first things first, i owe everyone a huge apology for leaving this last (promised) installment hanging for so long… i had surgery last week (rather intrusive and painful, but not life threatening, so it’s unnecessary to turn your “poor diana” meters above a 6 at this point.) and no matter how prepared you think you are, you’re just not.
so…here it finally is though. the last installment. and i’ve finally posted my own “style concept” like i promised i would back when dinosaurs and grandparents ruled the earth, so if you’re interested you can read it. and if you’ve written one of your own that you’d like to share, please let me/everyone here know! i’d love to see what’s inspiring the rest of the planet right now…in my quest to create the ultimate closet-of-compatibility, i’ve pulled together these vintage patterns from my embarrassingly large stash for inspiration. they seem to merge all the lanes i’ve been exploring throughout this process – simplicity, distinct style and individually interesting pieces which also compliment each other when worn together. i feel like they also hold some of that “timelessness” i was pondering before, without crossing the line into shudder-territory. (please ignore the stains/tears/teeth marks on the patterns… they’re old, they came from thrift stores and they’ve been loved. and in some cases, tasted.)
how many places could you wear any of these pieces this summer and instantly be the most perfectly-dressed girl on the block? everywhere.
sleeveless? not sleeveless? maxi? mid-length? over pants? with a belt? without? over blouses? by itself? in my next wardrobe reincarnation, my closet will be filled only with variations of this dress.
buttonless jackets, jumpsuits and cute little skirts. um, these would be the first three of my seven pieces…
sigh… if someone else hadn’t already taken a bite out of this pattern, i probably would have , just out of pure adoration. it’s the compatibility of these pieces with each other that really attract me to them right now. the jackets and blouses work with the skirts, the pants and the jumpsuits, but it isn’t done in an overly cutesy, too matching sort of way.
ok, so now back to you… what do you think? i’m craving feedback on this subject, since i’ve been obsessing over it for quite some time now. please share your thoughts! (and happy planning!)
xo
Hi Amber,
My clothes were stolen from the dryer today when I was doing my laundry. It was almost everything I own and almost all of my good things that I wore out to lunches and dinners over the weekend. I have to go shopping this weekend to replace my dresses and jeans and sweaters, since it is still quite cold in England.
Do you have any tips for a tomboyish girl this spring?
Thanks, Morgyn
That is some tough luck. Petty thieves should be strung up by their sticky fingers. I’d be happy to help out a laddish lady in need, even if soon after this letter was written her lost wardrobe was recovered. PHEW! I’ll answer it anyway with my favorite boy-inspired looks for spring. Most of the time I like to dress girly but I notice that tomboyishness is my tendency when I really want to be comfy. Here are my top hip tips (click photos for sources).
 
Cigarette pants and jeans. Alter some old broken in thrift store jeans (colored or acid washed denim is what i’ve been looking for) into sexy tapered cigarette pants and capris (maybe roll them up a little) to wear with boyishly nonchalant oversized plaid shirts, comfy v-neck tees, crisp white button-downs, blazers, vintage floral tunics, chuck taylors, chunky boots or sandals.
   
Shrunken blazers and oversized cardigans. For chilly evenings and breezy days play with proportions and get thee to the boys’/petites section of your thrift store for tiny fitted blazers. The trick is to make sure they fit real good in the shoulders or they’ll look dumpy/butch. Then find an oversized cardigan with slightly fitted sleeves. Wear either with the sleeves scrunched up over girly dresses, tanks, and band tees with high-waisted short shorts, mini skirts or cigarette pants.
 
Masculine hats and accessories. I know it’s tempting to soak up as many precious rays as possible at the beginning of spring. (Believe. I’m a sun-worshipping California native who lived in the pacific northwest for 7 years!) but make sure you protect your youthful non-cancerous skin from the sun, everyone’s secret adulterous lover. Wear an old man hat, newsboy cap, fedora, or bowler (Brat Pack style) with practically everything. Seriously, it’s bitchin’ time: sunscreen disintegrates into nothing, even after only a couple hours and you know you’ll forget to reapply. Just wear a hat. Some grampa suspenders, fitted vest or a stripey tie couldn’t hurt either and are always good for a dash of schoolboy charm.
Thanks, Morgyn!
Hey hipsters, keep the questions comin!
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hi everyone! here’s installment number two about updating and reducing your wardrobe… hope you’re all having a great week!
xo!
-d.
along with the personal style upheavals spring brings, i feel like the “environmental awareness” trend has been gaining more and more intensity.
(this is amazing and wonderful and really really awesome.)
more people are thrifting, re-fashioning, re-cycling, buying vintage, second hand, (or hand made) off of ebay, etsy, and all the other small-business-ish sites out there, and otherwise just reducing their fashion intake.
interestingly enough, it was in the ’80′s that donna karan introduced her “seven essential (or easy) pieces,” which consisted of a collection of seven garments – a bodysuit, a coat, a jacket, blouse, skirt, pants and something a little fancier for the evening – that, when owned as whole, would pretty much cover every basic clothing need.
the pieces were created to work together and could be mixed and matched to take you from day to evening. the collection itself was designed for simplicity and ease in stylish dressing for the modern woman (as donna karan viewed her.)
(i find this particularly amusing since the ’80′s are not really remembered for their minimalist and environmentally conscious approach at anything…)
donna karan recently re-introduced this concept with her icons collection. (you can also read more about it here.)
  
