May 10, 2016 by Debbie Roes

Alteration Failures: Better Left in the Store or Returned

Late last year, I launched a series on the topic of alterations. I began with some thoughts from my private Facebook group on the pros and cons of having our clothes tailored and some of their personal alteration experiences. In a follow-up post, I shared a selection of my alteration success stories featuring skirts and dresses.

Now it’s time to look at the flip side of the coin, those times when tailoring goes wrong. Sadly, I can recall many such experiences, so many that this is just my first post on this topic (there will be at least one more). Some of what I have to say is embarrassing, but my hope is that recounting my alteration faux pas may help save you money and grief.

Alteration mistakes Continue reading →

May 2, 2016 by Debbie Roes

How to Revive Your Wardrobe and Home for the New Season

The following is a guest post from Aimee Lyons, a twenty-something free spirit who loves crafting, painting, building, and anything else that lets her exercise her creative muscles. A born do-it-yourself kind of girl, Aimee started DIYDarlin.com to inspire others to embrace their inner creators and tackle projects with confidence. When she isn’t crafting, you might find her vintage shopping or taking her Corgi Champ out exploring in her hometown of Austin, Texas.

A few times throughout the year as the seasons shift, a big changeover occurs for our home and our wardrobe. We haul out our bins of stored seasonal clothes and home accessories, unpack them and then store away what we don’t need anymore.

Because it takes quite a bit of time (and energy), many of us complete this task in a mindless sort of way. We might also be tempted to just go out and buy new items because it can be exciting and we know our wardrobe and home could use a little “refreshing” for the season.

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April 22, 2016 by Debbie Roes

What Are Your Favorite 100 Wardrobe Items?

A couple of weeks ago, I read about an exercise that could help us to pare down our wardrobes. The instructions are simple: select the top 100 items in your closet. The idea is that once you separate out your favorite pieces, it will be easier to let go of at least some of the things that didn’t make the cut. Since I love to do wardrobe exercises and am always up for a challenge, I decided to take this exercise on. In today’s post, I will share how it went for me, what I selected, and what I learned from the process.

top 100 items

The Number 100 Isn’t Written in Stone…

Now, 100 items may seem like too many for some of you or far too few for others. As with Project 333 and other capsule wardrobe concepts (like this one for example), the number is not nearly as significant as the challenge itself. If you have a small wardrobe but are intrigued by this exercise, perhaps you might want to select your top 50 or 75 items (or whatever number feels right to you). On the flip side, if you have a very large wardrobe and find the idea of paring it down to 100 (even just “on paper”) extremely anxiety-producing, you can of course select a larger number. The point is to stretch yourself and get to thinking about what you really need – and truly love – in your closet.

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April 19, 2016 by Debbie Roes

A Year Later: April 2015 Purchase Update

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while knows that I publish monthly accountability updates. These posts (see the most recent one here) include what came into and left my closet in a given month -and why, as well as how I’m doing with my clothing budget and item limit for the year. It’s been very helpful for me to do these updates, as they help me to stay honest and on track with my wardrobe and shopping goals.

Last month, I started a new feature in which I review my purchases a year later to see how well (or not) they have worked out for me. Although I periodically reviewed past purchases previously, I got the idea to review things from a year ago from Mette of “The Yogastic Shopping Planner” (see her most recent edition HERE). Since I started this new series a few months into the year, I began with an update on my first quarter 2015 purchases. Most of my purchase reviews will look back on just one month’s purchases to see whether these items have become wardrobe workhorses or closet benchwarmers. Occasionally, if I bought very few items in a given month, I will combine two months into one update.

Good or bad purchases Continue reading →

April 12, 2016 by Debbie Roes

The “KonMari Method” in the Jewelry Box

In my last post, I shared the results of a wardrobe memory exercise that I recently took on. I tried to remember the contents of my closet and jewelry box without looking. I found that I was able to write down 91% of my wardrobe (including shoes) but only 77% of my jewelry collection. I came to a number of conclusions from doing the exercise, one of which was that I still own too many garments, shoes, and accessories for my lifestyle.

Since it has been almost a year since I used the “KonMari Method” in my closet (I also used the process with my books and compact discs), I have decided to take it on again, beginning with my jewelry. This afternoon, I spent approximately an hour and a half going through my bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other jewelry pieces to see what does and doesn’t “spark joy.” In today’s post, I share the process and the results of this session.