My Darlings,
In the first week of May this year I started this project on a whim. Through the winter and early spring I had begun to wonder about the possible waste of my own make-(or thrift)-and-wear-once approach to wardrobe.
I don't have a shopping problem, but I do have a huge closet of things I rarely wear. I started to wonder if I was wasting my own time in the making. I was also wondering if I had a personal style at all, or just a collection of unmet aspirations and failed experiments.
First up: simple and casual can still feel put together, and still feel like a personal style. Neither of these outfits felt groundbreaking, but they are what I needed on the day, and I enjoyed wearing them.
Second: these pants and this dress both took focus and repeated effort to achieve. The answer to my question about wasted time is that the time is only wasted if I drop the ball. If I had stopped working on solving the problem of these pants, I would have two pairs of pants I wouldn't want to wear. Since I did make that effort, A and I each have much-loved new pants, and some lucky customer will as well.
If I had not altered this dress multiple times, it would still be sitting in my closet unloved. And yes, I am pruning my tomatoes in between bursts of writing this blog post.
As for the closet full of unworn garments: these print pants, this boucle skirt, and the bright cardigans were almost entirely unworn. These are garments that have survived many rounds of closet purging. They are things I chose for myself and did not want to part with because they are the building blocks of my ideal wardrobe.
The problem was wearing them felt like "too much" personality, colour, or dressiness. For whatever reason I needed this challenge to break through and wear these treasures I have been hoarding. These things might very well be too much, but I just have this one life, and I like them.
Pyjama days: it turns out that I need one or two of these a month. What I learned about pyjama days is that for me they are just about getting things done and can be very satisfying.
The problem lay in every day I spent at home being a pyjama day. These were all days where I did not take the time to check in with myself about how I was feeling and what I felt like wearing. These were also days where I couldn't easily step out for a coffee with A, or run an errand quickly and easily. Getting dressed most days has improved my quality of life.
Unexpected lessons:
- Until and even for the first few weeks of this challenge I hated to see photos of myself wearing flat shoes. I am now completely accustomed to it and don't remember what my objection was.
- I am not yet accustomed to seeing myself without makeup. I look fine in the mirror and my sister swears I look fine in the photos. This is not a call for compliments, just a note to self: you are human.
I am choosing to end the project today, on day 90. I may continue to post outfit shots on Instagram (though not every day). I am looking forward to wearing some of the other treasures I have squirrelled away. I am also excited to make and test new garments and possibly share those results.
I am certain I will have more to say about my feelings over the past 90 days, but for now I have tomatoes to prune.
I hope you all are having a beautiful weekend,
xoxo -E