2018 Wardrobe Planning — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

It's now six weeks into the new year, and I've just recently decided to figure out a wardrobe plan to follow this year. Welp. What can I say? I'm nothing if not fashionably late! ;)

A couple of weeks ago, I started thinking about what I wanted to add to my wardrobe this year. I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a plan to thwart impulse purchases. I first evaluated what I already have in my closet and figured out what doesn't suit my needs anymore, and then I came up with a relatively loose plan for adding garments following the points on my list below. Of course, I may add something to my wardrobe that doesn't fit the "requirements" I set, and that's okay. I just want to keep these in my back pocket when I'm on the fence about a particular garment. If this works, I think I may just have to plan my purchasing goals in future years!

A few of my favorite things by Madewell and Grana — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

GET RID OF ITCHY/ILL-FITTING GARMENTS

Life is too short to wear things that don't feel good and/or that don't fit! I've been slowly going through my closet and picking out the items that haven't been worn often because of one of these two issues. It's hard to get rid of items I love...but it's not enough to love to look at them, you know? I have to love wearing them, too! My closet space is too precious to waste on garments I don't wear.

REPAIR/REPLACE CLOSET STAPLES

I have a fabulous foundation of closet staples to choose from, and some of the pieces I've had since I started my blog over four years ago. Unfortunately, some of my older garments are starting to show their age. I plan to repair the items I can repair (and that I plan to keep wearing once they're fixed) and replace or update the items that can't be repaired or that I don't see myself wearing anymore. I recently had my most-worn pair of Madewell jeans patched up after a couple of holes appeared, and it cost me a whopping $8. Compare that with the price of a new pair of jeans and it's easy to see why it's better to just fix the pair I already love and wear all the time!

FOCUS ON MACHINE-WASHABLE MATERIALS

As much as I love my silk and cashmere collection, I need more garments that can stand being machine-washed. Here's the truth: I'm lazy. I'm also messy. I don't get to the dry cleaner or hand wash delicate garments very often, so when I do dirty my nicer garments, they are ignored for weeks until I finally get around to stopping by the dry cleaner or hand washing. I also don't want to spend my time and money at the dry cleaner. Because of that, I'm on the hunt for more cotton and cotton-like materials that can be washed with everything else I own and still come out good as new.

Songmics bamboo garment rack — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

REFRESH MY DENIM COLLECTION

I wear denim probably about 80% of the time (exhibit A: the pair I just had repaired). I'm lucky that my office is casual enough that denim is perfectly appropriate to wear. That said, I'm getting tired of the pairs I do have. I have mostly skinny jeans, and while they are by far my favorite silhouette, they are feeling a little bit stale after having worn the same pairs for over six months straight. I recently added a pair of Everlane's modern boyfriend jeans, and I also bought a new pair of jeans from Madewell. They're skinny, but the curved and frayed hem adds a little something extra. I've got my eyes peeled for more interesting pairs to liven up my collection.

FIGURE OUT MY DRESS STYLE

A few years ago, I lived in dresses. I owned 30 dresses in 2014, and now, I own almost a third of that number. I went from wearing dresses nearly every day in the warmer months to, well...not. Now that I have a job that requires me to dress more modestly, I wear my shorter hemlines even less. (I prefer to wear dresses that hit about four inches above my knees, but for work, I don't think I'd wear anything that falls above my knees unless I saw someone else doing that.) I would love to fall back in love with dresses and figure out a dress style that works for me and my job. I think I've aged out of most fit-and-flare dresses, but I think I might try some sheath and shift dresses to see if they work for me!

ADD WORK-APPROPRIATE GARMENTS

The biggest change between last year and this year has to be the fact that I'll be employed full-time all year! I mentioned that I don't have a strict dress code I need to follow, but I still want to focus on adding garments that I can wear to work. In particular, this is what I have in mind:

Sleeveless tops/tops for layering / I wear a lot of cardigans and blazers, so I'd like a wider variety of tops that I can easily layer under my cardigans and blazers. I'd like to add a few unique tops if I find the right ones!
More cardigans/blazers / As I said, I wear cardigans and blazers a lot, and I'd like a few more to give myself more options. I'm not sure exactly what styles I'm going to gravitate towards, but I am open to pretty much anything. I definitely need to focus on warm-weather, lightweight cardigans.
Longer skirts and dresses / Once I nail down a dress style I like, I'll be on the hunt for more to beef up my sad dress collection. I also want to add more skirts to give me some variety in the hot summer months. I love the midi skirt I picked up last year, so I'm hoping to find more like that!
Summer-weight pants / So, summer is coming. I started my job in the heat of summer last year, and let's just say that it would have been nice to have more than one loose pant option! I'm not sure exactly what I have in mind for this category, but I'm hoping to try more looser-cut, non-denim pants to round out my spring/summer work wardrobe. Maybe culottes? We'll see!

Charlotte Olympia Kitty flats and Marc Fisher Yommi boots — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

ITEMS FEATURED:

Madewell silk printed shirt (no longer available) / Madewell flannel shirt (no longer available) / Grana cashmere sweater (no longer available) / Grana cashmere cardigan (no longer available) / Olivia Moon knit blazer (no longer available) / Madewell skinny jeans / Everlane boyfriend jeans / Charlotte Olympia 'Kitty' flats / Marc Fisher chelsea boots / & Other Stories bucket bag (no longer available)