Pix-Elated

Here's my roundup, with thanks to Bella for organizing the challenge. I always have fun with these. 

After my roundup and inventory of what I wore during November, I promised some reflections. This was the first time I took 30 unbroken days of photos, and I found it an incredibly instructive exercise. So thanks again, Mo, for initiating it! 

I've really enjoyed the other participants' reflections (and Lisa's and Ingunn's, too, even though theirs are on a slightly different subject) so I'm posting mine in the hope they might prove helpful to others as well. 

• I am pretty happy with my work-at-home wardrobe. It is comfortable, stylish enough, and mixes quite seamlessly with the less casual parts of my wardrobe. 

• My wardrobe as a whole is smaller than I realized. (About 90 pieces for all 4 seasons and multiple roles  -- this doesn't include coats, footwear, special occasion, gear, or accessories.) 

• I may need more variety than I used to think  — partway through the month I got bored.

• I may need less variety than I think — I am not sure I was bored with my clothes so much as bored with the requirement that I create an entirely different outfits with them. Note - this wasn’t onerous. My clothes mix and match with ease. I just prefer to wear the combinations I prefer. And like Lisa, I'd rather repeat combinations I prefer than mix things up just for the sake of mixing. 

• On balance, I think my wardrobe is pretty much the right size for me — although I do have some remaining wardrobe holes (see below) and in filling these I won’t require myself to follow the one in one out principle. 

• I could experiment with a few different silhouettes to increase the sense of variety. Tunic sweaters come to mind -- if I can find some that look good on me. Not easy. 

• I should allow myself some mid-season wardrobe refreshers especially in our long winters. If I am already tired of a few items in the closet now, imagine how I will feel by the end of the winter! 

• I tire most quickly of patterned items. They pall on me. 

• I seek patterned items when I am craving variety and a change!

• I am still relying on scarves a lot in cooler weather. (Wore them 12 days out of 30). Why?  They keep me warm and add a bit of colour or drama and a small amount of pattern (crucial, to me) to simple jeans and sweater outfits. Why is this a problem? The minimalist part of me prefers a more streamlined look for myself.

• Turtlenecks look great on me. These are a partial solution to the problem of too many scarves.

• I could try a couple of statement necklaces instead of scarves. 

• I don’t see the touches of avant garde I’d been hoping to inject into my wardrobe. It reads pretty much modern classic to me. Which is okay…but I would like to keep it moving in a slightly more edgy direction. 

Here's the complete set of outfits at once. I apologize for boring you all to tears, please do not feel a need to comment about the outfits themselves -- you've already seen them and the document is mainly for my own purposes. I'm going to post what I learned and some thoughts in a separate thread. For now, just the inventory. 

In my current fall/winter rotation, not counting special occasion wear, footwear, coats, gear, sleepwear, and layering bits that don't stand on their own, I have 50 items. (Slightly more than my original count a few weeks ago - I had left out a few transitional items that I decided to count because I actually wore them this month.) 

Here's the breakdown of what is in the closet, and what I actually wore: 

Here are the outfits I wore in the last week plus of our challenge. I apologize for the photography in some of these. I had to do a quick re-enactment of a few because I hadn't had the SIM card in the camera a couple of days. GAH. 

Pic 1: Friday (you've seen this in another thread). 

Pic 2: Saturday. This Kamalikulture dress isn't really in regular rotation right now because it feels too body con with tights and isn't really warm enough. But for an indoor evening with Mr. Suz watching MadMen, it was just fine. 

Pic 3: Sunday. One of the last outings of the white jeans for a while (given current weather conditions here). 

Pic 4: Monday. 

Pics 5-6: Tuesday - the day the snow arrived. Hair appointment and the first outing of my charcoal knee high boots. LOVE them. Comfortable, stable, and work with a skirt. I look very wide in this photo in the middle -- that is due to camera angle. 

PIc. 7: Wednesday. I was indoors the entire day (snow day). 

Pic. 8: Thursday. Layering a sweater over a button up silk shirt. This shirt is too strong in pattern for me on its own -- these are all "my" neutrals but read as too intense in a large block. But I like it for a glimpse under a sweater or jacket. 

Pic 9: Friday. Trip to the dentist. Wearing my other new winter boots and my DL 1961 legging jeans. I'm generally "off" legging jeans, but they are so useful for snowy days, tucking into boots, and wow, these ones are fantastic. They are thick, substantial, with 4 way stretch. They do not bag out. I get compliments on them every time I wear them. 

Pic. 10: Casual supper at a friend's house. 

This was an interesting experiment. I learned a lot! Thank you, Mo, for initiating it. More reflections to follow!