I added 8 colorful items to my wardrobe for $93
and some deep thoughts about the effort required to wear them
Adding color to my wardrobe has been a fun and interesting exercise. It’s so new to me that it’s like I’m learning all over again how to build a wardrobe. A few thoughts:
Three of the new items are sweatshirts. Honestly, when it’s cold, all I want to do is put on something soft and comfy, so I was being realistic here. I would like 1 or 2 nicer colorful items.
I’m learning more and more about how it feels good to wear color for me. For instance, more than two colors, even if the third is a neutral, feels like a lot. For the most part I’ve been wearing my new items with off white bottoms like the Old Navy pants in the image below and my Everlane barrel jeans. It starts to get tricky when I then add the purple bag or red parka, so I have to keep that in mind as I’m putting outfits together.
Along those same lines, I’m finding it much harder to get dressed when having to coordinate all of these things. I knew for years that I wore neutrals and very simple clothes in large part because of the ease of getting dressed, but I hadn’t really experienced the difference viscerally. I’m considering how much effort I do want to make, but also feeling very bored when I do wear neutral outfits.
I’ve never felt super comfortable with graphic tees and especially not with brand names on tees. I bought a Dr. Pepper tee that is super quirky and I love the color combo, but maybe I’m not cool enough to wear it in an ironic way? I feel too self conscious to wear it so far.
I purchased a THIRD Uniqlo sling bag. I also have it in off white and red. Normally, I have a hard and fast “no multiples” rule, but I’m sorry, these bags are just so great. They’re really roomy, the right mix between sporty and not, and they add the perfect accent. I was a little bummed the purple was duskier than I expected, but for $20, I’m not returning it, so I’ll be using it.
In total, I have spent $93. In another post, I’d like to talk more about why I spend so little on clothes, especially as someone who literally makes her living from them. I really did look at more expensive things, and I tell myself I’m ok buying them, but I guess nothing was compelling enough? Obviously, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there’s something more there.
Quick note: tomorrow, I’ll be posting a “dacy shops for you” thread. This is a perk for subscribers at the unflattering membership level. You get to tell me 2 things you’re looking for and I’ll find 2 options for each. Other perks of this level include free access to 3 of my recorded workshops and access to my huge spreadsheet (250 and counting) of retailers sorted by price, size range, and style. Go here to upgrade or subscribe.
Here are a couple of things I tried and rejected
these Free People sweaters. Online, I thought one of these would be perfect, but I ordered a couple to try and the colors were not at all true to the photos. The tomato red was more of a traffic cone orange and the chartreuse was a neon yellow. I did like the cut. I had planned on buying one of these on Poshmark if I did like them, at about half the cost of new.
I was influenced to try these J. Crew pants by a comment somewhere deep in a thread of another Substack (couldn’t tell you where). I mentioned them in the unflattering chat and reader Amy said she had a rule never to buy pants without pockets and it reminded me that I also have that rule, and so why did I even buy these? So they were pretty much destined to go back before they even got here.
I was really intrigued by these Old Navy pleated pants (sorry, they’re mostly sold out now), they were giving Apiece Apart, but I didn’t really need them. I’m not ashamed to say that I placed a big order including these pants at about 2 am on election night. Everything went back.
I still have my eye on this sweater (I saw it on jewelry designer Lizzie Fortunato’s TikTok), these Le Bon Shoppe pants, and red Puma Easy Rider sneakers (ordered during Black Friday sales and tbd).
Here’s what I bought: