Spring: the final cut

So!  After a couple of weeks trialling (and getting rid of) a few items I have my Project 333 wardrobe for April-June.  The trial was really useful, it allowed me to get rid of anything that doesn't make me feel good (I wouldn't go as far as Marie Kondo in saying that you should get rid if something doesn't "bring you joy" - they are only clothes...) - these were clothes I wore last year, but I've decided they just don't work for me any more.

Here are my jackets/cardigans/cover-ups:

I have two work/smart jackets (brown and cream), plus cardigans in purple stripe, brown and deep red.  In reserve I also have an orange cardigan that I'm wearing right now - it doesn't go with as many things as the above, but I love wearing it.  I may switch this in/out depending on how things go.

Here are some tops:

I have some very definite work tops - the white shirt, green short-sleeves, brown sleeveless, deep red and teal long-sleeves - and definite non-work tops: black long-sleeves, beige long-sleeves, camel jumper/dress, two brown t-shirts and a camel t-shirt.

I actually have no ideal if this is the right split (4 days out of 7 I work = 5 tops, 3 days I don't = 6) but as the weather gets warmer I'm expecting/hoping this will balance out.

Then I've been brave and included three dresses:

I really like them, but not sure I'm going to wear them enough.  The black one is in a handkerchief hem design from braintree that I love, which I last wore for a wedding.  The daisy print I love but not sure about the neckline - I last wore this at a funeral.  The red one was in a "lucky dip" bag from people tree which I've not worn, but love the idea of it.  I have three months to decide to keep it or not...

Then there's the trousers:

At the moment, these are all I'm wearing.  I need to buy more (looking for wide leg linen trousers in khaki or navy - let me know if you see any!) but I don't want to spend money on something that's not quite right, so I'm reserving a couple of places for more trousers (I don't really "do" skirts, especially when it's warmer and there's no excuse for tights/leggings).

This totals 22 items so far.

I also have coats - the same ones as my original Project 333 - a camel-coloured mac (smart), a green light-weight anorak (non-work) and added a beige waterproof.  Bringing the total to 25.

Shoes - at the moment the weather is hideous - we're currently having strong, cold winds and hailstones.  The shoes I've chosen for April-June are not storm-wear.  I've chosen work shoes in black and brown, sandals in black and brown, casual shoes (grey) and trainers (purple with rainbow laces).  There is no photo of them as they're still in the wardrobe, until the weather improves I'm sticking to my Jan-March footwear, boots.

So that's 31 items, not counting bags/scarves/jewellery this time, with some spare capacity for more trousers.

I'm keeping back a few extra "holiday" items as I don't fancy doing laundry while I'm away, but otherwise that's my lot.  Wish me luck...

Zyla seasons

A friend of mine raves about David Zyla - from what I can gather, he's taken the colouring/season analysis to the next level, making it very individual to each person.

I love this idea.  Unfortunately I can't justify the £££ to have a personal consultation with him (I'd rather have a nice holiday!) so I've been picking up hints from the internet on how such an analysis would impact my wardrobe.

This is a good blog to point you in the right direction:
http://expressingyourtruth.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/zyla-colors.html

I've looked through it and really just found that I have a whole load of browns in my colours, with the odd deep red, cream and teal thrown in.  But at least I'm not doing too much wrong.

As I understand it,  there are also different types of autumn:

Spicy autumn
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/277534395760840634/

Gamine autumn
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/337981147006017968/

Bronze autumn
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/277534395762828324/

Copper autumn
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/277534395762828303/

High autumn
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/277534395762828299/

Mellow autumn
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/277534395762828309/

I think I'm somewhere in between gamine and high autumn - but I've not quite figured out what this means for my Project 333 wardrobe (especially as brown clothes don't seem to be in fashion at the moment...)

Springing forward

I'm psychologically prepared for Spring.  We're officially in Spring, we're approaching the Spring Equinox, by the end of the month we will have moved the clocks forward an hour.  I'm ready!
We don't seem to have had a proper winter here, only one day of snow, but that seems to have been balanced out by the weather not yet acknowledging the change in seasons.

I've now had 3 months minus 2 weeks of my Jan-March Project 333 wardrobe, this wardrobe wasn't drastically different from the Oct-Dec wardrobe (that's our bland seasons - and hopefully my shrinking wardrobe), so I'm needing a change!

But despite needing a change, I find that I'm still drawn to the same clothes for the coming months - the thinner cardigans, the same jeans, work "uniform" etc.  I also know that I'm going to need quite a few short-sleeved tops as we go into the warmer months and can't decide which ones.  I have a few dresses that I bought last year, only wore a handful of times, so am reluctant to reject just yet, so I feel that I need to "give them a chance".  I'm anticipating a change halfway through too as I will probably swap out some trousers for linen (when the shops start to sell them).  Because of all this indecision, my current April-June wardrobe is 33 items, not including shoes and accessories. 

I know that bending the rules is allowed, but I'm also aware of starting down the slippery slope - I don't want to do this, I'm loving Project 333!  So I'm going to have a 2 week trial of my April-June wardrobe.  If the weather turns colder I'm reserving the right to hang on to my warm coat and jumpers, but if it brightens up, I'm going for it.

I'm considering using the hanger method - turn all the hangers in the wardrobe one way, then turn each around when you wear the item - but realistically, I know what I've worn and what I haven't.  I have so many "maybes'; I bought them for a reason, but I need to make them work for me, I need to enjoy wearing them and feeling comfortable in them.  So hopefully the 2 week trial will help.
I'm aiming to reject around 5 items either in the first 2 weeks or soon after.

Once I've made some decisions, I'll post the latest wardrobe.