Pix-Elated

I felt really happy with my closet in 2024. I never stressed out about what to wear, shopping was easy and fun (both in person and online), I didn't feel the lack of too many HEWIs,  and most outfits felt true to my moniker of laid-back luminous garçonne. 

While I did not track wears this year, I have a pretty good handle on what I wear (workhorse collection) and what gets worn less frequently (my less frequently worn items here, with analysis in the notes for those who like to dig deep.) 

My wardrobe is currently sitting at 156 items. That number includes coats, footwear, bags, and all clothing but not gear, PJs, hats, gloves, undies, scarves, or jewellery.  (Scarves function more or less like "soft" jewellery for me, except the outdoor kind.) 

I consider that figure on the large side (for me). My sweet spot seems to be between 125 and 150 or so -- fewer and I lack for options in specific roles/ seasons and miss the "play" element of dressing; more and I feel overwhelmed.

I do have the room to store what I own, and, as you can tell from my collections, I do wear everything apart from a few special occasion pieces. And even those get worn a few times per year. 

54 items (or about 1/3) are 5 years old or more. 
72 items are between 1-5 years old.  
30  items (or about 1/5) are new this year (and I retired/ passed along 34). 

Is this, or is this not, too much churn?  Or too large a closet? I know there is no answer that applies to everyone. How many of those purchases are from sustainable sources? How many were second hand? Where are the donated clothes going? What else is one doing to reduce one's carbon footprint? These are some of the questions we might ask ourselves. 

I am mulling about the French 5 piece or even (gasp!) 5 pieces only next year...but I am quite sure I'm not ready for the latter. I am not as happy with my thrift/ consignment options here as I was in Vancouver -- i've been out investigating the stores, and while there are quite a lot of them, I haven't been wowed by the quality or options. At least not so far. I know that you need to make a habit of dropping in. 

Anyway. While the ethical issues remain unresolved in my mind, what is clear is that I had a lot of fun with fashion and I loved being able to dress for whatever presented itself!

Here were some of my favourite outfits this year. Thanks for looking! And for any thoughts you might have. 

Or, what I wore to look like Santa....  :; 

This is my last purchase of the year and I thought I would review it on the off chance that anyone is in the market. Earlier this year Angie mentioned that the Athleta puffers were looking good. When this one went on sale for half price and I also had some rewards $$, I decided to pounce -- and get it at approximately 1/3 original price. 

It's the Downtown puffer. And I really like it! For me, the colour was one of the main draws.  (A white coat is really practical for me because I walk in a dark suburb in the night throughout the winter.)

Features that add to its appeal: 

• Removable hood. 
• DWR coating (which works -- I was out in the rain all afternoon and did not get wet.) 
• Pockets lined in flannel. 
• Deep side slash pockets. 
• Inner pocket for phone. 
• Two way zipper; zipper does not catch. 
• Zippers on the sides to open it further for movement. 
• Cuffs. 
• Knee length (good walking length). 
• Washable.

It is only 550 fill down, so lighter weight than some, but it feels quite warm without being heavy and some reviewers in Minnesota said they thought it would work for their winters. 

It's a bit fitted through the waist, so not entirely in line with the trend for looser, sack like puffers -- but the side slits make for ease of movement. I suppose I could have sized up for a looser fit but it would have been too big in the shoulders and too long in the arms, so I went with my usual size.  

It comes (or came) in white, a lovely dark green, black and a bright tomato red. Might be sold out now, but might also show up in stores via returns. 

Happy holidays, all! 

PS...while I did get a comment or two about looking like Santa while wearing this, what I got most often was compliments on my pants -- thus proving our earlier point about red standing out more against a contrasting colour than it does in an all-red outfit! ;)

So as not to derail Suntiger's thread, I'm starting a new one here. On that thread, JenniNZ  and Star already explained their systems; other tracking systems can be found (or rigged up) via various apps or in spreadsheet format, and different forum members have done that. Here's a thread from Staysfit about her experience tracking.

I've done the simple Notes feature on my computer (analogous to paper and pencil), and I've also tracked via the FINDS feature on this site. Most of my wardrobe is in Finds, and the last time I tracked I just put a little mark in tne notes area of Finds each time I wore an item. It took a little longer but it was really interesting to see the visuals along with the check marks! I kept it up for a winter season. I've done longer tracking periods -- one year, half a year -- in the past. It's always instructive somehow or other! And it usually prompts me to create new outfits from my own closet. 

