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My wardrobe - Limited, Capsuled, Altered, and Zyla'd

My wardrobe

A while ago, I had simplified my wardrobe.  Jeans, t-shirts, runners.  Yep – simplified.

And, as “young” mum, I was happy with this.  “Young Mum” in her thirties, huh?  So, let’s explain something first.  For most of my thirties, I think I’ve been stuck in my twenties.  Both in my mind and in how I look. 

What do I mean by this, really?  Well, we all know how most twenty-year-olds dress.  Body confidence is high (or ignorant!).  Happy to be sloppy like a uni student; happy to dress up in a little black dress to party on; happy to don a sexy suit and glasses and face the corporate world.  No problems over here.  Except my body is no longer as pert as it was in twenties.  Imagine that – carrying three babies to full term apparently does that do you!

Also, this twenty year old used to think that life was one big role play.  Throw on my corporate suit – and bam – I’m the corporate bitch.  Give me a promotion?  Hahaha – fooled you into thinking that I’m actually a responsible person, mature enough to be in charge of these important things.  Suckers!  Move out of home?  Let’s play domestic goddess.  Carry around a baby – yeah, I’m just a cool young mom. 

Until, slowly but surely, so slowly that I didn’t even notice, I actually took on the responsibility of being a mom and raising children.  It became part of who I am and hit me to the core to worry about how my kids are growing up and merging into the world.   

And just like that, I stepped into adulthood.

Now, I want how I look, how I present myself, to reflect the responsibilities that are on my shoulders.  That I am a wife, that I am a mother to three girls, that I am one of the money-makers in this family, that I am in charge of how we live our lives.  And that I’m thriving and happy with all that I am.

And for me (as it is a very individual thing), jeans and t-shirts no longer cut it.  People are treating me like a teenage mum, as if I stepped into motherhood without the benefit of life experiences.  And I want to look in the mirror and not feel like a teenage mum!

And so, I was due for a wardrobe overhaul!  And, you know me, I can’t just buy new clothes.  Let’s approach this logically and efficiently – hahaha! 

Side note : thanks to my sis who provided all of these inspirations and led me on the path of clothing obsession.

So, this is where I am now. 

I have a capsule wardrobe.  The concept of where I can pick my clothes in the dark and have the absolute confidence that it will look fantastic on me. 

I have a limited capsule wardrobe –  x number of pieces that will get me through each season and support 95% of my life situations. 

I have a Zyla capsule wardrobe, where the colour of each piece of clothing is chosen to represent a different mood.

I have a fit-to-size Zyla capsule wardrobe where every piece of clothing fits perfectly and present my body in the most aesthetically pleasing way.

Ok – this is what I am aiming for.  Given the strict requirement each piece of clothing needs to fulfill and the fact that I am about the height of a 12 year old with body measurements ranging from prepubescent to latino voluptuousness, the wardrobe is taking it’s time.  And in amidst all of this, I am also trying to define my own personal style to reflect how I feel about me and where I am in life.

This is where I am so far.  Here is a month’s worth of outfits using these 16 pieces of clothing and no combination of clothing was repeated…

Please note : - some of the outfits were a fail, but it’s more around the styling.  I am more than happy to wear the pieces together again, just in a different way.






What do you think so far?


The wardrobe is not yet complete as I have to find a trouser replacement for one of the pairs of jeans and it needs to be appropriate for work.  I also have to replace the green top with something that is in my Zyla colour and is appropriate for work.

Otherwise, this experiment has truly been liberating.  I feel fabulous in the clothes that I have and I was having a lot of fun trying out different ways to style every outfit.

Current basic wardrobe
6 x tops – white tee, blue tee, pink tee, green tee, white blouse, white shirt
4 x bottoms – tight jeans, loose jeans, white shorts, white skirt
2 x dresses – brown knitted dress, polka dot dress
2 x cardi/blazer – brown cardigan, white blazer
1 x suit – brown pants and blazer



Comments

  1. Love it! Great summer wardrobe! My favourites are the cowl neck dress with blazer, all the outfits with a blazer and the skirt with shirt (w stand up collar). I guess I like the more structured tops on you. For more casual, I like all the outfits with the shorts. Been looking forward to this post and was not disappointed! ps, your hair is looking nice and bouncy!!

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  2. Thanks chocoJ! I like the cowl neck dress with the blazer as well. Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to make it past this season. It's an old maternity dress and it being lace knit, the threads... well, you know, have been pulled in many directions. So it's back to the drawing board for dress options.

    The true test, I think will come at the end of Spring this year. I'll pull out these photos and see if my style has evolved too much that I will no longer be happy with these outfits. We'll see!

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