Closet editing leads to mini epiphany

Which I will catalog here, so that I can find it again :)

1) I haven't worn cardigans in a good while. They all just moved to the "probation" bin. Perhaps my style has moved on? Perhaps I just can't come up with non-frumpy ways to style them.

2) Same for vests.

3) I have plenty to wear. Sometimes I only see my wardrobe holes. I need to be patient with those, and remember that I'm not going naked for lack of a perfect-length white top. :)

4) The tape measure is my friend.

And on that note, some nitty gritty that I learned in measuring my clothes:

- I will tolerate a pants rise anywhere from 7-10 inches (ten inches is on my high hip), as long as the waist is at least 34" (35 is nicer) and the hips aren't much bigger than that. I will expand a waistband when needed, but I will not deal with a rise above 10 inches or below 7. My inseam for skinny or tapered legs can be no less than 30". For wide legs, no less than 32".

- There is 29" between my shoulder and crotch point. So a shirt must be at least 26" long if I want to wear it with pants. I prefer more like 28, but only have one shirt (a plaid flannel) that's that long. My tops are now separated into pants-appropriate and "must wear with skirts".

- Jackets must be 16-18" across the back (shoulder seam to shoulder seam at the point where the top seam is). Closer to 16 is better (an 18 inch jacket is better worn closed)

- I don't know what a suitable length for sweaters is. All of mine are about 26", and they all feel too short most of the time (I relegated the few that were shorter than that to "skirts-wear"), or too long to wear over my other tops. Go figure.

If you're still reading - how should sweaters fit? Mine seem too long to be cropped or go over shirts, and too short to really drape the way that trendy sweaters do. (Current sweaters seem to hit the crotch point or a little lower when un-tucked, but be worn semi-tucked, or have a hi-lo hem, right?) I'm considering this a wardrobe hole, and reminding myself that I still have plenty to wear so I don't need to go feeling like this is a major emergency.

Thank you Caro for suggesting that it was time to go through and cull my closet. I got rid of less than I expected, and have a higher "like" rating for the things that I kept than I expected. My happiness factor with my wardrobe is rising!

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WIW: blue/white/black formula

Here's my attempt at Angie's formula from yesterday morning.

#1 A navy suede jacket that's probably on the chopping block, since suede is hard to clean, and the shoulders are a tad bit wide. (At least with it open, like I would normally wear a jacket like this) I like this one though, so the idea of getting rid of it is a little sad.

#2 same, with a scarf. This is how I actually wore it because I was cold.

#3 with a jean jacket instead. Does it work better with the jean or with the suede?

Besides finding a terrific pair of black tall boots, what would improve this outfit? (Maybe finding a longer white top?)

I liked it, and felt pretty comfy in it all day. I think I'll repeat this outfit (probably with your suggestions for improvement)

Thanks friends!

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WIW: Winter Gray

Day Vies posted a look with this skirt a few days ago, and I have one similar that I had no idea how to style.

So, even though she called it Hobo chic, I had to try to copy it. My white shirt ended up not working, so I used a gray sweater instead.

I've also been trying to understand more about proportion the past few days, so for this outfit, I stood in front of the mirror measuring. The top is 21", so I hiked up the skirt until it was 14" below the sweater, to make the ratio 3:5. (Or wait, is that considered 3:2?). I measured below the skirt too, but don't remember the measurements or if they were proportional. Does it work? If so, I'll shorten the skirt to this length and wear it more.

Sorry for my grimace in the photos - it was seriously cold and drizzly when my hubby took these.

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WIW: happy factors

This week has left me feeling very unstylish. I went to our local VonMaur to try on Frye boots (learned a lot about my feet - I've been wearing the wrong size for quite a while, and I don't think Frye's are going to fit me - I need a wide toe box). I wore my woodsy fair-isle outfit http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-fair-isle, and felt very unstylishly out of place amongst the ladies shopping. Talk about a stylish bunch. Wow. I'm fighting the urge to no longer like that outfit - the happiness factor was high on it before I wore it among the so stylish and posh group. It may be a while before I get up the nerve to visit a department store again.....

In addition to that, I had a big outfit fail a few days ago. I picked up this striped top (#1) because it reminded me of sveta, and she's stylish. I should have semi-tucked it, but didn't think of that. I tried it with my jean jacket (#2), but it was dirty, so I wore it with my green jacket (#3), and looked frumpy all day. Out goes the green jacket.

I'm also wondering if the striped top is too big and/or too short? I think I've decided that black/white combo is too stark for me, so if I keep it, I'll probably dye it red, or something similar.

Yesterday, I decided to channel ceit and go for RATE. I liked this outfit a lot (#4, #5). Does it work? How could it be better? I'm thinking that my "inspired by..." outfits have high happiness factor due to my admiration of the inspirer. These boots there actually fit me correctly. Too bad they're falling apart. This would have worked better with black boots, but I don't have any. Someday I'll find some.

Today, I decided that plaid would be happy, and I'm feeling comfy and cheery #6. (Though I realize that the outfit is even more "country bumpkin" than what I wore to Von Maur, so I'm definitely not feeling stylish).

Bonus shot of my nearly 7 yo dd, who requested a pink stripe in her hair for her birthday next week. She's my stylish one, and my normal photographer. She often has good style advice for me too. She asks you to pardon her pajamas in the picture - she'd just rinsed out the pink kool-aid that we used to dye her stripe.

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