The antidote to Blurgh!!

After some internet searching I found the Phillip Lim top in my size and ON SALE ($320 down from $550). Of course I had to get it. This is exactly the kind of thing I should be getting. It's a standout and I can wear it with everything from jeans to skirts to dressy velvet pants. And yes, I own a pair of dressy velvet pants.

This eats up close to half of my new monthly clothing budget (more on that later) but so versatile and unique I think it's worth it. It's on sale at Barney's if you're interested.

In the words of Liz Lemmon: Blurgh!

Today's outfit did NOT make me happy. I put it on this morning and was overwhelmed with a feeling of blah. I had to add the LV bag just to get myself out the door. (It's 100% true that a good bag can make a world of difference - I never regret spending money on those.) I picked this outfit out last night and was running late this morning so I was kinda stuck with it, but in the end I'm glad. I learned a little lesson today: my taste in clothes has changed.

There was a time when I would describe my look (or at least the look I was going for) as "classic". I would have cited Calvin Klein and Donna Karen as my fave designers. And I've spent years amassing plain basics in ordinary colors in my wardrobe. I can't even guess how many black sweater I have. And now, when I look in my closet and feel like I have nothing to wear, it's probably because everything is basically the same. Now what I'm drawn to are clothes that look unique and one-of-a kind. My outfit today could be probably duplicated in most closets in America. Nothing personal America, but that's not a good thing in my opinion.

For the record - Banana blouse and cords, Zara sweater, Boots ?, Coach bracelet and LV bag. It's a first wearing of the brown cords and navy cardigan.

This year - I'm going to only add pieces that I LOVE. I clearly have all the foundations of a basic wardrobe to mix and match with, so now I'm going to have some fun. Clothes that make me smile and make people to ask "where did you get that!" that's my goal. And I plan to spend A LOT less doing it. Onward!

Sale at Trina Turk - Not to be missed!

Everything I've purchased from Trina Turk stays in my closet and gets a lot of wear. If you're looking for cool pieces at a reasonable price, this sale is a good place to start.

www.trinaturk.com

Dreamy!

I can't afford these ($565) but if you can, snap them up. Turquoise glitter is so fresh. Christian Laboutin...of course. At Barney's.

Damn You Phillip Lim!

After falling in love with that Phillip Lim top and not being able to find it anywhere, my closet looked pretty boring this morning. It's stacked with neutral basics - no wonder I'm bored with my wardrobe. Today I broke down and pulled out the BR skinny jeans - it's just too cold. The top Is by 12th St Cynthia Vincent, and I got it on sale at Barney's a couple of years ago for $100 and I do wear it quite a bit. Still seems fashionable to me, so I think it's worth it if it lasts a few seasons.

I brought my purse into the photo because I think it's a good example of what I'm trying to do here. It's a Kate Spade, and was $500, but I got it on sale at 20% off. Finding a good black purse has been like a unicorn hunt for me. I've spent money on several less expensive ones, and just not loved the quality of the leather. This one, I fell in love with and I have used it a ton already. I feel like it will last a few seasons and is worth the cost since I don't need to buy another black purse until this wears out or gets stolen.

Phillip Lim

So I stopped by Phillip Lim today and found the most gorgeous top version of Kim's dress - in Navy which would suit me better. But they only had a size ZERO (ha!) and it's nowhere online. Guess it's popular. Saved myself $550, but this could have been my first designer purchase that I would have really been in love with. I already had 6 outfits to wear it with picked out in my head.

1 of 63

Since I have 63 dresses, I decided to wear one today. This purple sweater dress (BCBG $250.)has been in my closet for a couple of years and gets repeat wear. It's hard to accessorize it much. It's so bulky it kind of is what it is. But i went with gray tights and boots vs. the more expected black. I'm going to try and go the whole week without wearing my Banana Republic Skinny Jeans ($89) which are currently the most worn item in my closet. It's been hard so far (2 days!) because it's 20 degrees out. Speaking of - can anyone design a puffer that's warm AND stylish, or are those two terms mutually exclusive? I'm craving a floor length fur but can't afford one or send so many little fuzzies to the slaughter house.

