Clothes is another separate category entirely because there is so much around it!
I actually didn’t have to do much in this area when I was decluttering, because I have less clothes than my husband does! But instead I was researching how to make my wardrobe work for me. There are so many ways to build an effective wardrobe, it’s overwhelming. I even decided to research the history of clothing to get an idea of what I should do!
In The Beginning…
I grew up with wanting comfort over looks. Also, nothing in the fashion world appealed to me. I always wore something along the lines of: stretch-waist pants, fitted tees, and sneakers. One day during my elementary years, I dressed myself in a hot pink yoga pant and tucked my tee shirt in it haha! My mom was distressed and untucked it.
Going To School…
When I began choosing more of what I wanted to wear for the school years, I always seemed to get wind pants (because the waist was stretchy and very comfortable) and a fleeced vest/spring jacket to match. It was my second skin really, because of feeling vulnerable around my peers.
I disliked jeans of the early 2000s, because they were so stiff. Shirts were too short and revealing. Dress clothes consisted of the 80s and 90s look of buttoned-down collared shirts, which were so constricting! In addition, skirts and dress pants had no stretch to them. Needless to say, I was not happy to dress up for any event! But I didn’t know that more options were slowly coming into fruition.
Later into college, I found jeans that had stretch to them at Fashion Bug! Plus, I found fitted tees that were of many solid colors. So I finally got with the times! Only then, women’s fashion evolved into something else. Aiaiai!
Enter The Workforce…
After college I began working for close to 10 years before I would get pregnant. I had to wear “business casual.” You could wear anything except jeans and it had to be nice-looking. I started out uncomfortable, but with online shopping giving me the chance to type in what I wanted, I was able to find stretchy business pants to go with my nice plain solid colored shirts, covered with a fleeced jacket. It’s cold in the office and it gave me that extra skin again because I didn’t feel confident in the office like other people did.
All during those 10 years, I was researching for my wardrobe because I was so unhappy with it. I wished I was a home-maker so I could wear and try anything I wanted! After getting pregnant, I was finally able to stay home, but my clothes needed to still be big and frumpy to get through the bump, breastfeeding, getting the bump again, breastfeeding again, AND hernia surgery! So now that that is all over with, I am free to figure it out some more.
The next few posts will be looking at those different ways on building a wardrobe, and maybe they may work for you! I have taken bits and pieces of each to sort of come to a conclusion, but I am also aware that as we get older, our tastes and needs can change, so it’s always a work-in-progress!
