The Orange Swan Guide to Wardrobe Planning
For the past six years I have spent a lot of money writing this blog, thinking and researching on wardrobe planning and strategy and now I have decided to revise my ideas to the concept of co-design. Me and Tips I think my ideas will be useful to my readers on a very long blog. Get ready It will be a long journey full of words!
Some history of wardrobe planning
Until the mid-1960s, when people in Western society had small closets, they planned to buy clothes more carefully and cautiously than they do today. People know what they need in their daily lives (for example, work, school, sports, church service, evening or other social events, at home) and they buy the clothes they need for each task. Hats, gloves, bags, shoes, coats, underwear or other items needed to complete each set. They also make sure that the various parts of the laundry are working properly. When a woman has a modest budget, she chooses a hat or bag that will go with her rather than a different hat or bag for each outfit. Luggage planning is a skill taught in home cleaning schools where students learn to plan a comprehensive, integrated and budget-based lifestyle. When the street photographs of 1965 or earlier were compared to today's street life, it is clear that those who lived at that time were better dressed than we were. A.D. In 2019, there will be more clothes than there were fifty years ago.
What has changed? Clothes were cheap, society was indifferent to proper dress code, and we started buying and wearing licenses. (In her book The Lost Dress , Linda Presziesewski argues that the reason for the decline in schooling is to blame. In this article, I ask you to shorten your belts or take off your yoga pants.) Excessive tissue production contaminates the environment. Buying too many clothes can damage our personal finances. And even if we carry two or three times as many clothes as we did in our 50's, we may not be happy with the way we dress. We finally went out at the last minute to buy something for an event.
Many men still buy more or less stylish clothes. This is understandable when men's uniforms are compared to women's. That's why I decided to focus this article on women's clothing, as men do not need advice. In the Western style of dress, if a person wears wool, a jacket and a shirt, a tie, a jacket, a T-shirt, a khaki, jeans and shorts, one has at least one suitable garment per minute. . . Except for the standard Tuxido rental. If her clothes are tight, of good quality and fit, then she is wearing the perfect outfit. Women's clothing, on the other hand, is so beautiful and varied, it requires almost three times as much clothing as a simple women's dress, and then it may just be their dress because women are expected to wear it to some degree. Individualism and creativity that men do not expect. A man can wear the same dress for an interview, a wedding, a funeral, perhaps a simple shirt and tie, and a woman's dress is actually only twice as long. However, in my opinion planning and designing a women's laundry is more difficult than planning a men's wardrobe, but it is practical and requires effort.
Tragic story of private closet planning
Over the past half dozen years, the design of my wardrobe has changed dramatically. When I saw him working on my clothes, I shook my head. I think I'm very organized. Even when I was a teenager, I made a list of things I wanted to do. However, the list is not really the result of a strategic plan, it is a documented push purchase. In general, I never look at my closet, I do not make sure I have enough clothes for the activities of my life, or I make sure that everything I buy or make will be complete by looking at other things. I'm wearing it. Also, I do not know what suits me and what does not agree with me. I often wanted to do something, it seemed good to me, where I would wear it, or what I would wear, which means I would never wear a piece. Spending a lot of money to buy related items. Realizing that I had no shoes or a coat to wear, I went out dressed. Or I're wearing something for the last time, like a funeral for a temporary event. I have not improved much, even in my thirties and thirties. A few years ago during the winter, I was washing the basket of hats and sharks that were on the shelves in the winter and for the first time I thought about what would happen to a hat with a coat or jacket. Or gloves.
There is another clarity. One day, shortly after I started working from home in March 2012, I hid from people in the UPS because I was too ashamed to return the door because of my clothes, and this seemed to be one of the lowest points in my home country. Experience. (When I needed to examine Canadian tax law, I tried to learn how to vote from another YouTube video. To reduce a few unpaid hours during the day, I went to the UPS office and picked up that work package myself. Extra clothes "at home" (eg yoga pants, hat t-shirt and long-sleeved shirt), I need extra clothes. I no longer work in an office. So I began to think carefully and carefully about the clothes I wanted and needed for my life, and as a result, I spent very little money on my wardrobe seven years ago. . right now.
How can laundry planning benefit you and your sweater?
