I had an important style epiphany yesterday. It was born out of frustration and upset, but I think my life will end up being easier because of what I learned. In today’s post, I’ll share what happened, why I initially felt so disheartened, and what lessons I took from my experience.
Trying Out a New Style
We’ll start at the beginning… A few months ago, I purchased some wide-leg jeans. I did so in an effort to “broaden my horizons” by trying new styles. I hadn’t worn any wide pants or jeans for close to a decade, but I did like them at one time. Because wider-hemmed styles are currently “on trend,” they’re available all over the place. I thought it might be nice to try something new and potentially “evolve my style” a bit.
The purchase of the new jeans was before reader Sally from St. Paul’s insightful commentary on my shopping and style. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out my post from last month on how we shop versus how we dress. To make a long story short, I have tended not to be as “picky” about the items I buy compared to what I actually wear on a regular basis. I’m highly selective about what I wear, which is why I’ve often ended up with so many wardrobe “benchwarmers” over the years. Sally suggested that I start applying the same level of discernment when shopping as when I’m getting dressed for the various occasions in my life.
Sally’s sage advice was simple yet powerful, and it immediately resulted in my returning five recent purchases that were still within their return windows. Unfortunately, however, I couldn’t return the wide-leg jeans since too much time had passed. I wish I’d had the presence of mind to take the wide-leg jeans back to the store before the window of opportunity closed, but I stubbornly held on to them for months, believing that I would be able to “make them work.”
What Seemed Like a Good Thing…
But let me back up a little… When I bought the jeans, I liked the way they looked on me. They fit well and were relatively comfortable. Yes, they were a different style than I was used to, but I thought it wouldn’t be that hard to integrate them into my existing wardrobe. Yet every time I tried to wear them, I ended up removing them in favor of my tried-and-true straight-leg jeans, which are much narrower at the hem. The wider jeans just never looked right when I attempted to integrate them into an outfit.
Since I had a little more time to get ready yesterday before leaving to run a few errands with my husband, I decided to create a suitable outfit with the jeans and finally wear them. I tried on and removed multiple items of clothing and accessories before eventually settling upon an outfit that I liked but didn’t love. I thought that I looked decent, but I felt a little frumpy and like I wasn’t being true to my style.
As my husband was growing impatient with how long it was taking me to be ready to leave, I opted to keep the outfit on and see how I felt about it as the day progressed. I often use this same strategy when evaluating items that I’m considering passing on. I wear them for a “low stakes” outing of a few hours of less, which usually helps me to decide if the piece in question should stay or go. Of course, this time was a little different because the tricky garment was brand new, but the principle was the same.
Why I Didn’t Like My Outfit
I didn’t love the way I looked and felt during the few hours that I was out and about wearing the wide-leg jeans ensemble yesterday. I felt that I looked more conservative than usual and like there wasn’t any “edge” to my outfit. It’s not that I think a wide-leg jeans outfit can’t look attractive or edgy, but not in the way I was wearing it. I did my best with the styling, but I just didn’t have the right accompanying pieces on hand to pull together an ensemble with the jeans that had good proportions and was in line with my style guideposts of dramatic, polished, and elegant (see this post for more information – I plan to do an update soon).
I have continued to maintain an outfit journal since I revisited that practice about a year ago. In this notebook, I jot down what I wore, where I wore it, and how I felt about it. I quickly capture why a particular look either did or didn’t work for me, as well as what I could possibly do to make it better. This process takes me just five or ten minutes each time, and it’s played a large role in helping me to improve my personal style.
At issue with my outfit yesterday was that the pants were too wide to wear with the longer cardigan I paired them with. Before leaving my house yesterday, I tried on multiple toppers, but none of them looked quite right. I went with the best combination that I had tried, but it still felt “off.” Additionally, the collar on the cardigan was fussy, as was the top I was wearing under it. Because I’m making an effort to wear everything in my closet (I continue to do “the hanger trick,” and I’m now down to my “iffier” cool weather pieces that have yet to be worn this year), each item that I had on was not a wardrobe workhorse. I was probably being too ambitious in creating my ensemble that way, but at least I’m learning from it!
