Hello & Goodbye: August 2014

Well, it's over halfway through September, so I guess that means it's time for my August purchase post! Somehow I keep deleting the nice little record I'm keeping of what comes in and goes out  each month right before I'm ready to write it up, and I can tell you, it's not very fun to try to rewrite all of that from memory. 

But now that I'm done complaining about those devastatingly serious issues, on to the clothes:

Into Autumn

My father's photo of Paris circa 1970s

Well. I'm at the six month point for this blog. When it began, I was planning my S/S wardrobe. Now, it's time to begin planning for F/W , and I'm happy to report I feel much better prepared for that endeavor. (I say, as if it will be such an arduous task. ;) )

Hello & Goodbye: July 2014

I really cannot believe it's the last week of August. I've had a lot going on (including a job change!) so time has not-so-literally flown for me. I even didn't do a post for June, because I just couldn't be bothered. I'll probably catch up with that later on; I did actually get some interesting things that month. Anyway, here's what I had for July:

Hello & Goodbye: April 2014

Tan & Coral Linen Dress, Personal Photo

This post is rather long, but here's what I purchased and purged this April. I noticed some themes this month that I wanted to address in greater detail, which is why I didn't combine these purchases with the ones from May: the word count would have been enormous. Or, more so than it already was. I may need to work on being a little more succinct. That's never been a strong point of my writing, as I'm sure you can tell!

Hello & Goodbye: May 2014

I'm not reviewing my purchases from April yet, because there's something else I'd like to discuss along with them. I also didn't discard anything in May, so I only have Hello!s this time, but with many Goodbye!s to premier in June, ha.  :)

Curating: A Navy Dress Experience

Crochet Cocktail Dress by Blueband

When I first started my wardrobe plan, I knew for certain that I wanted to add a work appropriate navy dress to my closet. I've probably mentioned before, but I'm slightly obsessed with navy. An improvement from the past, when looking at my wardrobe one could only assume my life's goal was  to become the world's first navy/human hybrid species. And my sub species would have been navy-dress-human, because, really. They. are. all. cute. In other words, it's not hard for me to like any of them, so I ended up buying the first one I tried on. I found it in a thrift store while looking for some much needed work clothes. It was from Target, 100% polyester, empire waisted with a deep v-neck. To give you an idea of the inappropriateness of those cuts, let's just say I'm 27 and still fit into Forever 21 tops. 

Care: Washing Less Experiment

Laundry || Personal Photo

I've often heard that two of the best ways to make your clothing last longer are to air dry and wash less. Fair enough, as most substances will break down with either heat, water or friction ( the latter being part of what makes the washing machine so useful). And, easy enough to avoid the dryer - all you need is a drying rack, a little space, and some time.

But to not wash your clothes after every wear? I had done it in the past, but I was in a very lax environment, not to mention being a cheapo living in an apartment with no washer or dryer. Now I'm in a job where my appearance is quite visible, and have access to a washing machine whenever I need it. So after each wear, I just ran everything through the washer to make it presentable again. It was the simplest way to address my laundry, so of course I liked it. :)

Then I read this post about ways to reduce the impact of our clothing on This Kind Choice, and wondered if some of the reasons I had for washing more often didn't come from preemptively trying to fit in to my new environment by doing what I assumed others thought of as hygienic. We definitely have a huge focus on sanitation here in the U.S., and while that is awesome for a lot of things, it's overly cautious in others.

So, I figured I may as well experiment if I could get away with washing my work clothes a little less often without any repercussions (ie, someone telling me I smelled.) I didn't expect to be very successful, but I was surprised.

My clothes looked and smelled fine. There were some exceptions and I had to learn a few things along the way, but it was a very easy process, and everything turned out well. I never got told I stank, in other words.

Wardrobe Planning: S/S Change of Plans

Unrelated Personal Photo

Whenever I have made up a wardrobe plan for myself , I've always wished I had the money to buy everything right away. After all, I've just spent so much time assessing my needs, my tastes, my ethics... Of course my plan is perfect, it only needs to be completed!

Except not. In this case, definitely not. Which is why I'm rather surprised to find myself appreciating not being so financially endowed as to be able to buy a new wardrobe at the drop of a hat (not a pun, I swear.) Who knew low incomes were so environmentally friendly? They produce so much less waste! And, as I have just discovered, expensive learning experiences.

The things I now know since making my original Spring & Summer 2014 plan?