The idea of a systematic laundry may seem fun and mechanical at first, but the paradox of the rules, the daily routine and the boundaries may seem oppressive, but it is really liberating and helps us to avoid all the noise. We are working to do what we want most. Do the things we love and have fun. I believe that careful planning and organization will eventually bring us more joy than our clothes. Wardrobe design is better for the environment, it will eventually save us money, time and stress, make us better and more attractive, and help us avoid the fun and clothes we buy. What do you not like about him?
If you are wondering why I would post a wardrobe planning section on a knitting blog, I think craft project planning goes hand in hand with wardrobe planning. When sewing clothes or accessories that you can wear, you need to think about how the item will look, fit in your closet, how to sew and how to use it. Most of them realize that this element is difficult to put into practice and for some reason cannot be used. And you may not be able to answer for yourself if you do not fully understand what your wardrobe needs for a particular style.
This is how you fit your perfect wardrobe.
How do you plan your wardrobe? I think the best place to start is to list all the things you need to do to be beautiful in your life. Think about what will be your ideal wardrobe, make a list of all the items you need to dress appropriately and discreetly for your lifestyle and try to make sure the list is complete in all situations. And how to fix it. How many clothes do you need for school, work, gym or home? What do you like to wear to the beach, to the barbecue with friends, for dinner, for the funeral?
I will give you an example of what this list looks like by giving you a little amazing version of what my perfect wardrobe list looks like. I actually work from home and do not have much social contact due to fatigue, but I wanted to plan a more casual lifestyle to make my advice as useful as possible. Let's say I am planning a women's wardrobe for 9-5 office work, and I am committed to my regular travel, homework, and work, and I go out on social issues two or three times a week. I live in Toronto, Ontario, it gets a little hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, which means I need clothes for all the weather. I always wash it once a week, so the requirement to get enough clothes is "I need it for a week".
Please note that the list below is intended as a useful example, not advice for all purposes. Your list of priorities may be very different from yours, such as gender, age, physical needs, lifestyle, climate, taste, budget, hygiene cycles, etc. You can use my list as a starting point. . , Your listing should be tailored to your needs, or you may not be able to find the right laundry for you.
Here is my meal plan for spring and summer.
- Three dresses
- Five shirts / shirts with short sleeves or without sleeves
- Six shirts
- Three dresses
- Two pairs of jeans
- Five pairs of pants
- Cotton / linen pants
- Bathroom
- Beach cover
- Cotton jacket
- Linen jacket
- Wind / rain coat
- Raincoat
- Pashmina
- Two paragraphs
- A pair of shoes
- Flat canvas or shoes
- A few runners
- Shoulder bag / shopping bag
- Suitcase
- Bag
Out of this choice of clothes, thinking that I can choose related items, I can make 14 dresses without repeating anything and I can easily spend a week in the office, some evening / weekend events and at home. If I had these things, I would not have to worry about what I would wear all summer. I can be sure that I will be there if I am invited to a beach, porch, dinner or a banquet. If I make sure one of my clothes is dark and the cut is medium in size, I have the right mourning dress if necessary. Preparing a funeral may seem like a daunting task, but for someone who has attended the funeral each year for the past seven years, I tell you that funerals are usually held in three days and if you have recently lost a loved one. , Maite, you may feel like you can't buy in these three days. I do not wear gym clothes because I do a lot of running sports and fitness videos in the salon but if I am in the gym and go to the gym 3-4 times a week I will probably increase it. 4 Short tees and maybe a few other runners. For convenience, I did not take socks, stockings, underwear, breasts, pajamas, bathing suits, belts, hats, and jewelry with me, but he certainly had to plan. My wardrobe list lists the type and size of items I need.
My list does not include formal events such as cocktail parties or cocktail parties or evening dresses that require evening dresses. I have no formal arrangements to attend and when I was given a month's notice, my best plan was to decide on the right formal and extra clothes. A woman who attends beauty pageants several times a week, month, or year may decide that the best outfit is a little black dress and a bright cocktail dress or two. Her wardrobe matching evening bag and evening dress or shoes without shoes.
I also need a spring / summer menu. This list might look like this:
- Three dresses
- 5 shirts / long-sleeved shirts
- 10 different jackets
- 3 hats / sweaters
- 5 long sleeved T-shirt
- 3 dresses
- 3 pairs of leather pants
- 2 pairs of jeans (double summer list)
- 4 Yoga pants are ready.