After writing in my outfit journal, I decided to play in my closet a bit to see if I could create an improved look. I found that proportions were better with a duster-length cardigan compared with the mid-length topper I had worn yesterday. I probably could have also created better proportions with a shorter topper, but just never feel comfortable (emotionally) wearing those with pants. Even though the duster “rescued” the outfit to some degree, changing out the jeans for ones with a narrower hem just worked better for me overall. What’s more, I felt a lot more like myself once I made that change.
About That Epiphany…
Now it’s time for the epiphany that I alluded to at the beginning of this post. I realized that I just don’t like wide-leg jeans (on me) and I don’t want to wear them! Yes, I might like them more with shorter tops and toppers, but there are two problems with that proposition. First, I’d need to purchase such pieces, and I already have a wardrobe that’s too large for what I ultimately want. And second, I know that I won’t feel comfortable and true to my style in the resulting outfits. So, why should I go to such great effort to wear a style that isn’t really “me” anyway? Why take on the “project” of buying new items just so I can make a new silhouette that I don’t even love look good?
Because I’m very “picky” about what I wear, I now realize that I should just stick with what I like. I have my outfit formulas in which I feel happy and comfortable, so I’m just going to keep on wearing those. My style is fairly minimal and classic, so I don’t need to worry about looking hopelessly “dated” anytime soon. If I’m not on the cutting edge of fashion, I won’t quickly look like I’m wearing yesterday’s trends.
Also, even though I have a relatively narrow view of what I like to wear, I have seen an evolution in my style over time. A big part of that is because I continue to shop and buy new pieces on a regular basis (and often more new pieces than I want to be purchasing!). I see the new trends and select what I like from what’s on offer. Since I’m not a big risk-taker, what I buy is often just a “nudge” in a new direction rather than any sort of big leap. Where I’ve gotten into trouble is when I’ve pushed myself to wear something that’s a bigger divergence from what’s in my closet, as was the case with the wide-leg jeans. If I’d gone for a modified bootcut instead, for example, it would have been a lot easier for me to make the adjustment.
I’m not going to try so hard to fit a square peg into a round hole anymore when I shop. I’ll probably continue to try on new trends from time to time out of curiosity, but I’m only going to buy what I truly like. And although I won’t always know for sure how a new item will integrate in with my existing clothing, I’ll take the time to make sure there’s “synergy” there well within the return window. If I try to create outfits with a new purchase and keep coming up against roadblocks like I did with the wide-leg jeans, I’ll realize that the new piece just isn’t right for me and return it to the store.
Since I can’t return the wide-leg jeans, I plan to take them to my tailor to have the legs narrowed to a width that works better for me. I like the fit of the jeans otherwise and have successfully had this alteration done multiple times over the years. I don’t plan on buying future jeans with the intention of making such a modification, as I’m trying to reduce the amount of tailoring I do on my clothes, but I think it’s the right thing to do in this instance. I don’t have all that many jeans that I like to wear because I’m hard to fit, so I hope to be able to add this pair to that list soon.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that I came to realize that I’ve been making things harder for myself than necessary when it comes to both shopping and getting dressed. Because I’m so selective about what I like to wear, it’s taken me a long time to come up with outfit formulas that I feel work well for me. I’m a slow adopter of new trends and sometimes I just don’t adopt them at all. I would sometimes make myself wrong about this, but I’m not going to do that anymore. If I don’t like something that’s new in the stores and online, that’s totally okay, and I’ll just keep on wearing what I do like.
I don’t want to continue having so much “churn” when it comes to my wardrobe. The best way to keep that to a minimum is to be as selective with what I buy as what I wear, as well as to just shop less overall (easier said than done…). I also need to trust my instincts more and not make things harder than they need to be by second-guessing myself. Others may love switching out the styles and silhouettes that they wear on a regular basis, and more power to them. But we all have to be true to ourselves, and what’s best for me is to keep things simple (or at least simpler). So, I plan to keep on happily wearing my beloved straight-leg jeans, and I’ll leave the wide-leg styles to those who like the way they look in them.
Your Thoughts?
