It pains me to let you go

After 5 years, I am sad to say that I have had to make the decision to part with my first ever pair of UGGs - my gray low-rise Baileys. 

It took years for me to jump on the UGG bandwagon and after I made my first purchase and slipped into them for the first time, it was magic. I wanted to wear them everywhere (but I didn't because that would be a fashion faux-pas) and when the Canadian winters co-operated, happily pulled them out. They even inspired me to write a haiku.

Good-bye my friend. You've kept me warm and cozy for 5 seasons and I will never forget you. Even though I have a new pair (given to me by my mom, who didn't wear hers) they will never have that same bond as you and I, once had. 

My favourite wardrobe additions in 2015

I think out of all the additions that came into my closet in 2015, my favourites were my: 

• pre-loved Cole Haan Johanna ankle boots;
• Townshoe Loafers;
• Nine West taupe wedges;
• Marc by Marc Jacobs backpack;
• Coach leopard print double-zip wallet my husband gave me;
• Banana Republic ivory and leopard skinny belts;
• all my items from LOFT;
• Franco Sarto peep-to flats;
• Banana Republic cobalt drape pants;
• Banana Republic black and white color-block dress;
• Banana Republic light colored, striped, color-block sweater; and
• Banana Republic black sleeveless top (so simple, but so perfect)

First wardrobe addition of 2016! - Lou & Grey Mix-up Cardigan

Here's my first wardrobe addition of 2016 =) And it was a gift from my parents! =D

Lou & Grey Mix-up Cardigan

I love this cardigan - it has the colors that I chose to build my color capsule around and it is soooo cozy, like a giant hug. I absolutely love it. My parents bought it for me while they were helping me kill time, waiting for my car to be serviced. Even though I'm an adult now, they still spoil me <3

I wore it on my recent trip to Vegas and it was perfect for the cool weather they were having, jumping in and out of cabs and between hotels. When I was inside, it was just right and didn't leave me too warm. I would have been too cold at night if I were to walk the strip, but during the day, with the sun out, it wasn't too bad, and when I got a little chilly, I just wrapped it around myself and it really was cozy.

How I track my purchases

I posted about this before when I first started my blog, but I just wanted to share again since I've been doing it for 2 full years now - this exercise really helps me be more aware of what I buy and now that I have a few years under my belt, can also look at the categories that require a bit more data, such as the condition of an item.

In 2013 I started to track my purchases and it was very simple, just handwritten in a notebook with the item description, price, and date. Then in 2014 I made an excel spreadsheet that I uploaded to Google drive so I can track anywhere (in case I go on vacation and make purchases), anytime. These are my categories: 

• Cost per wear - I've set up the excel to automatically calculate this for me; remember, my own threshold is $1 so before I buy something, I ask myself whether I think this item will meet that by the time I'm done using it (either worn out, or loss of interest)
• # used in year X - now that I'm on my third year, it's interesting to see what items I bought before, that I am still using and how often; helps to let me know what pieces are a staple that I may not have realized before, and  might keep in mind to replace again. 
• Description
• Designer - tells me what designer/brand fits me best for certain items
• Color
• Type - type of article, i.e. shoes, blouse, t-shirt, etc.
• Cost
• Condition (1 poor - 10 - excellent) - this one is more for future purposes so I can get an idea of the quality of the item over a course of time, and see if it's something worth buying again, or perhaps I should go with another brand
• Date of purchase - tells me how often I shop
• Place of purchase - tells me where I shop
• Regular price - tells me how much I'm saving, and just makes me question whether I would have purchased this same item at regular price

When the new year comes around, I just add a new sheet, and copy and paste these categories into it, and I add an additional column to the previous years and track how often I use them in the current year, and adjust the cost per wear formula.

This might seem excessive and probably, slightly, obsessive compulsive haha, but I find it helps remind me of my budget when I look at my quarterly spending to get a gage of how my yearly budget may be looking; tells me what items I may be buying too many of and should take note of before I buy another one (by tracking the type of item, I realize I go on small binges where I buy a lot of certain items - in 2014 it was khakis and button-up shirts, and in 2015 it was shoes); and each time I update how many times I've used an item, it makes me feel good to know I made a good purchasing decision and reminds me that I've come a long way from making random purchases.

My top 10 favourite outfits of 2015

I started doing an out of of the day and it's fun to see how my outifts have changed. Personally, I think my initial outfits were a bit lackluster and definitely improved towards the end of the year, especially with some of the new items I brought in. Thanks to Mimmy, the biggest wardrobe/style change I start to do was use skinny belts and they've definitely help me to finish and polish an otherwise boring outfit. Life got a bit busy towards the end of December and I had to stop with my #ootd posts but I hope I'll be back at it in 2016 and putting together even better outfits. 

In no particular order, these are my top 10 favourite outfits of 2015 - please feel free to make any suggestions to these, I love hearing different people's take to an outfit. 

My Bleeker's first official plane ride! Vegas, here we come!



I'm headed to Las Vegas today for 4 days and have decided to do only carry-on, and not just that, but try to minimize the amount of stuff I'm bringing so that I can carry the beauty that is the Coach Bleeker; I have been waiting about 3 years to take her on a plane.

 



I've used her for other weekend trips but I would say that this is her first major test. Just to give you a better idea of what she will be carrying and how I packed her, here's a brief run-down of my trip: I arrive on Tuesday afternoon and leave Friday afternoon; we plan to have one day of randomness until the rest of our team arrives the next day, plan to go to the shooting range, have a nice team dinner, a gambling competition, spend some time at lounges, and a full working day. I have packed a heavy cardigan, pair of black jeans, toiletries, PJs, clutch for going out, under garments, belt, a top, and left room to comfortably fit a puffer jacket that can be bunched into a pouch. I could fit another pair of shoes and a few more tops, but I gaged our activities there and with what I packed, and my outfit to the airport, have enough to mix and match. If it were summer and I didn't have to pack for cooler weather, I'd have even more space!

 

From my previous trips, I can tell you some of the pros and cons of the Bleeker:

Pros <3 - 

• Spacious - I am always able to pack at least 3 days worth of outfits and that usually includes at least 2 pairs of shoes, 5 outfit changes, PJs, toiletries, curling iron, and my laptop and ipad. My previous trips, the bag would be stuffed to the brim but since I'm flying, don't want to over-do it. 
• Organization - it has 2 large inner, slip pockets, 1 large zipped compartment, and one outer slip pocket. The inner pockets are very useful for electronic cords and chargers, and I keep important documents in the inner zip pocket; I don't use the outer slip pocket except as an emergency place holder for papers, before I move them to another spot. I like the openness of the bag because it lets me pack that much more stuff in it.
• Large opening - the zipper extends well beyond the opening of the bag so I have easy access to my stuff and it also has a little more give if it gets over packed. 
• Color and profile - what can I say? I love the color, and I love its very minimal look.
• Leather - its leather is super sturdy and I really like that it holds itself up so I can easily organize my things.
• Feet - I like that it prevents the bag from touching the ground, and with a bag that size, gives it a bit of detailing.  

Cons </3 - 

• Heavy - it's VERY heavy. I don't recommend this if you have to move around a lot from place to place. Ideally, you should be carrying her from: car -> airport -> car -> hotel; also, don't carry more things than you need to, outside of this bag, or else it will be very difficult for you juggle. For this Vegas trip, I'm designated all my electronics, and travel documents to my handbag, and leaving my liquids on the top of the Bleeker for easy access at security.
• Handles - most of my complaints are with the handles. They are very stiff and short. If they were slightly longer, and able to fit over my shoulders, I think I would have an easier time dealing with its weight, but as it stands, the short handles mean that I have to use this as a hand-held, and it does get cumbersome. Also, if I am carrying a lot of things, the stiff handles do not make it easy to juggle a few things at one time as they give no amount of flexibility and sometimes you just need things to twist and turn a bit to manage - don't try with this, it will hurt your hand. 