- Leather jacket
- Trench Coat (Double Summer List)
- Jacket (double summer list)
- Puff jacket
- Jacket
- Short wool jacket
- Long sweater
- Casual shoes
- Leather shoes
- Pump
- Runner (double summer list)
- Boots
- Knee high boots
Again, this list makes me think of work clothes, funerals for social events and home clothes. The cold weather list is longer and more complex than the hot weather list because cold weather requires many levels and therefore requires more coordination. Choosing a coat can be challenging for a wardrobe because the coat should be a coat that goes with jeans, trousers, skirts and dresses, and ends in twenty different coats, as I explained in the section. This column. Last summer I started publishing a Modwardian print about a long T-shirt , and if I had a jacket, short T-shirt in neutral colors and a long T-shirt, I thought I could face the Canadian winter calmly and stylishly. . I now have a few coats in my living room closet, and I am careful not to have any clothes that match my old coats or blankets.
Color gallery style
How do I verify that items on my list are subject to change? I have to think about colors and styles. If my cotton jacket and cotton jacket beige and raincoat brown, they probably wore my summer clothes. I may be looking for a Pashmina with three skirts and a matching pair of jeans and shorts. My winter coat will also be neutral, or at least a color that matches the color I am wearing. I wear all my leather shoes and I make sure all my clothes have brown shoes. I make sure I have some basic neutral colored items to lighten my closet. Among the summer outfits mentioned above, for example, one of the three simple khaki dresses with t-shirts and tops is definitely at least one ivory and one brown.
For maximum comfort and flexibility in the wardrobe, I recommend working with a specific color palette. I am a firm believer in contemporary color theory and bought everything as a warm and rich color palette. In addition to wearing the best colors, I need some clothes, shoes, and accessories because everything I buy fits perfectly. My sister is also harvesting but she thinks she is a current color theory goofy and buys what she likes even though I noticed that her clothes are almost entirely based on a new / winter color palette (she likes black) so they worked well together. . This way you can find out which season suits you best and wear a color palette according to the season, or you can create your own gallery if you don't like your colors or never believe in the current color theory. .
The most important rule to combine a color palette is to choose a new or warm color, because cold and warm colors do not mix well. A good color palette can be any combination of the following colors: black, white, gray, navy, blue, burgundy, garnet, pink, fuchsia, forest green, purple, lava. Warm Color Gallery can be any combination of the following colors / shades: brown, ivory, olive, rust, orange, plum, red pop, pink, turquoise, tea, lemon green, apricot, peach. Use a very limited color gallery to find a versatile wardrobe such as black, white, gray and your favorite colors can be red, pink, purple or blue. I did not choose to do it myself because I like many colors to limit myself to a few but I am sure the gallery is very simple, practical and beautiful.
I usually buy brown shoes and bags of different shapes and sizes because I wear clothes from a warm gallery. If I had hot and warm clothes, I would need black and brown shoes and bags. So I am looking for different heel heights and style bags for different fashions / events and soon I will need more shoes and bags. استقراء ا المثال ليشمل لي wise.
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أقترح اء طب المطبوعات الأنماط البرية ا لا شيء لديك افق الألوان المح لا اء ل ات لي لي ا ايي ل اية لابسها وأنها ا ا لتنا ال ان ⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇ الخريف التالي الطريقة التي ϕ este ϕ ن لة ل ل ل ل ا سع الطرتة ሺ short short ا الطر Recht.
