The Changing of the Garb

Here we are at the end of November and the seasons are changing again.  I wrote a little in some previous posts about the experiment I began three months ago.  After taking the past two years to thoroughly clean out my wardrobe of clothes I had been accumulating for seven years or so I found that I still had a ton of clothes.  The difference after the clean out was that all the things left in my closet were pieces I absolutely adore and don't want to part with even if it's been a while since I've worn them.  

Trouble was, I still wasn't wearing them.  I was so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of clothes in my closet that I didn't get around to wearing most of them.  Instead I reached for the same few things day after day and week after week.  It was a waste to have all these pretty things and never wear them, so I decided to try a little experiment.  Over the next year I will have my entire wardrobe on a seasonal three month rotation.  By cutting the sum of my apparel into manageable quarters, I hope to get far more wear out of my clothes.

The reason I haven't done this before is that the weather where I live is very fickle and all the seasons tend to blend together so much that it's hard to know exactly when to put the warm things away and bring the cool things out and vice versa.  With my current system, none of that matters.  I have a selection of clothing for a season and I can layer if it's cold or un-layer if it's not, but that's all I have to choose from for three months. 

At the end of this first quarter, I can safely say I have loved it.  Autumn has been a delight while wearing all the best and prettiest that I have not just for the season but for the holidays as well.  I have a number of Halloween themed things that I have forgotten about until the holiday has passed for the past few years and it always made me sad.  This year I wore every single one of my themed things because instead of being buried they were front and center.

Now it's time to change again and I'm after three months, I'm looking forward to the change and ready to bring out all my pretty winter plaids and prints, my wools and flannels for three more months of joyfully choosing what to wear each day instead of being overwhelmed and defaulting to the same tired old garb.

I don't know that I'll feel this way at the end of a year, but for now, I think this has been one of the best decisions I've made to simplify my life and get more enjoyment from my clothing collection (let's be honest, that's what it is) that I may have ever made.

Shopping Info: Freya Jeans and Rai Jumper from Collectiflondon.com