The day we returned to Melbourne, with a whole day stretched ahead of me, I started to unpack my suitcase. I had been awake for some 30 hours, but was hit with a second wind and before I knew what I was doing, I had sorted through my whole closet and all of my drawers removing items I no longer fit or wear. Shirts, dresses, shoes, pajama. I've always loved a good purge, and it's spring, so it just felt right.
Ages ago, I pinned a link for a blog series teaching you how to build your wardrobe. In a moment of boredom last night, I finally started reading the posts. I'm starting a new job in a week (!) and feeling it might be time for my wardrobe to grow up a little bit. According to the series, the first step for building a wardrobe is to purge. Done!
Step two is to define your style. This requires looking at the pieces you currently wear that really work for you, and looking at pieces that you "pin" or rip out of magazines that really inspire you. I've been "pinning" for several months now and have noticed two themes: I pin ultra feminine pieces composed of tulle, lace, silk, and sequins, and I pin quirky feminine pieces. Honestly, there are 170 pins on my Clothes Horse board and 90% of them have lace, tulle, sequins, or silk. But I don't tend to wear ultra feminine pieces. I tend to trash my clothes and have never dry cleaned anything in my life, so I should really steer clear of delicate pieces. That's ok, though; I have some pieces that look delicate but are made of cotton or linen.
Step three is where you get to go shopping for key pieces. I haven't actually read the post yet, but I couldn't resist going shopping today. I don't get my next paycheck until next Friday, so I really shouldn't be buying clothes this weekend, but I work all next weekend and start the job on the following Monday.
So I went shopping today. I bought a skirt from Zara and a shirt from Topshop. They were each $60, so I felt like I overspent. I had a bit of spender's remorse on the way home. (Though logically, I know that is really cheap...for Australia.) But when I got home, I tried on the shirt with half of my wardrobe and quickly decided it was the best $60 I've ever spent! It goes with nearly everything. It's one of those pieces that shows up frequently on Pinterest and everyone says you should have one as a staple, but good ones are actually hard to find. It's like a button-down chambray type, but is a light flannel in gray. It might be slightly too warm in the summer, but it's still been cold around here so I hope I'll get some good use out of it. And the skirt will definitely be worn a lot as well. It's a long, tight, high-waisted pencil skirt in a stretchy, dark denim. I think I could get away with wearing it with most of my t-shirts and blouses.
Step three is where you get to go shopping for key pieces. I haven't actually read the post yet, but I couldn't resist going shopping today. I don't get my next paycheck until next Friday, so I really shouldn't be buying clothes this weekend, but I work all next weekend and start the job on the following Monday.
So I went shopping today. I bought a skirt from Zara and a shirt from Topshop. They were each $60, so I felt like I overspent. I had a bit of spender's remorse on the way home. (Though logically, I know that is really cheap...for Australia.) But when I got home, I tried on the shirt with half of my wardrobe and quickly decided it was the best $60 I've ever spent! It goes with nearly everything. It's one of those pieces that shows up frequently on Pinterest and everyone says you should have one as a staple, but good ones are actually hard to find. It's like a button-down chambray type, but is a light flannel in gray. It might be slightly too warm in the summer, but it's still been cold around here so I hope I'll get some good use out of it. And the skirt will definitely be worn a lot as well. It's a long, tight, high-waisted pencil skirt in a stretchy, dark denim. I think I could get away with wearing it with most of my t-shirts and blouses.
I bought a sweater that covers my ever-increasing a...behind; this is also a wardrobe staple, albeit one I didn't need before. I'm much less exited about this new addition to my wardrobe than you are about yours.
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