A year ago, I was inspired by Marie Kondo to get rid of much of my clothing. To see what I wore, I turned around every hanger “the wrong way” in my closet, flipping it the “correct” way (facing away from me) only after I wore an item. Before the project even began, I’d purged about 5 garbage bags of clothing. Next, I attempted to wear every single item that I hadn’t worn, but hadn’t wanted to purge.
March 18, 2019, Day 1:
1. Chico’s travelers pants from an outlet store: They look perfectly comfortable, but when I walk in them, my inner thighs chafe just a bit. Even though the pants are nearly brand-new, they have a mysterious “fishy” smell. They started to smell after I washed them the first time, so I wonder if I washed them in water that was too hot and I damaged the fabric. Donate!
2. Soft Chico’s travelers jacket. It’s cute and soft and has distinctive buttons. However, the tag itches the back of my neck. I have now cut the tag off. Keeper!
3. I’m wearing a Worthington camisole, which is a bit “loud” for my normal tastes. But, it’s a perfectly good shell under a sweater or a suit jacket. Keeper!
Side note: We had an executive come into the office, and I was glad I’d dressed professionally!
March 19, 2019, Day 2:
4. Black skirt: Right now, I have leggings under it. I’m going to take them off once it warms up. It’s sort of uncomfortable but I think it’ll be better without the leggings. Later note: yes, it is. I don’t remember where I got this skirt, but it’s cute, it’s a good length, and it looks fresher than the skirts I usually wear. Keeper!
5. Red striped sleeveless button-down top: this is a warm-weather shirt, but it looks good, today, under a suit jacket. I may need to keep this item. Keeper!
6. Black Chico’s suit jacket: this is one of my rare structured “suit jackets.” It’s more structured than my normal “travellers wear,” and I don’t wear it much, but it has lots of shoulder room and it looks fairly new. Keeper!
Side note: I dressed very professionally today! I also had on leggings and boots for the first part of the day because I was cold, but I brought my Mary Jane shoes to change into once it got warmer.
March 20, 2019, Day 3:
7. Leopard-print blouse: I got this from the Sak’s outlet store in Mebane several years ago. It’s possible I avoid it because it’s button-downs, it’s not soft, and because of the strange tie thing in the front that sometimes comes undone. It looks nice, though. Keeper!
8. Another black Chico’s suit jacket: this is nice, and it looks very professional. Keeper!
I’m wearing the same skirt I wore yesterday – this skirt from the Dark Side of the Closet may become a regular! It felt a little uncomfortable after I ate lunch.
March 21, 2019, Day 4:
9. Leopard-print tank/camisole. At one point, I had over 35 leopard-print clothing items. I have purged many of them. Last year I wore this shell a lot, and I’m not sure why I haven’t worn it as much lately – maybe because I’ve been wearing warmer shirts due to the winter season. Keeper!
10. MNG by Mango Suit jacket. This is from the Mango line that JCPenney’s was selling. This partnership ended in 2015. I think I must have purchased this jacket in 2013, and it’s still holding up, though the inside white section is now sort of yellowed. It probably needs a proper dry cleaning. It’s also a little warm. Keeper!
11. Gray Chico’s pants. These low-rise pants are supposed to have a yoga-pant fabric and a professional style. These yoga-pant fabric pants are never as comfortable as they should be. The low-rise waist is squeezing my belly, making me feel fat. The pants are squeezing my inner thigh, making me feel fat. Oh my god, my belly feels so fat. Why is there fabric on my belly? My crotch is starting to feel… uncomfortable. I want to go home and put on my fat pants. Reluctant Keeper!
Side note: I donated these pants about 6 month later.
March 22, 2019, Day 5:
12. Black and gold schoolgirl skirt. Mom bought this for me several years ago. I don’t wear it often for a few reasons – it’s very warm, and it doesn’t match anything. I originally bought it with a cream-colored blouse that looked great, but the blouse had a wooden clasp on the front that broke in the dryer (oops.) Since then, I haven’t had a good matching top for this skirt. Keeper!
13. White sleeveless button-down top. This is a nice shirt, as long as I can find something to wear over it. Edit: I noticed in the picture, later, that it’s more than a bit see-through. I might want to buy something similar that’s less see-through. Donate!
14. White “shrug” sweater. Mom bought this for me several years ago. I don’t wear it often because I have a preference for longer sweaters that cover my butt. It’s useful, though. Keeper!
March 25, 2019, Day 6:
15. Dress with purple upper flouncy area – this is a form-fitting dress that is made to be worn underneath a suit jacket. It may be one of those back-of-the-closet items that I bring out occasionally for my a-game. Keeper!
March 26, 2019, Day 7:
16. Striped Apt. 9 button down sleeveless top from Kohl’s. I purchased this and the brown shirt to be featured tomorrow about a year ago on clearance for about $10 each.This shirt is comfortable, and it’s not something I usually wear in the winter. Keeper!
