My conservative look...

Blazer: Rag and Bone
Blouse: Banana Republic (petite blouses - yeah!)
Pants: The Row (love, love, love these pants -so comfy!)
Purse: Tory Burch
Shoes: Christian Louboutin

Carmel, Ca...

My dear friend is honeymooning in Carmel...this picture captures its essence.

Remember this?

I fell in love with these pants the first time I saw them in this picture. Then when I found an inexpensive version at Zara, I couldn't resist. I'm not as young, I'm not as beautiful, skinny, blah, blah, blah but oh well - this is what I did with mine...




Sweater: H&M
Top: Banana Republic
Pants: Zara
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Purse: Paris Totes

Running errands...

Sweater: Banana Republic
Jeans: Joe Jeans
Shoes: Robert Clergerie
Purse: Kooba
Glasses: Lenscrafter

A better look for the striped sweater...

Blazer: Anthropologie
Sweater: Alexander Wang (oops...I have been giving the credit to Jason Wu!)
Jeans: Jean Paul Gaultier
Scarf: Scoop
Wedges: Marni

New Outfits Ideas...not feeling this is me...

As I was moving clothes back into my closet, I started to find combinations I hadn't thought of before. Just as getting rid of clothes became easy once I started cleaning out my closet, so was finding new combinations. Here are some of the initial finds:

Blue and white striped sweater: Jason Wu
Red sweater: Marni
Scarf: Banana Republic
Jeans: Jean Paul Gaultier
Wedges: Marni

What do I love?

So once I had taken everything out of my closet and spread it all out in my room...I didn't know what to do next. How do I start putting it back in? What should go first - shoes, purses, pants, shirts?

I went and ate lunch. My sister called; we chatted. I clipped my fingernails.

Seriously, in the haze of this mess in my room, I completely removed myself and did the most menial things even though I knew I wanted it cleaned up before I went to bed.

But when I knew I couldn't put it off any longer, I started having a conversation with myself.

"What are you going to do with this mess?"
"I just don't know what the first step should be."
"Well, what do you like?"

And then it hit me. It was my Oprah moment.

"WHAT DO I LOVE?"

I looked around the room.

What do I love here, I repeated again.

I surveyed the room again asking myself "Is there anything I love?" And then I found my Burberry trench. I set it aside. Then a couple of pairs of Marni shoes. Next, my H&M white linen pants and my Pauw top. I stepped back and looked again. I selected my beautiful grey wool Louboutins with the fur ball, the ones Rory gave me for Christmas a few years ago. My new Robert Clergerie's, my Etro coat and my dumpy black anthropologie sweater with the soft cotton lining that at the end of the day is comfort in a sweater. On it went, me just looking around room and choosing only those items that I really love to wear.

And when I was done selecting and piling, there before me was a very small pile of clothing that I actually love, a short stack of shoes, two hats instead of nine, four belts instead of fifteen or sixteen, seven purses instead of...

And very gently, I started putting back into my closet ONLY those things I love. Each piece got one of my best hangers and then I hung each item so I could see it clearly. It was like putting a baby to bed; every item was treated with great care.

I have to admit that when I went in my closet that night to get ready for bed, the shock of my stark closet made me feel...lonely! But then I slept oh so soundly.

The rest of the stuff? The middle stuff? The clothes that I don't love but might need?
Right now they are in another room. I am waiting to see what I actually miss. Did I forget something? The answer so far is no.

Vintage...

Ok, just when I got snotty about the whole secondhand/vintage thing, I saw this picture on a blog. This is a vintage coat and I swear I would wear it no matter who had been wearing it or where it had been!

Next?

Pulling EVERYTHING out of my closet made a few things crystal clear...
First, why was I storing things like the optional floral purse lining to the Kate Spade purse I had gotten rid of years ago? There were things in my closet I simply wasn't seeing anymore and the physical act of removing them made me finally acknowledge them....and get rid of them!
Second, while removing it all, the junk stuck out like a sore thumb! And so, quite easily, three large garbage bags later, I was pounds lighter (if only losing weight took twenty minutes).

Now my girls will go through those three bags and pull the items they want to sell at Buffalo Exchange (don't even get me started on second hand stores - I just can't do it! What if someone died in that yellow dress you buy from a "vintage" store - yuck!)
Then the rest will go to Salvation army and to make myself feel better I picture someone finding that floral Kate Spade lining and creating the most amazing use for it! Why I dream of creative second-handers but can't do it myself is something I am not ready to face...that will be my next overhaul.

EVERYTHING OUT!

I pulled EVERY SINGLE ITEM out of my closet! Every shoe, every coat, every t-shirt, every scarf, every belt, every purse, every skirt - everything I could see came out. Here it all is in my bedroom...notice the heavy emphasis on the shoes?
Guess how long it took me to do this?



20 minutes

CLOSET BLOWOUT!

Where have I been the last week? Well, my last posting (Cold Morning) left me a little inspirationally flat. I kept looking at the picture, trying to figure out what was off...the mismatched tights? The color combination? Am I just too picky? Finally, I figured it out...
It just wasn't completely me!
So I waited a few days to see what would happen...nothing...still nothing...and nothing again.


And then finally it happened.


I got a big burst of energy walked in my closet and...