2017 Clothing Recap

Well everyone, here we are, the end 2017. It's been a shit year for the most of the world (with a few bright spots like Australia), and somehow I decided it was the perfect time to take on a clothing challenge unlike anything I'd done before. Was it successful? I guess it mostly depends on your definition of success.

I didn't hit my goal of not buying anything every other month - even if was just something here or there, or a replacement for an item, I only managed it maybe 3 or 4 months total. Does that mean the whole effort was a failure? I'm gonna vote no, because while I didn't end up doing exactly what I set out to do, I at least was able to start creating a buying pattern for purchasing items with intention. Each season I took a look at what I owned, the people who's style I was admiring, and attempted to bridge the gap in a way that worked with the body/life I have. It didn't result in anything I'd consider a totally radical departure from what I was wearing previously, but the tweaks have still made me feel better. Made me feel happier with what I have to choose from in the morning.

And it's still a work in progress. I am constantly reevaluating pieces and either reworking, selling, or donating them. I've seen my closet shrink significantly and I still feel like there are some pieces that could go - I just like to take my time with it. I was explaining to a friend that huge all-in-one-day closet examinations are exhausting, but slowly just pulling pieces out as I accept that I don't like them is incredibly manageable. I like to keep a pile going, or a bag if I'm being "fancy" and just pull out the things I don't want to wear. I say fuck it and goodbye to the money I spent on the item and allow myself the freedom to let it go. Which sounds super corny, but it is HARD to look at a piece of clothing you spent $50/$75/$100 on and accept that it's served its purpose, no matter what the final price per wear was.

I'd like to take what I've learned this year and apply it in 2018. I feel more settled in my Spring/Summer wardrobe than I do in my Fall/Winter, so even though the season is halfway over I'm going to try and pinpoint what I think I might be missing.

I plan to write a separate post with all of my 2018 closet goals, but thanks to all of you who stuck with me and read through this series of probably more emotional than interesting posts as I tried to work through my style block. It's not done, but the beginning was very promising.