Now I’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you’ve had a style epiphany that’s similar to mine, or maybe you’ve had other recent sartorial realizations that have been meaningful to you. In either case, please share.
- What did you learn and how did those lessons come about?
- How are you shopping and dressing differently as a result?
As always, it will be great to learn from your contributions (you don’t need to respond to the questions above – feel free to share about whatever you’d like). Perhaps I or someone else who’s reading will benefit as much from what you have to say as I did from the words of wisdom that Sally from St. Paul offered to me earlier this year.
My Wardrobe, Myself 
Same thing happened to me. I replaced a pair of straight leg jeans and bought wide leg. Although they do look great on me I don’t feel great wearing them for all of the reasons you mentioned. Anyway, for me, I know I need to just push myself to wear them. Maybe not often, but sometimes because often it takes me a while to warm up to a new style.
But for you, don’t repeat the past and throw good money into altering the jeans. Just let them go. It’s only one pair of jeans and you learned. Instead of altering them use the money to buy yourself another pair of straight leg jeans. That’s what I’m planning to do.
Thanks for sharing that you had a similar experience, Terra. I think it might be a good idea for me to try to wear the jeans again, too, as I tend to be quite fickle and temperamental about what I like, and it also takes me a while to warm up to a new style. I don’t think it’s likely that I will embrace the wide-leg jeans, though, especially because I don’t really own the right accompanying pieces to wear with them. But I might learn something by not rushing into either letting go of the jeans or altering them. I think I’ll table any decisions for the time-being and see how I feel in the next few months. By that time, it will be warm weather season and I should have a very good sense of my cool weather wardrobe and what should stay and what should go. But I think that for future jeans purchases, I’ll be going for my standby straight leg jeans.
Don’t alter the jeans! You’ve written many posts about alterations and “throwing good money after bad” over the years. Just pass them on and let someone enjoy them as is.
In my experience, every garment I’ve taken for any kind of reshaping like that, gets passed on fairly quickly afterwards. Then I’m mad I spent the extra money to try to fix the thing.
I was considering making the same comment myself! It takes you back to a sequence of actions that you’ve described to us before. A mistake is a mistake, don’t try to rationalize it by throwing more money and time into it.
Thanks for your comments, A and Rose. Yes, I’ve had quite a few alterations fails in the past, but I don’t think that has been the case for the jeans I’ve had narrowed from the knee down. What HAS happened sometimes, though, is that I didn’t love other aspects of the jeans (i.e., the rise or fabrication) and should have let them go instead of trying to “rescue” them via alterations.
Alterations have been a mixed bag for me. Sometimes I’ve ended up with garments that I’ve loved and worn into the ground, while I’ve also felt much like you did, A, being mad that I “threw good money after bad.” I’ve had the latter feeling LESS often in recent years because I’ve learned more about what does and doesn’t work, but tailoring “fails” still happen for me, mostly because I am hesitant to pass things on. With these jeans, I’m going to hold off for a while on doing anything with them. As I mentioned to Terra above, I’m going to try to wear them again and see if I feel differently. I should have full clarity by the end of the cool weather season in a few months (warm weather typically begins in June or July where I live).
Debbie, my reason for not loving my new wide leg jeans is because I do not own tops that work with them. Most of my tops are too long and the proportions are off. However, they do look good, extremely good with tops that are shorter. I’m short waisted so cropped tops are never cropped on me. But I’m just bothered that now I need a few new shorter tops to wear with my new jeans. Oh well. My new jeans do look great on me with the right tops. Alas.
This is the same situation with me, Terra, except cropped tops are still cropped on me because of my height. Wide-leg jeans definitely look better with shorter tops, but then I feel uncomfortable with the back view (body dysmorphia issues which hopefully you don’t have!). I often sort of “split the difference” with proportions by not going quite as short with tops and toppers as would be ideal. I think I get away with it because I’m tall (and usually wear at least a small heel). But the bottom line is that pretty much all of my current tops are too long for the wide-leg jeans, and I don’t think I want to invest the time and money to remedy that. I think I probably look good in the jeans, but I don’t feel like they’re “me.” I may give them another chance or two, but it’s not likely the way I feel will change. Hope you figure out the right thing to do for you!