Also, note to self, get a haircut or a gig as an extra on Big Love, pronto!

Challenge #1: Inventory.

I've decided that this blog needs to be more than a diary - I need to challenge myself to figure out where I'm going wrong if I ever hope to go right. And that first challenge is to actually admit what I have in my closet so this weekend I did a full count. I've posted pictures below, but everything is so crammed in I don't even think I knew what I had...this is staggering, get ready.


63 Dresses
26 Skirts
20 Pullover Sweaters
18 Belts
26 Pairs of Tights
5 Leggings
6 Winter Coats
6 Fall Coats
12 Jackets
4 Hoodies
15 Camis
112 Tops/Tees
20 Cardigans
18 Pairs of Pants
5 Pairs of Cords
11 Pairs of Jeans
5 Pairs of Shorts
26 Purses
12 Pairs of Boots/Booties
24 Pairs of Heels
9 Pairs of Flats
3 Pairs of Tennis Shoes

Wow.

And that's not even everything I own. That doesn't count my scarves, t shirts, jewelry, and other random stuff including a $350 hat that I've NEVER WORN. I'm grossed out and kind of embarrassed and really want to throw half of it away. It's not even possible for me to wear all of this in a year. I'm not sure how I got here. I need to be on an episode of "Horders: The Closet Files".

And one more time with this time I'm going to use a simple formula, which won't be quite accurate, but it'll get the point across. Let's say I bought all of htis in the last year, and we already know what I've spent on clothes. That's $15K on 442 items of clothing. (442 oh my god that is scary) That means I spent an average of $33.19 per item.

HOW can anyone have style on $33 clothes? Granted, not everything cost $33 but if I had a half the stuff in my closet I could spend twice as much on the item. Or, as a word problem, don't buy 5 pairs of Banana Republic Cords and get a fantastic dress you can wear 5 ways instead.

442 things in my closet? I am not over this yet.

This Is What I'm Talking About!

This morning getting dressed was a little agonizing. I wanted to wear something I've never worn so I picked an Old Navy olive cord mini ($24). I thought about just doing black sweater/black tights, but I mixed it up a little with a Trina Turk Blouse ($198) that I LOVE, but somehow never wear. It resulted in the outfit you see here - not too bad. Only took me 30 minutes of digging through my closet to pick it out.


When I get to work I see my friend Kim. She is wearing a spectacular dress with a cardigan and tights. I love it. And I KNOW for a fact no one else in the building is wearing anything similar. So she is owning her look today and I am jealous. So I quiz her - it's a Philip Lim dress and was about $500. This is a lot as far as I'm concerned until I realize I've been spending around 3 x that on clothes a month and don't have anything that spectacular in my closet. I could buy this dress, and still have plenty left over for shopping (or saving). Kim seems to know what I'm trying to figure out.

I'm making a note to stop by Philip Lim in SOHO tomorrow night on my way home from yoga. Can't hurt to look.

UPDATE: Dress turns out to be $675. EEK! Not sure I could go there.

Math is tricky...

On my way back from Pilates today I stopped by Kate Spade. It's on the way home, I SWEAR. I love Kate Spade. Her stuff is so fun and colorful, I wish I could dress like that all the time. I looked at several things I loved and then did the math. I COULD dress like this all the time. At the rate I'm spending money, I could buy 3 amazing things from Kate Spade every month instead of 20 so-so things from everywhere else. I always cringe at higher prices....but if they are more wearable and bring me more joy, then I probably won't feel the need to buy so much other stuff.



Case in point, I went to Lululemon today and used a Christmas Gift Certificate (thanks Mom) to get some yoga clothes. At first glance $98 for yoga pants seems crazy. But then you factor in the fact that they are reversable (2 designs in one) and they last about 4-5 years....the price actually turns out to be pretty low ($25 per pant, per year vs buying 2 pairs of pants at $25 each for 4 years = $200). I make a few purchases and feel good, vowing to put my faded Old Navy yoga pants into the "donate" pile.