April comings and goings

I would say that April proved to be a successful month - these are some of its highlights: 

• let go of a number of pieces of clothing, including a pair of shoes and a jacket
• purchased some boot trees to take care of and prolong the life of my knee-high boots, of which I may only ever own one pair because of my weirdly large calves (yes, I'm bitter)
• found a fantastic Spring/Summer dress in my current color capsule colors for an awesome price
• added a new favourite - a 'grown-up' sweatshirt that I absolutely LOVE
• turned a scarf from my existing wardrobe into a favourite
• discovered a new outfit by putting together existing items from my closet

Comings:

• Black and white color-block, racer-back dress from Banana Republic
• Gray sweatshirt from Banana Republic
• not directly wardrobe related, but still applicable - boot trees, and socks (something I HATE buying)

Goings:

• 3 hoodies
• 1 blouse
• 2 pairs of jeans
• 2 pair of runners
• 1 casual jacket/blazer
• 1 jacket
• 1 canvas tote bag
• 1 zip-up sweatshirt
• 1 pair of sweatpants
• 1 sleeveless top

That's 14 items! It's the largest number of wardrobe items I've let go of since the Great Purge.

Excitement! - new favourite outfit and accessory!

I thought Mimmy made a really good point in her post comment about the 'odd man out' - "I think I was actually trying to pair it with things that worked against it." This really spoke to me and she had mentioned she decided to pair her piece with neutrals and let the piece speak for itself. 

Here is that same sweater again - 

(Rosie Neira)

And taking into account Mimmy's words, yesterday, I decided to wear it as the showcase piece and made this outfit with it - 

(Banana Republic, GAP, Rosie Neira, Cole Haan, Coach, Pearson & Brown)

I wish I had taken a photo with the outfit on because the colors look way better together, but this is a new favourite outfit I discovered; it uses my color capsule and a 'odd man out' piece to form a decent outfit, but then is taken to a non-boring level by my shoes and scarf. 

(The more I look at it, this cardigan seems to be a shade of gray with some green undertone ... ya, I still have no idea about its color, sigh...)

Now, let me talk about this scarf - I received it from my mom's latest trip to Asia and it's actually landscape. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but it's mountains and a body of water. I don't know too much about it other than it's silk and by Pearson & Brown - if any one has more info on this brand, I'd love to hear about it! It's beautiful and oh sooooooo soft. It's fast becoming one of my favourite items. 

(Pearson & Brown silk scarf; sorry for the poor photo quality, I used my phone camera to do the pano)

The yellow played off of my shoes and the green picked up the undertones of my cardigan. And since I left everything else neutral, both the scarf and cardigan got to stand out. So, thanks Mimmy, for giving me the idea to let the 'odd man out' shine, and also to the girls on TpF for all the talk about scarves lately that gave me the idea to pull this out. 

Grouping that odd man out

Do you own an item that looks great but somehow seems difficult to wear? I have a cardigan that looks great but the color isn't something that I personally find easy to match. I think it's taupe? or perhaps olive? I'm not even entirely sure ... (note to self: learn colors). 

None the less, the other day I was heading out the door when I decided to grab a cardigan for the sudden drop in temperature. Without thinking, I grabbed the closest thing to me - this: 

(Rosie Neira)

Looks great right? I love the detailing, it's non-scratchy comfort, its length - just love it, and since I adopted a neutral color palette, figured it would be fine. Then I finally got a look in the mirror and I don' t know if it was the color, the great detailing, it's length, but for whatever the reason, it did not look fine with my dress, which was this:

(Rosie Neira, Banana Republic)

Even though I have a much better idea of my style, and have recently chosen a color capsule, minimizing the daily struggle of getting dressed, there are still items in my closet that don't really have a place to go. I love them and do wear them but they usually look like an after-thought. I started envisioning my closet and realized that this color would actually look pretty great against purple; especially, against a certain purple dress I own - this:

 (Rosie Neira, Banana Republic)

Note: I know I said I'm poor at colors, but I swear, this dress is a rich purple and I have no idea why it's photographing blue (I even double checked with my husband, who agrees with me). 

Currently, my closet is organized by like-colors, but to make better outfits, I have decided to hang my 'odd man', hard-to-coordinate pieces with the item it would go best with. That way, if it comes down to the wire and I still can't figure out a nice outfit, I will always have a go-to option.  

Re-purposing - iPod case as a mini wallet

As much as I have been enjoying letting go of things that don't work, I have also enjoyed looking at items in a different light to see if I can find new love in them, or re-purpose them. 

Some of you know that I have been pondering the purchase of an LV zippy wallet for more than a year now to use as a mini-wallet in my clutches and smaller bags - I don't think I will be making that purchase any more as I have found the perfect solution to not just one, but TWO problems!

Behold!

My Christian Dior iPod case - I tracked this baby down and managed to get my hands on it when a friend made a trip to China and picked up the last one in the store!

Now, this item holds a special place in my heart because (1) we've all been there, the 'chase is part of the fun!' and (2) it taught me a lesson - never to buy designer tech cases because technology just changes too fast to get good value out of it. The case, unfortunately, outlasted my iPod (screen no longer works and the newer models don't fit) and I was left having spent too much money for something that I used too little, and up until now, sat in my drawer for 5 years. 

However, this piece has a happy ending! - I managed to re-purpose this and use it as a mini-wallet! The spot for the iPod is very, very close to the size of cards and when full, all fits nice and snug, and closes perfectly! It actually has a lot of room so for the OCD in me, is better than any mini wallet out there - as you can see, from above, there are 2 slots for the cards I need easy access too, and the place where the iPod is supposed to be, is wide enough for numerous cards. 

