Wardrobe Planning

When I first got back into sewing last winter I started stockpiling fabric. Initially I was more disciplined and bought fabric with specific patterns in mind to use them for. Then I started having some success with knits, and bought knits every time they were on sale just to build a stash. The whole fabric-buying concept has turned rather willy nilly with no game plan in place. This isn't quite as disastrous as it sounds because I mostly live in jeans and so knit tops always "go". But I've read a couple of posts lately about wardrobe planning that has made me think I need to be putting more planning into my purchases. Sometimes less is more.

I found a new blog to follow, The Vivienne Files, which is all about wardrobe planning. There is an excellent post that talks about the Chanel theory where the author quotes Chanel as saying "One shouldn't spend all one's time dressing. All one needs are two or three suits, as long as they and everything to go with them, are perfect." She then goes on to lay out an entire wardrobe with examples of all the outfits that can be pulled together from it. I absolutely love the wardrobe, and it would be perfect for my fantasy life, but not so much for my real one. Well, others must have spoken up about this because she later wrote another Chanel post that she has converted to a more casual wardrobe. Brilliant!

What I have done with my new sewn-for-me wardrobe so far has not been a complete disaster. Yes, I haven't planned very well, but I do find that I tend to stick with colour groupings that I like so I inadvertently end up with pieces that go together after all. For example, this weekend I wore (for the first time) the brown pinstriped jeans with the orange topstitching along with the burnt orange tee. These two pieces looked really good together even though they weren't planned with each other in mind. I think this is going to be a favourite fall outfit for me. Then when I got chilly I put on the beige cardigan and it still looked pulled together without being too matchy-matchy.

So what's up next? I need to check and see where there are holes in my wardrobe, and then see what I can build with from my stash. I guess you'll need to stay tuned to see where that leads! ;)



Comments

Mave said…
Great idea! But I need to clear out the old stuff first and see what's left. Not much is my guess!
2:54 pm
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