I’m lazy. My defining feature that affects my personal style is my laziness.
I think its about choices. I love having choices, but I don’t like making decisions.
So if I only have certain types of clothing items, it’s easier to decide.
Really meaning jeans, t shirt, cardigan.
This is the exact reason why I read through Coletterie’s Wardrobe Architect series, and read a lot of the articles from Into Mind here.
Personally, the latter articles were better for me, minimalism calling to me as a soon-to-be college graduate who will be moving from home. The less I own, the less I move!
But Into Mind’s technique is really meant for people not making their own wardrobes.
So I’m adapting her rules and procedure here:
- Define my personal style
- Try for small amounts of high quality, in workmanship and materials
- Own up to what you typically wear, and create a strong backbone of these pieces
- Don’t plan/buy anything that you don’t love, especially for fit or material
- Spend as much time as necessary to make and find materials for each required item… or finding it if I can’t make it
- Own only items that I wear a lot, have worn a lot and will wear a lot, and anything I won’t miss when its gone, and if I make it, that it will last for a number of years.
- I’ll donate/sell items that don’t work.
- Care well for my clothes, as soon as I’m no longer in a dorm with awful facilities… These washers and dryers are killer monsters that steal id cards, and there is no place to really hang clothes up, or lay them out.
Well, first I’ll explain my rule 4. This in particular is the reason why I’m lifting my fabric buying moratorium (Please don’t hit me!). With limits. Every piece of fabric I buy will be for a reason, for a particular garment, and will be a fabric that I will wear. Meaning no polyester. I sweat too much for polyester. Trust me. And fit will be variable as I’m learning. But hopefully good, since each piece will be in my wardrobe for a reason.
So I’ve realized over the past few months that I pretty much wear jeans, t-shirt, and a cardigan every day. On occasion, I’ll wear dresses with tights, but unless its the dead of summer I get quite cold in dresses. They always have a cardigan too. I wear cardigans all year round. I will admit to wearing shorts in summer, but when I know I’m traveling from one heavily air conditioned building to another, I’ll often wear jeans anyway. Scarves, very important in winter.
But one point I have to consider is that I’m moving south this summer. So number one summer, and number two, warmer summer than I have experienced barring Texas. And Texas was brutal. It was lovely, don’t get me wrong, but my heat quota was fulfilled 400 times over. So I also need to keep in mind that the climate will change, and perhaps so will my wardrobe.
When I was working out this wardrobe planning thing, I kept all of this in mind, as well as my tiny student budget, and the tinier amount of fun money that I’ll have in the near future. Because of this, I chose to keep most of what I have, knowing that when it dies, I’ll not have to replace it. But I also am only really working with what I have up at college. I’ve got quite a few clothes back home that, well… I leave at home.
At this point, I’m only making a black skirt and three cardigans. And some socks. My socks have been eaten by that washer and dryer I mentioned. I think the dryer has an irrational vendetta against me.
I have a black wrap skirt that goes past my knees, but me being short, well, I don’t get that lovely feeling from it. I used to have a black fluffy mini type skirt, but I had to leave it behind on my return trip from study abroad. There were just too many great clothes there! I might also make a just over knee length royal blue skirt. Can you smell an Anna from Frozen cosplay in the air?
Did I mention cardigans? My favorite for spring and summer is this navy blue drapey one I got from an Express outlet during one of those season-closing sales. These ones above are super similar…
I’m making three drapey cardigans, one of which will be a little heftier and warmer, I hope. Beige, magenta, and plum.
In fact… beige…
…magenta, with added sleeves…
…and plum. I wish I had links for all of these. But I’m lacking in links for the first two.
I will do research on this… but I’m currently all researched out for my mini-thesis in order to graduate. Cause I want to do that graduating thing…
So, two skirts and a few cardigans. Totally doable.
Did I tell you I like cardigans?
I am older than you are. I do not sew. But I am an artist and a “clothes horse.” I like your idea of owning up to what you wear. I really need to do that! I was struck by yours and my clothing habits. I wear jeans. Tee shirts and cardigans. I feel better that someone else does. And proclaims it! And I like tights. These are the things I pull out of the closet. (full of lots of things I should throw away! Ha!) Enjoyed your blog. I had a death in my family. Had to stop blogging for a while. Will continue soon.
Thanks! I figured it was high time for me to decide this, as even on this nice day in spring, I chose to wear my normal jeans and t-shirt routine instead of any of my nice dresses. Maybe tomorrow… Tomorrow is another day!
I am with you. Let’s “own” it! We CHOOSE to wear our jeans and t shirts! 🙂