More on clothes

If you are bored by the mundane and superficial topic of clothing, then read no further.  But if, like me, you get strangely excited by weeding out your closet, even if you can't replenish it, and the fantasy of a closet full of clothes that actually fit and look good, then keep reading.  

Today I bribed my neighbor J to come over again to help me further with my wardrobe.  We went through every single item of clothing in my closet and did a three point filtering process:  

1) is it a style that is current (not to be confused with trendy - nothing in my closet is trendy) 

2) is it in good enough shape to wear (minimal fading and pilling, not stretched out) 

3) is it flattering on my body

If the items made it past those 3 tests, we then figured out whether or not I had anything I could wear it with.  If not, to GoodWill it went.  

Finally, we got to the point of figuring out outfits.  FINALLY!  This is where it all came together.  

Here are some things I learned:

1) I cannot wear khaki or white pants with pastels or I look like an ice cream cone of sherbet.  Khaki or white pants go with navy or black tops (maybe with a white tank underneath).

2) If your pants are loose at all, you must wear them with a tight top.  

3) Even if my abs are ever back in rock hard shape (ha!), I cannot, CANNOT tuck.  My waist is way too high.  If I tuck I end up looking like my waist is in my armpits.

4) I don't look good in collared shirts.  Go figure.  Every one we tried on did not make it through step 3 (flattering).  

5) Tank tops in all different fabrics and styles are THE staple of my wardrobe.  99% of the time I wear pants, a tank, and a cardigan sweater of some sort.  

6) Long sleeves should always be worn pushed up a bit above the wrist.  Otherwise my arms look out of proportion.

7) I can pull off feminine.  It looks great on me with dark jeans to give it a little edge.  

8) My best colors on top are navy and white.  I can wear a pewter gray as long as I wear lipstick.  Black is OK but a bit severe for me.  Better to stick to navy.  

9) I can only wear my flowy tops with tight (relatively) jeans.  Otherwise I look preggo.  

10) Necklaces (or lack of) make or break an outfit for me. 

Next step:  try to figure out the accessories piece.  I saw first hand that necklaces make all the difference but I have no idea how to pull it all together.  Also, I don't really have any.  I just have a few that J let me try on of hers to prove a point.  

Also, I am on the hunt for two items during the summer sales:  

1) subdued gold every day sandal that I can wear with everything, every day.  I am trying to hunt this down in my size:

http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/shoes/flatsandals/PRDOVR~15449/99101743058/15449.jsp

2) Dark wash denim skirt - straight, pencil cut, hitting mid knee.  Can be worn the same as jeans.  My calves are one of my best features.  It's nice to show them off.

Thanks for following along in the fun.  My new prayers at the end of the night are for world peace and for everyone who wants one to have a J in their life to help them look their best.