Wardrobe plan
Jun 5th, 2008 by learningumbrella
Most Americans have a lot of clothing. It’s really easy to just go shopping without a plan, and end up with lots of cute clothes that don’t necessarily make a cohesive whole wardrobe that fits your lifestyle. And then we end up with a need for bigger and bigger closets, or space bags, or clothing covering every surface of your bedroom. It makes a lot more sense to me to come up with a plan and create a wardrobe for yourself that is really about you and how you live.
Some people are pretty good at this simple dressing, such as this post from Lentils and Rice.
As I’ve been doing daycare and struggling with this chronic abdominal pain, I’ve slowly become the sweatsuit lady. The one that just wears sweats everywhere, and looks like she barely combed her hair before she left the house. I gave up wearing bras because they hurt my stomach, and I became the sweatsuit lady who doesn’t even try to defy gravity. This sounds like I look pretty bad, but that uniform was simple and it did fit my lifestyle.
Now my lifestyle is going to change. For one thing, I’m not going to have that pain anymore, so I can most likely go back to wearing things that squeeze the abdomen (tights, jeans, bras). I’m also stopping the daycare and doing a different job, which I envision as having a similar dress code to teaching. It’s out of the house anyway, and I don’t want to look like a bag lady. On the other hand, I still want a small and simple wardrobe and one that is fair to labor and the earth.
I’ve started by cleaning out my closet of the things I just really won’t wear. That got rid of all my previous attempts at a dress for nice evenings out. Doing an inventory of what I have to wear that is non-sweats:
1 pair blue jeans, too big (I may gain weight back though, since this weight loss was due to the month long sickness)
1 pair black jeans
1 pair olive green corduroy pants
1 tan A-line skirt
1 maroon and pink flowers A-line skirt
1 olive green plaid A-line skirt
1 maroon jumper-dress
1 white blouse
1 pink blouse
1 black cardigan
1 green cardigan
1 red cardigan
1 purple and black tunic shirt
I will need a few outfits for Sunday mornings, and a few outfits for during the week. I don’t want to be too preppy, but I also don’t want to be too fashionable and have to change the wardrobe every year as those fashions change. I have black shoes and brown shoes, so I can go both ways (and I carry homemade fabric purses so I don’t need to worry about the leather of my handbag matching my shoes).
I think I need:
2 more blouses - I have lots of cotton fabric in my stash and at least one of them will likely be an orange paisley that I have
2 more nice knit shirts - I have organic black knit cotton and I have organic pink knit cotton
I think I’d like to buy a handknit sweater, like this one from Etsy.
So far, I can’t seem to handle sewing a fly zipper closure, so I’m thinking about pants with a back or side zipper, like the ones in this Vogue pattern. I need just plain black pants, and I’ll have to buy new fabric since I don’t have suitable pants fabric.
1 more black skirt, but maybe not another A-line since I have so many of those already!
I want one “going out” dress, and I have some lovely knit white with blue flowers and a pattern for a wrap dress. That might still be casual for some things, so I will continue my hunt for the perfect LBD (little black dress) for my body type.
And I think that should just about do it!
I have just spent the past two and a half days cleaning out my Grandmother’s bedroom and closets to simplify things for her (she has dementia).
I found an entire large closet filled with clothes with tags! She rarely leaves her house. I will be attacking my own closets soon as well.
Good luck finding what you need to round off the wardrobe of your dreams (or is that of your real life?lol)
After many years of trying to create a wardrobe that matched my budget and personality, I finally succeeded… with the help of my preteen daughter! For Mother’s Day she provided wardrobe services to me. We went through every bit of clothing, accessories too, and were absolutely ruthless. Any stains or rips, anything even slightly outside the “vision” went out the door. Two huge garbage bags left! We bought just a few new things, most secondhand. I have less in my closet than I ever have and have gotten more compliments on how I look than I ever have.
Good luck with your own wardrobe building… and the new job!
GOOD post! And did I miss something?! Any chance I will see you in October at http://www25.uua.org/lreda/content/conference.html ?
By the way, don’t know if you’ve seen my shout-out, but I’ve started reading this blog semi-loyally:
http://beautytipsforministers.com/
I was reading *really* loyally until she didn’t bother to respond when I contacted her with a question, and I felt snubbed LOL.
I do think the conversations on her blog are often applicable for all religious professionals, particularly those in the public eye. Once she wrote, “when I get dressed on Sunday mornings, I ask myself if I appear to be worthy to be the identified spiritual leader of my specific congregation. If the answer is ‘no— my own comfort has clearly taken precedence over my responsibility to look appropriate to my role today’ — I go back to the closet and do it again until I get it right.” That’s a tall order, but worthy of consideration for those of us who are among the spiritual leaders of our congregations.
I disagree with much of what she says, but she makes me think.
On first glance, you would think her blog would encourage purchasing MORE clothing (and her writing I admit can be very abrasive and very, well…um…east coast), but she tries to encourage thoughtful purchasing, and in doing so, has certainly helped me refrain from desperate and unfocused purchases.
I finally started wearing suits only on Sundays. It had been my plan for several years, but I never was able to scrape enough money together to purchase more than one…and I abhored the thought of some folks seeing me only ever in one outfit.
Just after my interview last spring, I splurged (too bad it wasn’t before ha ha). I found a suit that was very “me,” and I fell in love. And then over the summer, right after I arrived here, in anticipation of giving my first sermon in this place, I splurged again…and just in time because my waist expanded and my first/original suit did not fit. I rotatated through the two suits through the winter, trying to keep it varied by rare scarf and of course different colored shells (shirts) underneath.
I hope to once again fit into my original suit one of these days, but meanwhile, this spring, I bought another. Actually, with that one, I bought a pink suit jacket and brown suit pants. My thinking is that over time I can collect another jacket and another pair of pants to mix and match. Something a little different than the single color suit mix for some fun.
So then I had three that fit. And then, come summer, I found a linen (thus not dry clean only…much, MUCH, MUUUCH better, hurrah!) summer suit jacket that looks good and well-suited (excuse the pun) with plain old black, cotton (no dry clean) slacks.
I have four pairs of shoes.
1. A brown pair that looks good both my casual and professional wear as well as with my brown suit pants.
2. A black pair that looks good both with my casual and professional wear.
3. A black pair of short heels (thick ones) that I prefer for my black pin-stripped and plain black suit…looks more finished than flat shoes, I feel.
4. A blue pair of short heels (thick ones) that I will eventually wear again when I can fit into my original suit.
I think two pairs, a brown and a black pair, often will do the trick.
Whatever our wardrobes, I am with you all the way on keeping it simple, personalized, long-lasting (nothing to go out of fashion to quickly), and well-planned.
Sounds like a great endeavor, and I am sure whatever you choose for your final pieces will be fab!
P.S. Sorry about typos, grammar issues, spelling, etc….it is getting late
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