The Orange Swan Guide to Wardrobe Planning
In the last six years, when I was having financial difficulties, I started this blog, I thought a lot, I researched wardrobe planning strategies, now my idea has progressed enough that I have reached the point where I decided to collect. a theory. -My wardrobe planning theory tips on a very long blog I think my ideas will be useful to my readers. With them all locked up, it will be a long road, full of words.
A little history of wardrobe planning
Until the mid-1960s, when people in western society had smaller wardrobes, they were planning to buy clothes more carefully and thoroughly than they usually do today. People find what they need in their daily lives (e.g., clothes for work, school, sports, church services, evening, or other social events, around the house); , gloves, wallets, shoes, coats, panties or anything else needed to complete each collection. They also make sure that the different components of the wardrobe work well together. If a woman has a modest budget, she will specifically choose a hat or bag to match her coat and outfit with one or a whole outfit, instead of buying a different hat or bag for each outfit. Wardrobe Planning is a homework lesson where students learn how to plan a full and consistent lifestyle with a limited budget. And if we look at street photography from 1965 or earlier, compared to today's street photography, we can see that, on average, those who lived at that time were better dressed than us. Or, most of us living in 2019 tend to have a lot of them. more clothes today than fifty years ago.
What has changed? Clothes became relatively cheaper, social rules about proper clothing were relaxed, we started shopping, and we dressed in casual fashion. (Linda Przybyszewski, in her book The Lost Art of Clothes , says this is due to the decline in home schooling). This post encourages me to put my belt back on or take off my yoga pants), but there are a few. Excessive tissue production has shaken the environment. Buying too much clothing can damage our personal finances. And even if we wear two or three times as many clothes in the closet as we did in the 50's, we may feel that we don't have the right clothes, we wouldn't be satisfied with the way we dress. You end up buying something for an upcoming event.
Even today, many men buy clothes more or less strategically. It is understandable considering the comparison of men’s and women’s uniforms. That’s why I decided to focus this post specifically on women’s clothing, as men don’t need advice. In a culture where a man wears Western-style clothing, if a man wears a suit, jacket, shirt, tie, jacket, shirt, khaki, jeans, or shorts, he has at least one outfit. at every opportunity. except for the very official ones, where he could rent a tuxedo. If her clothes are well cut, good quality, if they fit well, she will be perfectly dressed. On the other hand, women's clothing is so fine and varied that an ordinary woman's clothing requires almost three times as much clothing, so it can be considered good, but only her clothes, which women are expected to wear to some extent. . A creative personality that men don’t expect. Men can wear the same suit for a job interview, wedding, funeral, perhaps changing their shirt and tie, and women’s clothing can be adjusted up to twice. However, in my opinion, although the strategy for planning women's clothing is much more complex than planning for men, it is feasible: it is worth the effort.
A tragic story of personal wardrobe planning
The design of my wardrobe has undergone a gradual but drastic transformation over the last half decade. Looking at the horse in his professional clothes, I shook my head. I mean, I think I'm pretty organized. Even when I was a teenager, I made a list of things I wanted to return to. However, this list is not really the result of strategic planning, but rather a kind of documented impulse purchase. I never see my wardrobe in its entirety, I make sure I have enough clothes for every activity in my life, or I make sure that every item I buy or make can become a complete outfit by looking at the other things I wear. Plus, I don't know what it's like for me. I want to do something from time to time without thinking about where I will be wearing it or what I can wear it with, that is, that I will never be able to wear it, or that I have to. Spend a lot of money on things like that. I was going to get dressed that I didn’t have the right shoes or coat to wear with it; Or I realize at the last minute that I'm not wearing anything for a casual event like a funeral. I wasn’t much better at thirty or thirty, either. A few years ago, while I was washing a hat and cloth basket sitting on a shelf in the closet in the winter, I first began to wonder what would look good with a coat or jacket. I have a hat, I don’t wear a coat, and my coat doesn’t wear a hat or gloves on the coordinator.
There is another revelation. Shortly after working from home in March 2012, I discovered that one day I was hiding from a UPS guy because I was too shy to open the door because of my clothes, which I think was one of the lowest points of my homework. a lifelong candidate for Moment Low when I was trying to learn to make noise in YouTube videos when I had to learn Canadian tax law using my partner's cat. When I went to the UPS office to pick up this package for work, I used to buy more clothes "at home" (for example, yoga pants, hats, "long" shirts here). ! And I started to think more and more, methodically, about the clothes I really want and need for my life, as a result of which my current wardrobe has improved a lot compared to my clothes. Seven years ago dresses, even now I have little money to spend.
