I didn’t think I would post another “Lessons from my Outfit Journal” installment so soon, but here’s another one right away.   I wanted to do a second post this week, but I’ve been going through a lot of physical and emotional challenges as of late and I just didn’t have it in me to write about anything else today.   But these outfit journal posts are relatively easy to write and seem to be popular with readers, so here goes.

What percentage of your outfits do you absolutely love?

A few people mentioned that they like that I’m highlighting themes in these posts, so I will stick to that approach.   Since spring is upon us and it’s getting warmer outside, I decided to take a look at some of my maxi-dress outfits from last summer and fall (we have warm autumns where I live).

As in my last post, I will share the outfits in the order of my preference, from least favorite to most favorite today (which won’t necessarily reflect my original ratings).   I will highlight where I wore the ensemble, how I felt about it, and what I’d change (if anything) in the future, as well as any follow-on thoughts I’ve had since the outfit journal entry was made.

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I can’t believe it’s been close to two months since I shared the last post in my “Lessons from my Outfit Journal” series (see the two previous installments here and here).   I have been keeping my outfit journal since July 2014 (more on why and how here) and have been learning a great deal about my wardrobe and style preferences since that time.

Keeping an outfit journal has really helped me improve my style.

One of the things I’ve learned recently is that I now prefer wearing slimmer styles of jeans over the wider-legged jeans that were my mainstay for years.   In today’s post, I share four looks that feature boyfriend style and straight-legged jeans.   While I’m not a fan of true skinny jeans for comfort reasons (I have varicose veins and a painful nerve condition), I have embraced these two new styles in addition to my boot-cut stand-bys.   I show the outfits from least to most favorite and share my outfit ratings, where I went, my thoughts about each look, and what I would change in the future (if anything).

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Last week, I started a new series in which I share some of the entries from my outfit journal.   The first installment elicited quite a few comments and seemed to be popular with readers, so I’m going to dive in to another post in the series today.   This time, I will be focusing on a theme, pants/jeans outfits with coats.   I was basically happy with three out of the four looks I feature below, but there were still things I would change about each outfit.

Do you keep an outfit journal and/or photograph what you wear? 

Keeping my outfit journal is helping me to fine-tune all of my ensembles and I’m happier with more of what I’m wearing as a result.   It’s very rare that I rate anything I wear below an “8” on a scale of one to ten these days, but my standards are also increasing.  I am no longer willing to settle for ill-fitting or uncomfortable clothing, especially since I now know that I can get by with much less.  If I don’t love – or at least strongly like – what I’m wearing, I’m perfectly happy to pass it on to someone else.

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Before I delve into the topic of today’s post, I’d like to say a few things about my last article, “Putting Together a Dressy Wardrobe Capsule.”  Judging from some of the comments I received, I realize that I wasn’t clear enough about some aspects of that post.   I had originally intended to put together a true formal wardrobe capsule, but then I realized two things:  I own very few true formal items and I rarely attend those types of events.   So instead, I put together wardrobe options for the occasions when I get more dressed up than usual.

Some of you wrote that most of my outfits in the post would be things you’d wear to work.   If I worked in an office, I would very likely wear such outfits to work, too.   However, I live in a very casual community in Southern California where t-shirts, jeans, and flip-flops reign supreme.  Thus, what’s considered dressy around here may not mesh with that description in your part of the world.   Even if our environments and lifestyles are widely divergent, I still hope that my “dressy” wardrobe example was useful for you.

If what you will need for more dressed-up or formal events is different from what I showed, you should definitely compile your dressy capsule in line with those considerations.   If you are interested in writing a guest post depicting a true formal wardrobe capsule, please contact me, as I would welcome such a post!

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Back in July, I wrote about the benefits of keeping an outfit journal and shared that I had started keeping one myself.  Now that I’ve been maintaining this journal for two months, I thought it would be useful to update you on how it’s going.  In today’s post, I outline what I’ve learned about my wardrobe preferences and personal style through logging my daily ensembles.

Keeping an outfit journal has benefitted me in many ways!

My outfit journal has been even more helpful than I ever anticipated it would be.  I’ve learned a great deal about what I like, what I dislike, what I need, and what I don’t need through this process.  Along the way, I’ve also substantially increased the number of outfits I like.  During July, I had one outfit I rated a “6” on a scale of one to ten and five “7” outfits, with the remainder of my ensembles being “8”s or higher.  In August, there was still one “6” outfit (mostly a result of getting dressed in too much of a hurry!) but no “7” outfits.  Every other look I put together last month I rated as an “8” or above.  That’s some excellent progress in a very short period of time! Continue reading →