Tag Archives: clothes

What I Wear – 4 Month Update

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I have now completed 4 months of recording what I wear each day.  I began this project on 1st December last year with express purpose of trying to understand how often I wore the clothes I had and whether they were truly the best selection I could have.  This has evolved a bit more to include a challenge to buy as little as possible in 2016.

I have removed another item from my wardrobe which has brought the total down to 91.  It was this long, lacy cardigan which I had bought from the recycle boutique and although I had worn it twice, I found that I consistently overlooked it when making my choices.

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Although it is a lovely Mela Purdie piece it is simply not me so off it went – back to the boutique where I am sure it will find a grateful owner.

We are beginning to see slight signs that summer will not go on forever, although rather than saying it is getting cooler it is probably more appropriate to describe the weather as “less hot”.

So, for the past month it has been more of the same – mostly summer dresses or shorts and tops.  There has not been a lot of scope for variation but that will come.

I have now worn 70 of the 91 items in my wardrobe.  The remaining 21 fall into 2 categories ‘Winter’ and ‘Special’.  The first includes jackets, coats, woollen cardigans and pullovers and long-sleeved tops.  The second is a lace cocktail-length dress which I wore to a wedding 3 years ago and would be my ‘go to’ outfit for any similar dressy occasions as well as 2 pairs of travel pants which are exactly that – lightweight trousers that zip off to shorts which are perfect for travel.  I do also sometimes wear them at home during the cooler months.

Therefore, I am pleased to say that I have worn everything that is appropriate to the weather during the last 4 months.  However, not all of it will necessarily make the cut to next summer.  Having a limited selection of clothes forced me to carefully appraise whether I felt an item was really perfect.  2 pieces that won’t make it are these camisole-style tops.

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They are past their best and I am not sure whether the necklines have stretched slightly or I am being a bit more discerning but I feel as though they sit a bit low for my liking.  I will buy some more of a similar style but will take the time to look around and find something that is ‘perfect’.

That is it until next month.

 

What I Wear – 3 Month Update

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Another month has rolled by and the summer weather is still with us.  There has been very very little variation in what I wear so the figures have not altered substantially.

The total remains at 92 as I have neither acquired nor discarded anything in the past month.  The number of items worn since I started this project stands at 68 – 3 more in the last month.  2 more scarves/pashminas got an airing (mainly to wrap around my shoulders when out in the evening) and an old polo shirt which I wore when gardening.

Firm favourites

When I look at the figures, these pieces are clearly some of the most versatile and popular ones.

By the time I do my next update at the end of March I hope it may have begun to cool down a little so there may be some different pieces being worn.

It is now less than 5 months until we head to the USA and Canada for 6 weeks so I have started thinking about what I will be packing for the trip.

Black and White = Business Attire?

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If you have been reading this blog for a while you will know that the neutrals in my wardrobe are black and white.  Many, but not all,  of the outfits I wear to work are black and white.

Here are some examples:

However, I have noticed an interesting trend in the past year or so.  It seems that there is a perception that if an item is black and white it is suitable attire for corporate offices in the CBD.

Soft, casually styled pants that look more as though they were designed for beach or sleepwear can be seen in offices all over town.

What do you think?  Is it the style or colour that makes an outfit suitable to wear to the office?

Loads of Laundry

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We live in a relatively high rainfall area and I have written before about the challenges of getting the washing done, and more importantly, getting it dry.   I do have a clothes dryer but choose to use it as little as possible.  Apart from the power required to run it, the wear and tear on your clothes is significant and can result in substantially shortening their lifespan.

Despite the high humidity and showery weather, I needed to do the washing today.  Much like women of previous generations, I spent the day doing the washing.  However, I was not slaving over a scrubbing board and copper.  I was kept busy trying to make the most of the intermittent breeze and small snatches of sunshine.

I hung some of the smaller items on the airer.

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I had to race out and move it under the verandah every time a shower of rain started but I did manage to get it dry.

The rest of the clothes were hung on the line under the verandah.

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I also did the ironing from the washing I did last weekend.  When the atmosphere is so damp, I do not like to put them away in the cupboard until they are absolutely dry.

I use the portable dehumidifier in the bathroom and close the door.  Within a couple of hours the room and the clothes are warm and dry.

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I also have a portable rotary clothesline and in the cooler months I hang washing on it and the airer and set them up in the lounge room in front of the fireplace.

