I'm done shopping.
Not forever, of course. Just for the summer season. And to further clarify, I'll still be out there in the summer heat, on quest for this thing or that, but I'm pretty much done* with what I'm buying specifically to wear this summer. And I'm not dragging myself through the end-of-season sales that are already picked to death, and particularly picked to death in my size(s).
Here in Big-Box-Retail-Only-Ville, although it is still 800 degrees F and 110 percent humidity, summer is over but fall isn't even on the horizon. ( It exists only in the mind's eye of fashion magazine editors getting out those September issues in early August.) It's that liminal time when stores look post-apocalyptic ... there are some racks of sad summer rejects in peculiar sizes side by side with some sparsely stocked shelves of a very few new fall basic-basics that, because of the miserable heat, look scary and unappealing. Not much inspiration to be found there. I'm tired of the heat, and yearning for fall.
But here I am, talking like all this is a bad thing. My more conscientious self and my wallet love it because there is a great deal less temptation if there isn't even anything interesting to look at. And with my specifically summer purchases all settled in their new home in my closet, it's time to put them to some harder work. Because there are still a couple of months of high temps to go, there's plenty of time to make old favorite pieces look fresher or more interesting with new playmates, and try some different combinations.
My wardrobe is the only place where I encourage promiscuity, and in my closet, two-timing separates are encouraged to hook up. The more the merrier. I've mentioned before that I think twice and then a third time about any purchase that doesn't have at least two potentially compatible mates already in my closet. But I'm a creature of habit, and I tend to pair the same items again and again when I think they work for me, forgetting other possibilities. It takes some conscious effort to remember to switch things up, but the process can be rewarding ... new-ish outfits!
This is the first time I've declared a moratorium* on new summer pieces so I can devote my attention to thoroughly exploring all workable combinations. And, season aside, this is a great style-moment to be switching up a lot of colors and textures and prints, anyway.
Separates, of course, are the easiest to recombine. (And I pretty much live in separates as they make my proportions easier to manage.) But I tend to reach for pants to go with a top because they just seem easier, but how about some of those cute skirts that are bought with such enthusiasm, but tend to languish in the back of the closet?
Not with a skirt, here but...
Boxy top I don't wear often ... usually with black pants and navy shoes.
Small changes here, skinnier denims and black shoes. I'm not sure I like
this boxy style very much on me, but I LOVE this Asian-fusion print and silky fabric.
A summer reject I've decided to work harder .
Dresses are pretty much what they are, but can look so different with a change from old-favorite shoes, belt, scarves, jewelry, bag and outerwear. Again, I'm a creature of habit, but it never hurts to look at a pieces that I usually dress up and try to dress them down. And vice versa. Dresses over pants for that upcoming transitional time between seasons? That's certainly food for thought, and I've seen a lot of you doing it to good effect. Daunting, but if it is doable I won't need new pieces to try it. I have dresses and I have pants. That's a perfect project for this moratorium period.
Dresses with pants brings me to another thing to consider right now: which summer things will make the slide from summer to fall, and how, and with what other pieces. Besides that, I have a very few summer things that still need some alterations to work well. That needs to be done, so I have a lot of wardrobe projects whose times have come.
*Just how long this moratorium-hiatus thing will be in effect is still undetermined. I reserve the right to break it at any time, and declare my personal Pre-Fall season underway. (Which will happen at the Phillip Lim for Target opening on September 15th, if not sooner.) I may well become enchanted with and purchase shoes, costume jewelry and purses at any time, none of which are included in this moratorium.
Wish me luck ...
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Please join me at the Non-Matchy-But-Going-Strong Patti's Visible Monday !