Great epiphany! It is nice to try out new styles every now and then, but now you know to do an thorough styling session before the return window closes.
I’m with Terra, don’t alter them. It is costly and you don’t know if you’ll love them afterwards. I would try to resell them, since wide leg styles are very trendy.
Yes, Jessica, I definitely think I should do a thorough styling session before deciding for sure to keep a new purchase. I wish I would have done that with the wide-leg jeans, but lesson learned there! Good idea to potentially try to resell the wide-leg jeans. I have a pile of stuff I want to list for sale, so these jeans may be added to the mix as well.
Hi, Debbie –
I see this as a great opportunity to just donate the “iffier” cool weather items that you don’t reach for, instead of struggling to make them work. They’ve been already sorted out for you, because you didn’t choose to wear them. Then you’ll be left with a much less confusing closet full of clothes that you can reach for without worry.
As Minimal Mom says: “You deserve to have clothes that fit and you deserve to feel good in those clothes.”
LOL! Don’t mind me, I’m a decluttering nut.
Chris
PS I really enjoy your blog!
After reading your comment, Chris, I did a review of my cool weather items that still had the backwards hangers (meaning they had not yet been worn in 2024 – or at all, if they were new purchases). That exercise led me to return four garments and two pieces of jewelry on Saturday. So, you saved me some money – thank you!
I also put a couple of pieces into my “holding zone” (that may end up being purged soon), and did some styling of pieces that I ostensibly still liked but hadn’t yet worn. I plan to wear those few items soon and make keep or purge decisions on them. Sometimes I need to get dressed and out the door quickly, so I wear “tried and true” items instead of styling new or trickier pieces. I really need to take the time to style anything new while I can still return it if desired!
I like what Minimal Mom has to say, and I wholeheartedly agree! I like to declutter, too, but I’m often more ruthless than other things vs. clothes. There are a lot of emotions involved with clothes for me that make it more challenging, but I feel good for the closet decluttering I did the other day (prompted by you).
Hi Debbie, I think I decided to just wear what I like a very long time ago, perhaps early 2010s when I edited out the only pair of bootcuts I have ever owned since teenage flares in the 70s. I think I like slim pants partly because my favourite decade was the 80s (when I was in my 20s and graduating, meeting my husband etc) and also because I think they suit me better. I’ve done some reading around Kibbe since 2017 and think I might be a “soft gamine”, so I follow those guidelines loosely as well, which suggest slimmer pants for that type. I was probably less comfortable to go against the norm at a younger age when I bought those bootcuts, which I did wear a lot even so, and edited out after having gained peri-menopausal weight. Now I am like “too bad” that wide legs are trending, I don’t like them and that’s that! I think enough women like slimmer or straighter pants that retail should always have some available.
I also agree with you that if we are buying some retail, even if judiciously, then we will not look that much out of style, we will be subtly keeping up. What I do these days is try to buy the colours I like best if I happen to see them or if they are everywhere, like cobalt and fuchsia have been in the past couple of years. Then if we go back to earthy or muddy tones that I don’t like, I will have enough of the colours I do like to see me through until next time the pendulum swings!
The main problem that brought me to Recovering Shopaholic in the first place was liking too many things, perhaps more in colour and pattern than silhouette, which got me buying too many things that caught my eye without being practical about how much I already had or could wear. Until I was “drowning in clothes”!
Thankfully with your help and that of #30 wears and Angie Cox’s PPP mantra (patient, picky and practical, I think) I do shop a lot less.
The other thing I am doing now is expecting that any new dressy item that won’t get as many wears should last a decade, and that I should plan for that. It concentrates the mind to think “Could I wear this when I’m 70?” -at 63 now. Cheers Jenni
You make a good point, Jenni, about liking styles during our favorite decade. You’re a few years older than I am, and my favorite decade was also the 80s. I don’t knew what Kibbe type I am (maybe Dramatic Classic?), but I definitely prefer slimmer or straighter pants and I should probably just go with that. I think I need to follow your lead and just wear what I like, trends be damned! Of course, it can be difficult to FIND new clothes when what we prefer is NOT on trend, but you’re right that some slimmer pants and jeans will likely always be available because of people like us 🙂
I’m also happy that cobalt and fuchsia are more plentiful in stores now, as those are two of my favorite colors. I avoid those earthy or muddy tones, too, as they just wash me out (and I don’t like them on me anyway). I’m so glad that my previous blog was so helpful to you in your journey to downsize your wardrobe. I love Angie’s PPP mantra, too, and I need to heed it better than I have been (Sally’s recent commentary has helped me with that for sure).
