Project 333 - The After
This was actually a pretty fun exercise to do, especially in conjunction with the new year and putting fresh eyes on my closet. I mentioned before that even with a previous closet clean out, I was still struggling with the ongoing what-to-wear dilemma.
I realized after completing this challenge that the problem was looking at all of my clothes, all of the time. I do not need to see my summer cotton dresses when I'm dressing for Seattle winter or have my (very few) cocktail dresses at the front of the line-up when it's pretty rare that I need to dig these out for something.
I followed Courtney's guidelines and realized when I counted the pared-down closet of 99 items that this was actually going to be tougher than I thought. But I persevered! I do really well when I'm in competition with myself. It's a fun game of "ok, how far can I go with this?"
My key takeaways from this project were:
If it's not in the capsule, it must be put AWAY (boxed up or out of sight otherwise it's tempting to grab for it)
I was still able to discard a few items but am still in the process of parting with items in my "outbox." I will review these again when I make my next capsule.
Even though I love color and print, my most versatile (and most frequently worn pieces) are lots of greys, stripes, and polka dots. Jewelry has been great for accessorizing and transforming an outfit.
I'm wearing everything every week and a half or so, and somehow getting MORE compliments on them.
I made two exceptions for this challenge - I had upcoming trips, one with weather about 15 degrees warmer and the other was international with a ton of walking. I allowed myself to pull a couple items that weren't in the capsule specifically for these, which of course, I packed away when I returned. I also had a Stitch Fix box coming and wanted to complete the project but allowed myself to swap out any items from SF that I wanted to keep in my current capsule.
I'm really pleased with this little space in my closet and the fact that I CAN SEE THE FLOORS!
Here's what made the cut for the Winter Capsule:
Navy blue puffy jacket
Olive puffy vest
Dark grey Bar III dress
41 Hawthorne chevron striped dress
Stitch Fix navy and white striped dress
Nautical cardigan
Navy and plaid sweater
Magenta open cardigan
Hot pink open cardigan
Coral knit open cardigan
Grey open drape/zip up cardigan
Quilted floral top
Black and white polka dot sheer tab sleeve
Black and white herringbone tab sleeve
Cream and polka dot short sleeve
Black H&M v-neck tee
Dark floral sleeveless top
H&M blush and black sleeveless
H&M black and white chevron striped sleeveless top
Navy and white striped tank
Old Navy black cami
Old Navy white cami
Oatmeal ribbed tank
Black cutout sweater
White and teal sweater
Old Navy black skinny jeans
Mossimo dark wash skinny jeans
Levi's medium blue jeggings
Mavi burgundy skinny pants
Tom's cream Dessert Wedge booties
Grey Steve Madden boots
Diba black ankle booties
Franco Sarto black oxfords