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27 May 2010
What did you do when you didn't have a thing to wear?
Bought clothes! My sister is my size. I call on her when I'm desperate and hate all of my things. If I didn't have a thing to wear I guess I would wrap myself in a towel and wait for UPS, or my sister, to come. :-)
I just ordered this sweater in red, white, and navy to wear to work. I'm partial to cardigans because I feel like I look pulled together when I wear them. They aren't the most stylish but they'll work.
I'm actually in the midst of a gradual wardrobe overhaul occasioned by the fact that I need to dress nicer for work. It's gone far better than any such overhaul in the past, because I approached it like a research problem. I read about wardrobe basics, I took the opportunity to talk to a personal stylist at an event, started to define a personal style for myself, put in my measurements at myshape.com and learned what to look for in terms of shape, skirt length, and stuff like that...and have really been happy with how my clothing is working now.
I had to go home and change my wet jeans (they never really dried from yesterday and they had started to inflame my skin). Didn't have a decent clean pair of jeans so wearing some pretty old, scruffed up ones. The kind you pay $200 for new, but still.
I am in a rut, dressing-wise, but will likely stay in that rut.
What's your personal style? I still haven't figured mine out because I'm too fickle. I can't pledge loyalty to a look, although I would really love to, it would make things so much easier. I definitely have my colors (or lack of colors....) picked though.
Okay, what shirt do you wear with a scarf? I am missing that last greebly layer that lets me do accessories properly, and I do have nice scarves, but (especially in the summer) I don't know what shirt to wear. (I can't wear button-ups due to my Chest Of Unusual Size.)
Of course, my normal wardrobe is mostly polo shirts, anyways, so that's not exactly right :P
I wear scarves with almost everything: dresses, sweaters, collared shirts, plain-colored tee shirts, whatever. I'd say, though, that your instinct is good: scarves and polo shirts, not so much.
When I have Nothing To Wear, I usually have three strategies:
- shop from my closet. I dig through until I find something I haven't worn in a while, or find a combination of things I haven't worn together.
- wear the same old thing but with a scarf and jewelry I haven't worn for a while.
- re-fashion something old. I yesterday, I noticed that every article of clothing was something I had re-configured to some degree: altered the neckline, changed) I removed the annoying sash from my blouse, changed the drape, tacked it down with decorative buttons, and put in some darts. It looks great!
If none of that stuff works, I hit the consignment shop and see if something catches my eye.
- Hit the salvation army. At the very least, I'll find a scarf of a hat or a brooch or something that jazzes u something I have in my closet.
- Empty the closet, sort and clean everything and anything not worn in the past 10 months/year goes to the salvation army.
Ugh. I think I'm going to have a yard sale of old clothes. Next week, probably. My daughter's coming home from college and she has a wardrobe of things she doesn't wear, here at home, that's literally bursting from every drawer and closet in her room, plus she's got another wardrobe with her where she's been living. So, time for a yard sale. I really can't store all of this crap.
I hate having a yard sale though. We usually give everything to Goodwill but she wants money, so fine. Last time she had a yard sale she was 14, and was selling off clothes that didn't fit anymore. Among them were some tank tops from Abercrombie which she had tagged $2.00 each. Two women in their 20s drove up in a BMW and complained to her (a 14 yr old kid obviously just trying to make a few bucks) that the tops were too expensive, and that they would give her 50 cents each for them. They waited until I went inside the house so I wouldn't hear them. As one opened her 800.00 bag to pay, I opened the door and told them both to go to hell.
Needless to say, I had to pay my daughter 2.00 for each shirt after they drove away. And it was well worth it.
It's coming together slowly, and it doesn't have a name. I begin by saying "If Katherine Hepburn would wear it, so will I." I like narrow-hipped and low-waisted but wide-leg trousers with a cuff (because they balance my figure out and the wide leg feels luxe, retro and relaxed); A-line skirts that fall about knee-length; straight skirts at knee-length or a little longer for the pencil-skirt effect; shirtdresses; shirts and jackets that are structured and tailored, often with some military-esque detailing like epaulets, extra pockets or buttons; jackets that nip in at the waist and/or are double-breasted or belted (NO blazers! no one-button jackets!); simple dresses with great structure, etc. It's all pretty classic, but also vintagey. I've always been more interested in things that are really well-made and timeless, that will last a long time and look good for a long time, than in trendy things.
I made a lot of progress over the last few years figuring out what colors to wear. I used to wear black constantly. LT has a good eye for color and helped convince me to branch out. Then I finally did one of those "color season" analyses that was so popular in the 80s, and turned out to be a "summer." Now I basically look for pinks/salmon, mellow orange, any blue from aqua blue to navy blue, and light green. Plus black, white, and tan for basics. As dumb as that stuff used to seem to me, there are some huge plusses to doing things this way: 1. When I go into a store, I can immediately rule out having to look at 80% of the clothes on the rack because they're not one of my colors - much more efficient way to shop than considering everything. 2. Most of the clothes in my closet can now go together, creating more mix and match possibilities. 3. As it turns out, those colors actually do look better on me.
I also figured out a lot about what shapes work - V-necks instead of crew or scoop necks. long or 3/4 sleeves instead of cap sleeves. Nothing with volume at the chest level, like ruffles or layers - god knows I don't want or need any more volume. Structured instead of loose; figure-shaped instead of columnar. Low cut tops, high cut legs. No "relaxed fit" pants - ugh! They make me look like I'm wearing jodhpurs. jackets that stop at the waist or extend down past the hips, not that stop at the hips/butt.
Lots of women seem to know this stuff instinctively - or more accurately, they have spent more time practicing and learning about it than I previously have. I've never been much of a shopper or style-magazine reader and, to be honest, didn't really try - I had a very utilitarian approach to clothes until recently. But it has been fun to sort of make a project of getting clothes, employing a more studious approach and settling on simple, clear decisions.
To hear me talk you would think I am pulling this off flawlessly but that's not the case. I'm very new to the idea of looknig "put together," but I am having some fun with it, as you can see. It surprises me how enjoyable shopping can be when you do establish your sort of rules or goals before you set out.
When I'm not dressing for work I can still be a wonderful slob. Around the house you will find me in stunning ensembles such as t-shirts and yoga pants, exercise wear, shirts with rips, etc.
And I will never give up my sincere devotion to Western wear, though I don't have much of a supply right now. If I have a personal style at all, it definitely includes cowboy boots, jeans, and patterned shirts with yokes. But that's not where I've been concentrating my wardrobe dollars lately, since I really have needed to polish up my act for my new job.
Oh, I get it. I thought you were saying "scarves are for mommies."
They're really good for me because you can wear something super super basic, like a plain black dress or a brown turtleneck sweater, and yet a scarf makes your outfit look like you thought about it, instead of just wearing whatever was not wrinkled and covers teh body. That's a lifesaver kind of thing for me.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