What can wardrobe planning do for you in your knitwear?
The idea of a systematic wardrobe planner may seem like a good idea at first glance, but the paradox of its rules, routines, limits seems useless, but it's really liberating, because it helps us get rid of all the noise and clutter. . wool. having fun doing the things we love to do the most we want to do. I think that in the long run, careful planning and organization can give us more fun than our clothes. Wardrobe planning is better for the environment, money can save us time: stress in the long run, we can dress better, as attractive as it is, to have fun removing the clothes we buy. What do you dislike about him?
If you’re wondering why I’m posting a wardrobe planning section on my crochet blog, I think crochet design goes hand in hand with wardrobe planning. If you are sewing clothes or wearing comfortable accessories, you need to think about how you will look at the item, what will match your rest of the outfit, how you will design it or not. It will be used a lot because it is difficult to do a lot of work in its preparation and then realize that it is unusable for some reason. And you won’t be able to answer the question you need to ask yourself if a particular style is right for you if you don’t better understand what your wardrobe needs.
How to arrange your perfect wardrobe
How to organize your wardrobe? I think the best place to start is to make a detailed list of everything you need to look your best in life. Think about what your ideal wardrobe would look like, make a list of all the items you need to dress appropriately for your lifestyle, test the list, make sure all the possible scenarios are complete. And the best edit. How many clothes do you need for school, work, gym or the surrounding area? What would you like to wear to the beach, to a friend's barbecue, to dinner, to a funeral?
I’ll give you an example of what this list looks like by giving a slightly weird version of the look of my perfect wardrobe list. I actually work from home. I don’t communicate much due to chronic fatigue, but to make my advice as useful as possible, I’d rather plan a basic lifestyle than that. So for example, from 9am to 5pm I organize a show wardrobe for women for office work, I do regular trips, I do my homework, my business, I usually go out 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 still wash once a week, so my standard “what I need for the week” is clothes.
Please note that I do not use the following list as a guide for all purposes, but as a useful example. Your to-do list can vary greatly depending on your gender, age, physical needs, lifestyle, climate, tastes, budget, length of cleaning cycle, and so on. Before using my list as a starting point, your list should be tailored to your needs, otherwise you will not have the right wardrobe for you.
Here’s my spring summer menu.
- three dresses
- Five short-sleeved shirts / T-shirts
- six shirt
- three skirts
- two pairs of jeans
- Five pairs of pants
- Cotton / linen trousers
- swimsuit
- beach blanket
- cotton jacket
- Linen jacket
- Wind / raincoat
- Attic
- pashmina
- A pair of heels
- A pair of sandals
- Cloth shoes or ballet shoes
- a couple of runners
- shoulder bag
- suitcase
- Backpack
From this selection of outfits, assuming I select items that blend well, I can make 14 outfits without repeating anything. I could easily spend a week in the office, spending some evening / weekend social time at home. If I had these things, I wouldn’t have to think too much about what I’d wear all summer. If I’m invited to the beach, barbecue in the yard, dinner, or a temporary party, I can be sure I’m covered. If I make sure one of my outfits is a bit dark, then I have the right funeral clothes if I need to. Planning a funeral may seem like a daunting task, but as a person who has had to attend a funeral every year for the past seven years, I can say that a funeral usually takes three days if you have just lost a loved one. I don’t wear gym clothes because I do a lot of walking exercises, I do gymnastics videos in my living room, but if I’m in the gym I go to the gym 3-4 times a week, I’ll probably add 4 T’s. T-shirts / Plants, maybe a couple of runners. To be clear, I don’t include socks, stockings, underwear, breasts, pajamas, bathrobes, belts, hats, and jewelry, but of course that should be planned as well. My wardrobe list includes a breakdown of the number of items I need.
My list also doesn’t include formal events like cocktail parties or evening dresses that require cocktail dresses or tie weddings. As I was told a few months ago, there are almost no formal events, so I decided that the best program for me would be to have formal attire and accessories available when needed. A woman who attends such elegant events more than once a week, every month, or every year may decide that her best approach is to make sure she wears small, bright cocktail dresses, as she does in her closet. as well as carrying evening bags, sandals, or evening sandals.
