Curating My Closet: 2 Weeks of Outfits
I recently got a chance to actually go through The Curated Closet, an excellent guide to “discovering your personal style and building your dream closet,” written by Anuschka Rees.
I say “got a chance” because hoo boy is time for vanity projects limited when you have three pint-sized children. But I made a conscious effort to actually begin working my way through it when we went to Kansas City earlier this month.
It’s a bit of a process, and involves answering questions, gathering inspiration, and, of course, assessing what you currently own and how it’s working out, outfit-wise. One of Rees’ steps is to take a picture of every outfit you wear for two weeks. So, I did! And so, for lack of anything better to write about today (I’ll implement a rotating post schedule beginning in October), I’ll share my photos and my thoughts from that exercise.
Two(ish) Weeks of Outfits
And there we have it! A good twelve days of documented outfits. Clearly, there are repeat favorite items: the jean shorts. The Huaraches. The chambray button-down. The animal-print flats. It’s less feminine than I was going for, but more classic-casual-comfy. Can that be my style? Classic-casual-comfy with feminine touches? Well, let me just answer the outfit documentation wrap-up questions…
The Status Quo Questionnaire
My Style
- What was your favorite outfit that you wore during the last two weeks, and why? How did that outfit make you feel? It’s a tie. I love the moon shirt with the chunky cardigan and jean shorts. It made me feel really cozy and comfortable — even if it was too hot to actually keep wearing the cardigan after the photo. I also love the blue linen pants and the tucked-in black shirt. I’ve always been afraid of the tuck (“My belly!”) but it looks great in the photo, and made me feel really pulled-together. While still being comfy and fairly modest.
- What was your least favorite outfit and why? How did it make you feel? I think the navy shorts with the plaid button-down and white top. Something about it just seems slightly off. Or maybe I don’t like those shorts as much as I thought I did. But it looks fine in the photo, so I don’t know.
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy were you overall with your outfits during these past two weeks? Maybe 8 or 9? I felt like I was reusing a lot of pieces, but it doesn’t look overdone when it’s all put together. I have a really great base of clothes, I think. I just need to stop looking for excitement, maybe. Ha.
- Describe your current style in three adjectives. Comfortable, casual, reserved.
- List your five most-worn colors during the last two weeks. How well do you feel these represent your individual preferences for colors? Blue, grey, black, white, red? Very neutral and reserved. I want some more color in there — pinks and reds are fine, but also I love green, and I’ve never really found a way to work it in.
- Do you tend to follow a specific formula for putting together your outfits? Do you have a uniform? Well…jeans and a t-shirt with easy shoes is very common.
- How much variety do you need? Do you enjoy wearing a wide range of different colors, silhouettes, and details, or do you like having a signature look that you repeat with only minor variations? I’d say somewhere between both of those poles. I like having some variety, but I also like being able to use pieces in a lot of different ways. I don’t want a huge wardrobe.
- Do you prefer being overdressed or underdressed? Um. Neither? I guess I’d say underdressed if I had to choose.
- Do you want people to notice your clothes? Not exactly. I want people to say “Wow, she looks pulled-together/has great style.” But I don’t want to stand out, either. Can I have it both ways? Not sure.
- How do you usually style your outfits? Do you often tuck in you tops or roll up your sleeves? What type of accessories do you wear most often? Okay, this is a good question. Generally I’m no to the tuck, and I roll up button-downs out of necessity. It’s HOT here. But! I tried to really get into the tuck these past couple weeks because of one fashion ‘grammer I fell in love with, and I do want to start doing that more often. Accessories-wise, I wish I could do more, but it’s just not the right season of life. The few times I did wear earrings, Liesl tried ripping them out of my ears during nursing sessions. So…nah. That will have to wait until the kids are older.
- Overall, how comfortable were you with your outfits? What qualities distinguish the most comfortable form the least comfortable pieces in your wardrobe, in terms of fit, material, or details? I was pretty darn comfortable with everything. If it’s not comfortable, I generally don’t purchase or wear it. Also, everything needs to be nursing-friendly at the moment, so there’s that.