Like Bonnie, I quickly learned that I can spend more on footwear and trousers because I wear them a lot. However, unlike her, I find they wear out faster for me than tops do, on the whole. Keep in mind, I do not live in a very hot climate, which I'm sure would affect this. Also, I have relatively more tops than bottoms so rotate through them more slowly. 

I was really surprised last time I tracked with how many wears a pair of indoor shoes got! It was shocking! I had hesitated over buying them because I thought, oh well, what does it matter, really -- but I found I preferred wearing the indoor shoe to my clogs (which function for me like slippers) and I quickly got up to 90 wears in one season! 

Over a year ago, Angie posted this maximal look and my preppy gene lit right up and hasn't stopped glowing. Kind of like Rudolph's nose . ;) 

 I vowed I'd try my own version one day and today might be the day (I'm waiting on the weather for a final decision.) 

Alas, I don't have the model's dramatic dark looks, and JAileen will be sad to know that I don't have a Scottie sweater, but I do have some of the elements of her outfit and I've tried my own versions below. 

1. Inspiration photo. 
2-4. -- -- First version. In lieu of the Scottie sweater, I have a sentimental Siamese print silk shirt in honour of my kitty. :) In lieu of dark sequins, I have rhinestones and a pearlescent jacket. (I did not get involved in hosiery for my try on session, so heaven only knows what I'll do about that). 
5-6 -- Second version Going with the cream sweater (as in the inspo) and a red coat. 
7-9 -- Third and fourth versions. Dark sweater to take the place of her dark jacket. But with different jackets. 
10-11 -- Fifth version. Subtracting the kitties, adding another plaid (the shirt). 
12-14 -- Sixth version. Dark with plaid. And light jacket. 

So. There you have it! I am not sure which version I like best, but I could wear any of them and it was such fun to try this out after waiting so long!  

Thanks for looking and you can vote if you like! 

The minute I saw outfit #1 in this series that Angie posted,  I wanted to try it myself. (Unlike Laura, I don't have the actual skirt, but I do have a similar plaid skirt.)  It took me until today to try the outfit. Alas, the lighting is so poor, you can't see the colours, but the hoodie is navy, and the skirt is Black Watch plaid -- green and navy and cobalt. I don't have stompy lace up black boots but I do have stompy chelsea boots, so I went with those. Such a simple formula, but really fun and a 90s look I can really get behind. 

On another note, I visited the atelier of the person who made the skirt on Granville Island the other day. It was really nice to meet her and see what she's up to this year. She had some fun red plaid items. if one of those goes on sale I might just have to spring for it! 

PS, I have continued the tonal experiments and have more outfits to show, but will save them up for a summing up post, I think. :) 

ETA: added a photo of what I wore to go out -- tall boots! I remembered them! Plus coat hat scarf mitts. And you can see the colours better outdoors...the navies are brighter than they appear in my indoor shots. 

I've worn this outfit before for at-home festive events (and will likely wear it again, too!) But today I wore it to a daytime drag performance with brunch. I was more dressed up than anyone except the performers. ;)  No, I take that back. There was one woman who was celebrating her birthday in style, including a kind of feathered jacket and sparkles. I kept her company in my rhinestones. It was a fun event! 

I have to make a quick 3 day trip to Vancouver which will include multiple kinds of activities in --- ugh -- not only. dreadful, but mixed-up weather (winter cold plus pouring rain and then warmer with rain.) And I am on foot/ ferry, and have to bring a few gifts to friends. And also need to go for a walk with one friend in the rain and then meet another immediately afterwards for dinner, hopefully not looking like a drowned rat. 

I have no idea whether this is going to work, but here's my travel capsule. 

I'll be layering like a pro -- wool cami under mesh top, with puffer and raincoat (and possibly a sweater as well, depending)...wearing waterproof boots for everything. Holiday reds planned for tomorrow but in the blues today....plus red for the trip out -- gloves, scarf, puffer under the raincoat...would far prefer a different coat option but this is the best I can do in the mixed conditions. I have an umbrella, too. 

Continuing my experiment with monochrome and tonal outfits. Blue is my easiest neutral/colour to work with because I have the components, in multiple silhouettes and textures. Here are a few options drawing on some newer items as well as older items. 

Outfit 1 (different versions, pics  1-5) features the new pleated wide wide legs from BR along with a matching mock neck. The trousers are so comfy! Lovely to wear. Highly recommend! 

