One of the
things that got me thinking about wanting less was cleaning out my
closet. I’ve known for a long time, but not really acted on the fact that my
favorite kinds of outfits, on both myself and others, are the simplest ones. For
a long time I tried to be very creative and colorful and followed the lead of a
handful of whimsical mommy bloggers to construct my wardrobe. The result was a lot
of clothes that I had lukewarm feelings about, unnecessary quantities of the
same kind of items, and a lot of frustration about how smooshed together
everything was in my closet. Again, a symptom of that more is more attitude that was dragging me down. So, over the
course of three days, I put about seventy-five percent of my clothes, shoes,
and accessories into paper bags that will be donated after the girls get
a chance to sift through them. The only remaining items are ones that I wear
because I like the way they look on me, not because I feel guilty because I
bought them and feel like I have to. I cannot tell you the feeling of
satisfaction I get when I open my closet door since the big purge. I will have
much stricter standards for new items from now on. Here are a few outfits that
made the cut.
Here’s a
great example of what I’m talking about in terms of my new standards. I knew
the second I put this lace pencil skirt on that it was going to make
my husband really happy, which would, in turn, make me happy. I love the way it
fits and the fact that it’s practically as versatile as jeans in terms of what I
can wear it with. Here it is with my favorite sweater for a day when corporate
is visiting…
…and with a
t-shirt any other day. Even cuter, in my opinion.
I have two
peplum tops and they’re not going anywhere. I can’t imagine anyone not feeling her
best in a well-cut peplum.
Here’s the kind
of minimal outfit I meant. A favorite pair of jeans, white top, leather
sandals. Any one of these items could go with any number of other things.
Oh, and
another boring simple outfit! It's been a pretty mild summer so I've worn
these jeans, like, every single day since I got them at American Eagle Outfitters
in New York this spring (AEO is the ONLY place I can find jeans that are the exact right
length for my stubby legs). Since the leadership was still on vacation the past
couple of weeks I could get away with ripped jeans at the office, but now they’re
back and I’ve had to relegate them to weekend-wear only, boohoo! Also, lemme
just give you a warning about online shopping: this sweater was advertised as
cashmere on an online clothing shop I (used to) frequent and I couldn’t believe
how cheap it was. Well, caveat emptor, my people, because it was five percent
cashmere and stretches out of shape like nobody’s business with every wear. I
still kept it. That five percent makes me feel luxurious. And with a
practically-empty closet I need a little of that.
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