Great idea to target a ten-year “lifespan” for dressier clothes that you won’t wear very often. I think I will adopt that, too, as my dressy occasions are very few and far between. I haven’t been counting wears in the past few years, but perhaps I will start again, as I would love to reach that 30 wear benchmark more often than I have been. I far exceed it with many pieces, but then there are the mistake purchases that really bring down my average…
Thanks for sharing your insights! Your last three posts have really resonated with me. I’ve been navigating the shift from work to retirement and what that means for my wardrobe over the last couple of years. I had my work uniform down pat – midi dress with fitted jacket, formal flats – but that level of formality does not work for me at all now. The process of working out a new uniform has been taking longer, and involving more wardrobe churn, than I would like.
Another commenter on one of the previous posts referred to a Bridgette Raes post, which led me to do a deep dive on her closet editing posts. I found her focus on ‘finding the elephant’ – carving away at your wardrobe to find the essence of it – very helpful, alongside the question ‘would I buy this now?’ As a result, I’ve let go of a dozen pieces that I was hanging on to as I liked them and they suited me, but they just didn’t work for retirement and no way would I buy them again now. I’m loving having more space in my wardrobe and trying not to rush to fill it.
I think the other thing I’ve realised is that drastically restricting the sources of my clothing purchases is good for me. I was buying a lot of designer secondhand online, and whilst much of it was wonderful, there was a lot of stylistic variation which made coordination between pieces difficult. I’ve found three local makers I love, and I’m focussing mainly on buying from them. I like their aesthetic and quality, and they work well interchangeably. This also slows down purchasing as they don’t release new styles frequently so I can’t always be browsing and buying.
I’m so glad my last three posts have resonated so much with you, Elissa. Thanks for letting me know! It’s always difficult to navigate our wardrobes when we’re undergoing major life shifts like what you’ve been going through with transitioning to retirement. It can take some of us a long time to figure out our new ways of dressing and “uniforms.”
I LOVE Bridgette Raes and her blog! I did a series on my previous blog about the sessions I had with Bridgette back in 2014 (I seriously can’t believe it’s been almost 10 years already – eek!). If you want to check out what I wrote, here’s the link: https://recoveringshopaholic.com/category/bridgette-raes-style-advice/ There are some cringeworthy outfits of mine in some of those posts, but it’s all part of the journey… I remember her saying about “finding the elephant.” Bridgette has a lot of great sayings/maxims! I like how she asks, “Where are you going in that?” That question has saved me from quite a few potential mistake purchases!
Restricting the sources of your clothing purchases is an excellent idea. It’s SO helpful to have clothing that works well interchangeably. That’s what I prefer, too. It’s much easier to own fewer pieces that coordinate well together. I like the “uniforms” I’ve figured out, which is part of why the wide-leg jeans were just so difficult to “plug and play” in my wardrobe. The last thing I want is to have to buy MORE clothes just to make one new item work!
Do you ever do a “styling session” right after you purchase your clothing? Whenever I buy something new, I do a “fashion show” at home and try styling the pieces in a couple of different ways. I also use it as a chance to try on a combination that’s more “adventurous” to see if I can push my style a little bit. If I don’t find any combinations I like, I return it. If I do like it, the bonus is I’ve already found a couple looks I can pull together quickly to wear it out.
For example, most recently I ordered a sweatshirt in a color I was missing (nothing groundbreaking here), where I liked the aesthetic on the model. When I received it, I was completely underwhelmed with how it looked on me, and seriously considered returning it. I didn’t like how the cut looked with my default pants. But I did what I normally do, which is spend 30 minutes – 1 hour attempting to style the new piece. It’s not a day where I’m leaving the house, or at a time where I have anywhere else to be, so there’s no hurry or requirement to come up with something I want to go out in if it doesn’t pan out. Turns out I love way it looks when it’s styled, and it’s incredibly easy and comfortable to wear with existing pieces in my wardrobe.
