Well, this morning I went through everything that was on my hangers and I have a big sell/donate pile to get rid of.
I only kept things that actually fitted. There were a couple of things I was not quite sure of that I did hang back, but I have made a mental note and if I end up not wearing those items in the next six months, away they go.
In the next while I want to explore how I can actually use the stuff I am keeping. Maybe challenge myself in the way I wear things. I am very basic generally, especially in winter. At the moment I tend to wear jeans and a jumper and that’s about it. Pretty boring! I want to challenge that by taking a look at my wardrobe and see how I can spice up my daily outfit choices.
First I will post a pic of what I chose to wear this morning. This is pretty standard winter fare, as I said. (notes on my size at the end of this post)
Now, for my standards today’s outfit was a bargain! The jumper is a nice silver grey colour with silver sequins, which makes it perfect for this time of year. The jumper is new and surprisingly is from Lidl (€9.99 – honestly!). I love colour, so bright blue ‘jeans’ are only normal, right? I usually buy good quality jeans, but I loved the colour on these so-called stretch jeans and if I remember correctly they were €9.99 from Lidl as well, would you believe. I have washed them a few times already and seem to be holding up really well.
The lace-up ankle boots are from Esprit and the bag is from Gigi, both of which I have had for a while. I am a big fan of saddle-bag-type bags. It’s a shape I come back to again and again.As for the ankle boots, I like them, but I do prefer a squarer heel.
Anyway, that was today’s outfit. Now, I thought I would challenge myself and put something together from what I found whilst clearing out.
This brown corduroy pinafore dress was actually on my throw-out pile, but I decided to use it for my challenge. I thought a bit harder about what to wear with it and found the petrol tights. Then I found the white blouse that has a pattern with blue and red little flowers, and added the red shoes. The cord dress (Bonprix) I have had for three or four years, but I have never worn it as I could not figure out how to! The blouse I bought over the summer (Esprit). The red shoes are from Clarks and are so comfortable! I have had them for ages and I still love wearing them. What I love about them is that they are red, but not bright red. It’s quite a subdued red colour, but they still manage to brighten up an outfit!
I quite like this outfit and I plan to wear it exactly like that!
What do you think? Does it work at all? What other types of garments would this dress work with? Or any of the other pieces?
I will do some more of these I think. It was quite revealing to me to put an outfit together from the pieces I already had in my wardrobe that I have never thought of putting together before.
Posting pictures of myself is sort of scary, even if I know it should not be. I am not a size 8/10 (EUR 36/38) that you see on a lot of fashioney type blogs. I am on average a size 14 (EUR 42), though usually a bit smaller on top. Like so many other people, especially women, it can be hard to find well fitting clothes, as my body is various sizes in different places.For example, I have a V-shaped rib cage, which means wide shoulders, but a narrow waist. That combined with a slightly hollow back, big bum and an ample chest makes it hard for dresses to fit everywhere properly for example. Add to that, I never quite lost the pregnancy flab. I am not complaining. It’s what makes me me, but it just makes looking good or feeling attractive a little more challenging day to day. Not impossible by any means, but it takes a little more effort. And I have to admit it is effort I am not always willing to put in on a daily basis. I am pretty sure I am not the only one in that!
My feet are somewhere between a size 5 (EUR 38) and 6 (EUR 39), a bit closer to 5. Being somewhere between sizes can be very annoying. A lot of shoe brands only do 5 and 6 and often 5 is too small and 6 too big. Converse for example. I love them, but the sizing is so wrong for me. I ended up having a lot of Clarks shoes; they do half sizes!
I mentioned before that I want to do a post in the next few days on body issues, because I think it is a very important topic that causes a lot of problems for the average (or not so average) woman.
Nut Shells & Roses 