I’ve been doing shopping here and there, not spending much at one time (except for a splurge on a pair of new dress boots, which were needed – they are high quality, so they should be around for awhile). I’ve also been purging my clothing periodically. Finally, the biggest help is that I’ve been reading/looking at fashion blogs and Flickr groups – NOT the ‘what’s trendy?’ ones, but the ones where thrifters, vintage fans, etc. post pictures of what they actually wear on a daily basis.
This is helpful for a couple of reasons. 1) It gives me clues on how items can be paired and/or repurposed. There are some really creative folks out there, especially in the Wardobe_Remix group on Flickr. 2) It gives me confidence to experiment a bit more. Most of the experiments I see, I’m not willing to try – but seeing other people experiment makes me realize that hey, they’re just clothes – the worst that can happen is that you look weird-ish for one day.
ANYHOW…I’ve been working on putting together actual outfits most days that I’m at work. I’ve been happy with most of them, and I’ve gotten quite a few compliments at work, actually! That has taken some getting used to – people notice when you really try, especially in a business-casual place like the library. At times that makes me a little uncomfortable…but hey. I’m dressing modestly (no big swathes of bare leg, no mini-skirts, nothing low-cut or too revealing), fairly practically (no ridiculously high heels), and the clothes are ironed and of good quality. That is, I’m not being noticed for looking like a slob or a tart as far as I can tell.
So what if people look at me and smile? (‘Hey, she’s wearing red tights!’) That’s kind of the idea. Also, I work as a CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN and I’m still a young’un (relatively). Surely it’s OK for me to have a little fun with my clothes.
I have a couple of goals going forward:
1. Expand my color palette. I re-org’d my closet by color today while unpacking winter clothes and packing up summer ones. There’s a preponderance of red, blue, and black, and not much variation in shade. This severely limits my options in terms of remixing things. And it’s boring. There are lots of other colors I like and look good in.
2. Get on a regular thrifting schedule. Yesterday I stopped in at the Rescue Mission thrift store near my work (it’s in a wealthier area than the one I’ve gone to in the past). Boy howdy! Better labels and general higher quality merchandise, with not much of an increase in price. I’d like to stop in there once a month. Good thrifting takes serious persistence – my mom taught me that. She has an awesome wardrobe, most purchased second-hand, because she thrifts thoroughly and often.
3. Get to the point that I can re-hem and take in garments relatively easily. I’m constantly finding things that are perfect EXCEPT for being an inch big in the waist or several inches too long.
I'm doing 40 things