  
these aren’t necessarily the seven pieces i would create my wardrobe with, (and not really in the price bracket i shop in), but i’m in love with this concept. it’s something i’ve been playing around with in my head for a while, and cleaning out my closet has made me start thinking about it more seriously. how nice would it be to be able to open up my closet door and know that almost everything i own is something that not only looks good on, but also works well with the rest of the things i own? how much stress would be eliminated if my clothing options complimented each other, rather than being a clashing pile of ill-fitting prints and patterns purchased in a fit of “oooh! pretty!” rather than “what exactly will i wear this with?” in order for this to work though, it means adding pieces to your wardrobe that fit with what already resides there, and not just blindly buying anything that sparkles. it takes a bit more thought and planning and less impulse, but i don’t think those are bad things to practice, by any means. i’ve found that most impulse buys have lead to unnecessary credit card bills and a pile of things i realistically won’t ever wear, but feel too guilty about purchasing to donate to goodwill.
so with all of this in mind, these are the questions i’ve been pondering:
• what exactly would i choose, if i were creating my own “seven easy pieces?”
• would this collection be seasonal, or would i have an entirely separate set of pieces for spring/summer and fall/winter?
• would i limit myself to seven, or would i increase that number a bit? ten easy pieces? even more?
• what sort of trends (personal or commercial) would i follow in creating this collection of pieces, or would i try to maintain a sense of “timelessness?” is that even possible?
i have worn some of my favorite things for years, but i think that’s more of a personal preference than an actual stylistic “timelessness.” i could be completely wrong here, but when i hear the term “timeless,” elastic-waist slacks and shapeless jumpers come to mind, which i feel achieve their title by never really being a fashionable choice to begin with, and therefore eliminate the danger of being given the opportunity to fall from grace.
please share your thoughts on this with me! i want to hear how you answer these questions.
disclaimer: when i started this post, i had no idea it would get so out of hand. but it did. and since i don’t want to scare anyone off, i’ve broken it down into three more easily digestible sections about the joys of re-thinking and reducing your wardrobe. my next series will be called “summing your point up in one concise entry – attn: diana.”
xo-
d.
i know for a fact i’m not the only one out there who starts itching to change something when the seasons start to shift. in certain cities, fashion week – both spring and fall – are more noted than the corresponding seasonal change. people use spring and fall to sort out and re-evaluate not just wardrobe choices, but many different of aspects of their lives. welcoming in a new season is almost like having a mini new year – i make resolutions, reflect on what it is i have accomplished, and what i hope to accomplish over the next few months, and i use all the shuffling – both the mental and the physical – as an excuse to re-evaluate my closet and discard the things that aren’t really working for me any more.
i say that i am not the only one who does this, because i have been seeing this theme spring up on many other blogs and websites i frequently lurk on.
i just preformed the equivalent of a wardrobe root canal, and it feels amazing. three garbage bags were hauled to the thrift shop up the street, (not to mention the four crates full of clothes i will soon be listing on ebay…) and getting dressed has suddenly become EASIER. tricia royal wrote a series of how-to articles (that are way better than i could ever hope to do, so please read them if you feel inspired to jump on the spring cleaning bandwagon), on downsizing and de-cluttering your wardrobe, over at bits and bobbins. she guides you through the process in a way that makes the task feel less intimidating and more like fun, and talks about why having less in your closet will actually make you feel like you have more options. among other things, you will know that everything in your closet does the following:
• works together
• looks good on you, and
• fits into the category of who you want to present yourself as.
tricia gives a list of questions to ask yourself regarding each garment in your closet, before you make the decision to keep it. reading this list got me thinking how it’s crucial to have a strong idea pre-wardrobe-overhaul of how you want your finished project (yourself!) to look after you sort. (in a way, it’s like building a house. you need to know if the finished building will be a sprawling ranch house or a three story victorian before you buy your materials and start hammering things together.)
the beautiful gala also gives her wonderfully helpful thoughts on this topic in her article “things to do before the seasons change”. she suggests writing a style concept, which is sort of a style outline for yourself. she gives a super amazing example here, and i highly recommend reading it, because there’s really no other way for me to express how fun and easy she makes this somewhat daunting project sound.
(and yes, i am working on one of my own, which i will most likely post on my blog if this sort of thing interests you.)
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Thanks for reading,
Amber
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