ا لي افة لمات ل اختيار القطع المحايدة. المحايد ليس ادفتا للمل. Ruction ruction ruction ruction ruction st st st st st st st st st st st st st st st st st iod iod iod iod iod iod iod iod specific iod iod specific specific specific specific specific A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. We are not entrusted to you because of you. Argument
استراتيجيات انة الملابس الأخرى
هناك الكثير من إستراتيجيات خزانة الملابس الأخرى إلى جانب تلك الخاصة باستخدام لوحة ألوان معينة يمكن أن تساعد في تسهيل ارتداء ملابسك بشكل أفضل مع عدد أقل من الملابس - في الواقع ، هناك الكثير مما يمكنني تغطيته في منشور المدونة هذا - لكنني سأتطرق إلى القليل. احدة لاستي ا لى الإطلاق انت لابس العمل القياتي للنساء لن الايا ات البيضا: الا: الا: الا: الا: الا البيضا: الا البيضا من السهل تجميعها ، سهلة الارتداء ، سهلة الصيانة ، مناسبة للعديد من الشخصيات ومن جميع الأعمار وجميع المستويات المهنية ، ولن تصبس
Ich مع هذا النهج ، قد تقرر أنك بحاجة ، على سبيل المثال ، إلى عشرة أزياء مناسبة للعمل ، وعشرة ملابس أخرى مناسبة للارتداء غير الرسمي أو في جميع أنحاء المنزل ، ثم خطط لكل جماعة كاملة بالأحذية والمعاطف والإكسسوارات. (لا يزال بإمكانك استخدام إستراتيجية لوحة الألوان لتقليل عدد الأحذية والمعاطف والإكسسوارات التي تحتاجها لتلائم ملابسك إذا كنت ترغب في ذلك.) ما تفقده في التنوع ستكسبه في القدرة على ارتداء الملابس بأقصى قدر من الكفاءة كل صباح لأنك ستعرف بالضبط ما الذي يحدث مع ماذا. ا لوبًا ا ل اص لشخص لة انتقالية الحياة ل الحياة ل الحمل لية ان الوزن ل ، الذي بعد الذي بعد المنزل اللال المنزل اللال قد يقرر الشخص الذي يجب عليه اقتناء ملابس جديدة لارتدائها على الفور ، ولكنه لا يريد أو لا يستطيع إنفاق الكثير من المال على ኦ.
ستر اتيجية النمط الفرنسي لباس المرأة لك المرأة ارة الأساسيات الجيدة (على ل المثال ، وقمصان بدون أكمام وقمصان ، وما إلى ذلك) في لوحة محايدة من الأسود والأبيض والرمادي والبحري والجمل والوردي الباهت ، والتي ترتديها مع مجوهرات بسيطة مثل كخاتم ذهبي أو زوج من الأزرار الماسية والأحذية الكلاسيكية مثل الخناجر السوgegen ادلة لة الفهم التطبيق أعترف ا رائعة لكن لى الرغم أنني Pinterest تلك اللوحة الرائعة التي ستبدو جيدة جدًا على التلوين الفرنسي الشائع للشعر الداكن والعيون الداكنة والبشرة الفاتحة ، ستجعلني أبدو باهتًا ، وبينما قد أرتدي من حين لآخر زيًا على الطراز الفرنسي من العناصر المحايدة الخاصة بي , "
ك ك الأفكار القابلة للاäckes الأفكدام في سياق بحثي عن "الأسلوfung الفقنسي" عو Pinterest. ሞክር لقد صن without لنفسي قميص ጂርስይ ምኽትት ብላቹ። أضفت "حذاء لوفر" إلى قائمة مشترياتي ، وبعد فترة وجيزة اشتريت لنفسي زوجًا من أحذية باس الكلاسيكية المزينة بشراشيب والتي تبين أنها من أفضل مشتريات الأحذية التي قمت بها على الإطلاق: فهي تناسب كل زوج من البنطلونات والجينز الذي أمتلكه ؛ ላ ይብዱን አቢዱ መታንቀን አወ ገይር ረሱልም وكلاهma مريح دائم لغة. أنا أيضًا አብዝል ጀህ በመቃወም
هذا ، بالمناسبة ، هو نوع من النهج النقدي المدرك للذات الذي يجب على المرء اتباعه تجاه جميع استراتيجيات الملابس والنصائح ، وهو أسلوب بذلت قصارى جهده للتوضيح في هذه المدونة: لم أتبنى الجملة على الطراز الفرنسي ، ولكن بدلاً من ذلك ، استخدم فقط النصائح المحددة التي تناسبني . من المهم ألا بن ع بشك بشك بشك بشك بشك ذ ذ أن struction) አነን እስጢር ተኮር ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا . لتلبس نفسك جيدًا ، عليك أن تتعلم الألوان والأنماط والقصات التي تناسب مظهرك وأيها لا تناسبك ، لتعرف ما هي الأنماط التي تشعر بالراحة والسعادة فيها وأيها لا يمكنك تحمله ، لتعرف ما هي ميزانيتك ، وما هي العناصر التي تحتاجها حقًا لارتداء ملابس مناسبة لنمط حياتك. عندma تص نصيحة نمط فكر جيدً فيما إذا خطو خطوت خطو قبل تختخ تختو خطو يذي ቃሉ።
