Article Archive

Below is a full listing of all of the My Wardrobe, Myself essays, from most to least recent. To easily locate my essays on a specific topic, please use the search box (top right on every page) or the “browse by category” list in the right sidebar (scroll down about halfway).

I started this blog in January 2018 (it ran under the name Full Life Reflections until July 2021), but I’ve also imported articles from my previous blogs that may be of interest to readers. All articles from 2017 and earlier were originally published elsewhere.

You may also be interested in reading some of the essays from my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic, which I wrote from 2013 through 2017. To view the full archive for that site, click here.

• On Courage, Clarity, and My 2025 Word of the Year
• My Best Purchases of 2024
• My Worst Purchases of 2024
• No More Contingency Plan
• Favorite 2024 Warm Weather Outfits
• Summer 2024 Wardrobe and Style Wrap-Up
• Summer Wardrobe and Style Series: Closet Additions
• Summer Wardrobe and Style Series: The Castoffs
• My 2024 Summer Wardrobe and Style, Part One
• Debriefing My 2023-2024 Cool Weather Wardrobe
• The Things I’m Uncomfortable Wearing, Part Two
• The Things I’m Uncomfortable Wearing, Part One
• If It Makes You Feel Uncomfortable, Don’t Wear It!
• Are Black Pants “Dressy”?
• My 2024 Word of the Year Is…
• I Had a Style Epiphany This Week
• Five Returns I Made After My Last Post
• How We Shop vs. How We Dress
• My Worst Purchases of 2023
• My Best Purchases of 2023
• “State of the Wardrobe” – December 2023
• Lessons from My Summer and Fall Outfit Journal, Part Two
• Lessons from My Summer and Fall Outfit Journal, Part One
• Lessons from My Travel Wardrobe and Hypothetical Project 333 Capsule
• From Travel Wardrobe to Summer Project 333 Capsule
• Summer Style Challenges, Part Two
• Summer Style Challenges, Part One
• On Social Anxiety, Clothing, and the Opinions of Others
• Wardrobe “Bucket List” Spring Update – Part Two
• Wardrobe “Bucket List” Spring Update – Part One
• Early 2023 Closet Castoffs – and Why I Passed Them On
• Items That Did NOT Stand the Test of Time – and Why
• Wrapping Up My “Oldies but Goodies” Series
• The Oldest Items in My Closet: Part Three
• The Oldest Items in My Closet: Part Two
• The Oldest Items in My Closet: Part One
• My Wardrobe and Style “Bucket List” – Part Two
• My 2023 Wardrobe and Style “Bucket List” – Part One
• My 2023 Word of the Year Is…
• Recapping My 2022 “Lightness” Theme
• The Best of My Wardrobe, Myself 2022
• My Best and Worst Purchases of 2022
• My 2022 Wardrobe “All-Stars”
• My 2022 Wardrobe “Benchwarmers”
• November 2022 Packing for Travel Debrief
• Items That I Loved… But Ultimately Returned
• A Changing Approach to My Wardrobe Holding Zone
• Lessons Learned from My Recently Purged Items
• October Wardrobe Update: 10 Pieces I Passed On and Why
• I Don’t Care What “They’re” Wearing
• Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Successes and Failures
• A Few Wardrobe Check-ins – and Goals for the Rest of 2022
• Summer Four-By-Four Wardrobe Capsule
• A Dark Side of Buying “Multiples”
• When Your Clothes No Longer Fit You
• Trying Out the Four-by-Four Wardrobe from “The Vivienne Files”
• Too Much of a Good Thing
• Closet Reorganization: Summer Tops
• Keep or Return Decision: Athleta Puffer Vest
• A Tricky “Keep or Return” Decision
• Six Items I Recently Purged from My Closet – and Why
• My Top 55 Cool Weather Items: Some Observations
• My Top 55 Cool Weather Items
• “Less” Theme Recap – and My Word for 2022
• The Best of My Wardrobe, Myself 2021
• My Worst Purchases of 2021
• Best Purchases of 2021: Out-and-About Items
• Best Purchases of 2021: At-Home Items
• Reflections at Fifty-Five: The Mental and Emotional
• A Tale of Two Suitcases
• “Third Piece” Challenges – Part Two
• “Third Piece” Challenges – Part One
• Never Say Never… When Wardrobe “Don’ts” Become “Do’s”
• The Shift of Wardrobe “Do’s” Over Time
• Checking in on Wardrobe “Don’ts”
• Revisiting Wardrobe “Do’s” Six Years Later…
• Analyzing My 2020 Shopping Mistakes
• The Power of Twenty-Five Good Outfits
• Reflections at Fifty Five: Physical Appearance
• My Top 55 Summer Items: Observations and Lessons
• Celebrating Fifty-Five: Top Summer Items
• Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2021: Lessons Learned
• I Got Sucked Into the NAS Vortex Once Again…
• “Full Life Reflections” is Now “My Wardrobe, Myself”
• Packing for Travel Debrief – Lake Tahoe, June 2021
• Why Does Packing for Travel Have to Be So Hard?
• Addressing “On the Bubble” Shoes – Summer Edition
• Less is More in 2021: Reducing Physical Clutter
• Do You Have a False Sense of Security About Your Wardrobe?
• Choosing Less: Information Overload Update
• Addressing “On the Bubble” Shoes – Not Summer Edition
• Applying “The Rule of Ten” to My Shoe Collection
• Less is More in 2021: Addressing Information Overload
• What I Don’t Wear Anymore – Part Three (What I Like to Wear NOW)
• What I Don’t Wear Anymore – Part Two
• What I Don’t Wear Anymore – Part One
• Cardigan Downsizing Debrief – Part Two
• Cardigan Downsizing Debrief – Part One
• Pandemic – One Year In…
• If One is Good, Five isn’t Necessarily Better