Project 333 – A Gent’s Perspective

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Posted on March 9, 2014

When I first met The Duke, he owned 6 shirts – one for each day of the week plus one for going out. His weekend tasks included washing and ironing the shirts ready for the coming week. Since then the shirt collection has grown substantially and I wash and iron the shirts. In fact, I managed to score the task of ironing from quite early in our relationship.

Last weekend the ironing did not get done so by the end of the second week his business shirt collection was pretty well exhausted. Seeing the shirts that The Duke chose not to wear, even when there was almost no choice, helped to confirm that they were shirts that he was not happy with. In the end these 3 have been earmarked for the op shop.

These 2 that were in the wash are also going because, to quote The Duke, “they have seen better days”.

We are now back to just 5 business shirts plus perhaps 2 others that could do double-duty as casual /business attire. I think 2 or 3 more business shirts might be in order, if for no other reason than to take the pressure off me having to get the ironing done every weekend.

That is one aspect of retirement that is quite appealing – not ironing business shirts.

A minimalist wardrobe certainly helps to see exactly what you wear and what stays on the hanger from season to season without being worn.

Project 333 – Planning Ahead

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Posted on February 14, 2014

The forecast here is for temperatures to be in the low to mid 30’s (Celsius) for the next week but already my thoughts are turning to my autumn wardrobe.

This photo comes from the original Project 333 post from Courtney Carver.

One of the things I would really like is a white shirt, probably linen. It would be a really useful addition to my existing collection of clothing. “White shirt” sounds fairly simple but it will need to be just right before I consider adding it to my wardrobe. In fact I am contemplating making one if I can find/draft the perfect pattern.

What is on your wishlist?

Project 333 – 21 Black

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Posted on January 13, 2014

No, it is not a new card game. 21 is the number of black items that I have in my wardrobe. They are not patterned or black with the addition of other colours. Those are extra and yet to be counted.

21 seems like a lot of things in just one colour for what is a fairly small wardrobe. These are my staples which means that I can mix and match with everything else. Take a look and see what you think.

One pair of trousers, one ¾ pants and one pair of shorts.

A skirt and dress

Jacket and cardigan

Tops – two camisoles, one fitted t-shirt and a ¾ sleeve fine woollen sweater

Now for the shoes – two pairs of dressy heels, one pair of mary-janes and a pair of thongs

Accessories – handbag, evening bag, wallet, earrings, belt and hat

There are really very few duplicates in this selection and they are all worn or used on a regular basis with the exception of one pair of heels and the evening purse.

The other thing to note is that several of these items are the only one that I own. The trousers, wool sweater, all of the shoes, handbag, evening bag, wallet, hat and belt are not duplicated in any other colour. Although I do own other dresses and skirts, the black ones shown here are the only plain-coloured ones in my wardrobe.

Black is undoubtedly the base colour in my wardrobe. The secondary colours are red and white and I will look at these another day.

Do you have one base colour or several upon which to base your wardrobe?

Project 333 – Oops!

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Posted on December 30, 2013

I came unstuck this morning with my small wardrobe. I am back at work today after a week off over the Christmas period, however, the dress code is casual for this week.

It is going to be hot again today so I put on my white shorts and one of my new spotted tops (the black one) and my black leather slides. It was all looking good until I was standing on the railway platform and noticed that the top was navy, not black. I would normally have chosen to wear my red sandals with this outfit. I doubt that anyone will notice but it does not feel right to me.

Navy is a new addition to my wardrobe so I will need to be careful when choosing this top especially as the black and navy ones are otherwise identical.

Do you have ‘rules’ about your clothes or is it a case of ‘almost anything goes’?

Project 333 – Refining My Style

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Posted on December 19, 2013

The countdown is on to another 3 month season of Project 333. I originally participated in this project back in April 2012. You can read my first post about dipping my toe in the water. Since the initial 3 month period, I have not stuck rigidly to the ‘rules’ but simply set myself a goal of streamlining my wardrobe to a small selection of clothes that I love and wear.

One of the things that has really helped is learning to know and understand my style. It is unique to me and cannot be dictated by an outsider. Style is about you and it is much easier to define and refine as you peel away the layers of clothes that you consistently overlook when choosing an outfit.

If I had to choose one word to describe my style it would be ‘simple’. That is really apt as it fits in neatly with my philosphy of simple on so many levels. It is partly because of the climate I live in but I am definitely not a fan of layering such as top, tunic and trousers then a drapey cardigan over the top. It is simply not me.

I am lucky to have found a range of clothes in one boutique that mostly meets my needs. In fact I could almost go so far as to say that the clothes I have bought from Rivette & Blair make up the majority of my wardrobe. I have 2 dresses, 4 jackets, 6 shirts, 8 tops, 4 skirts and 2 pairs of trousers that I have purchased over the last 4 or 5 years. There have been others that have worn out out or been moved on after several years of wear. Regardless of the shop, I have made a couple of bad choices and bought items that have not stood the test of time. However, understanding my style helps me to shop smarter and hopefully the bad choices will be minimised, if not completely eliminated.

The 3 photos I have used in this post feature 9 different items. They are all from Rivette & Blair with the exception of the pink cardigan in the first photo and the skirt in the last one. They are generally basic pieces which can be mixed and matched with other items from the range or other sources.

I am currently reviewing (yet again) the contents of my wardrobe with a view to checking out my favourite shop when I go to Melbourne soon. Even though I can order from the website I am much happier going to the shop and actually trying the clothes on. I am not a convert to shopping onlne for my clothes yet. What about you?