كيف تترجم قائمة الملابس المثالية إلى واقع
بمجرد الانتهاء من إعداد قائمة الملابس المثالية الخاصة بك وأنت متأكد من أنها ستعمل من أجلك ، فإن خطوتك التالية هي إلقاء نظرة على ما لديك في خزانتك وأدراجك ومعرفة كيف تقارن خزانة ملابسك الحالية بخزانة ملابسك المثالية. سيساعدك هذ م تحتاج شر وم قد اا ، و و ز ا العن ا ا ا شر شر الوقت መን ምዃን ምዃን ምዃንካ ንርእዮ ኣሎና። ا ك عن أنث أنث أثثم, أنع أث مت, أنع أث أع أ ok أ ok أ ok أ ok أ ok أ ok أ ok أ ok أ ok أ ok أ أ أ أ أ أ ل ا ا ا ا اعناص ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا جج جج أجاية. ستفقد هذه العناصر "الإضافية" عن طريق التناقص عاجلاً أو آجلاً (على سبيل المثال ، سوف تبلى ، أو تصبح قديمة ، أو تمزق أو تلطخ بشكل لا يمكن إصلاحه ، وتتوقف عن الملاءمة) ، ولأنك لم تعد تشتري عناصر إضافية ، في النهاية ستصل إلى النقطة التي يكون لديك فيها ما تحتاجه تريده حقا في خزانتك. ا كان ديكعن فائضة struction ترتيه للله ኢዛ . ኢዚ ዲክ ዲክ አዪ ተረትዲህ አአ አአ አአአ አአ አአ ማአ አአ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አ አአ ምትገር አል ቶፊየር? إذا كانت القطعة غير مناسبة , فهل يمكن تغيرها? ኢዛ ካንት ብሃጃት ኢሊ ኢሰሏህ ፣ ፍህል ይመክን ኢሰአሏህ
عندما يتع ا بب ا القocket ، إذ إذ مه مه مه صي إ ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ور إص ا ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ancy ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبد ستبدability ح ح ح ح إعادة بناء خزانة الملابس هي مجموعة مهارات أخرى يبدو أنها فقدت تقريبًا. اعتادت النساء ذوات الإمكانيات المتواضعة على استخدام جميع أنواع الحيل والتقنيات لجعل ملابسهن القديمة تبدو جديدة وحديثة. كانوا "يقلبون" فساتينهن عن طريق تمزيق الفستان ، وقصه وتشكيله ليناسب أنماط الموسم المقبل ، ثم خياطته مرة أخرى مع الجانب الخارجي "الخطأ" وغير الباهت من القماش في السابق. أنا لا أدعو إلى قلب ملابسك لأن الأقمشة الحديثة ليست مناسبة على الإطلاق لذلك ، لكني أجد أنه من الجيد البحث عن طرق لإطالة عمر قطعة من الملابس. يمكن أن يكون الماضي منجم ذهب للأفكار حول كيفية القيام بذلك - لا سيما في حالة نصائح الموضة في حقبة الثلاثينيات والأربعينيات من القرن الماضي ، عندما كان على العديد من الأشخاص ارتداء ملابسهم في حدود الميزانيات الضيقة ونظام الحصص الصارمة للملابس.
مرارًا وتكرارًا قمت بحفظ العناصر التي كنت على وشك التخلص منها مع إدراك أن هناك طريقة لإنقاذها. على مر السنين ، قمت باستبدال قميص مفضل من جلد الغزال الصناعي ، واستبدلت الأسلاك الداخلية المكسورة بأخرى جديدة (يبيعونها في متاجر مستلزمات الخياطة والأقمشة) ، وقمت بتحديث بلوزة عن طريق استبدال أزرارها المغطاة بالنسيج في حقبة التسعينيات. عظام جديدة ، وتغيير الهيملينز غير المريح ، وتحويل القمصان ذات الأكمام الطويلة مع الأكواع البالية إلى قمصان ، وتحويل زوج من سروال اليوغا مع علامات التبييض على الساقين السفلية إلى زوج من السراويل القصيرة ، وصبغ زوجًا بشعًا من نقش البقع بنطلون سروال قصير اشترته والدتي لي (حوالي عام 1987) إلى البحرية الصلبة ، وتحولت الفساتين غير الملائمة / القديمة إلى تنانير ، وصبغ وشاحًا حريريًا ذهبيًا مخضرًا بلون نحاسي جميل ، وجدد قبعة صيفية بيضاء قذرة قديمة عن طريق غمسها في الشاي ، والقبعات المعاد تشذيبها ، وإعادة تشكيلها وتثبيتها في قلائد متاجر التوفير القديمة أو المكسورة أو البالية إلى شيء أكثر جاذبية. استغرقت كل هذه المشاريع أقل من ساعتين ، وكان كل منها ينطوي على قدر ضئيل من النفقات ، وكان أكثر من يستحق الجهد ، لأنني تآكلت كثيرًا من كل تلك العناصر بمجرد أن أعدت صياغتها قليلاً.
