Project: Fashion diary

As I've mentioned now and again, I try and edit my closet at close intervals.  In addition to desiring to justify the shopping excursion I wanted to  ensure I was wearing all of my clothes, instead of a few favorites.  So I decided to photograph what I wore to work each day for a month.  The experiment was not just to test my clothing rotation, but to see whether I would do so intentionally because I knew I'd be documenting it.  I started off pretty strong, but waned off a bit when I was out for nearly a week with a sinus cold.  Still, a dozen and a half shots creates a pretty good glimpse at my style:  mostly neutral/darks, mostly solids.  Occasional pops of color and texture.  Is there one word or phrase to describe it?  What would you call my style?

[june 2011 fashion]

In a light bulb moment (some call these flashes madness) I came up with the *brilliant* idea to also sketch my outfits.  I added notes to describe colors and textures my meager drawing skills could not capture.  I also added details about where I got the clothes, and, if I remembered, how much I paid for them.  It helped me see that many of the items in my closet are hand-me-downs (from Mom or Jaxs) or gifts (like the suede jacket from Dad and scarves from family and friends), or purchased on sale.

[june 2011 fashion sketches]

Result:  I'm happy with the way I dress!  I feel good in and about what's in my closet, and this is a project I'd do again, maybe in the winter, or maybe during a trip.  While continuing to edit, I will try harder to pull out some less-worn garments.  I just did laundry, too -- including hand washing and ironing -- so have a lot more choices at the moment.  And I just scored a couple items at the thrift stores.  But more on that later!

What's in your closet these days?