Start With Seven

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that my closet and I have a love hate relationship. Saturday - when I thought I'd be sewing - I was suddenly hit by the closet cleaning bug. Perhaps by sifting, sorting, cleaning, and clearing yet once again I thought that I could find something that didn't exist before. Like clothes to wear. Clothes that didn't all look the same. Clothes that were wonderful, flirty, fun, finished, me.

My closet pretends to be sparsely stocked and yet even that paucity is a lie. It's darn near empty. Me Made May, Self Stitched September, 30 for 30, Six Items or Less - NONE of these is possible with my wardrobe. Wait! Maybe six items or less since similar garments count as one. That would mean my seven black t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, and similar skirts would basically be equal which explains why my wardrobe looks morphed and morbid.




In the picture above, sweaters are hanging along the bottom. Thirteen. Apparently, I love sweaters. On the shelf above them is clothing that I actually wear, and on the one above that is accumulated clothing rarely worn. The picture below shows skirts hanging to the right. Eleven. Even though I wear jeans more than skirts ? ? ? Over in the dresser, there is one drawer (only) of bras, panties, socks, tights, pantyhose, and camisoles and one drawer (only) of sleepwear. There's even an empty drawer.




Separating the clothing onto wear and don't wear shelves was an eye opener. The don't wear pile is bigger. I asked myself why don't I wear these garments? Sometimes, I loved the color but not the style. Sometimes, I loved the style but not the fabric. Sometimes, the sizing was too big or too small. Sometimes, neither the style, color, or size did me any favours yet I keep these garments anyway because I have nothing else to wear. Perhaps to avoid facing a totally bare shelf which would be more than I can handle right now. Perhaps as an insurance policy against nakedness and wardrobe malfunction although that seems rather silly.

Sorting the two shelves clarified why I have both clothes and nothing to wear. The seven black t-shirts vary only in neck shape and degree of fadedness. I have two other t-shirts in a pink and a blue print. Of the thirteen sweaters, two are worn as housecoats, two are lacy and impractical, two are brand new, five are black, two are grey, and one is dark navy, somewhat lacy, and somewhat impractical. Its sleeves are constantly dragging into things.

Of the skirts, three are winter fabrics, two are lace and too fancy for every day, three are the Reitman's copies made recently, and three are my version of shorts, identical in shape and style, varying only in color and print. These are five years old already. Read I am bored with them. The only thing stopping me from chopping them up is nothing to wear.

On the wear shelf, far left, are out of season turtlenecks. Hanging below with the sweaters is my pink coat. These are all my clothes not just my summer clothes. I've talked about this before. This lack of wardrobe. It's a point of stress for me. It has me spinning my heels not quite knowing which direction to go in. There is so little in my closet that the task before me has become overwhelmingly huge and when I think about it, it gets even larger and larger. I've almost been tempted - almost - to throw it all out. That would certainly force me to take action.

Tom's question in Life! By Design - are you happy - helped me take a good look at what was missing. I asked myself all sorts of questions like am I happy with how many clothes I have? Am I happy with how many skirts, jeans, pants, t-shirts, dresses, sweaters, coats, lingerie (and so on) that I have? Am I happy with the fabrics used? Am I happy with the colors? Am I happy with how much black there is? Am I happy with the styles? AND... if not, why not and what am I going to do differently?

As we near the end of August, I am thinking about my goals for the next school year. I set personal goals in January and work related goals in September. Unless our financial situation changes significantly, I won't be getting a traditional job so work related this year means starting on a major, self directed, project. I live best with a focus or I tend to wander around aimlessly, accomplishing nothing, which really frustrates me for wasting time.

Most of my time will mostly be spent at home. On a pie chart, it would easily break down to 80% at home and 15% (or even less) outside the home with about 5% (or even less) dressier occasions. I've decided to start with seven. Seven t-shirts that are different and I love. Seven skirts and pants that I love. Seven sweaters that I love. Seven sets of lingerie (1 bra, two panties) that I love and so on.

TOP of the list of requirements is that I love it. That means the garment is in a style, fabric, and color that makes me feel wonderful. That could take some time. Next will be variety. No making one thing and then making it over again without variation. The results have to differ. Third will be color. I love color and I love black. Somehow, I've ended up with a mostly black wardrobe. It's time for that to change. I want both. Fourth will be interchangeability. I want garments that mix and match and go together. Fifth will be adaptability. I want to be able to dress some of the garments up or down as needed and I'd like most of them to be multi-seasoned requiring a little more layering in winter and a little less in summer. At least for starters until I get that basic wardrobe together.

AND... I may need to buy a few things even though the price tags drives me crazy. In May, I found two pairs of Nygaard jeans. They were $68.00 each which is way more than I'm used to paying for jeans. Only they fit me fabulously. Yesterday, I found a gorgeous t-shirt with those gathered and pleated sleeves in purple for $39.00. I admired it, checked out how it was sewn, and didn't buy it. That seemed way too much and yet later, at Fabricland, a similar fabric was $19.00 per meter. I wouldn't normally pay that either. I'd wait for it to come on sale. Perhaps I can't afford to wait - for the sale or to sew. I just might go back and buy that t-shirt only...

I don't have a regular paycheque so this is going to get interesting but somehow, some way, I'll end up with a wearable wardrobe. I'll start by making a few lists of what I need, my priorities, a color palette, fabrics I have to sew with, and garments that I should buy. I feel like I have both a good sense of where I'm going with this and not enough information. I know I don't want seven blouses, jackets, or dresses. I rarely wear these garments HOWEVER.... the concept of start with seven gives me a framework to move around. There are seven days in the week. Seven interchangeable outfits will give me endless possibilities. After that, I can take it up a notch or two or three. What do you think?

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a plan. I feel less like I'm floundering and more focused.