Closet Orphans: An Update

For a while, I posted a lot about incorporating closet orphans into my everyday wardrobe. (In case you don't know what a 'closet orphan' is, it's an article of clothing that you love, but is really difficult to style. You had to have it, but it just sits in your closet, alone and sad.)

I haven't posted one in a while and I'm not sure why that is. It's not because I have fewer closet orphans, I probably have more. But somewhere along the way, I think I've finally started to get a grasp of my personal style. Things started to fall into place and my clothes are beginning to reflect who I am. That may not sound like much, but it really can be. Take it from the girl who everyone assumed was slutty in high school even though she really wasn't. It can be a huge pain when you don't have a grip on how to best represent yourself.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Here are five outfits where I've been able to incorporate five hard to style items in my closet.

- The Ruffled Blouse: I love this flesh-toned ruffle front blouse, but because it's got tiny, thin straps (this image is not the exact top), 1) It's not exactly work appropriate and 2) It's hard to wear a bra. However, with this great cardigan from Target and some skinny pants, it's suddenly safe for work!

- The Argyle Sweater. I love the colors in this sweater, but it always looked odd when paired with jeans. However, it really works with gray corduroy pants. I don't know why it makes all the difference, but it really does.

 

- The Easter Dress. While I love my Easter dress, I was having a hard time finding other excuses to wear it. Thankfully, my Stitch Fix blazer makes it almost professional. Because the blazer is so much more professional than just a cardigan, I can get away with wearing this to work.

- The Red Pants and the Amber Necklace. This outfit is a two for one. Do you know how hard it is to try and style red pants? I wish I'd given it more thought before I bought these ones. You can't see it in this picture, but the pants actually are covered in tiny orange polka dots. Fortunately, the polka dots are the exact color of the amber in my amber necklace, a closet orphan on its own. Keeping everything else very simple lets these two pieces work together.

- The Orange Top and the Blue Earrings. These two closet orphans combine to make two casual pieces a little more fancy for the weekend. Warm weather appropriate, yet still pretty cute. Perfect for about half dozen trips to Home Depot.

Closet Orphans: Week of 3/10/2012

 This outfit was a total accident, but since it works, I'm going to count it!

I have a lot of trouble styling this beautiful lace cardigan I bought from ModCloth. First, I think it looks weird wearing it over any sort of sleeve. Unless it has a sleeve that is the EXACT same length or no sleeve at all, like a tank top or cami, it just doesn't look right. Secondly, I have problems working with two different patterns. While the lace is subtle, it is still a pattern, which makes it more difficult to wear it over another pattern. Lastly, it has a very classic, romantic feel so the rest of the outfit has to fit with that. And given that most of my tank tops are in very bright colors, there's really only one cami I ever wear it with. 

However, Friday morning I got a little inspired (ok, nothing in my closet was looking great and I was forced to get creative) and I threw it on over a muted floral tank top from Target. (Note: my tank top looks almost nothing like this one, but it's the closest polyvore has. It is light blue with clumps of flowers, but that's where the similarities end.) I just hooked the bottom couple of eyes on the cardigan, topped it with a long gold necklace, and instant outfit!

I really should just changed the title of this series to "Shopping in My Closet" because that's really what it has become. It's kind of nice, given my self-imposed shopping ban. Less money on clothes, more for the house, yes?

Closet Orphans: Week of 3/3/2012

I actually wore this outfit to work yesterday and it included not one, but TWO of my closet orphans: my green silk tunic and my amber necklace.

My tunic is actually a lot different than the one shown, but it was the closest I could find in polyvore. Mine has short drawstring sleeves, is darker and grayer in color, has larger blossoms, and is silky shiny. And the necklace is nothing like this one. It's a hunk of polished amber on a chain that my mom bought for me at the annual Tucson gem show (biggest gem show in the world baby!). And it encases a tiny little fly so that I can one day grow my own dinosaur!

Anyway, here's why I think this outfit works:

• Since the top is flowy and loose, it's best to pair it with tighter pants to avoid looking sloppy. 
• With skinny jeans, I don't pair it with heels if I'm wearing it to work. It's just a little too casual and unprofessional. These flats work well, though, because with my skin tone, they are basically nude with a hint of pizazz. If I were wearing this around town on a weekend, I would definitely step it up a notch with some platform sandals.
• The neckline on the tunic is very high so I wear my hair up to show off my neck. 
• While you would think that the color of the tunic and the color of the amber wouldn't work well together, it actually looks amazing. I would have never thought to pair the two, but with the little bit of purple that is in the blossoms, it really connects.

If I have the time, energy, and motivation this weekend, I fully intend on spending a good amount of time organizing my closet and purging the stuff I just don't want to wear anymore. And replacing all of the hangers. Dan had a mental snap last weekend and decided all of our hangers needed to match, so he went to Walmart and bought dozens and dozens of them. He's a weird fella sometimes...

Fashion February: Shopping Outfit on Bloated Day

Although I didn't go shopping, I left the original title of this outfit the same because I find it hilarious and true. Slip-on flats for ease of trying on shoes, skinny jeans that can be left on under dresses if necessary, and a flowy top to cover any tummy bloat.

Anyway, this is the last day of Fashion February! YAY! I'll be honest, I am sick of this challenge. I am really looking forward to waking up tomorrow and just putting on absolutely anything. Not that I don't like the outfits I've designed, but I have definitely learned some things about my style over this past month.

• There are a lot of pieces in my closet that I love that I have no idea how to style. And not just crazy pieces, like my hot pink Japanese Star Wars shirt, but normal pieces like my the majority of my work blouses, my gray color block dress, and a lot of my jewelry. Because of this, I'm fasting from buying any more tops, dresses, and jewelry until I can learn to use the pieces I have in a way I'm proud of.

• I don't have as many good work outfits as I think. There were plenty of days when I picked an outfit, go to work, and suddenly realized my neckline was much lower than I thought or the hemline was much shorter than I thought. If I want to be taken seriously and not pull at my clothes all day, I need to be more aware of what I'm wearing. I already have a rule in place that I can't buy anything that isn't work appropriate, but I need to be more mindful of tights, camis, and the tightness of my outfits. 
• A side effect of the first point, but there are A LOT of my pieces that I wear in very high rotation. Like the red flats in this outfit. Or my Old Navy dark wash, straight leg jeans. Or my red purse, also shown above. I need to fill out my wardrobe with more neutral, easy to wear pieces so I don't have to wear the same ones all the time. 
• I need to be more mindful of the gaps in my closet and make an effort to target those holes.

On a more positive note, this challenge has shown me that it is possible to be stylish everyday. I can easily wake up and put an effort into what I'm wearing. But let's be real. There will always be the days where your hair is doing something stupid (or how mine is all the time now, stupid haircut) or you don't want to wear a cute dress. You just need to throw your hair, put on a pair of comfortable pants and a loose top, and call it good.

How about this: for the month of March, every Friday or Saturday, I'm going to create an outfit based on a piece or pieces that I haven't worn in a month. That's just five days, so that's not too much pressure. I'm going to call it "Closet Orphans", a term coined by Sally at Already Pretty. And it should be more fun outfits because Fridays are casual and Saturdays are just ca-ray-zay. I think I need some sort of challenge to keep me on the up-and-up.