The 4-5 piece French wardrobe #4

[Melisande]

Ugh I love that, that is my beige Zucca dress.

Non-wrinklable, super-fast drip-dry, flattering, eccentricly timeless over decades, can go from casual to formal, worn all-year round, durable. I always put her in my carry-on luggage because I wouldn't be able to bear it on the off chance that my suitcase gets lost. It's been going for 16 years strong.

I hear Issey Miyake's Pleats Please is very good in that sense, but it looks so dated and not sure if it's flattering...

 

[RedandNavy]

Mini skirts: Being very petite I always buy mini skirts because anything else is far too long on my legs

Welcome to everyone who's joined us lately! I'm sorry if I don't always respond to all the comments. There is so much going on here lately that is simply difficult to read through everything.

Shopping: I recently felt pretty good with my wardrobe but suddenly I get that "I have nothing to wear" panic. Spring seems to be finally arriving here and I feel I urgently need more spring/summer tops. I have already been wearing my new Philipp Lim sweater twice and I am glad I got something for transitional weather - but I do feel I need more blouses. Farfetch had free shipping for 24 hours right now and in a bit of a panic I added four great blouses and two t-shirts to my shopping bag. I already went to the check out when I realized that I didn't really want to spend all that money right now. We're going on another holiday in May and I want to be able to enjoy that one without feeling bad about my bank account. And I guess I will have something to wear, right? But gosh, it is difficult right now. I see how lovely things from my pinterest board get sold out and it does feel a bit bad not to be able to chose freely. And yet...

Do you know such panic moments and what do you do when you have them?

 

[twistelette]

^ Why can't every piece of clothing be like that...

 

[twistelette]

^ like the Claire McCardell dress, I meant. Not like pieces you love that then get sold out before you're ready to buy them...

 

[eizhowa]

RedandNavy: I suffer from "low-in-stock"-panic attacks, yes Sometimes I can't even tell you about the item until it is mine, because I am afraid someone else might fall in love with it and take it from me I can feel my heart rate increasing and the adrenalin in my blood increasing just thinking about it... Gosh, I sound so paranoid I usually check if I can return the item without great cost and buy if I can... If I can't find a flaw on the item the screen I can usually find it in person. So you might have ended up with 1-2 blouses, not 4 blouses and 2 tops etc. However, you might not get a refund before your holiday

Breathing slowly and deeply also helps

April Item: I bought a 2009 Balenciaga black city with regular hardware last night. I awoke from a bad dream this morning, in which I had told the seller to cancel the purchase, and she had sold it to someone else... It took a moment before I was able to calm myself down.

 

[Betinapple]

@Eva: not quite sure what dress you are talking about. Could you provide me with a link? (in a PM if you prefer). Great to hear you are having a succesful cleanout. Looking forward to hear how you will manage with your 30 pieces in the future.

I know how stressful the sight of a thing you really want selling out can be. I do not know how to handle it yet. I try to really think wisely before purchasing anything and Ta-tas words of something else will come up eventually, has really helped. So has my boyfriend's wise statement that he would rather regret not buying a piece than regret buying it.

@Jina: go get those shoes

@Ta-ta: such a great quote. I want all of my clothes to be like that.

@Red: I really know how you feel. But I am not sure what to do about it. I am having one of those moments right now. I have my eyes on a printed silk dress and a striped sweater. Both great items and at a very reasonable price. I just figured out that the stripes on the sweater is cream and not white. So it is out. Finding "mistakes" or realizing that an item is not excactly what I have been looking for really helps me. I want a perfect not an okay wardrobe.

Still not sure about the dress though. It is not on my list but thinking about how much joy I have had from my printed H&M trend dress it might not be a bad investment. And it is 50$ for a nice quality silk dress. My only objection is that I probably could live without it and although it is cheap I could use the money for my savings, just as you could.

Point being, I know how you feel!

I would really like to contribute more but I am kind of busy ATM and when I am not busy I am ill. I have seen your recommandations on pinterest but I am not able to comment right now, for some reason.

 

[Betinapple]

RedandNavy: I suffer from "low-in-stock"-panic attacks, yes Sometimes I can't even tell you about the item until it is mine, because I am afraid someone else might fall in love with it and take it from me I can feel my heart rate increasing and the adrenalin in my blood increasing just thinking about it... Gosh, I sound so paranoid I usually check if I can return the item without great cost and buy if I can... If I can't find a flaw on the item the screen I can usually find it in person. So you might have ended up with 1-2 blouses, not 4 blouses and 2 tops etc. However, you might not get a refund before your holiday

Breathing slowly and deeply also helps

April Item: I bought a 2009 Balenciaga black city with regular hardware last night. I awoke from a bad dream this morning, in which I had told the seller to cancel the purchase, and she had sold it to someone else... It took a moment before I was able to calm myself down.

