Fall Travel Capsule

     Summer always throws me off my routines.  No schedules, the heat, my mom and sister out of school and available to play....blogging just didn't happen.  We're well into our fall routines now and feeling settled, so I thought I'd share a little about what's on my mind.  Being the somewhat shallow person that I fear I am, that would be...clothes.

     I did another closet purge a bit ago, and I'm finding that I really am happier with a smaller wardrobe.  Intentional choices.  Well planned and as well fitting as I can manage.  It makes me do laundry more regularly than is my habit, but it makes my mornings just a bit calmer.  It also makes planning for a trip easier.  We plan to take a short trip out of state later this fall and you KNOW I'm already planning what to wear! I'd love to only take carry-on luggage for the three of us since we'll only be gone 4 nights.  Traveling, for me, is like a personal challenge.  How little can I pack and still be well dressed and prepared for my destination?  Here's what I'm thinking:

     I like to layer when I travel.  You never know if your plane will be an oven or a freezer.  A cardigan over a tee (rather than a tank or cami) gives me public-appropriate options either way.  Traveling with a three year old means being prepared for...well, anything.  Scarves hide a multitude of mishaps.  Normally I'd wear easy-on flats to make security speedy, but if I'm carrying my bags on, the boots need to be worn rather than packed.  Our destination will be chilly and damp, so I think I'll enjoy having my boots with me. And my trusty (and practically vintage at this point) Vera Bradley weekender will hopefully handle my packing needs.  Also, once I've put this much thought into an outfit, I want to get my money's worth, so this is what I'll wear en route both ways.  If we happen to cross paths in the airport twice, keep my secret.

     I'm a mix and match girl at heart, so another pair of pants and a couple of tops in a general color scheme are all I need to be happy.  A few jewelry options to spice things up, a pair of flats that are a little more dressy than my boots, and I feel like I'm pretty well set for about anything I might need to do, and any photos that might happen along the way.  I can wear the cardigan over the black top or the striped top, if need be.  (Of course, all of these photos are merely representative of the things I own, not the actual items themselves. You can find links for these photos by checking me out on Polyvore--look for littlenestbigcity.)  Here are a few of the outfits I can make with these options:

     Not a bad selection for such a short trip, eh?  It feels like I can cover the spectrum of dressiness, depending on the shoes and jewelry I choose.  And of course I'll pack one really comfy yoga pants-type outfit for evenings after Peanut goes to bed--fuzzy socks required!  I'll also have an actual coat with me for really chilly or wet weather.  I assume you are imaginative enough to fill in those gaps without a picture.  ;)    

     What do you think?  Am I forgetting anything?  Do you travel with a color scheme, or are you a "grab whatever's clean and put it in a bag" packer?  Do you need lots of clothing options, or are you a minimalist traveler?

Starting from Scratch

   I have been following an interesting fashion blog for a while now called The Vivienne Files. The author, Janice, is a proponent of small but highly functional and lovely wardrobes, often designed around an inspiration piece such as a favorite scarf, painting, or favorite flower.  She puts together stylish but hardworking capsule wardrobes for travel too.
 
   One of Janice's latest endeavors has been a blog series that she calls "Starting from Scratch," which is a step-by-step process of how to logically and systematically create the most useful and attractive wardrobe for yourself, hypothetically starting from nothing.  Perhaps you have entered a new season of life (entering or leaving the work force, transitioning from youth to maturity, etc) or perhaps you are dressing a new body (weight gain or loss, post partum, etc), or whatever your reason is for desiring new clothing options.

   I have read her "Starting from Scratch" series, and it was very interesting for me.  I don't need a new wardrobe at the moment, but I am currently on a journey to better health, which presumably means I will need new (smaller!) clothing eventually.  I like the idea of planning what kinds of items are most useful for you, given your typical activities, and creating a sort of "shopping list" to work from to keep you from wasting money on things that won't match anything else or that won't fit into your lifestyle.  So I'm going to hypothetically design my ideal wardrobe for my current life, and when the time comes that I need to replace some articles of clothing, I can do it knowing that my investments will be sound.

