So I’m in bed writing this post and wondering what to wear.
This time last year I was preparing myself for a year with just 35 items of clothing. I was curious about how it would go. Nervous that I’d
find it really tricky, and that I’d try to bow out 6 months in. I thought I
might hibernate for the year because I’d lost one of the ways I could express
myself. Thankfully that didn’t happen. This year has been great, I’ve learnt
loads, I’ve shared loads & you guys have shared with me too – it’s been a genuine
pleasure.
So the last week or so has been really weird – I’ve felt
more constrained by my wardrobe than I have at any time in the last year. Today
with 3 days left to go I’ve mentally put away lots of the over worn, stained
and tatty things I’ve been wearing for the last 12 months. I’ve let myself get
excited about the fresh, new, and precious older things I’d packed away. So
getting dressed has been harder.
Particularly at work. Yesterday was my last day of the
challenge where I had to go to work and I breathed a huge sigh of relief at the
end of it. At least for the next couple of days I can be comfortably scruffy
before finally bursting out of my cocoon on Monday one superbly over excited butterfly.
So a full year and 34 items down (though it will be 35 – cos
I’m going to let myself wear a new frock for my birthday BBQ) I’m feeling
pretty good about having got here.
I did have an (almost) cheat on Tuesday.
I thought I was
doing a phone interview on ATU’s. Turns out it was a filmed one – and I was
wearing head to toe denim – so I had to borrow a workmates jacket for an hour
in order to look smart enough to represent the organisation. I’ve popped that
in the activity category though – alongside the time I had to wear a Contact a
Family t-shirt at an event. After all it defeats the point if my wearing less
clothes to raise money for disabled children ends up negatively affecting those
children in other ways. Still I am looking forward to having a jacket that kept
on the back of my chair for just such emergencies again. There is something comforting
about keeping an emergency smart outfit at work ‘just in case’. But I’m looking
forward to more than that:
I’m looking forward to wearing my cape!
My sister made me a cape for my birthday last year, she’d
started making it before I decided to do the challenge and so I’ve had it in
storage all year. It’s lined, and embroidered and a bit of frivolous marvelousness
& just not something that you could justify putting in a year round
capsule. It’s felt quite odd having something made for me with such love just
hanging there without being worn. I’m a big fan of the velveteen rabbit and
that idea that something gains life once it’s loved is meaningful to me.
And I kind of feel the same about clothes. They are
meaningless unless they are worn. I feel the deepest affection for some of the
clothes I’ve worn this year – more than I’ve felt for anything I’ve had in
years – because being well used has somehow leant them personality. And that
cape won’t really come alive until it’s worn – which means so far Julya’s work
was for nothing. But come my birthday it’ll become the life and soul of the
party
I’m looking forward to colour.
I wrote about how much I missed colour here. I really have felt the lack of it all year. The temptation was to dress like a rainbow once the challenge was over. But I don’t want to overdose so most of the stuff I’m wearing through the rest of spring and summer is blue, grey or white still. But there is also red in there, and rust and orange, and even a pair of gold boots. And that makes my heart sing! I’m looking forward to the weather not dictating what goes on my feet.
One pair of sandals is doable. But it’s not interesting. I
wear sandals all summer. I’ve been wearing mine nearly everyday since mid March
and fully expect to have my toes out until October.
So while I still love the brown pair I’ve been wearing all
year I’m excited about having a white pair (that I’d put into storage), and a
red pair (my birthday present from Matt) to wear as well. Because actually the
same navy dress will look really different depending on which I wear. And
hopefully I’ll have slightly less stark tanlines if I change up my footwear
too!
I’m looking forward to not halfway housing my outfits for every occasion
I want to be able to properly dress up for weddings (I wrote about that here). And properly grunge out at weekends. And actually 40 items
rotated 3 times a year will let me do that. No more work clothes at weddings,
no more working out what I need to wear
to work in the week to identify what I can walk the dog in on a Sunday without
doing an extra wash. Bliss.
I’m looking forward to not shopping
Ok this is an odd one. This year I’ve definitely bought less
clothes. But I’ve probably spent more time researching them. Because I allowed
myself to pick things up as I went along – I was always researching the next
item – and then getting overwhelmed by choice and making bad decisions in a
panic.
I might make bad choices for the next capsule. But the
difference is – I’ll only have to live with these choices for 4 months, and
that the whole capsule will be there from the beginning – so with the exception
of something for Jo’s wedding – I won’t shop at all from June until September.
That’s going to free up a load of book reading, dog walking, thinking and
writing time. And I’m really excited about that!
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