Shorts, J. Crew; top, J. Crew Factory; sandals, Old Navy; bag, MbMJ (via eBay)
This outfit is proof that (a) it’s hot enough these days for me to throw restraint to the (non-existent) wind and thrust my pasty whiteness upon an unsuspecting public all day every day, and (b) I love these shorts so damn much. Five inch inseam for the win!
So … another tricolour look. I feel like that’s becoming something of a specialty of mine. On the pro side, it’s hard to muck up. With a 3 colour palette, you have to work at looking like a clown, especially when you’ve got a neutral in the mix. On the con side, there is your general boredom to consider. If I wasn’t taking pictures of my outfits and posting them on the internet, this obviously wouldn’t rate as an actual consideration. Even so, should it? I don’t know; I used to try to dress “interestingly” for the blog, and more often than not I feel like it backfired anyway. I can at least aim for authenticity, if not actual style points. So … yeah, I don’t know, this particular train of thought went off the rails just now.
Moving on to less inane things, here’s a close-up of my joolz. And by that, I mean a necklace you can’t see unless you’re standing. Right. There. Nose to nose with me. It’s cute, though.
Necklace, Tiffany
I actually have a ton of jewelry I’d love to pile on every day, but that brings me back to what I was rambling about earlier; there just isn’t a call for me, as a current SAHM, to go the Mister T route at the playground. So, wah wah – no sparklies for me. But, hey, I can always go nuts with the nail polish:
Fluorescent toes
To wrap things up, I am now less than one month away from my official return-to-work date, which is equal parts “eeeeeek” and “hell, yeah”. Part of me feels like I should overdose on the cute casual gear I’ve acquired this year – which won’t ever get this much wear again – and part of me wants to dig out the high heels, like, yesterday.
Skirt, Anthropologie (via eBay); top & shoes, J. Crew Factory; bag, MbMJ (via eBay)
I used to throw together all sorts of wild print combos back in the day, but I’ve calmed down a lot in the interim. Or become a lot more boring. I’ll let you decide. I dipped a toe in the pattern mixing waters again with this outfit, but only because it seemed like a safe bet. Both top and skirt have that slightly folksy vibe, plus the top print is basically just stripes. Stripes go with everything. It is known.
looks good from the back
My hair is driving me nuts again. Between the beach spray abuse this summer, and a long overdue re-perm, it’s … no bueno. No bueno at all. I find that I look odd in photos with my hair up (tiny insect head syndrome), so I’ve been reduced to all sorts of subterfuges like this one. Oy.
side ponytail like it’s 1987
On the up side, I’ve got a hair appointment today. Send positive thoughts to my hair stylist. She’ll need them. Oy.
As the saying goes: you’re not a real fashun blogger until you’ve done a closet inventory. Or something like that.
It is time. Random and arbitrary decision having been made, I used the prospect of this post as much-needed impetus to actually organize my closet. Again. My closet goes through cycles of being organized, growing, getting weeded, growing again, and needing to be organized, again. It’s been in dire straits since last fall, when my daughter was born, we “lost” the spare bedroom and, as a result, I had to concede a third of the master closet to my husband. Oh, the horrors!
(Before you ask, our previous arrangement was totally fair, because my husband had not only the spare bedroom closet, but also the garage as his storage domain. He doesn’t have a lot of clothes, but he does have an enormous amount of tools, so this worked in his favour.)
I hate spending money on practical things, so closet organization has always been a haphazard thing in my world. After seeing Fran’s closet inventory post, I finally did the grown-up thing and paid for decent hangers. To absolutely no surprise, they make a huge difference in the appearance of my closet.
Before and after
There is no difference between the before and after except for the hangers, but everything looks neater, and there is more space. I bought mine at HomeSense in packs of 25 for $17 each (roughly $0.70 per hanger, a decent deal … I think?).
I should mention that this is not my entire wardrobe. Most of my work clothes, plus special occasion dresses, are in an “overflow/out-of-season” closet in the basement. They used to all fit in the master closet … back when I had sole custody of it. I actually find it useful to segregate in-season and out-of-season clothes, though, so it all works out.
Here’s where everything is:
Where everything goes …
My t-shirts, sweaters, and scarves are actually in one of these IKEA folding shelving thingies, which you can’t quite see – but trust it looks like this:
IKEA Skubb (the two bottom shelves have drawers put in, for extra jewelry storage)
On the opposite wall is another IKEA wall-mounted unit, originally intended for shoe storage (I think), which I use for socks, tights, and unmentionables. It looks like this:
IKEA Hemnes Shoe Storage Unit
Above it is where most of my jewelry is laid out:
Mah joolz
This part of the closet used to be overflowing – because, hello, I have a slight addiction to shiny things – but I recently caved and got one of these things:
Hanging jewelry organizer thingamagig
It helps a lot, even though I tend to forget what’s in there, as the whole thing is tucked behind my dresses. Ahem. Last but not least, there is the nail polish rack behind the door. My husband made it (all those tools come in handy) and it’s really awesome. I’ve drastically downsized my polish collection this year, so it now all fits on the wall rack. Yes, I used to have more. It’s ok, I’ll wait while your mind boggles.
Nail polish wall!
So, at this point you’re probably wondering when I’ll finally get to the inventory part. Fine. You want numbers, I’ve got numbers for ya. Behold:
Tops: 23
Shirts: 12
Sweaters & cardigans: 24
Pants & shorts: 17
Skirts: 17
Dresses: 36
Blazers & jackets: 14
Outerwear: 7
Shoes: 46
Bags: 24
TOTAL: 256 (186 without bags + shoes)*
Honestly … it could be worse. It probably is worse by the time you’re reading this. For a person who writes a style blog (by definition, someone with more than a passing interest in clothes), I think it’s not bad. You guys know I’m not a minimalist. I have a vague goal of keeping the overall number at about 150 (not including bags and shoes), but I’m not super committed to it. Obviously. I truly love what’s in my closet right now, and other than a few seasonal pieces I’ll likely need to replace next year, I don’t see myself doing any major overhauls in the foreseeable future.
But never say never. There will always be more cute things to buy.
