reviewing my winter Project 333 wardrobe, moving into spring

Hi there!

It’s been quite a while since my last Project 333 post. Spring has come early to the Pacific Northwest, so I’m calling winter DONE and changing things over a month early.

You might remember that I decided not to count my winter things too closely. I didn’t have much reason to switch over between fall and winter because I don’t have as many winter options (and I don’t much like winter clothes – I wear a lot of loungewear in wintertime). That worked out quite well. I did bring out some specific things for winter events – my special pumpkin orange wrap skirt, my day of the dead skirt, a Christmas tshirt, my elf hat, a fun-run tutu, and some red accessories. When the event or season was over those things went back into storage (I keep them with the decorations for that season, although, as evidenced in the photo at the bottom of the page, the Xmas items are hanging around on top of my storage tote waiting to be put away). But mostly I wore my simple basics around the house and relied on my brightly colored teal coat and pink cardigan to keep me feeling cute and cheerful.

During the 5 months of “winter” I bought a few new (to me) things which gave me some variety, although they didn’t all work out in the long run. I tried to do the tunic sweater dress with leggings thing, but tunic sweater dresses are not a very flattering option on me and if I’m being honest I know that they never have been (ugh, the 80s!). I didn’t find any winter boots that would balance my figure the way I was hoping, so I’ve decided to leave that look to other people. (The more I see the knee high boots and leggings look, the more I notice that most people don’t pull it off very well. Lots of short legs cut in half – something I can’t afford to do!) So yeah, the tunic sweater was a one month thrift shop “rental” and that’s fine.

I am still on the fence about the pink fancy blouse I found on that same shopping trip, because I might need to buy a similarly toned top to layer under it (because it’s sheer), and I don’t know that I love it all that much anyway. I’ve worn it once. The denim dress from that same shopping trip has been pretty awesome though. It has given me some variety for winter and will probably be even more useful this spring.

I just found another top that can be considered a “fancy blouse”  – a casual top with a little bit of something special. Long time readers might remember the aqua lace top I tried and failed to make work a couple of years ago. Well I have found a black lace blouse and it’s so much better! It is a soft rayon tshirt with a pretty lace overlay on the front panel. The lace isn’t scratchy, and the top isn’t sheer so I don’t have to find a top to wear underneath it. The lacy hem is a little longer than the lining panel and the overall length is perfect for my short torso. It was a brand new, tags-on, find at Goodwill, $48 retail, so I was happy to pay $10 for it. I’ve already worn it a couple of times and I love it.

I’m buying a couple of new cotton sweaters this season which will hopefully be useful right away this spring, but will also be ready for next fall and winter. I’m really bad about procrastinating and just sticking with what I have out of laziness, so I’ve decided to replace some worn out old sweaters now, rather than trusting that I’ll do it when fall comes back around. I have 3 warm pullover sweaters right now – a black fitted cashmere (it wasn’t quite so fitted in the beginning, but I may have grown a little), a periwinkle blue fitted cashmere exactly the same as the black one, and my “kermit” sweater, a 2nd hand J.Crew wool/cashmere blend with a nice little cable design. It was near the end of its life when I bought it and I’ve worn it no less than 38 times this year, and probably about the same the year before (I think). It’s my go-to loungewear sweater on cooler days. I’m wearing it right now. It’s pilled and a bit stretched out and it’s the color of Kermit the Frog. I was tempted to donate it back to Goodwill at the beginning of the season, and I’ve worn it 30 times since then, so I don’t feel bad. I’m replacing it with another colorful pullover – either the one that’s on its way, or another one. And I’m donating the blue cashmere because it isn’t as useful as the black one and I’ve had it for close to a decade. I’m ready for a change. I should probably ditch or replace the black one too. I ordered a bright pink pullover and a cabled grey button front cardigan, hoping not to repeat the mistake of buying duplicates. We’ll see how they pan out, but I’ll donate the old sweaters regardless.

I actually have a big basket full of things to donate this season! I was pretty brutal when I unpacked my tote. If something looked tired or cheap or fussy it went into the basket. If I had thoughts of “well it’s not very flattering but –” I put it in the basket. Even if I wore it a bunch last year! (I have plenty of nice things that might not actually be as flattering as I think they are – I don’t need to wear things I KNOW are not flattering!) and I don’t need to wear cheap-looking junkie dresses. I’m letting go of some old favorites that are getting worn out. And I’m giving away some things that I’ve had for ages but hardly worn.

I’m quite proud of myself. And I’m not going to run out and replace everything. There might be a few gaps in my wardrobe but I’m going to trust that I can make do with something else that serves the same purpose or get a replacement when and if I realize I really do need it.

And when I found myself packing a box of “emergency” things to stash in the top of my closet I decided that I didn’t need to. I hung a couple of dressy dresses up in my closet as a “formal capsule” so they would be ready to wear if a more formal occasion came around. But the other things went back in the main storage tote. I’ve been storing it in a more accessible part of the basement so I can just as easily retrieve something from there as from my closet shelf. The awesome part is that my tote is getting emptier! There’s space in there for bulky coats now. I’m excited.

I’ve updated my spreadsheet with winter season totals for October through February. The spring list is not quite finished yet. I’m trying to keep a list of the things I have in storage separately from the things I have in the closet. It’s probably a work in progress, depending on how this weird early spring pans out. I’m going to try not to change things around much until summer. But if our warm weather continues (or suddenly disappears!) I might need to make a few adjustments. I’m always trying to challenge myself with this project without being too rigid.

You’ll also remember that I don’t count shoes or accessories. Right now I don’t foresee a time when I will. I have been updating my shoe wardrobe lately, replacing some worn out walking shoes and trying to fill in a couple of gaps. I will probably share a shoe post soon. Spoiler alert: they are almost all black and pink these days. And I still haven’t made the effort to get a pair of ballerina flats. But I have a selection pinned.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Jo:)

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