Mint, grey and blue denim in one simple weekend outfit.
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| From amazinglace.com |
Here is my rendition, complete with a little grey pearl pendant. I wear the matching drop earrings from this set all the time but the necklace is worn infrequently. However, I thought it worked very nicely with this sweater vest that mostly resists my attempts to add scarves or necklaces.
Mint cardigan vest (JCP), $11.73/wear
Grey metallic striped long-sleeved top (Kohls), $2.26/wear
Flared jeans (thrifted, Lane Bryant), $0.29/wear
Grey ankle boots by Seychelles, $7.78/wear
Single grey pearl pendant+
Outfit total: $22.06/wear
I was also pleasantly surprised to find that these flared jeans look pretty good with the sweater vest. I expected that the semi-baggy shape of the vest would be dowdy (not that that stops me!) but I think it's just flattering enough.
In other news...As the Work the Wardrobe Challenge nears its end, I thought I'd share my first sliver of data today.
One of the things I tracked this year was wardrobe items purchased and wardrobe items purged. Let's start with examining the net flow of items in and out of my wardrobe.
Overall, I purchased 148 items this year and purged 105, for a net gain of 43. Ouch...or not? How did this break down by category?
In the general category of bottoms, I increased my skirts significantly. I was pretty pleased that I added more colorful and patterned pencil skirts, which is increasingly my go-to choice because they are easy to wear with long tops, high-volume tops, etc. So I'm happy about that. Pants were stable, and I only bought a dress because I needed something for a cocktail wedding.
In the general category of tops, I did a good job of decreasing my numbers, especially among sweaters. Those always feel like they will be useful (because: Coldville) but it turns out that I have a strong preference for layering year-round and bulky sweaters are not actually the best option for that because they do not fit well under blazers. I also got rid of a bunch of stiff button up shirts that just aren't all that comfortable and are not happy with cardigans. I still have too many tops, but I think I made some progress on that front this year. I'd like to get rid of more in the year to come.
In the general category of toppers, I am not surprised to see that I have expanded my jackets and vests, though I didn't remember that I'd gotten rid of so many cardigans. In keeping with my preferences (style-wise and comfort-wise) for layering, I made a point of expanding my layering options, especially with vests. I had to take advantage of what will no doubt be a very brief period of cardigan vest trendiness to snatch them up! But I'm in really good shape in that category now.
In the general category of accessories...yeah, I kind of went overboard. But luckily scarves and necklaces take up next to no room, so that's not really a big deal (and I have them well-organized in space and in my spreadsheet, so I don't forget about any of them). The shoes...well, it was a parade of colorful, inexpensive ballet flats from Payless (and a few from Goodwill) for the most part. I was already extremely well set on the pricey stuff (boots, more professional leather flats) and now my fun ballet flats game is strong, too. So really, one could almost think I don't need to buy any more shoes. One could. Almost. If they didn't know me.
So although I did increase my net items by an appreciable amount this year, I am happy to see that I've shifted the balance a bit in the right direction. It's clear that I had too many long-sleeved shirts and pullover sweaters, and I know I still have my work cut out for me in that category a bit, but it is good that I retired about 3 dozen of them and replaced less than a dozen. (Some key purchases there were basic, extremely versatile black and grey pullover sweaters and several blouses that are more comfortable and play more nicely with layering than stiff woven shirts.)
This said...no, the Work the Wardrobe Challenge was NOT successful in the sense of keeping me from shopping (though without the WtWC, I could easily have purchased more and purged less!). But I have the room and organization capacity to deal with the extra stuff. How about the financial impact of this shopping? That's a topic for another day. Stay tuned!
Do you like my butterfly chart? This site had the best (i.e. easiest to reproduce) tutorial for making one in Excel that I found. (Transferring that chart from Excel to Blogger? That was a nightmare!)
4 comments:
Yes I do like that butterfly chart. A very nice way to look at the data!
And yes, that tutorial describes an interesting process.
Thanks! This was my first opportunity to actually use a butterfly chart. I don't usually work with data that lends itself so well to it.
You are my kind of graph user. So many people use graphs they like when they don't have data that lends itself well to it!
Yeah, it's true a lot of people are drawn to how "cool" a viz is as opposed to how well it reveals interesting things about your data.
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