I also need a fall / winter menu. This list may look like this:
- three dresses
- 5 long blouses / tops
- 10 different jackets
- 3 shirts
- 5 long dresses
- 3 skirts
- 3 pairs of wool trousers
- 2 pairs of jeans (double summer list)
- 4 yoga pants ready
- leather jacket
- Trench coat (double summer list)
- Windbreaker (summer list repeated)
- inflated jacket
- Jacket:
- short woolen jacket
- Long wool coat
- stroller:
- leather shoes
- pump
- runner (list of summer couples)
- boots
- throw the knee
Again, with this list, I’m thinking of work outfits, outfits for social events, including funeral attire. The cold weather list is longer and more complicated than the hot weather list because the cold weather requires more layers and consequently more systems. Choosing a coat can be a challenge for a woman’s wardrobe, as it has to be a coat that goes well with all lengths of jeans, pants, skirts, without ending up with twenty different coats. , but how can I say this? Modward's article Last winter's long tweed coat I have a great choice of coats in my closet. I’ll be back so I don’t have clothes that don’t match existing coats or blankets.
color palette strategy
How can I make sure items on my list are replaceable? I have to think about colors and patterns. If my linen jacket and cotton jacket were beige and my jacket brown, they would probably wear my summer outfit. I wish the pashmin would consist of three dresses, while the matching wind would be chosen for my jeans and shorts. My winter coats will be equally neutral, or at least the color that will complement the color I wear. I wear all my leather shoes, I make sure every garment has brown shoes. I also think I have some basic neutral color items to make my wardrobe more versatile. The top summer wardrobe item, for example, could be one of three simple khaki skirts, and a cape and shirt would certainly have at least one ivory brown.
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اك اتيجية لة للألوان اعد ل انة لابسك ا الحفاظ لى المطبوعات الأا. السهل العثور لى لوزة لتنورتك المنقوشة الك المخطط ا انت لوزاتك ات لين الص, لى اسب ال ا لأنني ا للغاية, لكنني أن لدي ل القمم القيعان محايدة لبة المقرة المقري ليبوإن, ا / لية.
أن أقترح اء اء المطبوعات الأنماط البرية, ا لا شيء لديك افق آخر , اء الكوثث الين, الكوثثا.ين ات، اشتكت ل لي لي ا اضية ل ايد خزانة لابسها، ا ا لتنلاول الغداء الأصداء الأصداء الأصداء خزانة لابسها، ا ا لتنلاول الغداء الأصداء الأصداء الأصداء الأصدان ان ل المشكلة ا لابسها للوان لبة ايدة لط ل ومطابقته. يكون ا اءً ا للمرأة التي لديها القليل ا الملابس لكنها ا • ا لا ليًا ا ، ات اصر التيا. اشترت لابسها الربيعية لك، التفرع لى الألوان المطبوعات الالمطبوعات، اشترت ا ا الأحذ ار ة حذء الخريف التالي ا الطريقة التي بها العناصر لى انة لابسهver الصيف.
ا لي افة لمات ل اختيار القطع المحايدة. المحايد ليس ادفًا للملل. اء لابس ايدة ل اللون لون لوزة لون أو لوزة اجية ، طريقة جيدة لت لية. ابحث لائمة ابة التفاصيل التركيبية المثيرة للاهتمام. تبدو المحايدة ادة امًا لك ا ل الملوونة oses المنقوشة, ob لم أكثر سبك.
استراتيجيات انة الملابس الأخرى
اك الكثير اتيجيات انة الملابس الأخرى لى انب لك الخاصة استخدام لوحة لوابس الأخرى لى انب لك الخاصة الاا ص احدة لاستراتيجيات التي ا لى الإطلاق انت لابس العمل القياسية للنساء لن الواتي لن ائف البيضاء اضف انف ان من السهل ا, سهلة الارتداء, لة الصيانة, اسبة للعديد الشخصيات جميع الأعميع الأعمار الصيانة, من السهل ا, اسبة للعديد الشخصيات جميع الأعميع الأعمار, من الأعمار التداء.