   Janice recommends starting by choosing which colors you will work from when building your wardrobe.  She likes to work from a "wheel" of five colors: two neutrals, some form of white/ivory/cream, and two accent colors.  This is where I think I will diverge from her plan just a bit.  (Nothing like doing your own thing on step one, right?) I think that a five color wheel is a fine place to start if it suits you, but I like just a bit more variety.  Also, I'm building this imaginary wardrobe based on what I currently have and love.  I don't want to truly start from nothing because I can't afford to get rid of everything and buy new.  Here's the color wheel I came up with based on my needs:

   I chose black and grey for my neutrals because 1) I already have several items in these colors that I like and 2) this is my fall/winter wardrobe, and I think these colors will be most useful for the events/weather I anticipate that time of year.  I think my wheel could best be described as "Black, Grey, and Brights."  These bold colors look best on me with my coloring (although I'm contemplating a change of hair color...), and I wanted some of these colors specifically.  I MUST have orange in my closet during football season (and all year, really), I knew I would want some red for the holidays, and I have some pieces in the other colors that I love in pink, blue, and green that just look good on me.  Vanity is a strong motivator.

   This may turn out a lot like my Project 333 fall wardrobe, and that's okay.  I still have many of the same pieces in my closet from that time, and like I said, I don't want to buy anything I don't have to.  I don't think I'll be as strict on the "rules" for building this new wardrobe as Janice suggests, but I think to get the most enjoyment out of my clothes (and really, other than covering nakedness, isn't that what it's all about?), I will want a bit more variety than she suggests.  So I may add a bit of camel, or a yellow necklace, and I KNOW I'll throw in some leopard print, which I consider a neutral.  Maybe I should have chosen it as my second neutral, instead of grey!

   Feel free to build your own wardrobe with us, be it fantasy or more attainable.  I'll share mine when I get it all built, for anyone who is interested in a black and bright closet for a stay-at-home mom.  What wardrobe pieces will never leave your closet?  Do you have things that you never wear but refuse to part with?

Project 333: Fall

   I've been pondering an idea called Project 333.  It's not new, but it's new to me.  In an effort to challenge people (women) to do more with less, to view their closets with fresh eyes, and to get creative with their clothes, the game is this: Select 33 articles of clothing to wear for the next 3 months.  Now, some people get all hardcore and say that your 33 must include shoes, accessories such as scarves and belts, and any outerwear you might need.  Me, notsomuch.  Almost everyone agrees that your 33 does not have to include PJs, workout clothes, super gribby work clothes, or underthings.

   My closet, shared with my dear husband, is not spacious.  It is not well laid-out, and it has some downright wasted space.  If you have known me for long at all, you have probably heard me complain about it.  Since we're renters, there's just about nothing I can do about it.  However, compared to the rest of the world, it's almost embarrassingly excessive.  What's more excessive is the amount of clothing I have stuffed into it.  I have been making an effort to pare down and simplify many other areas of my life, and have "conveniently" not gotten around to my clothing yet.  The time is here.

   The objectives are few and simple: 1. Look appropriately dressed for the event, weather, and social group.  2. Dress in a speedy manner in the mornings.  3. Have enough variety to prevent boredom and resist the siren call of Target's clearance racks.  I scavenged through my clothes, made lists of what occasions I would need to dress for during these three months, and started mentally weeding through my closet. Here's what I came up with:

    Rest assured, this is merely a representation of the clothes I have.  Not the actual brands/pieces/whatever.  My grey dress has a v-neck.  My striped sweater is green and white, not green and grey.  It was the best I could do on Polyvore.  On one hand, it was hard to decide what made the cut.  It seemed like I have so many clothes that I had to say no to.  On the other hand, seeing them all in one place, 33 seems like plenty of clothing to get me through the fall. (Oh, that's right.  I decided to do September, October, and November for my three moths.) I clearly did not include my accessories in my 33, partly because I was scared to go that minimalist, and partly because I feel like I choose my accessories to be worn in a variety of seasons and settings and with the intent that I will have them for a long time, so I didn't want to limit them.  We're talking about belts, jewelry, and scarves.  Not going to take up a lot of room.

   I am actually looking forward to this experiment.  The object of the game is not to suffer, hate your clothes, feel ugly, or pity yourself.  It's an exercise in creativity and hopefully a gateway to simplifying another area of your life.  You do not have to throw away anything not in the 33.  You simply box it up out of sight, and at the end of three months, do what you will.  Some people put their clothes back in the closet and get on with their lives, and some assess the 33 and make any necessary edits for the next three months.  I'd love for some of you to join me in this adventure!  Any thoughts?