The Minimalist (Spartan) Wardrobe--My Way

When it comes to clothes, I like to keep it simple. I like to look good without a lot of effort. I thought about doing the mix and match capsule wardrobe, but I decided that all of that mixing and matching was too much work. The 10 piece wardrobe tempted me, but that seemed like too much laundry too often. Instead I decided I would put together 10 outfits that I really like and that suit my lifestyle, and I would just wear them in random rotation. I think I only wound up with 8 or 9 this summer which was plenty. All of the effort happened at the beginning when it came to choosing the outfits. Then I just always hung them up together, so I never had to think about what goes with what. I just pick the one I want for what I am doing that day. I had these clippy hangers from Korea that I put the pants on and bought plastic hangers with a flat bar at the top so I could hang the pants right with the tops. Clothes with mates in the laundry go to the left and empty hangers to the right. I also picked out one mowing outfit from clothes I would otherwise have given away which was in the laundry when I took these but goes to the far left. This really appealed to my extremely tidy minimalist (my husband calls it Spartan) personality, and it made dressing a no brainer. I didn't always wear the same shoes and jewelry with an outfit, and I didn't wear the same outfit the same day of the week, but otherwise it was the same outfits all summer. After doing this for three months, I mentioned it to the one who calls me Spartan, and he said he hadn't even noticed. It takes a little time and effort at the outset, but this is the kind of thing that is worth considering if you don't like the hassle of the modern American wardrobe. All of the stuff that didn't end up in these outfits either went to Goodwill or put in a storage box for later mowing outfits or just later outfits.

You might think you would get bored with this, but I never did. If ease of getting dressed in the morning and simplicity (plus a guaranteed great outfit every morning) appeal to you, give this a try--you might be surprised how much you like it!

Skip the midweek manicure

Here is something fun and practical for the gals. Thank goodness funky nails are back in style!
Start your week with a regular manicure. I started with the metallic gold on Sunday. When your tips start to chip, use a similar color about halfway or a third of the way down your nails (metallic pink for me). When this starts to chip off, paint just the tips with a darker color. I used metallic teal this week, and it is pretty but a little "young" for me. Next week, I am going to use the coral color in the first photo to simulate a sunset :)
As you can see, it is Friday, and I need to touch up the bases a little with the gold, and the teal could use retouched too, but the overall effect helps to hide the damage. In fact, I think it looks kind of cool, like an old piece of furniture with chipped layers of paint.

Shoe love!

OK, so I am a big fan of the whole "shop local" philosophy. (I'd be a bigger fan if they'd use the right descriptive word form.) I am also a fan of having a minimal wardrobe with only a few quality items, so today I decided to stop by one of our local boutiques and check it out. It's a cute place, but the clothes were a little too trendy and not enough timeless for my taste. There was one shirt I liked, but while trying to figure out what 75% off of $178 dollars was, my eye was caught by these wonderful sandals. I've been thinking about a pair of silver shoes to go with some of my dressier outfits for some time now, and since these were only $24, which is about what I would pay for a decent pair of sandals at WalMart, I decided they were meant to come home with me. It may seem strange, but they go better with everything in my wardrobe than black or brown would (+:

These will be next summer's sandals. It's pretty much normal for everything I own to be a year out of date since I mostly shop end of season clearance, but if you buy what works for you, this is never much of a problem.

 

Like a Rolling Stone

Sometimes you can't always get exactly the jewelry you want either, but again, if you try, sometimes you can make what you need. I've made a bunch of earrings for friends and neighbors from bits and bots I purchased at Michaels or Hobby Lobby, and today...

I am so excited to finally have a decent consignment shop in Houma. The Goodwill here scares me and department store shopping overwhelms me. Deja Vu Consignment is a cute little boutique, so my head doesn't explode when I shop there. Today I found this wonderful bracelet. It was originally a gold color, but I loved the design so much that I bought it anyway and then brought it home and introduced it to my can of silver spray paint (+:

You can't always get what you want....

...but if you try sometimes you can make what you need. Last fall I decided I desperately wanted a dark purple knit blazer. I searched in vain though. At the end of the season, I did find a knit blazer at Wal-mart that was on sale for under $10. It was bubble gum pink. I should have taken a before picture, I know, but I didn't so you will just have to use your imaginations.
Now, why on Earth would someone looking for a dark purple blazer buy a pink one? Simple: it was mostly cotton and there was dye to be had in the laundry detergents isle. Two boxes of purple and one box of denim blue later, I now have a blazer exactly the color I wanted.
My kitchen sink is no stranger to the dye packet. Last summer I bought a pair of chambray capri pants. I loved the cut and fabric. Try as I might, and in spite of the fact that chambray was insanely popular this summer, I just couldn't make them work in my wardrobe. I could have donated or consigned them, but when color turns out to be the only issue I have with an article of clothing, I don't consider that a reason to banish it from my closet unless it is a synthetic fabric that cannot be dyed. One pack of dark brown dye later, and I have a pair of capri pants that fit right in with the rest of my clothes and get worn often.
I will admit that dye doesn't always do exactly what you think it will, and if you are changing something that is already a color, that is when having a little knowledge of color theory comes in handy, but overall, I've had good luck changing things from colors that don't work in my closet to things that I love.

