where do YOU find a simple wardrobe???? - Page 2

[truelife]

Originally Posted by sparkeze

I am so guilty of buying a lot of cheap clothes. I would have overflowing closets but nothing to wear! I think it's a lot better strategy to buy things you LOVE and just a few of them. If you find a pair of jeans that look great on you, wouldn't you wear them 4 or 5 days of the week? Even if your wardrobe only consists of a handful of items you can accessorize with belts, scarves or jewelry and create totally different looks. Also, don't be afraid to have things tailored!

This really is the best way to do it! I have a couple pairs of jeans that I LOVE and feel good in. Then I buy plain shirts or shirts that layer well. When I want to accessorize I go to a thriftstore and buy some funky stuff. I'm on younger side but everyone looks good in a great pair of jeans and simple tops.

Gap has a huge range of styles/colors/sizes for jeans and I can always find a pair of jeans on sale there between $20-$30. I get a lot of stuff on clearance at Target and Old Navy.

[accountclosed3]

salwar are very nice. they are really beautiful once tailored and the whole suit looks very nice, i think.

if i didn't teach yoga (or if i could teach in salwar--i've tried and it's not so great), i would probably switch my wardrobe over to salwar. i have a couple of tops that i found that are salwar like (found them at a garage sale) that i wear over jeans. i like that a lot.

currently, though, i'm buying organic, fair trade yoga clothes from rawgainique (expensive) and bamboosa (not so expensive).

[accountclosed3]

btw, i also agree with the idea of buying less.

i did a major clothing purge last year (donating a lot of it, but a lot of it became rags also). and i'm down to my 'essentials'--and then i learned that i need even fewer 'essentials' than i thought i did!

so, i'm going to purge again, and only replace what i need to replace. i have two pairs of jeans, 5 pairs of yoga pants (in need of purge), a number of sweaters (in need of purge), t shirts (in need of purge), undergarments, one suit and two dresses (should purge).

undergarments are in good shape and i am learning that i don't need bras. i have enough jeans, no problem there. at least three of my yoga pants need to 'go' and thus i need three replacements. most of my t-shirts are dead; i plan on making them into a rag rug for my rabbit and then replacing. i have to decide what i want to do about the dresses--i rarely wear them, or rather only wear them in summer. and i rarely wear the suit--but i do keep it around for weddings.

anyway, any replacing that i do will be done with fair trade, organic stuff. it looks like i'm going to streamline my wardrobe down mostly to yoga clothes that can be worn out like regular clothes (that is, the yoga pants don't look "sporty" but look like pants that one would wear out shopping or whatever)--and thus decrease need for two sets of clothing: yoga and casual wear.

but, i want to replace with a few, high quality items rather than many low cost ones that will go shapeless and illfitting to quickly.

[Luckiestgirl]

I recently did a major closet purge. My new strategy for simplifying our wardrobes (mine and the kids) is to go with maybe a couple of brands of quality stuff that fits well and wears well.

For the kids, I'm now buying mostly Hanna during the twice-a-year clearance (I usually have no problem predicting sizes a year ahead) or at the Hanna outlet where my mom lives. On average, I'm paying half price for everything, with the expectation of lots of hand-me-downs. For example, I buy only unisex-print jammies for my oldest so that both his younger sister and brother will also be able to wear them.

For myself, I'm trying some Blue Canoe stuff (found out about them on MDC and think their clothes are really beautiful and functional for those who like yoga-type stuff) and some LL Bean because it wears well and fits me well.

[BowenTherapist]

i am a size 16 or 18 and love old navy jeans, not expnsive and i think they last a while, and i think they look good on me. i have some that i have had for 5 years or so, the knee is worn, but i am hard on my clothes.

[accountclosed3]

i love blue canoe stuff, but i found that the tops at bamboosa were what i wanted (3/4 sleeves) and less expensive. so, i'm going with that instead. but i love blue canoe.

[accountclosed3]

patches bowen!

i tried to patch a pair ofmy jeans--didn't work out (it was a crotch hole, what a mess! LOL), so i made it into a purse instead. fun project. october j is benefitting form the rest of the material--i'm making a rag rug for him (he's a bunny).

[swimswamswum]

These days, I get most of my clothes from Lands End. It's made to last and fits well. Most things are very simple and easily mix and match.

I just discovered Fair Indigo, which has really cute (non hippie) fair trade clothes. I can't wait until the stuff I have now wears out, because I am totally going to start shopping there.

http://www.fairindigo.com/

[Valian]

I just did a run at a thrift store and bought some jeans to fit my fluctuating size and a set of tops. For under $60 I have 5 new tops and 2 pairs of jeans that will take me though to what I hope will be a more stable size (waist, hip, and chest).

