{MY CLOSET BEFORE}
I love love love my closet. When J and I were looking at apartments, the huge open-concept closets in this place were a real selling point. I even took the smaller of the two bedrooms and still have tons of space.
Now that you have seen my closet, you know my weakness, I LOVE clothes! My wardrobe is a collection of impulse buys, steals, lots of clothing swap gems, vintage pieces and some of the items are so old I don’t remember when I bought them. I try to purge my closet twice per year but I still seem to have so many clothes! Having a huge wardrobe has it’s pros and cons.
PROS
-I don’t have to do laundry that often (about once per month)
-I have so many outfits to make and remix
-I don’t (easily) get bored with the selection
CONS
- When I do have to do laundry, it is an ordeal. The folding and putting away is never completed
- My room ends up being a mess because I try stuff on and then throw it on the floor. Worst. Habit. Ever. This is the cleanest it ever gets
- It can be overwhelming
I have never had a problem putting together a cute outfit from what I have, but this year I was presented with two new factors:
1. I have to not only dress professionally, I have to dress like a teacher. This mean comfortable AND professional; classy BUT more conservative than I am used to; grown-up enough to distinguish myself from the students BUT not frumpy or old-fashioned.
2. 2012 has started out with a tight budget, I will be doing 5 weeks in the classroom after completing my condensed course work, which means I can’t work nearly as much as I need to. Extras are out which means I have not bought any new clothes since boxing day and I will not be buying any more until May at the earliest. This means I have to work with what I’ve got.
So here is the closet count of all my clothes:
Tops – 20
Tanks- 17
Pants- 5 dress pants, 4 jeans
Skirts- 18
Dresses- 28
Sweaters- 5 sweaters, 17 cardigans
Shoes- 28
Outerwear- 2 winter, 3 spring/fall, 2 summer (not counted)
Total: 114 (142 including shoes)
That’s a lot of clothes!! BUT WAIT! What happens after I take out anything that’s too short/tight/uncomfortable/ low-cut/young/old/frumpy/fancy?
Tops – 12, 7 tanks (for layering only)
Pants- 5
Skirts- 8
Dresses- 10
Sweaters- 4 sweaters, 15 cardigans
Shoes- 12
Outerwear- same
Total: 61 (73 including shoes)
This practically cuts my wardrobe in half! OMG what am I going to do? Factoring days that are too cold for skirts, days that are too long for heels, and who knows what else, I may as well have a minimalist collection of clothes just like Bridget at Money After Graduation. A big part of transitioning my wardrobe from student to teacher will be remixing pieces and being creative. I hate wearing all black and I want to stand out so wearing pant suits or not-so-little black dresses all the time just isn’t going to cut it.
{MY CLOSET AFTER}