What I would do differently

We've all seen TV makeovers that have turned out only "so-so" that we have thought, "Wow, I could have done that better." So this blog is devoted to one that I think I could have done better--and it would have saved the victim...eh hem client....a load of money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEoRTQMjPM

First off, I am going to say that I think the hair and makeup were both a good change and I would stick with those. The clothing on the other hand was a disaster. Seriously, she came in wearing clothing that was much better suited to her shape than what she left in. She came in wearing clothing that draped nicely over her figure and left looking like what would happen if the Pillsbury Doughboy decided to become a rap star.

So, what could she have done to soften what she was already wearing to suit her "soft subtle" personality? Easy, soften the look by adding a scarf. She's wearing a dark pink, so a baby pink scarf would look great as would a lacey soft white one--or she could just take the scarf off of the girl who was supposed to be dressing her to look better. Then I would add a pretty broach to the cardigan, something like a cameo, and some delicate earrings to add a touch of romance. I would suggest that she swap out her black pants for soft gray ones in the future.

There is no need for this woman to throw away her entire wardrobe as is often suggested by these sorts of programs. (Makes you wonder if they are actually in cahoots with the fashion industry after all, doesn't it?) She can easily work with the pieces she has to soften them with accessories and different color combinations. Obviously, she already has a good idea of how to dress her shape, she just needed some ideas on how to dress her personality as well. Rather than throwing her money away on a failed style consultation and new clothes, I think she would have done well to have chosen one or two stylish friends and asked them for some ideas. People who actually knew her would probably have given her good advice that she could have experimented with and it wouldn't have cost her a dime.

So the moral of this story is: Never trust anyone who tells you that you are dressing completely wrong for you. You've been living in your skin your whole life. Chances are, you've gotten at least some of it right.

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner!

The other day I was surfing through youtube videos looking for one about profiling for my Ethics class when I came across a bevvy of videos regarding beauty profiling and the Dress Your Truth series. I was intrigued. I watched several of the videos with fascination--the same sort of fascination with which you would watch bodies being pulled from the ocean after a ferry crash.
I have to admit that some of the makeovers turned out fairly well, but some of them were total disasters. Take these twins: one looks great, and the other, well I can't take my eyes off of the huge roll of fat around her middle long enough to really appreciate her hair and makeup.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeXe9FgMNBY
This seems to be the standard result for the Type 2. Pretty hair and makeup, horrible, ill fitting clothing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEoRTQMjPM

When will American women learn? There is no formula for dressing! There are no hard and fast rules for looking great! Fashion is as individual as the woman wearing it and anyone who tries to put all women into just a few categories is selling you a lie.

Consider color profiling--A useful tool that is actually based on science. When it first came out, there were basically 4 seasons, now these are subdivided into 4 categories each. Even so, getting your colors done is simply a helpful tool that will provide you will some guidelines--NOT RULES. When you have your colors done and are handed your palette, walk outside and take a good look at it. Are there colors you hate? Ditch them. Pick three or four that you love and are drawn to. Do you love black but were told you can't wear it? Of course you can, just keep it on the bottom half of your body. If you aren't sure of the colors you have been handed, by all means, get a second consultation from someone else. No one person is infallible.

Then there is body shape profiling. Again, it is a useful tool for helping a woman pick shapes and styles of clothing that will be flattering for her figure. The poor Type 2 women both needed more structure on top to avoid the nasty fat rolls that we all despise. Again, though, these are just helpful guidelines. If you see something you are drawn to, try it on. So what if it doesn't look great? Just put it back and think of the money you just saved. Women get discouraged trying on clothing and body shape profiling can help you avoid that, but it should not prevent you from trying on something just to see how it looks. In fact, that is the only way you will ever build a wardrobe you love. You have to try things on and be honest with yourself about whether they flatter your shape or not. Dressing well takes work.

Finally, you do have to take your personality into account and this is about the only thing I see of value in the Dressing Your Truth videos. You also have to take your lifestyle into account. If you are a girly, girl who loves pink and ruffles and lace, but work in an office that requires you to wear a suit, there is nothing stopping you from wearing a pretty dove gray suit with a ruffled pink blouse.

Ask any well dressed woman and she will tell you that looking good is a little bit science, a little bit art, a little bit psychology, and quite a bit of effort. It requires you to use your head but trust your gut. That would be your gut not someone else's, and certainly not some packaged formula that tries to stuff you in a category.