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Last week, I wrote about Rachelle's Year Without Clothes challenge (no, not a year of nudity, although that certainly would make the whole getting dressed thing easier -- a year without shopping for clothes, new or thrifted or otherwise). The idea is simple: Starting November 27th (the day after American Thanksgiving, which also happens to be Buy Nothing Day), participants will swear off purchasing apparel for one calendar year.
I'm not doing the Year Without Clothes; I'm already big on shopping my closet before I shop the mall, and I'm very comfortable with my actual spending and shopping habits. But that's not to say that I don't love this project, because I wholeheartedly do. I like the way Rachelle has articulated her goals: To rethink our participation in consumer culture, and to challenge ourselves to be more creative with what we have. And this week, as I've been reading comments and emails about the Year Without Clothes, I've been thinking about how we can do both of those things without swearing off shopping all together.
Start by cleaning out your closet. Fall is a great time to do this, since over the next month or so most of us will need to pack up our summer duds and dig out our warmer pieces. As you do this, pay careful attention to what you have. Try things on; only keep what fits, for starters. Look everything over and deal with stains or pulls or tears. Get rid of pieces that are irredeemably shabby (t-shirts with yellow pit stains, for example). Take everything that is not seasonal out of your everyday closet and store it somewhere else (a big plastic bin under the bed works just fine if you're short on closet space). What you should be looking at now is your cold weather closet; it should consist only of things that fit right and are truly presentable.
Now comes the fun part: Mix and match what you have to make outfits. Think about what your basic, go-to outfits are -- and then think about what those outfits say about your personal fashion rules, and how you can use those basics to break your own rules. Here are five strategies for recreating your look using only what you own.
Change your shoes. Are you normally a flats girl? Swap your flats for heels, even for day. Or trade your utilitarian flats for something with a little embellishment -- whatever it is that you've got in your closet for special occasions. Even the most basic jeans and tee combo looks more chic with pretty shoes.
Accessorize. Big statement necklaces are still hot this year, so go all out with the accessories; wear multiple necklaces, or stack bracelets, or opt for your biggest, gaudiest earrings for daytime. Again, even your jeans and tee look will be transformed by a pile of funky necklaces or a big flower pin.
Pile on prints. We tend to stick to one print at a time, but there's no reason not to mix it up. Keep prints in the same color family (a blue striped sweater over a blue floral blouse, for example), and think carefully about proportion (two big floral prints will make you look like a sofa, but one big print and one smaller print give your outfit depth). Pairing very subtle prints with more dramatic ones also works (a sleek pinstripe skirt with a bold argyle sweater, for example).
Layer up! Have a great blouse and a great dress? Wear the blouse under the dress. Or try your short LBD over your skinny jeans for day. Layering can also take summer pieces into fall -- that jersey tank dress you went everywhere in before Labor Day might be perfect with a long sleeved tee or turtleneck and your boots for colder weather.
Mix day and evening pieces. Pair your LBD with tights and flat boots for day; dress your jeans up with heels and a sparkly sweater for night. I like to think of this as the Sharon Stone approach -- remember the year she went to the Oscars in a Gap t-shirt and a black taffeta ball skirt? No reason you can't make that work for you, too.
As you mix and match and style yourself (or enlist a friend to help, whatever works) look for the actual holes in your wardrobe. Is your black skirt too tight/too loose? Then you need to shop for a black skirt. Do you have a great white shirt but no bra