Project 333 – Packing

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Posted on November 28, 2013

For those of you who may be new to reading this blog, it is probably timely to explain about Project 333. It is a concept developed by Courtney Carver in which you commit to wearing a maximum of 33 items for 3 months. You can read all about it at her blog, Be More With Less.

I first discovered Project 333 in April 2012 and followed the guidelines carefully for the next 3 months. Since then, I have continued to streamline the contents of my wardrobe. I am constantly striving to create a small but effective selection of pieces which work for me. For ease of searching, I have used “Project 333” in the title of all of my clothes-related posts. If you have not read them all you can search all posts under this topic to gain a broad understanding of what I am doing.

I have been in Sydney for the past 2 days for work. I needed to be appropriately dressed on Tuesday when I arrived as well as yesterday and today. I was meeting friends for dinner on Tuesday evening and attending a work-related dinner last night. The constraints were that I planned to only take carry-on luggage as well as staying in a hotel and no opportunity to wash clothes.

Here is what I packed.

Green jeans, denim jeans and white 3/4 trousers.

Floral cardigan, teal top, red/white striped tee and black pullover. These all have 3/4 sleeves. I find these very practical for a range of weather and they can be worn in a variety of ways.

I also packed a black camisole, black/white checked short sleeved shirt and leopard print scarf.

2 pairs of flat shoes completed the selection. I try not to wear the same shoes every day.

I chose the items with a specific plan in mind but sufficient versatility to change the choices if my mood or the weather dictated it. The plan (which I adhered to) was:

Denim jeans, red/white tee and red flats on Tuesday flight.
Green jeans, black pullover and scarf with pewter flats for dinner on Tuesday.
Green jeans, black camisole, floral cardigan and red flats – work on Wednesday
Denim jeans, black camisole, teal top and pewter flats – dinner on Wednesday.
White trousers, checked shirt with black pullover (if needed) and flats – work on Thursday and flight home.

I really only wore each item once , however, the combinations are almost endless. The only ‘no go zones’ as far as I can see were the green jeans with the teal top, the red flats with the teal top or the the striped top and floral cardigan together! My maths is not good enough to be able to calculate all of the possible permutations but I know there were plenty of choices. All of this confirms what I have often said, “You need almost as many clothes for a couple of days as for a few weeks”.

How do you decide what to pack? Have you ever travelled for an extended period of time with only one bag?

Project 333 – Making it Work 3

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Posted on November 21, 2013

As promised, here are the next 3 outfits based on the black camisole. This is the one from yesterday where I teamed the camisole with an overshirt and white 3/4 trousers.

Outfit 2 – a completely different look by teaming the black camisole with a black/white check skirt, lacy gold bolero and metallic sandals.

Outfit 3 – a simple, summery combination with the addition of a lightweight Hawaiin-print skirt and black slides.

I made the Hawaiin-print skirt from fabric that was given to me. I love the skirt but it is very different to most items in my wardrobe so I have really set myself up for a challenge by choosing it as my base item for tomorrow.

Will I meet my goal of 3 different ways to wear it?

Project 333 – Making it Work 2

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Posted on November 20, 2013

Now for the next instalment, using the striped shirt as the base for 3 outfits.

Here is the one from yesterday which I will call Outfit 1.

Outfit 2 – black trousers, teal/black/white striped collared shirt with 3/4 sleeve and zip front, turquoise cardigan and black mary janes.

Outfit 3 – white 3/4 pants, black camisole, teal/black/white striped collared shirt with 3/4 sleeve and black leather slides.

Because we live in a temperate climate I have the luxury of being able to wear some of the more versatile items in all seasons. This shirt is a perfect example.

Tomorrow I will show you 2 more ways I wear the black camisole. There are many options for this piece but I will use the opportunity to introduce a couple of the more challenging items.

Project 333 – Making it Work

Project 333 – Wardrobe Orphans

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Posted on November 8, 2013

While I have been busily writing about some of the strategies you can use to reduce your stuff, I have been reviewing the contents of my wardrobe.

As I have said before, I do not have a bulging closet. Nevertheless, there are still items that get overlooked when I am planning an outfit to wear. Why? They fit and there is no good reason but they just tend to get overlooked. They are the wardrobe orphans.

This sleeveless shirt is an identical style to others that I wear regularly but although I like it the top it does not really work with other pieces. My skirts are all patterned and therefore I wear plain tops with them. My shorts are white, black, red and khaki. I don’t get excited about any of those combinations. I think it needs denim or navy shorts or skirt. I don’t have either nor am I planning on adding them to my wardrobe. The final straw is that it obviously requires a white or nude bra and the 2 white bras that I have are too big and really past their use-by date. So, the shirt has to go.

Another white shirt. This time it is a 3/4 sleeve one with light blue metallic pinstripes. Unlike the other one I have never really loved it. I bought this when I needed another ‘business’ shirt but it generally gets cast aside in favour of others that I prefer. It is just not right for me.

I am going to move both of the shirts out of my wardrobe and was planning on putting them in the op shop bag. However, my first option is to offer them to any of my readers who are interested. You may have one or both if you wish. I am giving them away on the understanding that you will pay for any postage costs. I am willing to post overseas if required. They are best described as an Australian size 10 – 12. The sleeveless shirt was made by me and is cotton. The 3/4 sleeve one is Jacqui E cotton/nylon/elastane.

If you are interested please email me. gandy79atgmaildotcom

Are there any orphans lurking in your wardrobe?