Looking forward

So I'm almost in the final month. 
The weather has temporarily taken a turn for the worst (although we're promised it's going to be back in the 20Cs next week).  I have piles of laundry as my toddler is going through a bed-wetting phase, so it's new bedding most days and the general laundry is getting neglected.  I have run out of clean, casual long-sleeved tops and today was not short-sleeves weather.  So today I wore an item I have ear-marked for Oct-Dec project 333.   I'm not sure about it.  In some ways I love it (colours, style) in others I"m not sure (is it too casual, do I look like I'm wearing a sack?).

I'm becoming much more discerning about what I wear now, as if I'm going to wear an item as a wardrobe staple for 3 months, I've got to love wearing it and feel great in it. 

I have a confession.  There are four items of my Project 333 wardrobe I've not worn or only worn once.  I find this unbelievable.  These items are:

• a pair of black trousers.  I feel that I need a pair.  I wore these all the time prior to 333, but have seriously gone off them and never wear them.  I think it's because feeling good is important to me and, although I didn't realise this when wearing them before, these just don't do it for me.
• a black shirt.  This would be something I wore for work but I've not worn it for two reasons - 1. It's a little bit tight on me. 2. My workplace is fairly casual/smart-casual, so I don't really need it.
• a white shirt.  I've worn this once, for an initial business meeting with a prospective client.   It's another victim of the dress-code in my office.
• my camel-coloured rain coat.  To be fair, I don't feel that the weather has necessitated it.  Maybe once September kicks in...
• now the weather is slightly cooler, I've also stopped wearing my light-weight patterned trousers.  This makes me sad, but it's so much harder to layer up with trousers.

I'm trying to use this to feed into the selection of Oct-Dec project 333 wardrobe, however the only way I've done this so far is to go shopping.  For the first time in 2 months!  In the sale, obviously.

• I've ordered some new black trousers, to replace the existing unworn pair.  These look nice on the website, but if they don't fit right/make me feel great, they're going straight back.
• I've mentioned previously that I have two patterned tops in the current wardrobe that I'm not sure about and don't feel that they suit me, so in the same order I've sent for two plain tops to replace them.  These are short-sleeved and, if they fit/make me feel fabulous, I'm going to replace them in my current wardrobe straight away.  I'm not sure if it's wise to replace in the final month, but I'm hoping (kidding myself??) that I'm building an overall wardrobe that will meet my needs for all the seasons.  I'm also struggling to find short-sleeved, summer tops in deeper colours, so grabbing them when I do find them.

When buying I felt much calmer than in the past.  There was no excited euphoric feeling on placing the order.  The items were in my virtual basket for over a week, until I was sure I was doing the right thing.  This was a good feeling.

Half-way through

As I calculate it, July-September is 92 days, so I've just passed the half-way point.  I thought I'd draw together my thoughts so far.

Overall - I love doing this.  I probably did it before to some extent without realising it, but feel so much more in control of things having a smaller wardrobe with limited options.  It takes out any what-to-wear stress in the morning and as long as I keep on top of the laundry I know I should be fine for pretty much any occasion.

I'm learning about my sense of style (or lack of it!).  There are a number of items in my 333 wardrobe that I don't think suit me, that are limited in what I can wear them with and which will definitely not make it into any future project 333 wardrobes:

• My navy linen trousers and navy sleeveless top that I wear for work.  Navy doesn't really go with any other top/trousers combination in my wardrobe.  I'm not sure it's a great colour for me (much as I love them, blues are not good or "warm" enough).  The navy top is definitely going as soon as the clock strikes midnight on Sept 30th, I'm going to hang on to my linen trousers until I find a suitable replacement in black/brown.
• Patterned tops - I have a couple of patterned tops, in my colours, so red/cream and brown/cream.  They should work.  But I don't feel that they do.  I think it's the style and the fit, but I don't feel good in them.  I'm definitely going to stick to (mainly) plain tops in the future - or at least patterns that I'm comfortable in (stripes have continued to be a favourite, for example).  Life is too short to hate my clothes.
• Shorts.  I don't really wear shorts, I've worn them on holiday and perhaps 1-2 times otherwise.  I'm considering relegating them to the extra items for a holiday wardrobe.
• I'm not going to bin or replace these items now for a couple of reasons.  Firstly because when it comes to Spring/Summer I might be a different size, new fashions may have emerged that I really like, so I don't see much point in buying now for 9 months time.  Secondly because I'm realising that I need specific items, I want to be sure that these items are right for me, I want to feel good wearing them.  I don't want to buy on impulse.  So I'm going to bide my time, keep an eye on what is out there and only buy when I'm sure.  Hopefully in the next 9 months (before the next 333 summer wardrobe is needed) I should have found suitable clothes.

Quality is an issue for me.  Some of the clothes I really like in this wardrobe are very thin and consequentially are quite worn, after continuous use over the past 6-7 weeks.  These items were from the cheap end of the spectrum, I'm not sure if that's the issue or if it's just because they're lighter, thinner summer clothes.  Now my wardrobe is smaller and I'm buying less, I'm starting to think much more carefully about what I buy.  In my head I have a list of colours that are right for me.  I have a list of styles that I think I could probably pull off.  I have a list of clothes I need/gaps in my wardrobe. 

My shopping is now starting in the ethical/fairtrade clothing ranges - places like People Tree, Braintree hemp, Komodo, Namaste.  In the past I've found these clothes to be good quality, wear well and you have some kind of reassurance that they're not being manufactured in sweatshops.   The trouble is, if you're restricting yourself in terms of what suits you, when there are a limited number of suppliers you may not get what you want, in the style you want, in the colour you want, in the size you want.  But I figured it's a good starting point.

I'm still excited about Project 333, I'm putting together my autumn/winter wardrobe already and I'm attempting to be more minimalist around the home also (this may not be immediately apparent to anyone else, but I am...).  As long as I'm not expected to minimalise my number of handbags...