one closet, one year!

I was getting dressed for a friend's birthday party and I didn't know what I was going to put on my body. I looked in my closet and it seemed empty, unpromising. I've had these moments before; everything was old, ill-fitting, or blah. I thought to myself, "Ugh! I have NOTHING to wear!" Then I began rifling through my closet and saw a forgotten shirt I loved and many more, and I realized I was crazy. I had plenty to wear, and plenty to choose from. My closet was FULL of treasures! At that moment I decided I would take a year to explore my closet and to add NOTHING new to my wardrobe.

I would create a NEW outfit for each day in order to maximize my wardrobe and shake up my style.

Basically, I would try to "snap out" of my fashion rut, and appreciate what I have.

It was my New Years' project:
One Closet, One Year.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

SHOES and the RULES






A few people have emailed me asking what the parameters of this experiment are. That is, they wonder if accessories are included in my NOTHING NEW MANDATE. To those folks I declare that accessories are included. I realize right away, that this may leave me at a huge disadvantage as the year moves along. At this point, I have one pair of sneakers and they have a hole in them. My husband Richard, my technological and ethical touchstone, believes that I should ride this out and deal with having no sneakers in a month. I say I'm not sure. What if I need to hike or run in something other than my disappointing Fit Flops? What if the few dozen bras I have don't fit after I'm done nursing my 3rd child in a few months (I hope). No offense to my lovely Hollis! Anyway, any thoughts you have would be welcome in the comments.

Now onto shoes. I pulled all of my shoes out of the closet and found that I have 24 pair. My mom thought this was a huge number and I thought it small. She owns 4 pair and she lives in Massachusetts. Given the extremes in weather, I think she should at least have 6. Most of the shoes I own I seldom wear. They were found at thrift stores, given to me by friends, and a few, a small few, were expensive and purchased full price. When it comes to shoes I have found that I am extremely picky. Unless, of course, the shoes are on sale in which case I'll buy red patent leather platforms or blue sparkly shoes with crocheted flowers?! As I looked at my rag tag bunch of shoes I had the thought that if a person were to analyze me based on my shoe collection they would think me crazy. I have to admit it is an "eclectic" collection.

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