There are many options for drying clothes.  What are your creative solutions?

What I Wear – 2 Month Update

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At the end of November I wrote this post outlining my plan to track what clothes I wear.

It is now 2 months since I began this project on 1st December.

I listed every item of clothing that I own on an Excel spreadsheet.  I included scarves but not socks, underwear or pyjamas.  The list started at 90 items, then increased to 95 during December when I bought 5 new tops.

In the past 2 months I have worn 65 of the 95 items listed.  Most of the unworn ones are winter woollens and coats/jackets.

I have now discarded 3 pieces so am back to 92.  They were this pair of trousers which i finally ripped beyond repair, an old polo shirt when I realised I had more than enough gardening clothes and a dress.  When I was ironing the dress, I discovered it had a tear in the centre front of the skirt.  I had bought it from a recycle boutique, had plenty of wear out of it and was not devastated to let it go.  It was the black and white dress second from the left hand end of the rack.

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I returned to work on 4th January after 2 weeks break.  My work outfits are not substantially different and a lot of the separates are also worn for casual wear.  The exception is shorts – I do not not wear them to the office.

We have had a week or 2 of hot weather and more coming up.  At this time of the year my outfits are very simple and straightforward.  There is limited opportunity for mixing and matching.

Today is a summer dress and sandals.

You can follow my daily clothes posts on Instagram.

Retirement Planning

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As with everything else in life, nothing is certain when it comes to retirement – redundancy, illness or even death can interrupt the best of plans but it is important to have a plan.

GMan and I plan to retire from full-time paid employment in about 3.5 years so it is still some time away yet.  We have worked hard to get to this point and have a financial plan that is coming together.  Our goal is to be able to live a comfortable existence on our terms.

This post is not about superannuation, investments or even travel plans – although we do give that quite a lot of thought.  It is about forecasting future needs and changing circumstances.

I was thinking about this yesterday as I folded and put away clothes.  GMan does not generally wear a suit to work but his attire is mostly business shirts and trousers. However, the dress code seems to have become increasingly casual over the last 10 years.  He no longer wears ties every day and even the shirts that are worn in his workplace are less of a business shirt and more of a hybrid business or casual item.

So, how much of this will be worn once he walks out of the office for the last time?  This is where the planning comes in.  It seems ridiculous to think that we could be left with 3 or 4 pairs of trousers and 8 – 10 business shirts that may never be worn again in a few years time.

I have decided to try to keep track of approximately how long a shirt lasts.  I think it is around 3 or 4 years.  About half of the shirts GMan wears now also double as shirts for dressier non-work occasions.  I hope that any future purchases will also fit this category and they will not be redundant when no longer required for wearing to work.  Keeping the number of shirts to the minimum (6 or 7) is also a goal.  This will give me very little leeway when it comes to washing and ironing each week.

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Even socks can be considered when reviewing clothing needs.  The front row of socks in the photo are mostly the ones GMan wears to work – black, grey or navy but they are rarely worn with casual outfits as he tends to mostly wear lighter colored trousers and often different shoes and thicker socks.  Some of these socks are very nearly at the end of their life.  Some have been darned several times.  I think he could get away with not replacing them and keep wearing the remaining ones.

Why the focus on GMan?  What about my own clothes?  I am in the fortunate position of wearing very similar clothes for both work and casual wear.  However, I have taken note of those items that are worn more at work and will be less inclined to replaced those styles in the next 3 years.  I will also consider how any future purchases will fit into a post-employment wardrobe.

I can visualise how easily changes of lifestyle or circumstances could result in a build-up of clutter if steps are not taken to identify and remove those things that are no longer used or useful.  This is particularly evident as children grow up.  Think of the things that are considered essential for a baby who is less than 12 months old.  Are any of them still relevant 5 years later when are going to school?  While it is reasonable to keep large items such as a cot or high-chair for subsequent children, there is no logic in stashing piles of baby equipment and toys in the garage or attic.  Pass them on to someone who can use them now.

What is your life-stage?  Are you planning for change?  Do you have stuff that is no longer relevant to your life?

What I Wear – 1 Month Update

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At the end of November I wrote this post outlining my plan to track what clothes I wear.

It is now a little over a month since I began this project of 1st December so I thought it was time to check how I am going.