Now, I have a pretty unique, dare I say, one-of-a-kind, mini wallet that fits ALL of my stuff and doesn't leave me feeling like I've left anything behind; don't have to make another purchase; and it's by Christian Dior, to boot! ;)

April purchases

Last week I went to Banana Republic for a little window shopping and came home with two great finds!

 

I mentioned in a past post that I have issues with wearing items that tie around my waist, due to a short waist. I should note that, while those don't work, dresses with an elastic waist work wonders for me. I love this one because it's light weight and sleek looking, and my favourite thing in the world for dress and skirts - POCKETS!!! This item is not fussy in cut or color, and I know it will look classic for years to come. I look forward to pairing it with bold color shoes, and pulling a sweater over top when the temperature drops.

I LOVE this sweatshirt. I've already broken it in and can already tell it is going to be a favourite. I love so many things about it - the feel of it, the lack of a hood, the price I got it at ($8.99!!!), and especially the finish - I don't know if you can tell but it has a slight sheen/metallic look to it (it's called a 'foil' sweatshirt) and it just looks so much more grown-up than any other sweatshirt or hoodie I currently own. It has made me want to clear out more of my sweatshirts and hoodies. 

Both items are in-line with my color capsule and will work for multiple seasons, as well as professional and casual outfits (I love the pairing of the sweatshirt with a skirt - maybe an idea for business casual Fridays); I'm so pleased!

Make a list of things you don't need

For as many years as I can remember, I have always tried to buy less and last year, while still a work in progress, was definitely my most successful year thus far. I kept my purchases to a minimum (relative to other years =P) and every purchase became a wardrobe staple. 

It really helped to take inventory of what I owned and this year, while I usually make 'want and buy' lists, I instead made a list of things I didn't need to buy. That has really helped me to think twice before I make a purchase and since I'm also trying to own less, I decided on the amount of each item I would like to own. For example, I would like to own 10 coats and jackets, 5 pairs of jeans, 20 pairs of shoes, etc. 

This is my list of "I don't need to buy" (and the ideal amount I'd like to own): 

• nail polish (5)
• coats/jackets (10)
• shoes (20) (this one is a hard one to get control of)
• perfume (2)
• rain boots
• hoodies (2)
• wallets
• sneakers (3)
• lip balm
• eye shadow
• blazers
• dress pants
• khakis
• scarves
• jeans (5)
• bags

I keep myself in check by looking at my list frequently and it's really satisfying to see the gaps get smaller between what I have and what I would like to own. 

Starting April off right!

I am SO happy to share that I was able to pass to my friend several items that I no longer am able to fit into - I was able to let go of 11 items!!

I passed on:

• 2 pairs of jeans
• 3 hoodies
• 1 zip-up
• 1 pair of runners
• 1 blouse
• 1 blazer
• 1 jacket 
• 1 canvas tote

I am SO pleased to let go of my jeans, hoodies, runners, and jacket the most because they were items that I am trying to lower in number. 

What a great way to start April!!!!

First quarter re-cap!

I like to re-visit my goals on a regular basis to see my progress, and reflect on how I've been tackling them. As we start the second quarter of the year, below is a re-cap of my wardrobe goals that I posted earlier this year to see how I've been doing.  

My goals for 2015 are to:

• continue to downsize the number of shoes I have - I purged a lot this year but there are still some that I can let go of. Also, I won't be replacing a number of them when they wear through. I purchased 4 pairs of shoes and my mom gave me 3 pairs of near-new shoes that she can no longer wear due to spurs. I removed a pair of sneakers and runners from my wardrobe. I'm struggling to minimize or maintain the size of my shoe collection - this year, shoes seem to be my weakness  and I'm working on reeling my self-control back in, and continuing to pare down.
  
• continue to work on using the things I love and not worry about them getting ruined. This is going well! 
• build a capsule wardrobe for each month - unlike some capsule wardrobe challenges, I'm not limiting the number of items I will use but I will make sure the amount is reasonable. Decided that with the number of items I currently have in my wardrobe, this isn't practical - I found myself missing certain items. I will need to pare down more before I can attempt capsules again so that I can get more wear out of all my clothes.
• continue to shop out of my bag and wallet collection and implement a one-in, one-out rule.  Haven't bought a single bag or wallet so far - in fact, I let 2 SLGs go, didn't bring in anything new, and re-purposed a tech case into a mini-wallet.
• rotate through all my wallets throughout the year. So far, I have used 2 different wallets, and 10 different bags.
• use jewelry more to accessorize my daily outfits. I got a bit lazy, but working on this more and also let a few costume jewelry rings go.
• continue to purge, re-fine, and down-size my wardrobe. Continuing!
• budget $1,000 for wardrobe purchases (not including investment pieces that may replace current wardrobe staples). Aside from my Burberry coat (investment piece), I am $26 over my quarterly limit. 
• downsize the number of jackets and coats. Donated one jacket, bought one investment coat, and was given 2 coats. At this point in time, I don't know what I will be doing since I now have a pretty good variety of jackets and coats. I think this category will need some major re-evaluation at the end of the year.
• use the bags I weren't able to use in 2014 - if I don't use them again in 2015, consider letting them go. So far I've used 3 and they turned out to be keepers.
• have some purchase-free months. March was purchase-free!