October Project 333 review

I’m going to try and keep this recap short…

October was fairly warm. I spent a lot of time at home, and a lot of time walking around the neighborhood for exercise and fresh air.

I barely wore my dresses, but I wore skirts a few times – mostly my long black skirt which I almost removed from my wardrobe last year. It turns out it’s still very useful – the pockets make it better than my other skirt. I also made a point of wearing my orange batik wrap skirt a couple of times. I feel like this is a very seasonal piece – I don’t usually wear orange, but it seems appropriate in October and November with all the leaves changing and pumpkins everywhere.

I wore my blue jeans a lot, and my black skinnies at least once a week. It’s nice to have the choice between the 2 looks. They are totally different from each other. The black jeans are a lot like my leggings, but they are warmer and have pockets, making them a lot more practical. Leggings are better for walking or lounging around the house though, and they’re handy for layering, of course.

October is a huge month for cardigans! They are probably my most valuable pieces year round, but in spring and fall it’s rare to find a day when I haven’t worn a cardigan.

I actually found a new one half way through the month. It’s hot pink with a diamond textured knit, and it’s a cut lower in the back with a (weird?) thing going on in the open front. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but I love short sleeved cardigans I can throw over a long sleeved shirt for just-enough warmth. I decided to go for it (it was about $7 at Goodwill, good brand, and well looked after) and wore it right after I bought it. (That was a actually mistake because the detergent fragrance gave me a pounding headache, but I was able to wash it out with white vinegar and 2 cycles through the machine). I only had it for half of the month but I wore it 9 times!

And my old favorite grey vest cardigan, also from Goodwill, got 8 wears. I didn’t touch a couple of my cardigans, but that’s because they go with my dresses, which I didn’t wear.

I’ve been wearing tanks more often than I would have expected. They’re layering pieces in winter, so technically they don’t count. I tally them as a single item even though there are four of them. I wore short sleeved tshirts a few times so I’m glad I kept them in my selection.

I bought a couple of new long sleeved t-shirts lately – I have 5 now. Black & white striped, grey and aqua striped, plain black, plain grey, and the latest is a dark heathered purple. I’m glad I got the basic colors, but I’m excited to have a dark semi-neutral color (dark purple is a neutral in my wardrobe!) to jazz things up a bit. It’s important to me to inject some color into my rather drab winter wardrobe.

I tried out my teal coat for the first time when I went into the city on a colder day. It worked really well over a long sleeved tee and jeans. It was warm enough to cut the chill of the day. If it had been really cold I could have added another layer and warm hat, scarf, and gloves and been really toasty. The color really made me happy and the coat was comfortable to wear.

And of course I wore my sweatpants a lot of the time. I’m trying not to apologize for that. Hubby wears his flannel pj pants most of the time when he’s working from home so he can’t and doesn’t complain. He’s the one who taught me to have “home clothes.”

So, how’s it going?

I’m pretty happy with what I have for winter. I still need to buy boots and shoes… sigh. I tend to wear the same things day after day just because they’re already at hand (i.e. usually tossed on the (clean) floor!) I have too many coats, but I wore several of them last month. This month the weather should turn really cold so I’ll see which ones I reach for. I discovered that my Adidas jacket is waterproof.

My closet is actually a little crammed right now which is annoying me. But it’s not really because I have an excessive clothing collection – it has more to do with using padded hangers for my many cardigans, which take up a lot of space, and the fact that I’m storing my quilts by hanging them in the closet. I might have to make the quilt storage “problem” into another blog post, but suffice it to say, it was a good solution and they fit easily in there during the summer, but they’re annoying me now.

Truth is, I could whittle down my wardrobe down a little more. When I unpack the cold weather accessories from my “emergency” plastic bin I will move a few pieces off hangers and put them in that storage in the top of the closet. I’ll assess whether there are some things that should go into the big basement tote at that point.

By the way, I managed to make a Halloween costume using what I had in less than half an hour on Friday. I volunteered at my library, handing out candy to 300+ costumed trick or treaters. I really want to update my wig, but my butterfly wings were a great buy. I can pair them with all kind of looks. Maybe a tutu next year?

Well, so much for short! 1,000 words seems to be my default. I write these posts mostly as a recap for myself, to think things through and keep myself accountable. If you find them interesting on any level, I am glad. If not, I hope you don’t waste your time reading them. You should be reading things you love! :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Next time, something completely different… Possibly a lava related post!

Jo:)

Edit: Oops, I forgot to share a link to my spreadsheet where I track my clothes (just in case you’re interested in the details)

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