Angie, thanks for the push to start on the tedious wardrobe tasks. I have been putting this off for 10 years but it's time. But--I'm very sentimental and afraid of getting rid of things and then wanting them back after it's too late. So that was one of my barriers to doing a closet purge. But my closet was so stuffed, it felt overwhelming to figure out what to wear. So I figured, I'll just take the first step. I'll start with an easy category and see how it goes. I did scarves because I rarely wear them and don't have a ton. I have one scarf hanger with 10 slots. Well I managed to fill the 10 slots without having to purge anything. Easy peasy! Faves are the Hermes orange scarf and the Alexander McQueen black and red skull scarf. And the blue and white Shibori tie dye one that DD made for me in 3rd grade (she made two so I'll save one for her).
Next I started on dresses. At first I was trying everything on, but there were so many misses because of my food baby, that I was getting demoralized. So I switched to eliminating all size small or size 4-6, and only trying on the old ones that were 8 and up. There were a few that were salvageable, like the Kate Spade in 10-11 if I get a couple buttons replaced, and 12 & 13-14 if I use an elastic belt. Of course this means that a lot of my precious favorites went by the wayside including the Kate Spade Japanese floral dress and the Kate Spade polka dot dress (it was an 8 but I couldn't zip it up). I am not ready to completely get rid of those irreplaceable ones yet in case I lose some weight in the next year or two. But they're all going in a hold pile (15). I kept 24 including 5 that are not regular dresses (like my wedding gown, specialty costume dresses, and Indian dress I wore to a wedding.) Interestingly, all my dresses now are patterned except one. The dress section was starting to look better though so I kept going.
Next was coats. This was a major hemorrhage as most of my coats were size small or 4-6. I tried on a few and confirmed they were tight in the arms/shoulders and wouldn't zip up. I kept a few like the BR and Spiegel moto jackets even though they're too small, to keep as a placeholder, since I can still wear them unzipped. And I downsized to only 8 puffer coats (4 short and 4 long), LOL. Yes, I need puffers even with no snow! But they're all on the small side so I think I may need a bigger size puffer coat at some point. At least I have my new Burberry trench, and I kept the black Kate Spade trench since I don't usually button it. And I have a bigger red corset trench I found on eBay coming. But the KS beige contrast trim trench went into the holding pile. I kept 24 coats/jackets but most of the coats now are just utilitarian fleece jackets and raincoats and such, most of my interesting fashion coats were purged. I kept about 22 skirts. I had very few trousers/pants so really the only ones I kept were the three J Crew wide leg pants, the rest of my pants are jeans (isn't that funny that it’s so lopsided for skirts vs pants!)
I started filling zippered storage bags with all the stuff I was purging. I figure I'll hold it until DD comes back the next time from college, and let her look through everything. She's shorter and smaller than me, and she loves to thrift, so hopefully she'll find stuff in there that she'll like, and the rest I can maybe save a few sentimental items and donate the rest. And in the next few months, if there's something that I purged that I really miss, I can go back and get it and try it on and either realize that yes, it is too small or lose weight and fit into them, or buy an alternate replacement. I realized that some of the things have holes or yellow stains on the neckline/armpits, so I'm not sure if it's worth fixing, especially if it doesn't fit my body or style anymore (goodbye Eileen Fisher sweater!). I filled 5 entire storage bags worth of clothes! I am shocked. I mean, this is all 10-15 year old stuff, but still, I can't believe I had that much stuff. It's at least 50% or more of what I had in my closet. See the giant pile of hangers (17) and purge bags (18). But, the closet looks a little calmer and maybe there's some space for new purchases that fit me now (19-21). This was just a first pass purge, I will probably purge more once I try the remaining items on (like there's a lot of stretch pencil skirts that will probably have a stomach bulge). And I kept a lot of size small cardigans because they're just wardrobe filler to keep me warm in the main outfit. I have a bag of purchase decision items like sweaters I'm waiting for another size to compare but haven't received yet (22) and another bag of returns (23).
I still have a lot of items on order but most likely will end up returning most of them. I can never determine whether I'm going to fit in a medium or large (or small) so I usually end up ordering two sizes and returning one or both. But recently I went to Nordstrom to return things and ended up some things on, and they only had one size in stock for several items so I ended up having to have the SA order the other size anyways, because I wasn't sure (like a L sweater that may be too large so she ordered the medium). And scanning the racks made me start to feel a little overwhelmed, like it's so random I don't feel like I know what to look for or how to get what I want. But when I pre-shop online, ship to store takes just as long as ship to home, so I just end up shipping to home. There was a long line for online pickup when I was there, plus I usually don't have time during the day to shop because I'm busy with work or kid stuff.
I remember once I took DD shoe shopping at Nordstrom when she was younger and she got so overwhelmed she was temporarily unable to speak and just held up fingers to communicate the size. I sort of feel anxious shopping in person too! Like how I went to the La Ligne store and they're like "Back again so soon?" or a Nordstrom SA not wanting to do my big bag of returns and asking me to go to another counter, so I found a friendlier SA and asked her to help me with the returns and trying stuff on (but it took 10 minutes to find someone at a register who was available). I don't know if there's a more efficient or better way to shop, but for now I just shop online, order two sizes and return one. Then you have to check to make sure if you bought something, it doesn't go on sale in the next couple weeks, because then you have to request a price adjustment, or order a new one and return the old one if you haven't cut the tags, etc. etc. So complicated and exhausting if you don't have all day to do this stuff! OK. Rant over! Fashion is still mostly fun for me, because I feel like YLF is like shopping with friends/fashion sisters who can give you shopping advice and feedback, and show you the really cool stuff!
I don't know, I'm feeling a little sad that there's all these pretty things that don't fit me anymore and that it's kind of a waste of money. Also scared to let everything go (which is why it's helpful to have the holding zone, I am not as brave/ruthless as some of you when it comes to purging!). And also proud that I did something hard. And hopeful that I'll be happy with what's still left in my closet and be able to add a few more intentional purchases. Quality over quantity! I can always wear my burgundy Burberry trench and Chanel bag on repeat with all my other burgundy clothes!