But I’ve also had plenty of times where it’s been the opposite – much like your experience, and doing a “styling session” has been a great tool for me to filter out what I really want to add to my wardrobe.
Thanks for sharing your tip and experience, Andy. Yes, I do sometimes do “styling sessions” with new clothing items, but I haven’t been doing it often enough. This situation with the wide-leg jeans will push me to make more of a habit of it moving forward. I like your suggestion of trying at least one more “adventurous” combination during the styling session. That could potentially lead to some great “go-to looks” (as well as probably some “duds,” but that’s okay).
Your suggestion speaks to the practice of only buying one new piece at a time and not buying all that many new items, as you’re going to spend at least 30 minutes styling the new addition. One new piece can make a big difference in our wardrobes, though, and that may get obscured by shopping too much and/or not taking the time to style new pieces. I’ve had things hang in my closet for months because I didn’t do the styling session, which can be a big waste, especially if they can no longer be returned (as with the jeans).
Be loyal to your epiphany and don’t get easily swung by other people’s words Debbie. If you don’t like wide leg jeans, you just don’t like it. If you are comfortable about your leg narrowing alteration then go ahead do it. The worst case is it failed, but you believed in your self and took action accordingly, which is more important than saving some money. Nobody can be 100% sure about any decision but we can’t harm our heart by self-doubting all the time.
Thank you so much for this comment, Meghan. I do have a tendency to get easily swung by others’ words because I’ve made so many mistakes in the past. But you’re right that it’s okay for us to like what we like and not like what we don’t like. Good point that believing in ourselves and acting accordingly is more important than saving some money. It’s true that no one can be 100% sure of a decision and it’s harmful to ourselves to continually engage in self-doubting. I have a difficult time trusting myself with all sorts of decisions, but maybe practicing on something with lower stakes like deciding what to do with a pair of pants can help me to increase my self-trust and self-confidence.
“I also need to trust my instincts more and not make things harder than they need to be by second-guessing myself” – I love hearing the emerging confidence in this statement, Debbie. It’s clear that you know what you love to wear, you know what new styles appeal to you to experiment with, you know what elements an outfit needs to feel right and true to you. Since you’ve sometimes struggled with your personal style in the past, I get it that your confidence has lagged behind your actual progress; it can take a while for our view of ourselves to catch up with reality.
I couldn’t agree more that style evolution does not require making big changes, chasing trends, or constant hard work. As new individual pieces move into and out of our wardrobes, even following an identical outfit formula over time will lead to outfits that are subtly different. Speaking of straight leg jeans, I recently replaced a pair of straight leg jeans and the replacement ones have a somewhat wider leg opening than the old ones. So even what constitutes a “straight leg” changes over time. It doesn’t mean that my older straight legs that are in good shape need to be immediately switched out, but the slightly different cut of my new jeans will give a subtly different look to outfits I wear them with. But what is nice is that it’s a different look that doesn’t require me to buy an entire new wardrobe of tops and topper layers to wear them! I’m definitely not at a place where I want buying a single new item to be the first step of a Giant Project of Replacing My Entire Wardrobe to Make the New Thing Work.
I really like how your thoughts on these matters reveal a nuanced and multi-faceted concept of “simplicity” or “minimalism.” The idea that it’s not about conforming to what some supposed expert says about how many items your wardrobe should have, etc., but about discovering what these concepts mean to us individually in the various aspects of our lives. I think deciding that simplicity in one’s wardrobe includes not having to work so dang hard at it all the time makes so much sense! A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how I was budgeting money, time, and energy in 2024, and the insights in your post are resonating a lot with some of my own realizations.
