Wardrobe Management

by

August Accountability and Benchwarmer Project Update

The sun has set on yet another month, so it’s time for another accountability update.  In this post, I share what left my closet, what came in, and how I’m doing in terms of my clothing budget for the year. Also included are some stats on what I wore during August and an update on my “wardrobe benchwarmer” project.

You may remember that in my July benchwarmer update, I committed to making decisions on all 45 of the remaining “benchwarmers” in my wardrobe (for those who are new to this blog, a benchwarmer is something I wore only once or not at all during 2012).  Well, those decisions have been made and I reveal my verdicts below.

I’m Still a Shopaholic, But I’m Learning and Growing

There’s a lot to cover in this post, so it’s a long one!  The news is not all good, but the growth and learning continues.  Although I am still a shopaholic in many senses of the word, I’m definitely in a much better place than I was at the beginning of 2013.  While I still have a long way to go, I acknowledge the positive changes I’ve made and know I will continue to transform my relationship to  shopping and my wardrobe as the months progress.

Continue reading →

by

Useful Links on Closet Psychology & Wardrobe Management

It’s Friday, so it’s time for another useful links post, this time on the topic of wardrobe management.  This is not only one of my favorite topics to write about, it’s also one of my favorite topics to read about!  Consequently, I had to go through a lot of bookmarked articles to curate the best ones for this list.  So as not to overwhelm my readers, I’ll always keep my useful links posts to no more than seven links.

Wardrobe Management Tips

Could you use some help with managing your closet?

You’ve Read My Posts… Now You Can Hear Me!

I was recently interviewed by Robert Wall of “Untitled Minimalism” for his “Minimalism for the Rest of Us” podcast.  During this interview, Robert and I talked about wardrobe management, Project 333, overshopping, and other related issues.  I also spoke about how I’ve worked with wardrobe styling clients to help them cultivate a more manageable and workable wardrobe.  Click on the link below to learn more or download the podcast:

Since the podcast is over an hour long, we were able to cover far more ground than I usually can address in a blog post.  If you listen in and have questions or comments, feel free to send them my way.  I may even choose to address your question in an upcoming blog post!

Continue reading →

by

Avoiding the 3 Most Common August Shopping Mistakes

What are the 3 Most Common Mistakes?

Avoiding summer sale temptations

Are you struggling with summer sales temptations?

There is a lot of pressure to shop during the month of August.  End-of-season sales, back-to-school deals, and the fall fashion push all come together to create a “perfect storm” for overshopping. While many people feel compelled to shop this time of year, we are all prone to these three very common shopping mistakes:

Continue reading →

by

Project 333 in Reverse – July Edition

Those who have been reading “Recovering Shopaholic” for a while know that I took on the Project 333 challenge during the months of April through June.  I posted weekly updates and monthly recaps of my Project 333 experience and later summarized my top 8 lessons learned from completing this minimalist fashion challenge.

An Alternate Approach to Project 333

As the end of June approached, I contemplated taking on another term of Project 333 but ultimately decided to do something a bit different.  A member of the Project 333 Facebook group wrote that instead of selecting her 33 items at the beginning of the challenge, she instead selected her garments each day and tracked them as she went along.  Intrigued by this concept, I decided to do the same, at least for the month of July.

Each day when I got dressed, I simply wore what I felt like wearing and wrote everything down on a piece of paper.  I allowed myself to select from my April through June Project 333 capsule, as well as from the other garments I had stored while doing the challenge.  New garments were only added back to my closet after they were worn.  Thus, I avoided the packed closet that overwhelmed me in the months before starting Project 333.

Continue reading →

by

Dressing and Shopping for a Life in Flux

I’m currently going through a period of transition in my life.  My wardrobe consulting business is winding down and I’m not sure what’s next in terms of my career.  I’m also working to cultivate new hobbies and interests, which I hope will also lead to new connections and friendships.  At present, I don’t go out much and when I do, my outings are mostly quite casual in nature. The majority of my time is spent at home with my husband and two cats, and I spend many of my days in workout clothes and lounge wear.

Transition and Our Wardrobes

While all of this transition has been going on, I’ve also been working on paring down my oversize wardrobe to a more manageable level.  However, as I’m not sure what’s next for me in my life and what clothing I’ll need for my personal and professional activities, it’s been difficult to decide what to keep and what to purge from my closet.  Since I know many of you have experienced or are currently going through similar challenges, I decided to address the issue of dressing and shopping for a life in flux.

Dressing During Times of Transition Continue reading →