In preparation for my style search, I did a serious deep clean of my closet, which has been truly monstrous for quite some time.
During the process I subjected friends to texts like, “leopard print sweater dress…too much?” and seriously considered a coworker’s advice that I “only wear black dresses with statement necklaces from now on.”
Although I was inspired by the KonMari Method and the concept of a capsule collection, I didn’t quite achieve a closet full of either a) only loved or necessary items, or b) a perfectly edited wardrobe of only 37 pieces. However, I did begin to tame the beast and made a few discoveries about my personal style/shopping habits:
- Apparently I’ve purchased a black turtleneck sweater every five years since 1999.
- I’ve been wearing Danskos for almost 20 years,* and although I love them, it might be time to actually wear some of my cute shoes from ShuzyQ and Her Tern.
- I go through color crazes…most recently it was orangey red as evidenced by the photo above.
- Hoodies! So many hoodies!
- Every length and cut of black workout pants imaginable, for every season, was neatly stuffed into one drawer. No wonder I could never find them!
- Why do I still have soccer socks from college?! (At least the shin guards were disposed of long ago).
- I love dresses.
- I also love clothes that seem cute and quirky in the store but when I wear them I feel like a kindergarten teacher (patterns of owls and hearts…miniature car prints…foxes…slogans like “tree hugger” or “all you need is love.” Why?!?!).
I ended up donating a few bags of clothes to the Salvation Army and consigning the rest at Second Run (Tessie has great advice about how to consign); I now own only one black turtleneck sweater and three hoodies.
Paring down the amount of clothing I own felt GREAT (I’m gearing up for round two to make an even deeper cut) and now that my closet isn’t threatening to swallow me whole, it’s easier to think about style… for which I’m still searching!
*Typing that sentence was utterly horrifying. HOW HAVE I POSSIBLY BEEN WEARING DANSKOS FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS?!?!