في بعض الأحيان يمكن تحويل عنصر ما إلى قطعة مختلفة تمامًا. Once years ago a co-worker told me that she had a beautiful custom-made long gold silk bridesmaid dress that she would like to have shortened to cocktail length so that she could wear it again, but she hated to cut off all that fabric as it had cost so much per yard. I said, "Well, if you're not wearing the dress, it's going to waste anyway," and she said, "Yes, that's true," and then I said, "Maybe you could have a matching evening bag made out of the fabric that's cut off," and she said, "Oooooh!" I currently have a plan to turn a beautiful silk bathrobe I own that makes me look dumpy into a lovely silk top that flatters me -- this will take more time than the other reconstruction projects above, but not more time than it would take me to make a new top out of fabric I had to pay for, and I can't remember the last time I even saw a comparable bolt of silk in a fabric store. I also sometimes take apart unsatisfactory knitted projects and make something I like out of the yarn. Ravelling out a knitting project doesn't usually take any longer than it would take to go shopping for new yarn, and then I've saved the not-inconsiderable price of a new lot of yarn and kept an item out of a landfill.
I don't always refer back to my ideal wardrobe list religiously when I'm cleaning out my wardrobe or planning purchases, but I do try to think in terms of, "How many of this particular kind of item do I really need/want/use?" I often follow something I call the Rule of Three, by which I mean that I don't usually need more than three of any one thing (ie, three sets of pajamas, three winter dresses, three pairs of jeans), unless we're talking about very basic, daily-wear items such as socks, underwear, t-shirts, or sweaters, in which case the Rule of Three might become the Rule of Ten. Knowing that I already have what I need is such a good way to safeguard myself against getting tempted to buy or make things I don't need. I also try to think in terms of complete outfits. I must be able to make at least one outfit, if not more, out of every item I have, and also need to think about whether I have shoes, jewelry, a handbag, and a coat to wear with the item rather than just about whether I have a top or a bottom for it.
Wardrobe Planning Going Forward
To keep my buying/clothes making in check, and my wardrobe at a reasonable size, I keep lists of things that I need and want to buy or make, and I've made every effort to try to decide what what goes on those lists on the basis of what I will make good use of rather than a basis of OOOHHH PRETTY!! MUST MAKE/OWN! , and to not buy off list when shopping, because if I really need something, it should be on my list before I go shopping. Sometimes I do have to make exceptions, and then come up with strategies to govern those exceptions. I love knitting so much that it's hard for me to keep my knitting projects down to a strict needs-based rationale, so what I did was make a rule that I can only make myself six items a year (and making something for my household counts as making something for me), which I consider a fairly reasonable limit. If I were to make myself, say, two new sweaters, a hat and scarf set, two pairs of socks, and a set of Christmas tree ornaments, that's not an excessive amount of new knitwear for me to acquire in the space of one year, especially if I used some stash yarn to make them. I'm doing a lot of sewing these days because I have a stockpile of fabric to get through, and it would be wasteful not to use it, but once the fabric I have on hand is gone I'll be making myself just a few items each spring and fall.
Having a list of what I need to buy in my planner helps me budget and figure out the best way of acquiring something. I can decide if I can or will make an item, whether I can possibly get it from thrift shop, or whether I will need to buy it from a regular retail outlet. Right now, I see that according to my various sewing/knitting/shopping lists, I plan to knit an ivory cotton pullover because the one I'd been wearing for about twelve years got irreparably stained last summer. I want to sew an ivory linen jacket to replace the one that got stained by battery acid from the hall closet light. (I thought I was saving money by not replacing those batteries, sigh.) I want to buy or make a peach and brown silk scarf that I can use as a finishing touch for an outfit consisting of a plain peach skirt and plain brown top. And I need to replace a pair of beautiful but wretchedly uncomfortable cognac leather pumps that I currently own with a similar pair that doesn't hurt my feet. I am confident these are justifiable purchases, but sometimes I can make a mistake even in putting something on my list. Unnecessary stuff has a way of sneaking on there if I'm not vigilant and mindful.
