My Wardrobe, Myself

The Best of My Wardrobe, Myself 2022

Debbie Roes

January 13, 2023

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that 2023 is off to a good start for you. Today’s post is the second to last of my 2022 reflections, which also included reviewing my wardrobe “benchwarmers,” “all-stars,” and good and bad purchases in recent weeks (and will include a review of my word for the year in my next post). Today, I’ll be sharing some of the highlights from My Wardrobe, Myself over the past year. I look at the most popular posts of 2022, my personal favorites, and a few other pieces of information about the blog that you might find interesting. As I review the popular posts on the blog and my favorites, I’ll also offer some updates related to those topics.

best of 2022

For almost all my years of blogging, I’ve done “best of” posts. I skipped 2020 due to the strange and surreal situation of the pandemic, and I didn’t do a “best of 2017” essay because I only blogged for a few months that year before taking a hiatus. If you’d like to check out my previous “best of” collections (including those from my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic), here are the links:

“The Best of My Wardrobe, Myself 2021”
“The Best of Full Life Reflections 2019”
“The Best of Full Life Reflections 2018”
“The Best of Recovering Shopaholic 2016”
“The Best of Recovering Shopaholic 2015”
“The Best of Recovering Shopaholic 2014”
“The Best of Recovering Shopaholic 2013”

I like doing these yearly compilations to help new readers easily access recent highlights, as well as to offer longtime readers an opportunity to revisit essays they may have missed or would like to explore again. Of course, you can always view my earlier writings through the Article Archive (and the ones on Recovering Shopaholic HERE), and you can browse specific topics via the “Browse by Category” links on the site sidebar.

My Best and Worst Purchases of 2022

Debbie Roes

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December 31, 2022

Here we are on the final day of 2022… For many of my readers, 2023 is already here, but I’m taking some time on the eve of the new year to reflect on the best and worst purchases that I made over the past twelve months.

This is yet another of my 2022 wrap-up posts. I started with my 2022 wardrobe “benchwarmers” and then moved on to reviewing my closet “all-stars.” I’ll have another one or two (not sure just yet…) essays that look back on 2022, but those will be published in January. Today’s post is the last one of this year, and I’m getting it in just under the wire!

What were your best and worst wardrobe-related purchases in 2022?

My Worst Purchases of 2022

I’m actually going to start out by sharing my worst purchases, as I’d like to end on a high note today before ushering in the new year. Also, although my benchwarmer and all-star recaps only covered my out-and-about wardrobe, there are some at-home items included in today’s essay, too. I usually experience fewer pitfalls in that area, but I’m not perfect, and I want to pull back the curtain on both the good and the bad – and with my entire wardrobe.

Here’s a bird’s eye view of my worst purchases, but I’ll show larger images and delve into some details below:

2022 worst purchases

Rather than covering the above items one by one, I’m going to discuss them in categories. Unfortunately, I tended to duplicate some of my mistakes, which is a harder pill to swallow but easier to write about…

My 2022 Wardrobe “All-Stars”

Debbie Roes

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December 27, 2022

In my last post, I wrote about my 2022 wardrobe “benchwarmers,” those garments and shoes that didn’t get worn at all over the course of this year. There were 36 such items, and I reviewed them all by category and highlighted the reasons why I didn’t find myself reaching for them. I also shared what I plan to do with my benchwarmers moving forward.

By the way, I’ve worn two of my benchwarmer tops since I published my last post (the long-sleeved black crewneck tee and the long-sleeved pink print top). The pink print top is definitely a “keeper,” but I wasn’t as keen about the black tee, as it’s not as fitted as I’d like. I’ll hold on to it until I find a better version, as I feel that a black crewneck tee is a wardrobe staple. I’ve been wearing a scoop-neck version, but I like the warmth that a crewneck provides. I plan to wear as many of my 2022 benchwarmers as I can in the coming weeks, and I’ll do another update on these items in a few months.

What have been your favorite clothes, shoes, and accessories to wear this year?

Moving on from the benchwarmers, I’m going to look at the flip side of the equation today. I’ll show you my 2022 wardrobe “all-stars,” which are the pieces that I wore most often this year. Although I no longer track wears, I have a good sense of what got worn regularly and what I’ve enjoyed wearing. As with my benchwarmers post, I’ll show you the items, review them by category, and highlight the characteristics that earned them their all-star status. I’ll also share my jewelry and handbag all-stars below.

My 2022 Wardrobe “Benchwarmers”

Debbie Roes

24 comments

December 13, 2022

There are fewer than three weeks left in the year, so I’m going to start doing some 2022 wrap-up posts (which will likely extend into early 2023). I’ll begin by looking at my “wardrobe benchwarmers” for the year. When I first coined this term back in 2013, I defined a benchwarmer as anything that was worn just once or not at all during a given year, but I’m being more strict this time around. My new definition for a benchwarmer is an item that did not get worn at all within a twelve-month timeframe.

How many clothes in your closet didn’t get worn at all this year?

Fortunately, I have far fewer benchwarmers now than when I started blogging about my wardrobe ten years ago (has it really been that long?!), but I still have more of them than what I feel is reasonable. I don’t think most of us can completely eliminate benchwarmers, unless we have a tiny wardrobe or are really ruthless with closet purging. While I don’t have a wardrobe as large as I did a decade ago, I do like to maintain what I would consider a medium-sized garment collection. I also tend to do a good job with paring things down as necessary, but there can be certain circumstances that make that process more difficult, such as the weight changes I wrote about back in June and October.

For the purposes of this year-end benchwarmer review, I’m only including pieces that currently fit me, not the contents of my “holding zone.” I’m also only taking into consideration my “out-and-about” wardrobe here, as I have very few unworn items in my at-home collection. Although I’ve expanded the number of pieces that I wear at home since the start of the pandemic, most of them get worn on a regular basis. This is one of the recent wardrobe shifts that I’m most proud of, as what’s in my closet now better suits how I actually live my life. I still have more out-and-about items than I truly need, but the proportions have vastly improved, which I’m happy about.

November 2022 Packing for Travel Debrief

Debbie Roes

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December 1, 2022

Last month, I took a trip to the Reno/Tahoe area to see my family. That was my first time traveling in almost a year, and the temperatures were much colder this year than the last time I visited. I always struggle with what to pack when I travel, and this time was no different.

Although I’ve learned a lot over the years when it comes to packing, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. I’ve found that writing travel debrief posts like this one helps me to formulate and deepen my lessons learned so that I can hopefully do better the next time around.

In today’s essay, I share what I packed for my recent trip, what I ended up wearing, what would have been better left at home, and what I wish I’d brought with me instead. I also highlight some of the mistakes I made and what I learned from them.

Travel and Clothing Overview

I spent a total of nine days just before Thanksgiving in the Tahoe area. Unfortunately, most of my time was spent indoors because the temperatures were just too cold for me to enjoy the outdoors. Not only do I not own a lot of extra-warm clothing, but I also feel the cold more intensely than those who reside in cool climates full-time. I did the best I could with packing layers and warm outerwear, but sadly my dreams of long walks by the lake went mostly unfulfilled this time around.

The purpose of my trip was to visit with my family, most of whom are currently living in either Reno or Tahoe. My secondary desire was to take long daily walks by beautiful Lake Tahoe, but I had to settle for working out at the gym instead, except for one wonderful walk the day before I returned home. Fortunately, I planned for the possibility of exercising indoors, but I could have done better with the clothing that I packed, as I will outline later in this essay…

Here’s a bird’s eye view of the clothing and shoes that I brought with me on my trip:

November 2022 Tahoe Trip - All Clothes and Shoes