Welcome to my closet, ladies!
I have taken a no-shopping vow, but the challenges continue. This past week brought a big challenge in the form of our family photo. Back in the day (the days of shopping, that is), a family photo would have been an opportunity to run to the mall for a new outfit. Or maybe for four outfits, since the whole family needs to coordinate. Not so this year. Instead, I told myself, “This year, the whole family is going to coordinate around ME!”
On the beach, soft colors work well. So I started with my cream-colored silk tunic shirt from Kenneth Cole. I added my pearl necklace (nice texture and interest) and knee-high Frye Jane boots in taupe (the exact color of the sand, as it turned out) and GAP jeggings.
Then, I was off to shop my sons’ closets for coordinating attire. After coming up empty (plenty of superhero T-shirts and soccer gear, though), I headed to the mall, walked through Nordstrom with virtual blinders on, and into GAP Kids, where I bought them each a button-down shirt. Luckily, my husband already owned a button-down shirt that worked. I felt really proud to have pulled together four coordinating outfits for less than $40!
Our second challenge was the weather on photo day, which was freezing cold, with gale force winds. We wore our parkas to get the photos staged, and threw them off when the photographer yelled over the crashing waves, “Ready!” Honestly, I have no idea how we don’t look like we are in severe pain in this photo—my boys were real troopers!
On another topic, an astute reader wrote in this week, saying: “Okay, I stalked your blog a little and want to know if we can switch closets. And if not, would you care to tell me how to shop my closet when everything I own is heinous and therefore wrinkled in a ball in the back of the tiniest NYC closet amongst kids’ artwork, a vacuum cleaner, 3 electric heaters, and a plethora of handbags inherited from my mom?”
Indeed. How can you shop your closet when you don’t have a closet, or when your closet is in desperate need of organization? You can’t. So for those of you just starting out, I recommend spending some time this weekend doing some closet organizing. ELFA is your best friend, as are the super helpful blog entries from Angie Cox at YouLookFab.com.
How have you done not shopping so far? Let’s hear from you!
See “Could You Shop Your Closet for Three Months?”
See “Shopping My Closet for Holiday Cheer”
Photo courtesy of Jenny Muslin