I do that as well! I rarely will post an item here or anywhere else if I really want it. Not untill it is mine, mine, mine! We can be crazy together I am trying to let it go though since seing things getting sold out and that it is not the end of the world, might cure it

Congrats on your bag. It is gorgeous!

 

[twistelette]

You got the city bag! Wow, Eizhowa, congratulations!

 

[RedandNavy]

Jina: Indeed, buy those shoes. I'm curious how you'll like them!

Eizhowa: Congratulations on the city bag! Which size is it, the medium or the large? Love the Balenciaga city bags, I'm dreaming of one in brown or grey...

Setting shopping priorities: I decided to re-evaluate my next priorities. This "fashion dreams" pin board is great fun but the problem is that I see so much great must haves there that I get confused. I'll still have that but I also made a secret board with the top four or five items I want to get in the next few months. That one shouldn't be "inspirational" but very realistic.

A silk blouse, long-sleeved and a short sleeved top will be very important during the next one or two months. Actually I think I can live with the ballerinas I own, so I decided to postpone the Lanvin ballerina shopping to next year or next season.

The skirt I'm not 100% sure if I'll get it. I have two fine skirts that I rarely wear, maybe I really should try to wear those more before I get another.

A cardigan or another sweater would be sure to be a good investment on the longer run - because let's face it, weather here is really more of a sweater item than a sleeveless top weather, even if sleeveless tops are great.

One thing I really want to get - but I'll probably wait for the sales - is the clutch. Plus I might need another pair of stylish sneakers.

And then there is the yellow dress by Acne that Ta-ta found for me. I really must try that one on, it does look so perfect. I'll do that soon since I finally found it here.

 

[RedandNavy]

Cleaning out your closet: In an attempt to make myself see clearer I cleaned out my closet today. I only put away one sweater that I really loved but that's just too worn by now. I haven't been very focused with my purchases until a year ago and I still have plenty of things that don't really fit my color scheme. But somehow I don't want to give perfectly fine clothing away just because "it doesn't fit my color scheme". All of these things can be worn with neutrals - and I clearly do have neutrals in my wardrobe. So I keep those things for now. I try to be more focused and work towards a more coordinated wardrobe, but I also try to work with what I have for now. And it's not like a have a lot of clothing, so I don't see a need for a radical cleanout.

 

[EvaH]

Well just throwing a "don't trust your neighbor" out there:
Ie the ballerina: they finally got a hold of the lady (the 4th time UPS tried). She kindly told them to go away, she was not giving them the package. My ex landlord went there, got the same answer. Mytheresa is not refunding items that are not returned to them. So I guess I offered free lanvin ballerina flats to that lady or her daughter
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[eizhowa]

^That is outrageous! You should steal her doormat. And all the replacements.

Have you contacted Mytheresa? Surely you shouldn't have to pay for something that "got lost in the mail" - which is what it did. The ups guy lost it in another womans house...

RedandNavy: There are different sizes? I'll have to look that up. They don't sell Balenciaga in Stavanger so I haven't actually seen any in real life...

 

[Betinapple]

@Red: sounds like a great idea. I also prefer to keep my pinterest lists "cleans" so I do not feel like there is tons of things out there that I want.

@Eva: it is not your problem! UPS handed the package to the wrong person. You did not sign for it. Therefore you should not pay.

Me: still pondering over that dress I was talking about earlier. Pinned it on pinterest. I think the print is gorgeous but I am not sure wether I find it classic enough. I want everything in my wardrobe to be things I want to wear years from now as well.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Jina: Indeed, buy those shoes. I'm curious how you'll like them!

Eizhowa: Congratulations on the city bag! Which size is it, the medium or the large? Love the Balenciaga city bags, I'm dreaming of one in brown or grey...

Setting shopping priorities: I decided to re-evaluate my next priorities. This "fashion dreams" pin board is great fun but the problem is that I see so much great must haves there that I get confused. I'll still have that but I also made a secret board with the top four or five items I want to get in the next few months. That one shouldn't be "inspirational" but very realistic.

A silk blouse, long-sleeved and a short sleeved top will be very important during the next one or two months. Actually I think I can live with the ballerinas I own, so I decided to postpone the Lanvin ballerina shopping to next year or next season.