I like thrift stores because with Ds I don't have time to be running all over town trying different brands. The thrift stores has them all in one place.

Quality at target really varies. If you're shopping for long term use go Land's End or the like. I use Target only for single season items--a new white t-shirt every summer and fall because they're bound to end up with chocolate ice cream or yellow armpit stains.

[thomlynn]

Originally Posted by BowenTherapist

i am a size 16 or 18 and love old navy jeans, not expnsive and i think they last a while, and i think they look good on me. i have some that i have had for 5 years or so, the knee is worn, but i am hard on my clothes.

Me too!!! I love their jeans, tank tops and solid t shirts.

I would give it a little longer before you do anything drastic. My dd is a month older than yours and just the other day I noticed that the lower half of my belly doesn't have the wrinkled look anymore. I really haven't been doing anything to lose weight but I believe that even if I was the skin still takes awhile to get back to normal and that doesn't have anything to do with weight. Good luck finding something you like.

[ashleyhaugh]

i love the plain t shirts at old navy, and they usually have a bunch on clearance for like $5, and theyre only like $10 full price. also im overseas, and i love the fact that they have $5 shipping

[amyamanda]

I just wanted to post that I find skirts and jumpers (and even some dresses) to be practical, comfortable, durable, and forgiving. This is probably obvious, but denim is a really practical/durable fabric. I have one elastic-waist long flowy denim skirt that I practically live in; it can go many days without washing if I'm careful and it goes "with" everything. I don't wear shirts that need tucking in; mostly I have loose long-sleeve t-shirts and a couple of sweaters that I rotate. I also have two "perfect" shirt dresses dresses that are very similar, old Eddie Bauer style with long sleeves, slightly high (loose) waist, and just long enough for my taste - one is denim, one is corduroy. In the summer I also wear simple dresses, often no-sleeved and usually cotton knit (PRINT so the stains won't show, LOL).

I'd suggest either solid-color skirts/jumpers and print shirts, or print skirts (like long flowy hippie skirts maybe?) and solid-color shirts and sweaters.

I think I got every skirt and nearly every shirt I currently wear at a thrift shop, Sally Ann, goodwill, or as a hand-me-down. I kind of accumulated them - as I found things I liked, I got rid of things I didn't like.

I'm pretty self-conscious about my shape and this works for me. Nothing tight at the waist and nothing tight on the wallet! LOL.

[babybun]

I am 6 mos pp and totally hear you on the nothing looking good anymore. It's not really more weight, it's like a new shape after two kids! I am also purging my closet - I'm having no problem getting rid of things but don't have the $$ right now to replace them with simple, functional, and basic pieces.

My dream is to chuck every single item in my closet and buy a few tops and bottoms from Eileen Fisher: http://www.eileenfisher.com/scripts/...90000001044050

I strive for that kind of style & sensibility with what I have now.

Although I did leave the house today with my pj bottoms under a short jean skirt.

[GruppieGirl]

In the Lands End catalog or at Sears.


Lands end will show you say 5 pieces and make a ton of outfits out of them. Easy!



If you buy from the catalog at Sears, the shipping is free. Their customer service is wonderful too!




www.landsend.com

[Lilacmoon]

Originally Posted by babybun

My dream is to chuck every single item in my closet and buy a few tops and bottoms from Eileen Fisher: http://www.eileenfisher.com/scripts/...90000001044050

I strive for that kind of style & sensibility with what I have now.

I hear you on this one, $ won't allow me to purchase Eileen but I too try for the look. I also like the look of Sundance Catalog and J Jill

[mothertoall]

holy smokes! sundance has organic tees on sale for 14.99 to 19.99! and they're really gorgeous...
just wanted to share....

[MomOfImandZee]

I like the clothes at American Apparel -- it's easy to get versatile pieces that are good for layering...

[sphinxie]

I'm subbing... while I have a good simple summer wardrobe, I'm totally lost in the winter. Somehow it seems harder for warm clothes to look good nowadays (requires better tailoring & material I guess), and then I end up either looking frumpy or juggling styles... and as I've figured out, it's having multiple different styles which leads to non-simple wardrobes.

[Luckiestgirl]

Am I missing something? I went to the Sundance site but can't find the sale tees. BTW, though, J.Jill has some great sale buys -- long sleeve tees for 9.99.

[VWChick]

The Sundance sale tees are in the section named Outlet. Then you have to look in shirts.

They are nice. But I am NOT buying anything new this year (i just must keep repeating that to myself and thinking aboutsaving money and downsizing).