wardrobe | organised castle

I am getting close to the end of cataloging the categories of clothing in my wardrobe. Naturally, I have left the most difficult till last. Even so, I have split the tops into a couple of groups. Today I am looking at the summer (short-sleeved and sleeveless ) tops that I have.

SUMMER TOPS

As usual this includes the full range from old polo shirts that I use for painting to tops I wear to social events.

2 T-shirts in good condition that I wear regularly though not frequently
They are both ‘souvenirs’ that I will happily keep and use until they wear out. I probably will not buy any more of this style in the future.

2 polo shirts – the darker one is actually a corporate freebie but the logo is reasonably discreet so I do wear it. The lighter shirt is quite faded and whilst still wearable is probably not required so I think it will go to the op shop where someone may get some use from it. In the following photos you will see that I have more than enough shirts to wear when I am painting/gardening etc.

These tops are identical and are a simple scoop-neck top with a cap sleeve. You can see my penchant for buying more than 1 of the same style when I find something that I like.

I have had these tops for over 10 years and they are a permanent fixture in my wardrobe. They are not identical but very similar. They have a short sleeve which is quite fitted and are perfect for travelling and suitable for wearing under a rugby top. They feature in almost all of my holiday photos and will be going to the USA with me in a couple of months.

These 4 paint-spattered polo shirts belonged to my daughters when they were at high school (10-15 years ago). They are hold every colour paint that we have used in 3 different houses! I wear them when gardening or painting and will continue to do so as they are no use for anything else – not even as rags as they are polyester cotton and have no absorbency. One day I will throw them out.

These are 3 shirts which are suitable for wearing at home but have not descended to the level of the previous selection. I will probably get rid of the green one and keep the others.

Just in case you thought that I don’t have any presentable tops – here is a sleeveless linen one I made last year. I have 2 more in the same style that are partly made so they will be new for next summer.

2 basic cotton/lycra camisoles for wearing under shirts/cardigans

3 cotton shirts that I have made. The red/white definitely stays but the others are looking past their best so I might move them along. I will reserve my judgement on that for a bit longer.

This is a loose cotton shirt that I made many years ago and it is excellent for those really hot days as it is 100% cotton. Not the fanciest style or pattern but definitely a keeper.

This black collared top is well-worn but super comfy and goes with anything. It stays.

As usual, I am forced to make some decisions, simply by virtue of having to put in writing why I own some of these pieces.

I will throw 2 of the ‘painting shirts’ in the bin. The faded navy polo shirt and the green t-shirt will go to the op shop. I will decide the fate of a couple of others when the warmer weather returns.

Next week will be my 3/4 and long-sleeve tops and then that should be almost the end of Project Streamline.

It has been an enlightening exercise to list all of my clothes here week by week. I can now see where I have an excess and what I need to replace or add to.

It is now the middle of May and halfway through the 3 month period of my participation in Project 333.

I flouted the ‘rules’ on Saturday and wore a plain red knit top, white ¾ trousers and red/white striped overshirt. None of these were on my original list. The weather was unseasonably warm and all of these items are on my ‘big picture’ list.

Let me explain. Ever since I started the challenge of wearing only 33 items for a period of 3 months, I have been mentally working on creating a master list. This means I will not look at my wardrobe in terms of the next 3 months but rather the whole year encompassing all 4 seasons. I am identifying what works and what doesn’t and rather than have a major cull it will be a matter of removing things as they wear out and replacing only if required.

The first part of the journey is to catalogue what I really have instead of simply saying that I don’t have many clothes. Each week I will photograph and discuss one type of article of clothing. Today is trousers so you can judge for yourself.

TROUSERS

This category includes everything from trousers to wear to work to trackpants that I do not wear outside the boundaries of our property.

Charcoal grey work trousers
PROS – colour, weight, style
CONS – too big in the waist, slightly too long, only one pair, about 7 years old
DECISION – wear for the rest of the winter then send to op shop. Replace with 2 pairs of well-fitting trousers.

Black ¾ trousers
PROS – good fit, nice fabric, suit work and casual wear
CONS – nil
DECISION – keep wearing until they wear out, consider something similar as a replacement

Jeans No 1
PROS – perfect fit, op shop jean which I bought and altered to fit
CONS – nil
DECISION – keep wearing them

Jeans No 2
PROS – good fit, well-worn
CONS – getting threadbare in places
DECISION – keep wearing till the end of winter, send to op shop, look for another pair to replace them

Black Cotton casual 3/4 trousers
PROS – good fit, basic colour
CONS – a few years old, won’t last forever
DECISION – keep them continue to wear

I also have an identical white pair (the ones I wore on Saturday). Same as above.

Striped 3/4 cotton trousers
PROS – there are 7 nice matching buttons that I can salvage
CONS – 6 years old, a bit faded, the top I always wore with them has gone to the op shop, not really my colour, a bit tight
DECISION – remove buttons, send to the op shop

Navy 3/4 trousers
PROS – go with most tops I have
CONS – starting to fade a bit, am a bit over navy
DECISION – they get a reprieve at least until next summer. Op shop if I find that I am not wearing them

Navy trackpants x 2
PROS – comfortable
CONS – unflattering
DECISION – keep wearing them at home

Grey drawstring pants
PROS – comfortable
CONS – unflattering
DECISION – keep wearing them at home

Cotton 3/4 pants x 3
PROS – comfortable, suitable for home and local activities
CONS – not my colours, starting to wear out
DECISION – keep wearing them at home

Sage green lightweight jeans
PROS – good condition, bought from op shop
CONS – not my colour, don’t wear them them much
DECISION – back to the op shop

Charcoal travel pants
PROS – comfortable, zip-off legs, love them
CONS – nil
DECISION – keep wearing them and buy another identical pair before we go overseas later in the year.

Beige travel pants
PROS – zip-off legs
CONS – not super comfortable, dry more quickly than the other style
DECISION – keep until we go overseas then decide their fate

This has been a cathartic exercise and if you are trying to minimise your wardrobe I would strongly suggest trying to convince someone else either verbally or in writing why you should keep certain items. It has also been useful to do all of one type of garment together and then you can see just how many you really have and the range of occasions that they cover.

Watch out for more posts on the same theme each Monday for several weeks. Categories will include skirts, dresses (that will be short as I only own 1 dress), shorts, cardigans and so on.

Now that I have laid bare the inner secrets of the best and worst of my trousers please feel free to comment – the number, quality etc as well as my thoughts and decisions.