Sunday, January 23, 2011

Exceptions

DAY 300

Hi! Here are my clothing stats for the the past two weeks:

Week One
-Items of clothing - 6 (good!)

Week Two
-Items of clothing - 6 (but...replaced black cardigan with long black sweater and white shirt with long black short sleeve floaty top with a satin band at the bottom)

-Confession - wore a dressy suit for four hours at the Athena Luncheon. I had forgotten about that event and even my "nice" jeans would not have been appropriate. Grr.

This limited clothing thing is a little more challenging than I thought it would be...choosing the right items is key! The black cardigan was not warm enough for day-to-day wear...I do not really even like that black cardigan and have in fact "released it with love" to the consignment pile...I LOVE the long black cowl neck sweater and the black floaty top so I feel good about the switch. I will not be starting the month over though...I still have 2.5 weeks to go until February 9. Even in this short time, I have been daydreaming about my bright pink cardigan, currently living in the back of the closet. I am sensing this experience is going to make me highly appreciative (more than usual) of a closet full of clothes. At the end of this month, I am going to go through everything leaving only the items I love.

If you decide to experiment with a Fashion Fast, my suggestions to you are:

1. Pick the right month - consider all out of the ordinary events and choose the clothing items that will work for everything - unless you want to allow some exceptions - you get to make the rules!

2. I know only 6 items seems extreme - I was going to do 10 but really wanted to get as close as possible to the NY Times experiment as possible. The trade off of variety for freedom from decision making has been very refreshing.

3. Pick comfortable items that you wear frequently anyway.

3. Select items that can all be worn together in any combination.

4. Neutral colors rule. I chose black - my fav color to wear - easy and unnoticeable for the most part...goes with everything.

5. Be open to combine and accessorize in new ways...the long sleeve black shirt will be worn under the short sleeve floaty thing under the jacket tomorrow - WITH A BELT. Yes, I am a Fashion Risk-Taker, I know. Sorry if that is too much detail!

Good luck! Let me know if you try any version of this - I would love to compare notes!

Must get some rest for my big day with a belted floaty top...Have a Nothing New Day! Kristin

2 comments:

  1. I am SO fascinated by your clothing experiment Kristin! How do you deal with laundry? Are you doing smaller loads more frequently? I'm flummoxed by the one exercise outfit - I would have to do wash every day. I love the idea of really figuring out what pieces in our wardrobes work for our bodies, personalities, and obligations (work, social, etc.) and then giving everything else up. I agree, most people won't notice you wearing the same things all the time. They WILL notice that you look great.

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  2. Shelby! Laundry is definitely more frequent - and not very efficient or GREEN...I include towels and sheets when I can to make for fuller loads. I always pull at least one item out to hang dry, if not everything - a carry over habit from June, my reduced electricity month (no lights actually).

    I ended up having chosen good items - I have one more week - then I will go through my closet and wear bright pink as much as possible!

    Have a good day!!!!

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