

 My attempt at wardrobe metamorphosis

This has also gotten me to thinking about the types of things I buy in general. I have so many tank tops, and other clothing items that were impulse buys or “good deals” but just because it was a good deal, doesn’t mean I’m going to wear it. In looking at the clothes in my closet, I find that the ones I wear with most frequency are the pieces that I splurged on. It’s sort of sad, and sickening to think how much money I have spent over my lifetime on the “good deals” that I only wear a handful of times. I can’t help but wonder how much more tailored my wardrobe would be if I had less impulse buys, and more quality, classic pieces. Definitely something to think about the next time I’m indulging in retail therapy. Quality is better than quantity.