A Balanced Wardrobe

I've been trying to work a bit more on all those New Years Resolutions that I seemed to have promptly forgotten about by Groundhogs Day this year. And one of those resolutions that I was carrying into 2009 from the previous year was to improve my wardrobe. I've definitely made some strides, but lately looking in my closet had become a frustrating thing. I felt like I was lacking some key things to make my wardrobe work for me. Revisiting an article I had kept from a past issue of Real Simple, The Essentials of a Well-Balanced Wardrobe, I made a list of things I felt were missing from mine. And then this weekend Stephanie, Holly and I hit the stores (with a Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic 30% off coupon in hand) to try and fill in the gaps. Followed the shopping excursion up with a few calculated online purchases the next day.

Basics bought:
.T-shirts- I lacked a lot in this department, and what I had was wearily worn. I got three v-neck short sleeve tees in gray, black and navy and three crew neck long sleeve tees in white, black and gray from the J. Crew outlet. All of them were on sale, so it averaged out to a mere $10 per tee! I followed up with the additional online purchase of a crew neck short sleeve tee in white from Gap, as they were out of my size in white at J. Crew.
.Chinos- After going to FIVE Gap stores on Saturday and not finding my size at a single one of them I had to throw in the towel and order the khaki chinos that I love from their website. I had these same pants in a gray, so knew that this cut was exactly what i wanted to replace my old khaki pants in need of retirement.
.Denim Jacket- I didn't go into the day with this item on my list, but I have avoided wearing my denim jacket for quite sometime. It fit me poorly and was in a wash that I no longer thought remotely attractive. I found a new jacket that seemed to be a vast improvement at a good price.
.Sweater- Gray and white argyle sweater, not really a basic (unless you're me and love argyle as much as I do), but it reminded me of a J. Crew sweater I coveted from a previous season. How could I resist?
.White button down- I ordered a short sleeve version of the classic white button down shirt. The one hanging in my closet was a whopping 12 years old. Seriously overdue for retirement! I have a long sleeve button down which I may also need to replace, as the fit is poor and I of course didn't return it in time after originally purchasing it. I might be able to have it altered, an extra button and a little nip in the sleeves might fix things.




















Left to buy:
.Tennis shoes- I need a new pair of black Chuck Taylor's and want to get a white pair as well this time. I love my chucks and wear them constantly!
.Straight leg jeans- I've got a nice pair of trouser jeans, a couple of pairs of skinny jeans, and a few pairs of boot leg jeans. I think a pair of straight legs would round everything out well.
.Pencil skirt- I could use one in denim and one in another color/material.
.Black pants- I own no black pants. Aren't I breaking some sort of law?
.Jewelry- I own very little jewelry, so I really need to work on this area.

Additionally I think part of the reason I feel confused when I look in my closet is it feels like it lacks cohesion. I'm going to try and rearrange everything by color this weekend, and see if that makes a difference for me.