Category: Capsule Wardrobe

What I Wore: January 2017

It’s almost hard to believe that the first month of 2017 is already over, isn’t it? It didn’t bring better tidings than its predecessor, which was all the more reason for me to keep my head down and bury myself in work — not that I had much choice as regards the latter. January started off slow at the office, but it was only the calm before the storm. I’m not complaining, however, since the month was replete with opportunities to see, learn, and do new things. In non-work news, we booked a family vacation to Mexico! You better believe that I’m counting the weeks (and days!) until we hit the beach.

In the meantime, let’s look at some work clothes.

one, two, three
one, two, three

four, five, six
four, five, six

seven, eight, nine
seven, eight, nine

ten, eleven, twelve
ten, eleven, twelve

thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen

sixteen, seventeen, eighteen
sixteen, seventeen, eighteen

Last month, I finally caved and downloaded the Stylebook app. I won’t lie; adding my closet, one piece at a time, was a major PITA but it’s 90% done (I’m still working on my outerwear and special occasion dresses). I like the app, but there are things about it that drive me nuts and I wish it had better functionality. For example, there is no way to manipulate the number of wears to reflect the fact that the clothes have been worn before; I have 3 years of data that I cannot incorporate into the stats, which makes all of the calculations done by the app irrelevant. Anyway, my list of gripes goes on, but I would still recommend the app for anyone who wants to get more hands-on with their wardrobe management (and outfit planning), especially anyone who doesn’t already use another system (such as Google Docs) for the same purpose.

Between Stylebook and my new closet, I’ve had cause to think about my wardrobe quite a bit recently. I feel something of an evolution coming on. I know. Again. But that’s the fun part of dressing up, isn’t it? Rediscovering, reinventing. An extra reason to be excited in the morning.

What I Wore: December 2016

You know what? December was a pretty decent month. The kids and I were sick through most of it, but I didn’t have much else to complain about. There were Christmas parties, and get-togethers with friends, and lots of fun family times. And wonderful, delicious food. So much food. I spent the last week of December in the stretchiest of jeans and loosest of dresses, and that’s only when I couldn’t get away with wearing my pyjamas. It was, well, blissful.

Of course, I did wear regular clothes as well, for at least 3/4 of the month.

one, two, three
one, two, three
four, five, six
four, five, six
seven, eight, nine
seven, eight, nine
ten, eleven, twelve
ten, eleven, twelve
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
nineteen, twenty
sixteen, seventeen

I liked most of these outfits a lot, individually, but seeing them here makes me realize there wasn’t a ton of cohesiveness between them, once again. In some ways, it bugs me that I don’t have a more definitive style, but I’ve also come to accept that my wardrobe will never be as cohesive as some people’s. It’s impossible when you love prints as much as I do. I do have a lot of basic pieces, and those are actually surprisingly capsule-friendly, but when I put outfits together, the focus always ends up on the statement pieces that defy encapsulation, as it were.

I’m still debating whether to do a wardrobe challenge of some sort this year (just for fun!), but I’ve been preoccupied with other hobbies lately, so I haven’t had as much time to devote to this “project”. The beginning of the year is when I usually get an itch to do something new, so we shall see what happens in the next couple of months. If you have ideas for me, leave a comment!

What I Wore: October 2016 Work Capsule

October started with a dump of snow, and ended with a very Vancouver-esque atmosphere (think mist, fine rain, and lots of soggy leaves on the ground), and I feel like there’s perhaps a metaphor in there somewhere. All last month I’ve been feeling like I was falling behind on, well, life and I’m still nowhere close to catching up. So many projects, so little time. One of my first priorities this month will be to catch up on editing A Temporary Engagement, because the weekly publishing schedule is getting ahead of me at this point. But with 10 chapters already published, we’re half way there. Anyone reading along still? What do you guys think?

OK, on to the outfits now.

one, two, three
one, two, three
four, five, six
four, five, six
seven, eight, nine
seven, eight, nine
ten, eleven, twelve
ten, eleven, twelve
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
sixteen, seventeen, eighteen
sixteen, seventeen, eighteen

I think it was a pretty good collection of outfits, some stronger than others (or more ‘on point’, I should say) but that`s par for the course. I’ve had good luck thrifting and eBaying this month, and at the same time, I’ve done a lot of work in terms of refining my style and narrowing in on the things I enjoy to wear (and not simply enjoy looking at). The next step is to do another (overdue) closet purge. I’m not looking forward to it; whenever I’m down with a case of SAD (which usually happens this time of year), I feel extra emotional about parting with old things, clothes included. I don’t think KonMari-ing will help this time, so if you guys have suggestions for how to say good-bye to things painlessly, let me know.