The idea of a small, workable and completely loved wardrobe is still completely beguiling to me! I planned to try to compile a spring/summer capsule for myself. Inspiration board here.
I already messed up. After putting my foot down and telling myself that from here on out I would only buy clothing I loved, I let myself be talked into (first clue there) buying a clearance dress (pressure point number 2) that I didn’t love. It’s this one, if you are curious. I thought that maybe it had enough elements that I liked. I have a dress in a similar cut that I like. It’s comfortable and easy to nurse in. But the print isn’t really my style at all. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It’s actually rather pretty, it’s just not at all *me*. After purchasing it, I went back and looked at my mood board which has a definite feel to it, both in color scheme and style; all in shades of blue, fern green, goldenrod, and oatmeal, with emphasis on linen and chambray. All of the styles and lines are really quite simple, with some pretty detailing; a beautifully shaped collar or perfectly formed pleats. None of this was intentional, just clearly what I’m drawn to right now. And I was immediately able to see that it was really all wrong for me. I even pinned it to see it along with the rest and it sticks out like a sore thumb. And it’s absolutely true that I mostly avoid wearing it. Have I learned my lesson? Who knows.
Some things that I am learning:
* I think I need to make a habit of setting aside a bit of money for clothes for myself, with the knowledge that things will wear out, etc over time. Instead of it always being some sort of shocking crisis to discover I have absolutely nothing to wear.
* I also have to stop buying things just because they are cheap. A habit that in part comes as a reaction to the above.
* I need to have more clarity on what I really love. I am working on that one!
* I think that much of the time, I would actually save myself time by making certain items for myself. So often I have something particular in mind and end up down the rabbit hole looking for it and usually not finding it. When I could have spent that time just making what I wanted to begin with.
* Which leads me to: I need to make crafting for myself more of a priority. I’m working on that one too.
I ended up with that Dottie Angel dress pattern, which I’ve long admired. I even know just what fabric I want to use for it. But , I’ve yet to think of a way to make it nursing friendly without ruining part of what I love about it. It may well have to wait. I’m trying not to be cranky about that. Some other patterns I’m considering: the Washi dress and all it’s variations, the Ashland Dress, possibly the Esme Top, extended to short dress length? Maybe something with this pattern?
A friend and I are doing a little sew along over the next couple of weeks. I’m pretty excited!
I am so excited that you posted this. I have been having similar thoughts about clothes. My mother-in-law shared the wisdom, that in cost you should consider not the tag price, but the COST PER WEARING. If you buy something high-quality that you absolutely love, it’s cheaper than hastily buying a bunch of shoddy trash at Goodwill, which is what I have been doing twice a year for the past 5 years. Occasionally I find something I love at Goodwill, but usually I come home with a huge bag full of things that I don’t love because I’m panicking because I literally have nothing to wear. I am considering this year buying only ONE carefully considered new piece of clothing, which will cost about the sum total of all my hasty Goodwill purchases throughout the year.
I also want to craft all my own clothes, but it is intimidating to spend so much time (as well as money if you buy new fabric), and then find that you don’t actually love it. I have been slowly building a repertoire of simple patterns that I love, and that I know I like to wear. Then I make them in all sorts of different fabrics, wools for winter, lightweight cottons for summer, etc. For example, I have made four of these which I layer under everything, and they sew up so quickly. https://www.califayecollection.com/products/basics-tank-womens
I also love this skirt and have made several. http://oliverands.com/community/blog/2013/10/the-new-everyday-skirt-sewing-pattern.html
I want to add my dream dress to my repertoire, but I haven’t found it yet!
I could chat for hours about this. Thanks for posting about it!
I love this post. Most everything you wrote resonates with me, except for the nursing part. I have both the dottie and washi patterns and I like them both. Good luck on your sew along.
I really like the look of both of those patterns. Thanks for sharing! I like skirts, but I rarely wear them because I find pairing them with a shirt over-whelming. I think I should really try to get over that!
I think your mother-in-law may well be right. Another part of this for me is that if I have a basic wardrobe and some part of that becomes unwearable, then I know just what I’m looking for instead of the aimless search for “clothes” in general. I figure I’ll actually be able to easily tell where the hole in my wardrobe is so that I can replace it with, perhaps not the exact same thing, but something of that type; a long sleeve black top, loose fitting short sleeved dress, etc. That way I’m filling in with things that I know from experience I’ll actually wear. The fatal flaw with this plan is that I still find myself scoffing at the price of replacing something. Which leads to a dwindling closet, which leads to the “I have nothing to wear” panic and so on. And the thing of it is, I would find the way to spend the money for my kids, or my husband. So why not me? And yet, I have a really hard time doing just that!
I am not a dress wearer but that dottie angel dress may just convert me. Oh my! I find that i wear the same few outfits all the time and so when we moved in december a lot went away. I find that i am just figuring out how to walk away from those amazing goodwill finds that are just not me and that i know i won’t wear. Perhaps we should do a homeschool mama clothing swap?
That might be fun! I didn’t know you guys had moved…
We’re in …. for the time being. I hear your big boys are deep in the throws of 4H work — Sophia is doing their chore shift tomorrow.