This is pretty much monochrome, except for the belt, which is called Dutch blue (a slightly lighter, warmer blue) and of course the buckle.

I then tried it with different outerwear, more tonal than monochrome, but kept the bag blue (thank you, Angie) to see how that might feel. Verdict: despite being dark, monochrome ink or navy feels very "me" and I am comfortable wearing all blue, assuming I can add a bit of shine. If I have to wrestle together a travel capsule, a base of navy is my friend. 

Notably -- the addition of the slight bit of contrast with the bag strap, and/ or the flecks of white in the infinity scarf (thanks, Ms. Mary!) made me much happier with the outdoor version of this outfit. Monochrome or tonal is fine...but I still like a hint of contrast via light/ bright, or shine. 

Outfit 2, (pics 6-9) shows the same mock neck in mid-blue, with my new wide leg flocked menswear pants from Anthro. How I love these trousers! They are floor skimming with the black Eccos and a bit too long with the silver boots that I also tried. I probably should hem them, but oh, I love the drama of the length and might just leave them and wear with the footwear that works. I have at least 3 options to wear with them at this length. 

The trousers are dark navy with a faint grey/white check, and black velvet flocking. Fun texture, a mix of femme and boyish that feels completely me. They are probably meant to be dressy, but I will dress them down a bit, too -- as here, or with denim. And they're super comfortable! This was to wear for an at home date night. I didn't try to play around with outerwear for this version since I wasn't going anywhere. 

I'm learning a lot about my preferences from this experiment and also trying combinations I might not otherwise have tried. 

Yesterday dawned foggy and cold and ended up sunny and cold. I needed to bundle up to ferry Mr. Suz and the adult child to various appointments. 

After one day of greyscale, I was ready again for colour! Here, I'm trying tonal lilacs, with colour wheel adjacent reds/ and pink hues and incidentally also showing a few Top Picks (from various years!) 

1. For outside, I have my J. Crew stadium coat, plus burgundy hat, scarf, gloves, and red bag, with a strap that combines the tones. Shoes are cream. The pants are actually a very different lilac -- closer to mauve -- and on first glance I did not think they would work at all with the bluer lilac of the coat. But once I had the whole thing on, it seemed to blend ok, at least to my eye. That was a good discovery, because I really would not have tried them together if not for this experiement. 

2. Taking off a few items. 

3. The inside outfit -- sweater is a different again lilac background (closer to pink) with red and burgundy pattern. 

4. This is another lilac tonal outfits worn since buying the pants. The sweater is magenta; the scarf has various tones of lilac, red, burgundy, magenta in it. 

5. Here's the near monochrome version with the BR sweater. I did not wear this in real life because I sent the sweater back. I decided that a whole outfit this pale just didn't feel "me." I need a lilac that is more mid-tone, that has a bit more "oomph". Plus, as an outfit, this felt "off" for me. A bit too sweet for my personal taste. I do like lilacs and pinks but prefer to mix them up with rougher textures or other colours because otherwise I don't feel like myself in them. 

Taking inspiration from DonnaF's  thread about sweater vests, and one of Carla's comments on my thread of yesterday: "When I did a lot of quilting, we talked about patterns that read as solids, and how much interest low contrast or tonal prints added to a composition. Of course it would be the same with garments! Maybe even a good thing, where texture is lacking?"    

Well, let's see. Here, I'm trying it in greys. This is something a bit tricky for me. Grey is a key neutral and looks good on me (I think) but I can easily depress myself if I wear too much of it, especially this time of year! But the sun is supposed to come out this afternoon, and I have to ride my bike downtown. I wanted something practical. 

The pants are charcoal, not black, and they have a faint check in a lighter grey. The shirt is black and white gingham that can read as a false plain (but gives me that pop of light that I crave). So it's a very subtle pattern mix. The vest is medium grey, as are the boots.

Strangely enough, I do not own a grey coat (I donated my two older grey coats in the last few years. They still fit and were in good condition after a decade's solid use, but I was so tired of wearing them.) This oyster jacket has a slight grey cast and is the best I could do for greyish outerwear. If I were not trying this experiment, I would certainly have reached for the red jacket instead! 

If I weren't on my bike, I could have worn different boots for perhaps a bit more pizzazz. But I do feel very much myself in this outfit -- it does fit the Laid-back Luminous Garçonne persona due to the boyish nature of the vest and shirt, I think. 

Here's a collection of other items I can play with in greyscale. If i veer toward pure white, I would have more. 

I welcome comments and co-experimenters!