Dinie's Tangled Threads: Purge Time.

Welcome back readers!
I hope you have been thinking about your closet a little bit this week. I know I have! A lot in fact.
I confessed on Monday that I have been going back into my storage totes. I'm proud to say that I only have 1 tote left and it is all summer things. Mostly silk boho pieces that I love that I have had in my closet for a long time. (Although I wish I had more opportunity to wear them more.)They are breezy, fun and comfortable. There are certain words that we all feel define our personal style. Everyone's is different. I try to think about these things and how it will match with what I currently have in my wardrobe when I shop. I don't really like to shop and spend money, but I like to shop intentionally. I know BEFORE I go into the store what I'm looking for and I will not walk out with something that is 'just good enough' or was 'on sale', I just won't. Remember how hard you(or your spouse) worked for that money.
Tuesday we looked at Summer. Wednesday we looked at Fall/Winter. Now going forward, we are going to keep all that in mind and try to fix the issue(s) with my closet. I hope that this look into my problems will help you with your closet as well.

Since I brought up style words I want you to think about what yours are. It might take some time. I know it did for me. But look at what you gravitate to when you get dressed. Look at what you have pinned on your style boards. Do you notice a pattern yet? I know that I do not like wearing poly or poly blend things so it was really easy to toss out all of those cheap poly blend pieces that were taking up valuable real estate in my closet. Buh-bye!

My style words are Comfy, Vintage, Fun and Sturdy.
These are important to me. Your style is probably different than mine. And that's a good thing! We don't all want to look the same, how boring would that be? My closet lacks cohesion. It's a jumbly mess. You saw it yesterday. I've got a lot in there and still 'nothing to wear' I suppose I'm not going naked and that's good. Yet, none of it matches or speaks to me as a unit.

So, I have decided to get with the neutrals and basics a little bit more. I have had a hard time trying to match up some of my clothes. I have too many patterns and things that aren't going together.
Unfortunately that means that something has to get out of the closet so that something better can have that space. Remember, your clothes should make you feel good and this should make your life easier, not more stressful. (I'm still working on that part too.)

I decided on Navy for my neutral. (Remember how Black doesn't work for me?)
My accent colors are Mint, Pinks, and lemon yellow. And maybe a sprinkling of lilac/lavender. I'm thinking of my purse here.

I do have things that will go in these color categories right now, just not a lot that matches. They are mostly the accent colors.
I still need some navy bottoms. For shorts I really like high waisted ones like these. For the skirt I am thinking about a Dirndl style.

I'd love to pick up some Mint Jeans. But I might have to wait until spring styles come in the stores and make a special trip. But, who knows a girl could get lucky!

I plan on dying a sweater that I love the feel of, just not the color(orange-hate it) to a navy blue. I hope that will turn out well. I am also looking for something with pink and mint and maybe even navy blue in it to make a bit more cohesion to my wardrobe. Maybe a shirt would do well?
I found this one, but it's $500. So, probably won't make it into my closet. (Marc Jacobs? who cares about the label when you can't even see it?)

I love blouses with bows and I have a cute pattern to make one so I will probably be on the look out for fabric that I like. Hopefully a linen blend.
I'm also looking for some comfy chucks in a color I like. Mint or Pink is available. I'm liking the low mint ones. Maybe I could put some pink laces in them for pop, or even purple to match my purse. Or should I just go with white to match everything?

Shoes are so much easier to shop for. They usually only come in a few styles and colors. I also would like to get a pair of Tom's ballet flats. But the colors choices are kind of dreary right now. I like the pink muti color that was available, but is no longer in stores. I may go to the city to see what I can find sometime next month.

Something else I've learned about my style that bears repeating. I hate poly blend clothes. The natural fabrics work best for me. So, that is what I will stick to buying and wearing.

I also want to tell you IPhone users (and maybe it's on android too, I just don't know.) about an app I've ben using to see how I might match up my clothes. I also think I can use it when I go shopping so I literally have my whole closet in my hand. It's called 'Stylicious' and it is free in the App Store. Once you take pictures of your closet, you can match them up with accessories and shoes to create a look for the day. You can plan out your look the day before or weeks before you wear it. I also like that it keeps track of how often you wear a piece of clothing. So, after awhile you can look at what is getting the most use in your closet and what, frankly, isn't and maybe should go somewhere else.
Give it a try, it's free (for now) and actually pretty fun.

Have you used anything like this or gone through a program like wardrobe architect (Colleterie.com)to help you figure out what you need? I would recommend it, it helped me with my decisions a lot.

I need these things for my closet