•  I do not look good in white. 4-5 pieces I had planned are white. Apparently, they aren't any longer.
• It is a lot warmer in my office than I thought it would be. 3/4 sleeve tops and multiple cardigans, you may be excused.
• So now I have maybe 4 tops suitable for when the daily temperatures average Hell. 
• Did you know closed toe shoes are also fairly uncomfortable in that sort of weather?
• In other news, it so happens Pinterest makes those quick and easy alterations I had in mind for thrift store pieces look a lot quicker and easier than they really are. 
• And finally: finding non-leather, long-lasting, attractive bags and shoes is REALLY REALLY HARD. I implore you not to question the necessity of capslock in that statement until you've tried finding some.

In other words, had I been able, I would have originally bought a lot of stuff I would have ended up disposing after one or two wears because it didn't work for me. That's the same wasteful outcome as buying with little thought, but with more of my time thrown away with everything else. Now I think I understand why the word 'slowly' is often used when explaining how a capsule wardrobe is built. Up until this point, I may have been willfully blocking that particular descriptor out. :)

Because it does take time to assess your needs - and that time isn't always spent making lists of what to buy or shopping to check things off, as I probably expected, but also actually experiencing those needs. So you, like, know they exist. That's a sort of organic element I didn't expect when I was attracted to the apparently analytical concept of wardrobe planning.

With that said, I will go and rearrange my plan based on what I've discovered so far, now with the expectation I am probably doing it completely wrong. :)

Care: Storing Wool for the Summer

Wool care should start early || Image Copyright State Library of Victoria

Note: I use the term wool to include cashmere, though that's technically incorrect. Cashmere comes from goats, while wool comes from sheepies (their scientific name.) 

Also: Although I prefer not to use animal products, I don't mind buying  wool items if they're made from the wool of  humanely treated sheep, or if the garment is secondhand. 

While I love wearing my wool sweaters, cardigans and coats during the winter, I have to admit, I'm not too upset it's now time for them to be put away. I am over cold weather  - that is, until the next four months pass and I'll welcome it in place of our lovely 90+ degrees Fahrenheit days! Funny how that happens.

Anyway, I'm actually very happy with the wool pieces I was able to add to my wardrobe this winter, so I've put a little more effort than usual into learning how to store them correctly. I thought I'd compile the information I found here as a reference for next summer when they'll hopefully still be around for me to store again!

Storage

1. Always clean your wool garments prior to storing them. Brush with a lint brush or clothing brush to remove any debris, then dryclean or hand-wash as the care tag recommends. Moths and their larvae are attracted the insect delicacies of body oil, hair and skin particles deposited on an item when it's worn, so clean those sweaters up and make them the low-sodium, reduced fat rice cakes of the sartorial world! 
2. Place items in an airtight bag or plastic bin. This will make it harder for those hungry moths, or any other unwanted critters, to get to them. 
3.  To kill any moth eggs that may already be in your garment, place the airtight container in the freezer for 24 hours.
4.  Remove your container from the freezer and, if you'd like, add further moth deterrents such as mothballs (with caution), or their "natural" alternatives like cedar chips or lavender sachets
5. Store in your preferred place, and enjoy wearing your lovely wool garments next winter.

Cleaning

Washing wool seems a bit intimidating at first, but it's not very difficult as long as you know how to do it. Just remember, heat (either from hot water or the dryer) and agitation (through the spin cycle of the washing machine, or wringing or rubbing when hand-washing) are to be avoided, as they are what causes the shrinkage and damage most people associate with cleaning wool.

1. Fill a bucket or sink with cold water and allow the woolen item to soak for a couple hours to prevent shrinkage. 
2. Remove and let the garment soak for about ten minutes in another bucket or sink full of cold water mixed with a little gentle shampoo or wool detergent. 
3. Rinse, but do not wring out excess water, as this may damage the garment's shape. Roll gently into a towel to soak up the extra moisture.
4. Lay the item out flat on a drying rack in the shape it's worn. Let it rest until it's completely dry - this could take anywhere from a couple hours for a lightweight item, like a scarf, to over a day for something heavier, like a coat.

More Information:

1. Pendleton Woolen Mills: Product Care

2. Ibex: How to Care for Your Wool

3. About.com: Storing Wool

4. Real Simple: How to Clean and Care for a Wool Sweater

Please let me know if you have any further suggestions or corrections on this topic. I admit this is my first time learning much of this. :)

Wardrobe Planning 2014: Garments

As mentioned in the previous post, here's the "layout" I've made to base my Spring & Summer wardrobe purchases on. It was originally quite a bit different, but considering I don't have tons of spending money for new purchases (my clothing and beauty budget for the year is slightly less than $500), but do already own plenty of perfectly good items, I cut it down from a very ambitious, having to purchase new nearly everything, to a more realistic, making use of what I already had list. Obviously, that's going to fit a lot better into my Eco-friendly and Fiscally Responsible criteria: zero resources to be used and zero dollars to be spent can't be beat!