If you're thinking of adding a new item of apparel to your make or buy lists, ask yourself, "Where am I going to wear this?" and "What will I wear it with?" The process of answering these questions may help you realize that you don't really need or want the item after all, or that it's simply going to require too much of an investment of time and/or money. About two years ago I got rid of a denim jacket (purchased circa 2001), that had become too worn and ripped to wear, and initially I automatically added "denim jacket" to my shopping list because I'd had one denim jacket or another in my closet since my teens. But then I started thinking about where I'd wear the denim jacket and what I'd wear it with, and I realized that I couldn't think of a single occasion or outfit that my leather jacket, linen jacket, windbreaker, trench coat, or one of my sweaters and hoodies wouldn't be a better choice for, and I struck "denim jacket" off my want list. Alternatively, if you realize that you'll have nothing to wear with the item if you buy it, you may want to rethink the purchase somewhat. Perhaps buying it in a different colour or a slightly different style from the one you originally intended will make it work better with your existing wardrobe.
Long-Term Planning
Another grimmer question that I have started to consider when planning a purchase is whether something I want is age appropriate. I'm 45, and while I'm ageing not badly and can still dress somewhat youthfully, since I'm aiming to make my clothes last five years or more, I need to think not only in terms of "Can I get away with this at 45?", but "Will I still want to be wearing this at 50?" If I'm forced to admit to myself that I won't want to be caught dead in the item in question when I'm 50, I heave a sigh over the indignities of aging, and relinquish my plan to acquire the item. If you've got a big lifestyle change coming up, such as leaving school for the professional workforce, leaving the workforce for retirement, pregnancy/parenthood, or a move to a different climate and/or culture, those are all life changes that will require new wardrobe strategies.
Which leads me to another point I wanted to make in this post, which is that I think it's important to think relatively long-term in wardrobe planning. Disposable fashion, by which I mean clothes that date quickly and/or are of too poor quality to stand up to reasonable use, is doing so much damage to our planet, gets so expensive long-term, doesn't look that good on anyone, and clogs up our closets with crap clothing. I buy or make my clothes with the expectation that they will last at least five years, and I make them last as long as I can by treating them with care and mending and reworking them whenever possible. Of course, much of what's available in regular retail these days is poor quality and won't last that long, and you may not even have many better options depending on your location or budget. This is a systemic problem beyond the scope of this blog post, but I would recommend avoiding the purchase of poor quality clothing whenever possible by buying fewer, more expensive but better quality new items, buying secondhand, and/or making your own clothes with care.
Thinking longer-term in your clothing purchasing generally means not only planning more carefully, but also steering towards simpler, more classic lines and being cautious about adopting trends. Though some trends, such as the cowl, do come to stay, others tend to look silly and dated in fairly short order. It also means you need to be sure you genuinely like something on you, that it fits well, and that you will wear it before you buy it.
We the living of 2019 do have a few huge advantages that those who lived during the last two centuries never had, and the first is that our clothing styles have become so myriad and flexible and are changing so little overall that nearly anything goes these days. This is a recent phenomenon. My mother, who was born in 1938, tells me that when she was a young woman in the late fifties and early sixties, there was one look, one silhouette, one hemline length in style at a time, and if a woman didn't have that particular current look, she was outré . Prior to 1950 or so, women of modest means routinely refashioned and retrimmed their clothing every season in order to keep in style. Through much of the twentieth century, fashions changed so quickly and were so specific and rigid that if a woman wore something even two or three years old, it looked it, and she'd be considered dowdy and out of date. Even in the 1980s, when I was growing up, fashions changed radically over the course of the decade. In the 1990s the pace seemed to slow somewhat, and fashions haven't changed so terribly much since 2000. When I watch movies from the early aughts I often find myself thinking that it would only take at a few tweaks to update some of the looks the actresses are wearing, or maybe even that they look quite contemporary exactly as they are, and I have many pieces of clothing that are ten to sixteen years old that still pass for reasonably current. In 1999, 1989, 1979, or 1969, it would have been next to impossible for a woman to wear much clothing that was a decade or more old without looking like an oddity, whereas now it's easy to style decade-old clothing so that it looks quite up to date.
These days it's possible for a woman to think much longer-term in her wardrobe planning than women could decades ago, and that means we who wear female clothing can get more wear out of our clothes. This is especially good news for those of us who make our clothes. Making your own clot