- Looking at the pictures of your outfits, how well fitting are your clothes? I’d say everything fits pretty well! I tossed the cutoff-looking jean shorts because a fish oil capsule exploded in the pocket a few months ago and the smell was still making me gag fresh out of the wash. I prefer the rolled-hem look anyway.
- Subconsciously or not, our clothes send a message about who we are, our values and personality. What message does your current look send? What would you like it to send? I’d say my clothes communicate that I’m very relaxed and reserved — not too flashy or outgoing. But that I have my life together? Maybe? I’d like it to project more of a feminine vibe, but that’s something I can work on in the future.
- Imagine you had total confidence (and unlimited funds to overhaul your wardrobe). Would you keep wearing the same type of outfits you do now? If not, what would you change? I’d definitely lean toward more feminine pieces, if I could figure out how to make them work. Which, I would — because I would have all the confidence in the world to wear them 😉 And I’d also add in a leather jacket…oh yeah! That’s always been my Dream Piece. Not til I’m a published author though.
Your Wardrobe
- How easy is it for you to choose an outfit in the morning? Pretty easy! I have a lot of things I enjoy wearing.
- What percentage of your closet did you wear during the past two weeks? Uhhh probably like 15%. Guilty.
- How many different seasons do you have to dress for? Mostly summer, with some chillier winter weather (YASSS) for like…3 months of the year?
- What type of occasions do you have to dress for? School drop-off and church. That’s…about it.
- How well equipped is your wardrobe for each of these occasions? Fine. I could use a few more church options, but maybe I’m just feeling restless with what I own.
- What is your stance on repeating outfits? Are you okay with wearing the same head-to-toe look twice in two weeks? How about individual pieces? Not a huge deal to me. Definitely yes to repeating pieces within any two-week period (obviously). If I could do similar outfits with slight variations, I would probably prefer that to exact copies of things.
- What is your typical shopping strategy? Do you prefer spending your budget on fewer, more expensive clothes or do you tend to spread it across lots of cheaper items? Ideally — fewer, more expensive clothes. I’m easily drawn in by Old Navy-type stuff though.
- What is your typical decision-making process when it comes to buying clothes? Do you often buy things on a whim, or do you tend to make sure you have compared all your options first? Some of both. If it’s a specific item I’m looking for, I compare options online. If I’m in a store impulse shopping, well. I impulse shop.
You and Clothes
- What is your main motivation for spending time on style? Do you use fashion as a creative outlet or an expression of your values and personality? Does dressing well give you confidence? All of the above? If we’re going back to my childhood trauma (ha) I always felt like I was outside the crowd of cool because of my clothes. So it’s my own personal neurosis, I suppose. It gives me more confidence, in theory, because I’m not worried about looking dumb.
- Which emotions have the biggest impact on how you dress? Do you dress differently when you are very happy or very sad? Hmm. I guess I’m more willing to try new looks when I’m happy, and stick with the basic jeans-and-tee look when I’m feeling low on sleep or am having a bad morning.
- How much does a lack of confidence prevent you from wearing what you like? Medium much.
- To what extent is what you wear influenced by the people in your life — that is, your close friends, relatives, acquaintances, and coworkers? Do people you are closer to have a stronger influence, or is it the other way around? I dress like a female version of Jarrod, so take that as you will. And of course, the kids influence how I dress just because I have to be so active and have easy access to boobs!
Phew, that was a long questionnaire. But illuminating! And it was a fun exercise to see all my outfits together and assess what’s been working and not working.
Now! I hate to leave on a teaser, but one thing I have planned for this little blog-notebook is a monthly, intentional wardrobe purchase to start building up my newly curated closet, which I’ll review on the fourth Thursday of each month. (Or if I’m saving up for something bigger, I’ll just do a “What I Wore” post.) So come back on 10/28, when I’ll be reviewing a new pair of shoes I’m verrrrry excited to get. Eek! Nothing more until then.
mins
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