So I finally got The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees. I've been eyeing it since it came out a few months ago, but didn't really have a good excuse to get it. But as I've sort of been hitting a plateau with my wardrobe, I thought this might help me to push through. I've only read the first few chapters, but I am hopeful. One of the things I find so hard is that you see examples of all these "capsule wardrobes" on Pinterest and the internet. And that is all well and good. That works for that person. But in reality, that doesn't really work for me. The pins that tell you you need X number of shirts and Y number of pants, always fall short. The inevitably were made by someone who is not a physician by day and does not live in Nebraska where it can be 70* this week and below freezing the next.
And she addresses this early on in her book. She says that there are no short cuts. Creating a curated closet is about finding yourself. Finding your own personal style. Not what is in style right now, but what is your own personal style? What do you like to wear? What looks good on you? What colors do you like to wear? And this is a very personal thing. Which is why when you try to put on someone else's personally styled wardrobe it feels all wrong.
But it's not as easy as just pick out 5 shirts and 4 pairs of pants, either. Which is the hard part. It really isn't about the number of items. It is about having items that fit well, are made well, and that you love to wear. Because when you love your clothes and how you feel in them, getting dressed in the morning is easy.
The first few chapters are all about finding your own style. The first exercise she tells you to do is to take a picture of yourself in every outfit you wear for a week. Well, I'm two days in, but I figured here was as good a place as any to share what I've got so far.
Thursday morning I didn't have to work. So we got up and worked out, then we went to get Teddy a passport and grab a quick breakfast at the Espresso Shop.
And she addresses this early on in her book. She says that there are no short cuts. Creating a curated closet is about finding yourself. Finding your own personal style. Not what is in style right now, but what is your own personal style? What do you like to wear? What looks good on you? What colors do you like to wear? And this is a very personal thing. Which is why when you try to put on someone else's personally styled wardrobe it feels all wrong.
But it's not as easy as just pick out 5 shirts and 4 pairs of pants, either. Which is the hard part. It really isn't about the number of items. It is about having items that fit well, are made well, and that you love to wear. Because when you love your clothes and how you feel in them, getting dressed in the morning is easy.
The first few chapters are all about finding your own style. The first exercise she tells you to do is to take a picture of yourself in every outfit you wear for a week. Well, I'm two days in, but I figured here was as good a place as any to share what I've got so far.
Thursday morning I didn't have to work. So we got up and worked out, then we went to get Teddy a passport and grab a quick breakfast at the Espresso Shop.
I'm only a little bit embarrassed to say I wore my workout clothes out to do all of that. After I got home and showered, I changed into this sweater/sweatpant combo. This sweater is one of the ones I got after Christmas. It came and was a lot shorter than I was anticipating. Its' not a bad thing, but I feel like I bear my midrift more often than I'd like. So I may have to get rid of it, but that is so, so hard for me to do when I just bought it. And I like the color and the cable knit.
That afternoon I went to work, and I wore this:
You can't really see, but it's a blue cashmere sweater from Everlane (only $100) and floral ankle pants. I really like these pants, I got them at D.Diff after Max was born, but they are too big. I'm going to wash them again to see if the fit is any better, but if not, they'll probably have to go.
Then yesterday I got my newest Trunk Club. I'm still going through trying to decide on things, but one thing that was a for sure YES was this chambray shirt from J. Crew. It fits perfectly and it looks amazing on and I can't believe I've gone this long without a chambray shirt.
This was how I went to work this morning, and I loved this outfit. It looked great and was very comfortable. When I got home this afternoon I just switched out the pants and lost the blazer and was ready to take care of my boys.
I'm still sort of torn on the sneakers, but I'm leaning towards keeping them. I think they'll be pretty dang functional, they are comfortable, and they won't go out of style. I think I'll be able to wear them with many things. But they are sort of taking the place of my TOMS. Not that I don't have any TOMS anymore, because Lord knows I do, but they sort of serve the same function. Though they are a bit ore all weather than the TOMS. Just trying to decide if I want to keep the sneakers or if the TOMS I have already serve this purpose.
So, I probably won't post every outfit for the whole two weeks. Partly because no one wants to see that, but partly because I probably won't have time. But, I'm liking the book. After you take your pictures for two weeks you are supposed to really analyze what you wear and why. She emphasizes your life style. What kinds of clothes do you actually wear. This is a big one for me because there are lots of beautiful clothes that I'd like to have that I just won't have any place to wear them to here in Nebraska.
She also tells you to start looking for inspiration. Pinterest, style magazines, style blogs, etc... So that is what I'm going to go now before I go to bed. Inspiration :)
No comments:
Post a Comment