A style epiphany for me is that even though I am attracted to simplicity/minimalism, I definitely have to do it my own way and not how the vast majority of articles on the topic suggests. To be true to myself, I will never have a perfectly curated wardrobe of 40 investment pieces that mixes and matches into chic understated outfits “effortlessly.” (Haha, that is the complete opposite of me.) And that’s OK! I have a large wardrobe with all of the colors and prints, but I keep the silhouettes simple. Someone else might have a tight color palette and fewer pieces but wear a lot of unusual architectural cuts that require a lot of effort to put together into cohesive outfits. There’s no One Right Way to do any of this stuff!
I always appreciate your feedback, Sally. Yes, I’m gradually becoming more confident about what I buy and wear. The second-guessing about everything has not served me, and trying to “fit in” has often led to shopping mistakes that I regretted in the long run. Referring back to my outfit journals has helped me to gain clarity, so I will be doing more of that (and will likely post more about it, too).
I like your observations about straight leg jeans and how even that silhouette has evolved over time. So we don’t need to make BIG shifts in order to evolve our style, and the smaller shifts are much easier to integrate in with the rest of our wardrobes. I really had no idea that my one purchase of wide-leg jeans would require a bunch of other new purchases in order to get the proportions right. No thank you!
Wardrobe simplicity or minimalism can look very different to different people for sure. Like you, I don’t think I will ever have that perfectly curated small wardrobe like many bloggers or YouTubers show. You and I are alike in that we enjoy keeping the silhouettes similar and varying the colors and patterns. You’re definitely more adventurous with your style than I am and your color palette seems to be larger, but the principles are much the same. It reminds me of how I’ve been about my hair and makeup throughout my life… I haven’t varied my hairstyle all that widely, but I used to experiment a lot with color before I stopped dyeing my hair 7-8 years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long already!). And with makeup, I’ve varied lipstick colors the most and kept everything else relatively the same. I guess I like some “stability” with smaller adventurous ventures, which is okay. Different strokes for different folks!
I went back and read a number of your previous posts.
always good to know what other people are thinking about their clothes, and wardrobes.
I did have one thought for you. There is a wardrobe app that is available for android.
OpenWardrobe
“OpenWardrobe Outfit Planner ++” super easy to find using Google play store
I have found this tremendously useful, partially, because it helps me separate out my work wardrobe which repeats on a roughly two week basis, from my ME wardrobe.
if you use it and find it useful I would like to hear your thoughts
Welcome, Ione! I don’t think I’ve seen you comment before, but I appreciate your weighing in on this post. Thanks for the suggestion of Open Wardrobe. I actually hadn’t heard of that app before, but I look forward to checking it out. I’ve heard a lot about other wardrobe apps (the names escape me at the moment) that were only available for iPhones, but it’s nice to have a good Android option out there now.
I agree that styling wide-leg jeans has its own challenges. The focus is all on the waist so I have to consider tucking in tops to show off the pants and also balance out my figure. I will say that wide leg pants are a great camoflauge for a flat bottom. They look even better with a belt. Since I am larger on top, wide leg pants balance out my figure. If you are larger on the bottom, they might look better with a boxier or more feminine top. My favorite look for spring so far is Loft’s “Floral Applique Linen Blend modern tie neck blouse.”
I wanted to add that if the Wonder Wardrobe website has a free fashion video called “How to Create Well-Balanced Outfits” which features 9 different silhouettes. I saw it a few months ago and found it very informative.
This concept sounds great and helpful, Maggie, but I couldn’t find the video you mentioned. If you could post a direct link, that would be great (for me and others). If I do end up finding it myself, I will come back and post it for others to check out.
I’m glad you’re enjoying wearing wide-leg jeans, Maggie. Yes, they’re a good tool for balancing out a figure that’s larger on top, but they do look better with either a tucked-in top or a shorter top (and topper, if you’re wearing one). It’s a whole new bag in terms of styling compared to straight-leg and skinny jeans, which presents new challenges, especially for those who like to keep things simple. Every time new styles come around, we all have to decide if we want to adopt them or not (and it’s good to remember that we CAN say no, too). Thanks for the blouse suggestion. I just looked it up and it’s quite a nice option for those who prefer a looser top. Because it’s shorter, it would work well with wide-leg pants/jeans. I appreciate that you always offer great suggestions for other readers (and me).