17. Peck & Peck Weekend three-quarter length sleeve black suit jacket. This looks great, and I was wondering at first why I hadn’t worn it in awhile. Our company policy is business casual so I wear suits less often, but this one looks nice. But the moment I sat at my desk, my shoulders felt “stiff,” which I don’t understand because it is a soft material. I took it off immediately as soon as I was at work. Looks nice, though. Keeper!
I wore these with my old-lady travelers Chico pants. I hadn’t worn these in nearly two weeks. These pants are the ONLY comfortable pants I own, but they look like they should only be worn by people over age 70. On me they look very frumpy. I’m pretending they look nicer with the suit jacket, but I’m avoiding full-length mirrors today.
Side note: I’m discovering I might have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) based on how sensitive I am about clothing fabrics.
March 27, 2019, Day 8:
18. Brown Apt. 9 button down sleeveless top from Kohl’s. The shirt has a tie in the front that needs to be double-knotted so that it doesn’t come undone. It feels cute today, but I think I wore it too much last summer, and I got bored with it. Donate!
19. Lace-up jacket with metal brackets – I ordered this online about 9 years ago from Venus, and it’s a shrug-type jacket that I wear occasionally – I love it! It is shorter than the long black open-front cardigans that I prefer, but it still is pretty cool. When I first bought it, I got a lot of compliments on it. It’s lasted in my wardrobe for many years. Keeper!
I wore these with my old-lady travelers Chico pants. Some frumpy habits don’t go away!
March 28, 2019, Day 9:
20. Calvin Klein sleeveless mixed pattern dress. Mom bought this for me maybe 5 years ago. She bought me several nice dresses, and this one held up nicely. Many of the dresses she bought me had v-necks that stretched out too much. I try to wear tanks under them once they become inappropriately stretched, but that never feels comfortable. Keeper!
21. Brown shrug sweater. I’ve tried to wear this sweater several times, now. It’s too short to work with many outfits, but it matched this dress. Keeper, for now.
22. Red sandals. At one point I had Mootsies Tootsies Naylor sandals in about 10 different colors. They didn’t last very long, they got dirty and little strings would start to fray on the straps, but they were cheap. They were discontinued in 2016, and this is one of my few remaining pairs. Keeper!
March 29, 2019, Day 10:
23. Blue Old Navy fit and flare dress. I love these dresses. I got this dress in several colors at Old Navy last summer. Out of all of them, I’ve worn this blue jean dress the least. I almost put it in the donation pile, but I’m glad I didn’t – I don’t like it on its own, but it looks good for a Friday casual day at work. Keeper, for now.
24. Beige Mootsies Tootsies Naylor sandals. I still love them, even though they look kind of dirty. Keeper!
April 1, 2019, Day 11:
25. Purple flowery and lacy asymmetrical top. I got this top while shopping with my mom. I wore this with my old lady black Chico’s travelers pants and a very long cardigan. Keeper!
26. It was cold enough for my sub-zero parka this morning, but instead I wore my black trench coat. I’ve had this coat for 10 or 11 years, but it’s never been a regular item. Generally, I either opt for a parka or a light-weight coat. I have two trench coats, one that’s black and one that’s beige or maybe light brown. When reaching for a long coat, I’d generally reach for the brown one because it’s classier and newer. Keeper!
Side note: I got rid of the black trench coat 6 months later.
April 12, 2019, Day 12:
27. I took a break from the dark side of the closet. But today I’m back, in a gorgeous flowery purple asymmetrical dress. I wore it with a black suit jacket that I wear fairly often. As soon as I got to work, I remembered why I don’t wear this dress much: it is sleeveless, but it’s also oddly warm. I tend to be too cold most of the time, but in this dress my midsection is too warm. It only feels warm when I’m sitting. It’s still cute, though. Keeper!
I stopped recording dates at this point:
28. I have a dress from Ann Taylor’s Loft. It’s a brightly colored dress in a size-2. Since I don’t have a strapless bra that fits, I end up wearing it with no bra, and I have to yank it up every hour or so. It was expensive when I got it. Maybe it fit me better at some point. A similar dress would cost over $150 today. Keeper for now, because I still wear it sometimes.
29. I have a pile of dresses that must have fit me well at some point, but they now have too low of a slope in the front, so my bra hangs out. I could wear a tank top underneath it, but it’s bulky and uncomfortable and too hot. I need to bring a pile of these dresses (I have probably 5 of them) to mom and see if she can fix them.
30. Purple bridesmaid dress that I picked up at a secondhand store. It goes over one shoulder and is strapless on the other side. But when I put it on, it felt structured and uncomfortable — it wasn’t something I’d casually wear. Donate!