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I listed every item of clothing that I own on an Excel spreadsheet.  I included scarves but not socks, underwear or pyjamas.  There were 90 items on the list initially but it expanded during December when I bought 5 new tops so it is now 95.  It encompasses the full range from a cocktail dress to the clothes I wear when I am gardening and everything in between.

December included work, casual social occasions,  Christmas, a trip to Melbourne and some work around the house.  I wore almost half of my total collection with 46 pieces being worn.  Many pieces wore worn just once or twice during the month but my 2 pairs of denim jeans were each worn on 4 different days.  I found this surprising as it is summer and I would not have expected this.

I think this is going to be a really interesting exercise and am looking forward to understanding what I wear most often.

You can also follow my daily clothes posts on Instagram.

What I Wear – First 2 Weeks

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It is almost 2 weeks since I began my latest project of keeping track of what I wear.  The purpose of this exercise is to identify what (if any) clothes just hang in my wardrobe without being worn.  I don’t think there are any that fall into this category but I want to prove that to myself.

Since I began recording what I wear each day (via Instagram), I have worn 4 different dresses, 2 skirts, 4 tops and 5 pairs of shorts/trousers.

The weather has been quite changeable so the jeans and 3/4 sleeve top from last Friday were set aside when the weather became quite hot during the week but today has been cool and wet so I was back in the jeans and top.  In fact, tonight I have even dragged out my polar fleece jacket which has not been worn for several months.  Conversely, the shorts and top from last Sunday were worn again yesterday when it was 34C.

I have one more week at work before 2 weeks of holidays so it may well be the New Year before I repeat any of the outfits I have worn to work so far.

This is one of the dresses I have yet to wear this month.

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My next challenge will be working out what I need to pack for 6 days in Melbourne over Christmas.  I will leave my final decision until the day before we travel so I have a better idea of what the weather is likel to be while we are there.

I am working from the rather slow laptop as we have some issues with the desktop computer so posts may be somewhat intermittent until we get that sorted out.

What I Wear

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post in which I mentioned that I had a plan for my wardrobe which I was would begin on 1st December which is the first official day of summer.  I have decided to begin tomorrow which is actually 30th November but it suits me since it is Monday and the beginning of a new week.

I was tempted by the idea of turning the hangers around the wrong way and then returning them to their correct position once the garment had been worn.  I decided that this would be annoying and it was easier to list everything on a spreadsheet.

I have put everything I own in my wardrobe or drawers and am going to keep a record on the spreadsheet of what I wear each day.  I want to see whether I do actually wear everything that I own and also see how often they are worn.

As an added incentive I am going to post a photo of my outfit for each day on Instagram so you will be able to follow what I am up to with this project.

I will review what has been worn at the end of each month.  I expect that the majority of my summer clothes will be worn within the first month.

Finally, here is a dress which is not mine.  It is the one I am making for Miss O for her birthday.  The buttons and buttonholes at the back are all that is left to do to finish it.

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Refilling the Wardrobe

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Our wardrobes were looking a bit depleted on the weekend.  We had been away for a few days the previous weekend so the regular cycle of washing and ironing had not been done plus we took some different clothes away with us so that added even more to the laundry.

I spent a considerable amount of time ironing on Sunday and this is the result.

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Here is my end of the wardrobe before I put my freshly ironed clothes away.

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And this is the other end where GMan’s clothes live.

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My selection of clothes is not spectacularly small but after a few years of carefully considering what clothes I purchase, I am pretty happy with the selection of clothes that I own.

Apart from showing you how much ironing I did I wanted to use this post to begin a conversation about how best to plan and organise the contents of your wardrobe.

I think there are nearly as many options as there are people on the planet so you have to find what works for you.  Over the past 4 years I have flirted with Project 333, wardrobe capsules, seasonal collections and so on.  All of these attempts have been part of learning what methods suits me and my lifestyle.

If you look closely at the top left-hand corner of the photo of my wardrobe you will see what is a large bag with some clothes in it.  This was my latest attempt in which I would put away the clothes that were not relevant to the current season.  While I have not found myself scrambling for the contents of that bag I have decided that I am not that keen on shoving clothes away in a bag.

It means that I have to hang and probably iron them again before the next time they are worn.  Also, I am not exactly sure what is in the bag which makes it difficult to plan ahead for the next season – what I may consider buying or making.

So, I think I have figured out a plan that is going to work for me.  I am going to do a bit of preparation over the next week or so and be ready to start in earnest on 1st December which is the first official day of summer here in Australia.

Watch this space………..