State of My Wardrobe Address 2013

Tim and I share a closet. Believe it or not, we both use up roughly the same amount of space and hangers. He & I hold the same mantras when it comes to clothing: "Quality over Quantity" and "The Less Shopping, The Better."

It's a tug of war in our souls - we want to be fashionable. Simultaneously, we acknowledge that there are way more important things to spend our time and money on than the size or scope of our closet.

State-of-My-Wardrobe-Address

Personal Style

When evaluating clothes, I tend to select pieces that travel well (since we do quite a bit of that), can easily mix and match with other pieces in my closet (for maximum economic impact), and that are NOT dry clean only.

Because I have three young children (ages 6, 4, and almost 1), my wardrobe consists primarily of jeans and tees or cardigans. I need to have items that allow me to bend, squat, and run with relative ease for daily wear. It's also important for me to have a few dressier outfits for press junkets, television appearances, and conferences.

I would describe my everyday style as casual and my business style as classic. For example, I am much more likely to buy a Little Black Dress than a dress in a super trendy style for fear that it will go out of fashion before I have time to make good use of it. If I could borrow from anyone's closet, I'd choose Queen Rania of Jordan.

Favorite Places to Shop

I prefer online shopping for convenience and time-savings, but it's not always easy to get sizing exactly right.

My favorite brick-and-mortar place to shop is Nordstrom Rack. The one in my city is well-organized and has great prices on designer brands (especially denim).

In another season of life, I'm sure I'd be a thrift and consignment store maven. Why pay full price when you can get gently used clothes for way less? For now, however, I don't have the time to sort through racks for hidden treasures while carrying a baby and looking for little blonde heads bobbing through the store. Not to mention I'm wary of the germs and general yuckiness in secondhand shops so I'm constantly saying, "Don't touch anything!"

Current Brands in My Closet

Brands-In-My-Closet

I alternate between three pairs of jeans - two are made by Habitual, one is by 7 For All Mankind.

My three favorite tops lately are a button-up cardigan by DownEast Basics, a denim button-up shirt by H & M, and a zip-up yellow sweatshirt by Aeropostale.

I also have a business suit by Ann Taylor and an assortment of stretchy tank tops (layering is the friend of nursing mothers).

To Try in 2013

Since the weather here in Arizona is quickly turning warmer, I'll need to add a few new pieces to my wardrobe soon - several well-made tees and tanks, a pair of denim capris, cut-off shorts, a skirt or two, and a great swimsuit coverup.

Here's the plan.

thredUP - I've written about thredUP extensively over the past year. It's a great online consignment shop concept where you can sell and buy kids clothes - top brands, affordable prices. Our family has had a good experience with the brand and...they just announced the launch of a Women's Shop. You can submit your email to be one of the FIRST to find out about the official launch, plus receive special discounts and such. Super excited about this.

Stitch Fix - StitchFix is all the rage in the blogosphere. It's like having your own personal stylist from afar. You fill out a style profile with your sizing info & budget...and are sent pieces to "match" your requirements. There is a $20 styling fee, but you can apply it toward your purchase should you decide to keep any of the five items that are sent your way. Sounds promising.

Clothing Swaps - Pre-kids, I held Clothes Swaps about twice a year at my house. I'd invite approximately 20-30 women to bring bags of clothes that were "too big, too tiny, too dull, too shiny, too tight, too cold, too bright, too bold, too frumpy, too baggy, too fancy, too saggy, too short, too tall, too trendy, all wrong." (I wrote that little jingle myself). We divided clothes by category and everyone SHOPPED. I'd love to start up this tradition again - for women's clothes and children's clothes. Who's in?

Your Turn

Share the "state of your wardrobe" in the comments! What are your favorite places to shop? What are the current brands that take up residence in your closet? Do you have a Pinterest style board? Let's talk!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

5 comments on “State of My Wardrobe Address 2013”

  1. My wardrobe is a little scary right now - mostly because I've crept up to an unacceptable weight and am determined not to buy anything else until I lose at least 20 pounds, then I won't need to because everything will fit again and when I lose that last 30 I'll have to go on a LITTLE shopping spree :). I actually love the maxi style and wore it when it wasn't in style so I have a few maxi skirts and a few maxi dresses that I mix and match tops for. I tend to stay with solids and towards the same family of color - the jewel tones, so I can mix and match just about everything I own. I have made an effort to incorporate a few patterns into the mix and have the essential black skirt, black dress, black dressy tank so that takes care of me most the time!

    as for closet space, my husband actually has more than me... but that's because he has uniforms for work and enough hunting clothes to take a week long hunting trip!

      1. I found myself drawn to bright patterns when I stopped by the thrift store with a friend of mine the other day... since it was $1 day I picked up a couple things that I loved and can layer with my standard solids!

  2. I'm in! I'd love to do a clothing swap :). I've been following Audrey's blog Putting Me Together and have begun to understand how to make a remixable wardrobe. I'm still trying to find a brand of favorite jeans after having our three kids.

    1. Thanks for the fashion blog recommendation! I'll check it out.

      I've also added you to the master invitation list for my next clothes swap.

      RE: jeans. Have you shopped at Nordstrom Rack? That's a good place to try on a variety of brands to see what works best for your figure.

MetropolitanMama - See The World, One City at a Time
©2024 Metropolitan Mama - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram