Closet Reformation: The Plan

Some of us would do well with the now-famous Parisian minimal wardrobe method. My life-style involves a good amount of traveling, with a semi-nomadic history. There is always a home-base somewhere, and a notebook, pen, laptop, and toothbrush in my bag. Yet, my homebase is overflowing with things. Really. One girl: 4 closets/armoires + 1 big dresser + 5 storage bins + 1 small rack.

Oui, ce'st plenty to wear. Mais, il ya aussi too much to carry. Perhaps a good way to start are the travel capsules: the I6L, also the 7 easy pieces during the fall with 1 week of outfits, and the
Light Travel series made in preparation for and during a domestic trip in the winter.

Many people have this amount of things (most American girls that I know). I would much rather not. Or at least have them in doses. A Closet Reformation must be put in place. Prepare to be reformed, closet(s)! ;P

I mentioned, "The One-Year Wardrobe Project" in this last post. I also mentioned the 30x30 challenge in which you wear 30 pieces for 30 days. In addition, this will take part in the 21-Day Challenge. I will do a hybrid. It's only logical... Of course it's not logical.

I-Starting from the pieces worn and posted this week and going forward.

1)Add pieces to the wardrobe. The editing process will be selectively additive, not subtractive.

2)The pieces added will follow daily challenges. Initially, these challenges will come from The 21-Day Challenge. Then, they will come from yours truly.

3)The items worn to eventually complete a 30-piece wardrobe. When the 30 pieces are complete, the addition will stop and the 30 items will be remixed.
The wardrobe will be the result of what was worn, thus retroactive.
The 30 items should be complete by the end of the challenge(s).

II- The process will be repeated with or without variations until the initial problem was solved and a wardrobe was reduced enough to accommodate a semi-nomadic lifestyle and a migration-prone history.

Je suis très enthousiaste to start making collages and proposals for this. I was thinking of restricting everything to one palette like in the I6L.

These are the items that I have been wearing for the past week:

(Images from: harpersbazaar.com, etsy.com, and atelierscloset )

What do you think? This is the start, but more transitional pieces should be included, no?

-La Copine Avec 30 Ampoules Sur la Tête.

Gloomy Rainy Day

Oh, to live through a rainy day. I mean to really live it. To enjoy the perfect break from heat-waves in the summer. Just hearing and watching the water fall like a giant shower onto the city.

Office Appropriate

Summer Day

Favorite Summer Outfit

Lately there has been a lack of personal outfit photos. Well, I've been wearing some variation of this outfit.

Closet Reformation: Proposal

Young adulthood and economic freedom should come with warning signs, or at least big green banners like we see on the highway, telling us what exits and roads are nearby. One of my figurative highway signs should read "Clothes-Hoarding in 10 miles".


Yes, it is much fun to be a clotheshorse and to collect nice cashmere, silk, wool, cotton, linen, leather, vintage, contemporary, designer, mall-rack, color, neutral, monochrome, patterned, solid... well, you get the idea. My closet will be put in line. Maybe someday my items for any given season will all fit in my existing closet and giant dresser and storage bins without the need for storage suitcases.

Perhaps you've heard of "The One-Year Wardrobe Project" from Roth at getrichslowly.org. He took all his stuff to an extra room and only put things in his closet after wearing them at least once. The rest went out to be donated. It's interesting. Are you thinking that it might be a good thing to do? Good for you, I support it too. And, I won't be doing that.

Yes, back to the closet reformation. I like what http://closetcase365.blogspot.com did. I won't be committing to that either. But I will go in that direction. Yes. Do you agree? Good. Because I will. Right?

This is perhaps 5% of what I have:



And this is my ideal:

Or this:

 Well, not quite this minimal! And you believe these pictures? Ha, in any case, it's good to have some goal. Better unrealistic than completely absentso the saying goes, right? No? Is it, "Better late than never". Well, I like my saying better. And that's how my saying goes.

Bisous,

-La Copine

Wardrobe Staples: Silk Shirt Pt II

Black Pants: Part Quatre

If you read this post, you are already familiar with my praises for the perfect black trouser. The odds are that you are even more familiar with the wardrobe-builder, perfect staple: black pants. Clean-lined, seasonless, well cut, well-fitting black pants go from boardroom to ballroom. This is perfection.

Wardrobe Staples: Silk Shirt

This skirt has gotten some non-stop wear since I started my quite terrific new job.  a colleague and I have been outside a lot while we are working on Project A. It arrived to my wardrobe in perfect time for the massive heat wave of last week. This skirt was a small gift from ma mere, promptly presented to moi, and after feigning disinterest, it was snatched and worn almost non-stop for a week. Thanks, mother!

Tentative weekend uniform II

The early morning started with an outfit quite different from this. It was actually a repeat of this one. However, after a quick trip home to get some items for my niece, this is how the outfit transformed. The boldness did not turn into a regret at all (surprisingly), even after meeting an awesome med resident who reminded me of my super-missed friends now in med-school or recently graduated. Hearing nerd-talk was even cooler with an officially/deceptively non-nerd uniform on.
I am still planning to hem these pants as wisely advised  by  the very writers of the blogs that I admire most.  I still have not put the time aside for this particular task. However, the lack of hemming did not pull away from the strong interest in hemming.

Kisses,

La copine bien trop occupé

Weekday Uniform Lately

 

If you have, like most american women, ever told yourself that you have nothing acceptable to wear, you understand me. It was impossible to have a semi-decent look in 4-minutes.

So, dernièrement, j'ai remarqué un certain comportement that is absolutely uncharacteristic que of moi. It seems like the items in the wardrobe as all great quality and fit well. That nearly, impossible goal was achieved by a clotheshorse. Dressing consumes little time and effort.

High-School Reunion

Images from daily reads: golestaneh-streetstyle, Stockolm Streetstyle, Street Peeper, La Parisienne by Ines de la Fresange

We have all received that wonderful invitation. As this summer approached, I am sure that you have or will very soon. The college/high-school reunion is that amazingly cool opportunity amidst a femme's tress busy life to meet up with the most amazing people from academia. The girls that you wish to have within your city lines. Yes, I want to see my awesome friends on the weekends again!

So perhaps it's a little difficult to say it out loud, but the only worry about the event is what to wear to it. Je voudrais penser que je suis profonde et intellectuelle. Styling should come naturally, as an afterthought, perhaps. Who are we fooling?!  Of course it's not effortless! I'd look like a crumpled cow or wear PJs every day if it were not for some dose of effort!

What do you recommend? 

Tentative weekend uniform

Khaki silk shirt, vintage; Black wool cardigan, bcbg; Black/silver pants, Alessandro Dell'Acqua; Black peeptoe leather shoes, very old.

While we loved the beautiful maxi skirt and wide-leg pants trend, there is one classic that will always come to the chic girl's rescue almost unconditionally. This classic's underestimated style power has been reviewed previously on this blog: The skinny black pants. Oui, la maxi of this season is lovely. But the black pant goes beyond, as a staple. What I never thought was that adorned skinny black pants would become a staple, my perfect alternative to the intolerable leather pants.

Last year I bought my first pair of perfect, skinny, black trousers. They changed my attitude toward dressing. My attitude changed even more so after completing the Six-Items-Or-Less Challenge. The lack of recent posts is due to this change, refocusing energy and planning from whim to realism.

Predicted Staples for May 2011

Mes chers lecteurs, 

Here we have the predicted staples for the roller-coaster weather of the season. 

From left to right: 

- Single-button blazer, black, wool, Armani (part of suit)

- Knit pencil skirt, gray, angora, vintage (I6L classic)

- 3/4-sleeve dress, teal, silk, See by Chloe (recent, sales)

- Relaxed tapered pants, black, wool, Vince (last summer)

- Vara mid-heel shoes, black, patent, Salvatore Ferragamo (recent, sales)

- Wedge mid-heel sandals, black, leather, Faryl Robin (recent, sales)

- Akoya pearl necklace (old classic)

- Cubic zirconia silver studs (lost diamond ones into NYC sewer, not kidding!!!)

