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Friday 8 August 2014

Decluttering & Minimizing


One of the best things I did in July was take a large chunk of cardigans, dresses and tops out of my wardrobe, and stick them into the back of my front hall closet where I couldn't see them. It has been weeks and aside from grabbing one top back out, I haven't thought about the stuff at all.

I think later this year some of the cardigans may come back into play, but honestly I'm not very happy with them and even through the past few winters I haven't worn them, but have kept finding excuses to be able to keep them hanging in my closet. Maybe the best course of action is to get rid of them and find one cardigan/sweater to replace them all.

I also went through my basic t-shirts and separated the 'fashion' shirts; any t-shirt that I will wear on a day to day basis and enjoy wearing, from 'work' shirts; any shirt that only gets worn if I may be getting dirty that day, or if I just need something to throw on without worrying how I look (I have a lot of work gigs where I need shirts like this). Now, my main shirts drawer has been cut in half, and my 'work' shirts are on a back shelf in my closet where I can specifically go when I need one. I'm loving the less 'cluttered' feel, and not having to search through a bunch of 'meh' shirts I would never wear on my day off to find my cute t's.

A few months ago in April I did my first closet inventory and came up at a whopping 354 items (that's not including accessories)! Since then I've bought some new things, and I've tossed a few things; and I'm not totally sure if my count was completely accurate the first time since I have clothing items floating around the house in different places. I've set my mind to it that I need to downsize. I figured removing 20% of my wardrobe would be a good start; but I did the math and that's 71 items! What I would need to do first is a completely new closet inventory and count every last thing before I begin purging. Here's hoping for success!

Sunday 3 August 2014

July Outfits

July was a really fun month (I can't believe it is August already!!). There were some HOT days, and there were a few chilly days.

 Pink Suede Moto Jacket - Bershka, Top - H&M, Jeans - Urban Planet, Ballet Flats - WalMart
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★☆
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★★★★☆
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★☆
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit?★★★★☆

Sweater - Zara, Jeans - Urban Planet, Ballet Flats - WalMart
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★☆
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★☆☆☆☆
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★★
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit? ★★★★☆


Sweater - clothes swap, Tank Top - H&M, Shorts - Joe Fresh, Ballet Flats - random mall store
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★☆
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★★☆☆☆
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★☆
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit? ★★★☆☆


Dress - Thrifted H&M, Shoes - random mall store
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★☆
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★★★★☆
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★★
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit? ★★★★☆

Tank Top - Joe Fresh, Denim Jacket - Forever 21, Skirt - Joe Fresh, Sandals - Joe Fresh
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★☆
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★★★★☆
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★★
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit?
★★★★☆

Dress - C. Wonder, Bracelet - H&M, Sandals - Joe Fresh
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★★
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★★★★★
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★★
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit? ★★★★★


Tank Top - Sirens, Jeans - Urban Planet, Leopard Slip-Ons - Steve Madden, Purse - Winners
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★★
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential?
★★☆☆☆
Would I wear this outfit again?★★★★☆
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit? ★★★★☆


Leather Jacket - Viparo, Shirt - Costa Blanca, Jeans - Levis, Leopard Slip-Ons - Steve Madden
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★★
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★★★★☆
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★★
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit? ★★★★☆


Leather Jacket - Viparo, Long Sleeved Top - Forever 21, Jeans - Urban Planet, Leopard Slip-Ons - Steve Madden
Was I comfortable wearing it? ★★★★★
Does this outfit have multiple occasion potential? ★★★★☆
Would I wear this outfit again? ★★★★☆
How much do I feel like 'me' in this outfit?
★★★★★

Saturday 2 August 2014

July Purchases

Well, July was definitely a bit of a backslide; the main detriment was taking a trip to the States to shop at the Outlet mall. I'll be honest and say a large portion of what I purchased this month were things on my 'to buy' list, a handful were things I really didn't need but loved and decided to buy anyway. Even if everything was on my 'to buy' list, it does make me a bit nervous making so many purchases in one month, because usually that doesn't usually mean that I hold off on shopping a bit more the next month, I just continue shopping as usual. So for August, I'm going to have a bit of a conundrum.

I'll start with what I tossed in July:

Skirt
Denim Shorts
2x t-shirts
Ankle Boots
Sweater
2x pj shirts

In August I plan on going through all of my Fall clothing and evaluating every piece, deciding what to keep and toss. Hopefully the tossed list will be a lot bigger.

Now the 'fun' part. My purchases for July:

July Purchases part 1

  • C Wonder Black and White Dress - THIS DRESS. I posted it awhile back as inspiration; I remember thinking at the time 'I would love to have a dress like this!'; but alas, at around $168 dollars it was a bit out of my price range. I happened to randomly check the website earlier this month and it had been knocked down to $83. This is still a bit pricey for me, but I decided to give in and make the purchase. I am so glad I did! A dress like this replaces five $20 dresses hanging in my closet, any day. It's a dream to wear and it will be hanging in my closet for years to come.
  • Target Houndstooth Button Shirt - this seemed like a great casual shirt, but also very work appropriate when needed. And it's black and white!
  • Levi's Skinny Jeans in Black & Brown - I wrote recently about how I constantly wear skinny jeans, and that I should add a few good quality pairs to my closet. These 2 are just that; plus I got a great deal at the outlet mall, 2 pairs for $40 each instead of the usual $60 each.
  • White House Black Market Geometric Shorts - a pair of black and white patterned shorts were on my to-buy list for the summer and these fit the bill! I really love the cut.
  • Kenneth Cole Faux-Suede Pink Perforated Bomber Jacket - this was an impulse buy, I admit. But it looks so great on me and fits in perfectly with my wardrobe. In turn I am now selling another pink bomber jacket I've owned for years and wore constantly years ago, but haven't really worn in the past year or two.
  • Mudd Slip-On 'Birkenstocks' - a pair of sandals were on my list, and I couldn't go wrong with these ones for about $20.
  • ASOS White Sandals - Once I bought the above Mudd sandals I was done buying shoes for the summer, alas my beige Joe Fresh sandals that I love bit the dust shortly after my outlet mall trip; I ended up buying these similar sandals online to replace them.
  • Forever 21 Black & White Culottes - adding another cute pair of shorts to my wardrobe sounded like a good idea to me, and I used a gift certificate to buy this pair. It's really easy for me to see the difference in quality between some of my slightly pricier summer clothes and these shorts, but I don't mind having a few cute things from Forever 21 as long as my wardrobe doesn't become overrun by the store as it has in the past.