The skirt I'm not 100% sure if I'll get it. I have two fine skirts that I rarely wear, maybe I really should try to wear those more before I get another.

A cardigan or another sweater would be sure to be a good investment on the longer run - because let's face it, weather here is really more of a sweater item than a sleeveless top weather, even if sleeveless tops are great.

One thing I really want to get - but I'll probably wait for the sales - is the clutch. Plus I might need another pair of stylish sneakers.

And then there is the yellow dress by Acne that Ta-ta found for me. I really must try that one on, it does look so perfect. I'll do that soon since I finally found it here.

I think that's a great idea to try wearing the skirts you have, and see how that goes. That should help clarify things for you.

I know you do have plenty of things in your closet, so I think any panic has no basis in reality I don't have that ... sometimes toward the end of a season I may feel tired of things, but I never feel I have nothing to wear because I know very well I do

One thing you could try is come up with three new combinations you've never worn before. Also a couple new ways to wear your new sweater that you haven't tried yet. That should get you in a different frame of mind ...

I've mentioned before that when I feel I have a hole in my wardrobe, I usually allocate 2 or maaaybe 3 slots at most to that item in the current season, integrate those new items, and then see how I feel. If tops are really a need for you, then I would say plan to buy 2-3 new ones this season and then see where you are. I know you've been able to find them on sale in the past ... like that fabulous Lanvin mustard one.

As you know, I've been working on buying pants for awhile now ... as I was trying to stock up, I think two additional pairs I had bit the dust I wouldn't mind another pair, but really, what I have is fine & it really does work. There are just so many different possible combinations with separates ...

 

[MissTrine85]

^That is outrageous! You should steal her doormat. And all the replacements.

Have you contacted Mytheresa? Surely you shouldn't have to pay for something that "got lost in the mail" - which is what it did. The ups guy lost it in another womans house...

RedandNavy: There are different sizes? I'll have to look that up. They don't sell Balenciaga in Stavanger so I haven't actually seen any in real life...

No, the City is one bag. The others are called Work, First and Weekend (I think)

 

[MissTrine85]

No! I just made the longest post about a new dress I bought today, and then tfs had logged me out while I was typing. And now it's all gone

Will have to re-write tomorrow.

 

[barbaraaa]

Barbaraaa, I feel you with this length issue, I have the same one. I am 6 ft (182 cm) tall and being a size UK6/XS makes it really difficult to find a mini skirt/dress (I prefer shorter leghts on me though) that is not TOO short for me. I really hate that, so unfomfortable and awkward.

Mini-skirts usually stop right below my butt... if that much. Regular skirts are always mid-thigh or above for me. Maybe that's an option for you, although the fit might be a little off in some skirts.

 

[Fewormany]

Cleaning out your closetI haven't been very focused with my purchases until a year ago and I still have plenty of things that don't really fit my color scheme. But somehow I don't want to give perfectly fine clothing away just because "it doesn't fit my color scheme". All of these things can be worn with neutrals - and I clearly do have neutrals in my wardrobe. So I keep those things for now. I try to be more focused and work towards a more coordinated wardrobe, but I also try to work with what I have for now. And it's not like a have a lot of clothing, so I don't see a need for a radical cleanout.

Sounds very familiar. I have the same thing with a part of my clothes at the moment, they don't really fit into 'the bigger picture' but it feels wrong to throw them out..

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ yeah, I don't see anything wrong with that ...

I used to wear brown as a neutral, and then my brown shoes had to go, and it kind of put a crimp in things. I got rid of a brown cardigan that was the third one I bought in that color (never should've gotten it ...), but some other pieces I have kept. You never know when things will come in handy.

I mentioned that I had a few navy pieces hanging around, and when I bought navy shoes recently, I've started wearing them more.

If someone had a massive, out of control wardrobe, that I would at least pare down into a smaller closet, wardrobe, or rail, to start. But I don't think we're really in that situation at all ...

It's not like we're being graded on wardrobe cohesion at any given moment I think it's a great goal, but I don't think there's really any need to rush. I have a blue/black/white dress I wear transitionally. It's probably the only blue I own, it's a great piece, and all it needs to do is go with black, which there's always plenty of.

So as twistelette says, why create a problem for yourself where there isn't one

 

[twistelette]

that's what I say!

In some ways, the ideal wardrobe for me would be a lot like Jesse Kamm's, I saw her on StylelikeU a while ago. She mentioned she had a lot of 'old' stuff in storage, and a relatively small working wardrobe. She'd change it up every now and then, not just buying new stuff, but also pulling things out of storage and putting other pieces in the attic (or wherever).