Changes I would make - 

• Nylon with leather trimming to lighten it up, while keeping its sleek look and maintaining some of its structure; I think there's a heavy canvas version which would probably fare well, but have not had a chance to see it in person.
• Lengthen the straps, or give it a detachable shoulder strap (although given the weight, the shoulder strap would probably hurt, but it's still nice to have the option so it can free up your hands from time to time in the event you need to have your hands free for a moment)

My wardrobe count going into 2016

It's been well over a year since I started using the Stylebook App and it has definitely helped me to keep focused on my purchases and how often I'm using each item in my wardrobe. 

When I first started using the Stylebook App towards the end of 2014, my wardrobe consisted of:

124 tops (includes sleeveless, blouses, t-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirt/hoodies, blazers)

48 bottoms (includes jeans, shorts, trousers)

25 dresses

53 shoes

17 scarves 

68 bags (including clutches)

17 coats and jackets

32 pieces off active wear (tops, headbands, bottoms, runners)

After more than a year of purging and refining, these are my current numbers:

106 tops (includes sleeveless, blouses, t-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirt/hoodies, blazers)

54 bottoms (includes jeans, shorts, trousers)

31 dresses

51 shoes (I previously reported 46 pairs of shoes because I didn't count my one pair of sneakers for running, or a few pairs of shoes that were made specially for my Chinese wedding ceremony when I got married)

16 scarves 

65 bags (including clutches)

18 coats and jackets

22 pieces off active wear (tops, headbands, bottoms, runners)

Overall, I think I did pretty well - doing this for almost 2 years now I've definitely seen a shift from purging, to learning what works for me, to narrowing things that work really well for me and finally coming to a plateau where I feel comfortable with the items I have. 

The drop in numbers in my tops came from letting go of graphic-Ts, tops I had been holding on to in hopes to fit into them again in the future, and items that didn't fit as well anymore. Bottoms saw an increase as I slowly replaced wider legged trousers with slim fitted ones and also got some incredible deals on shorts and jeans; I also stocked up a bit on pencil skirts, my work staple. Dresses saw an increase mostly because I brought some that were at my parents home, into my current closet. 

Wardrobe goals for 2016

Last year I worked hard on making more focused purchases and tried to make sure that each item I brought in would make at least 3 outfits. I also continued to purge and focused on letting go of items that could be substituted with other items, and didn't rush into making any purchases until I found the perfect pieces.

My goals for 2016 are to:

• Not purchase any shoes, and continue to let go of more, with the ultimate goal to own 25 pairs of shoes
• Continue to work on using the things I love and not worry about them getting ruined
• Continue to shop within my collection of bags and wallets, and let go of 10 items
• Stay within my budget of $1,000, and again, not include any major investment pieces or bags
• Have 4 purchase-free months
• Continue to purge so I can consolidate all my items into 1 closet
• Build a 'rainy day' fund by selling any items that may have some value to use towards a pre-loved Louis Vuitton Speedy 35/40.

2016 Wishlist and "needs" (these items are exceptions to any 'do not' buy lists):

• Black wedge ankle boots 
• Gray leather bag 
• Gray wool winter coat
• Navy sheath dress
• Pre-loved Speedy 35/40
• Black sheath dress

'Do not buy' list: 

• Trousers and Khakis
• Shoes
• Bags, wallets and small pouches
• Jeans

Happy New Year! (December comings and goings)

Happy New Year to all of you!!! - I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season with your friends and family and are ready to start fresh with any resolutions you have.

To start off the new year, a recap of my December comings and goings =)

Goings - 5

• Doc Marten combat boots - sold them to fund my future pre-loved Speedy
• Doc Marten loafers - sold them to fund my future pre-loved Speedy
• Adidas work out top - don't like it anymore 
• Esprit dress - don't like it anymore
• Purple top - doesn't fit the same anymore

Comings - 1

• Stuart Weitzman loafers - given to me by a family friend - this DOES put me backward by one pair of shoes towards my goal, but I mean, they're Stuart Weitzman's, c'mon haha.