- Nail and lip balm, beeswax, Burt's Bees

- Lipstick, red Revolution, Urban Decay

Bisous,

- La Copine

I6L x 30 Recap

I was just browsing through my old style notes...
Oui, dès que j'ai décidé de prendre soin de mon appearance, the nerd in me started studying the books and taking notes in a notebook that  je garde toujours to this day.

It is near incredible. It seems like it has taken me until 2010-2011 to try out the advice that I so carefully studied and annotated at the library on 11/24/2007. It would have saved some pain, no? Then, you also have to have the lifestyle. Mon style as a Vanderbilt student afforded cashmere, wool dresses, and red pouts every single day. The days of wispy sequined luxuries and floaty whites for everyday are overshadowed by the more professional/corporate looking attire. Perhaps the real world is a wake up call to teach oneself the discipline to have style out of a tiny armoire or weekender bag. I am still learning.

In fact, I am still teaching myself the discipline to keep my funds until I really fall in love with a piece and it's price is not as big an issue because I will have waited for it. It has taken the I6L challenge and books and blogs on minimalism to approximate a mass-media-independent approach. Icons who have excellent taste seem to be able to wait. They are patient, it seems, because they are confident in their own visions.

Soon there will be a post on my absolute essentials and the summer's must haves (already in my "summer clothes" closet/bins).
The last month of posts from the I6L challenge focuses on these soon the basics.

It takes a while to start purging consumerist urges and be more mature about the value of the dollar. After all, most of us work for our money and "women on a budget can't afford to buy cheap clothes." as stated by the Calgary Herald in "Stop the spending spree!". The truth is that I sentenced myself by mere curiosity and perhaps the subconscious drive to simplify my life a little. And my closet was becoming the ubiquitous American woman's garment graveyard.

More than the years of notes that I've taken, the I6L challenge really changed mon way of thinking when shopping. So far Jusqu'à présent, j'ai acheté un blazer in silk by Anna Molinary, revived mon Giorgio Armani black suit, and acquired the Ferragamo Varas in black patent in my perfect size and width.

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 30 out of 30 - 5th Lundi

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 29 out of 30 - 4th Dimanche

Black Sunglasses, Proenza Schouler; White shirt/dress, ebay; Huge cashmere scarf around hips, on sale at some fancy store; Long baroque pearl necklace, consignment shop; Leopard tights, no idea; Beige wool coat, Vintage; Dark brown suede boots, Latitude Femme.

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 28 out of 30 - 4th Samedi

There is that one accessory that makes you feel glamorous despite how man y hours of sleep you got last night, ho much work is on your desk, or how uncool you feel that day. Vous n'oubliez that pair of oversized Prada sunglasses, those gorgeous ferragamo flats, or the heirloom earrings that you wear all the time...

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 27 out of 30 - 4th venerdi

 Ma mere took this photo of this day's look. It was a nice break from the self timer. The vintage hat was such a great deal from this amazing shop in a tiny, tiny, tiny town in Massachusetts. 

Also, I've worn this sweater/dress/coat so much that it's piling all over. I find that Vince cashmere can be the softest but not the most durable. The J.Crew black sweater, conversely, looks much better with very little any piling. It seems that J.Crew cashmere is better in quality than Vince cashmere is. On the quality talk, the no-name shirt looks brand new. I am almost sure that the shirt came from a department store. To balance the fancy Vince's disillusion, the vintage angora skirt has no piling or any other signs of wear whatsoever. Good to know, eh.

Bisous, mes chers.

La Copine

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 25 out of 30 - 4th Mercredi

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 24 out of 30 - 4th Mardi

 

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 23 out of 30 - 4th Lundi

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 22 out of 30 - 3rd Dimanche

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 21 out of 30 - 3rd Samedi

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 20 out of 30 - 3rd Venerdi

Mes chers lecteurs,
Pardon for the past few days lack of posts. J'ai pris des photos de

Simarik

What would one be doing at this hour?
Well, a reasonable person would be sleeping. I am joyfully and quietly singing love songs in different languages just because the house is all mine tonight.

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 19 out of 30 - 3rd Jeudi

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 18 out of 30 - 3rd Mercredi

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 17 out of 30 - 3rd Mardi

I6L - Six Items or Less : Day 11 out of 30 - 2nd Mercredi