ل الإستراتيجية الأخرى في التفكير الملابس الكاملة ، لاً محاولة المزيج الأكثر التفكير الملابس الكام يل ا النهج , تقر اجة , لى ل المثال , لى أزياء اسبة للعمل , وعشرة لابس أخرة لابس أخرة الابس أخرة المثال لى أزياء اسبة للعمل (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 ب. يكون ا لوبًا ا ل لشخصيمر لة انتقالية الحياة ل الحمل, أو لية ان الوزن ل, الذي بععزان الذي بعزاز. الشخص الذي عليه اقتناء لابس لارتدائه لى لارتدائها لى الفور, لا اق الا أو لا اق الكثير الحوال لى اه
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 السوداء ، والأحذية المسطحة ، والمتسيكية مثل الخناجر السوداء ، ي، 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 ، كنت أجد الأسلوب مملًا ومقيِّدًا للغاية بحيث لا يمكنني التعايش معه على أساس يومي ، حيث إن ذوقي يتح
لكنني وجدت بعض الأفكار القابلة للاستخدام في سياق بحثي عن "الأسلوب الفرنسي" على موقع Pinterest. بعد ذلك ، بذلت المزيد من الجهد للتأكد من أن لديّ أساسيات خزانة الملابس بألوان محايدة. لقد صنعت لنفسي قميص جيرسي مخطط باللون الأخضر والكريمي الذي تراه في الصورة أعلاه ، لأن قمم Breton المخططة هي. 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 ؛ لا يبدون أبدًا متأنقين أو غير رسميين ؛ وكلاهما مريح ودائم للغاية. أنا أيضًا أبذل جهدًا لدمج الأوشحة في خزانة ملابسي ، لأنها حقًا طريقة رائعة لإضافة الكثير من الأناق
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 تتصرف بناءً على نصيحة أي شخص بشكل أعمى (بما في ذلك نصيحتي) ، لأن استراتيجيات الملابس التي تعمل جيدًا للعديد من الأشخاص الآخرين قد لا تعمل من أجلك على الإطلاق. 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. عندما تصادف نصيحة نمط جديد ، فكر جيدًا فيما إذا كانت مناسبة لك حقًا قبل اتخاذ أي خطوات لتنفيذها.
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 هذا في تحديد ما تحتاج إلى شرائه ، وما قد ترغب في التخلص منه ، والأهم من ذلك ، معرفة العناصر التي تحتاج إلى التوقف عن شرائها في الوقت الحالي لأن لديك ما يكفي منها أو حتى أكثر من كافية. ا كان لديك عناصر أكثر مما هو محدد في قائمتك (أنا بالتأكيد أفعل!) ، لكنك تحبها وترتديها ، احتفظ. ليس هناك فائدة من التخلص من العناصر التي يمكن ارتداؤها تمامًا من أجل القائمة التي هي في النهاية. 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 وتريده حقًا في خزانتك. ا كان لديك عناصر فائضة لا ترتديها أو لا تعجبك ، فيمكنك التخلص منها بأمان مع العلم أنك لست بحاجة. إذا وجدت أي عناصر لا ترتديها ولكنك تعجبك ، سواء كانت في خزانة ملابسك المثالية أو قائمة أم لا ، فك إذا لم يكن لديك أي شيء ترتديه مع العنصر المعني ، فهل يستحق المصاريف والعناء في الحصول على العناصر التي تتناسب معها ، أم تفضل التبرع بالعنصر لمتجر التوفير؟ ا كانت القطعة غير مناسبة ، فهل يمكن تغييرها؟ ا كانت بحاجة إلى إصلاح ، فهل يمكن إصلاحها؟
عندما يتعلق الأمر بالعناصر غير القابلة للارتداء ، إذا كانت لديك مهارات تطريز / صياغة (وبالنظر إلى أنك تقرأ هذه المدونة ، فمن المحتمل أنك تفعل ذلك) ، ففكر فيما وراء أساسيات استبدال الزر المفقود أو إصلاح التماس المنفصل. عادة بناء خزانة الملابس هي مجموعة مهارات أخرى يبدو أنها فقدت تقريبًا. اعتادت النساء ذوات الإمكانيات المتواضعة على استخدام جميع أنواع الحيل والتقنيات لجعل ملابسهن ادد. كانوا "يقلبون" فساتينهم عن طريق تمزيق الفستان ، وقصه وتشكيله ليناسب أنماط الموسم المقبل ، ثم خياطته مرة أخرى مع الجانب الخارجي "الخطأ" وغير الباهت من القماش سابقًا. أنا لا أدعو إلى قلب ملابسك لأن الأقمشة الحديثة ليست مناسبة على الإطلاق لذلك ، لكنني أجد أنه من الجيد البحث عن طرق لإطالة عمر قطعة من الملابس وطرحها للأفكار. 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