Anyway. Going by the commonalities I noticed when I compiled my outfit inspirations from Pinterest, as well as really trying to assess the needs I have for my clothes, I came up with some basic guidelines for my wardrobe:

• Dress Code: Business casual interchangeable with everyday.
• Keywords: Sophisticated, feminine and classic.
• Colors:  Navy, black/charcoal grey and white neutrals with pink, red or brown accents.
• Focus: High quality additions (when I buy something new, I have to know it's going to get plenty of use for a long time), interchangeability between seasons (I want to use what I have throughout the year as much as possible so that I can buy less overall), utilizing tailoring more often to make pieces fit just right (in other words, I want to be able to alter nice pieces I find in thrift/consignments stores that would otherwise be too big).

And here's how that translates into the actual pieces I plan to buy:

Hello & Goodbye: February / March 2014

i / ii / iii / iv

Like every blogger ever, I have the best intentions of updating regularly, but...Well, you know how it is. I have this whole life that is not the least bit concerned with how often I make new posts - totally selfish of it, I know, but part of it also happens to give me money, so I've learned to deal. Still, I was pretty surprised when it t was already the second week of April before I realized I had meant to consider my purchases/purges for the previous month ... of February. Looks like March will be included in that, too!

I can say already that taking the time to think about a piece of clothing or beauty product both before and after I buy it has taught me a lot about the thoughts behind my purchasing habits. I won't get into that too much now, as I'm sure that could be a very word count heavy post in itself, but I will say it's made quite a difference in the way I've been approaching shopping lately. I still enjoy it very much (and don't foresee myself ever not), but it's been a different kind of enjoyment that has almost as much to do with saying no to an item as saying yes.

Now, with that vague statement made, here's a look at what I purchased and disposed of in the last two months:

Wardrobe Planning: Spring & Summer

i - ii - iii - iv - v - vi 

Now that it's officially 5 days into spring, I think it's about time to start planning my wardrobe for the new season. (I say, as if I haven't been daydreaming about it since the middle of January.) While I'm trying to refine my wardrobe down to capsule size, it's been helpful to, at the same time, refine what it is I think I like: colors, cuts, patterns,etc. I'd always assumed I already knew this, but am now learning to differentiate more between what I like to own and wear, versus what looks like a good idea in a store/fashion blog.

Beyond simple trial and error (soo much trial and error), this evening I did something very enlightening: I took a collection of my favorite outfits I've saved on Pinterest (shown above), then I listed all of the key items in each ensemble - including color, style and type - and put the list through Wordle for a graphic representation. Here's what I got:

Current Routine Evaluation: Skincare

Regime, personal photo

That title sounds so serious! Actually, a lot of the way I've put things so far have been almost ridiculously serious for what are ostensibly superficial topics. Of course my opinion on my beauty products or fashion style is not a serious topic - at least, not to anyone but myself.  But then, it's not really the enjoyment of either my clothes or makeup I'm concerned with. It's not exactly a secret that those things can be enjoyed without much thought put into them. Certainly for me, it's hard to imagine a more tempting impulse purchase a pretty piece of clothing or nicely packaged makeup. (Okay, or tasty looking food.) What I want to address is how my purchasing power is affecting the other entities involved with these products. And, as I wrote out this list, I realized that although I imagine myself as a fairly conscientious consumer, there are a number of things I would have liked to know about these products before I bought them that I wasn't thinking to check for.

Now, before going any further, I will go ahead and admit defeat. I want to only buy things that are 100% beneficial to everyone involved, but that's never going to be possible. I don't have the time, money, or, frankly, control over the world for that.  What I can never fail at is making the effort to improve my spending habits. As long as I am making the effort, I think that's actually quite a lot. Informing oneself about these kinds of products is incredibly difficult for a myriad of reasons. If someone is even attempting to do so, then at the least they've impressed me.

So, here's what I have now:

Goals

Flowers growing in wall, personal photo 

One of my hopes is that by having this blog, it will help me stay accountable to the standards I've set for my purchases.  And, to be perfectly honest, because I love making lists and rules and seeing how well I follow them. Don't I sound like fun at a party?

Anyway, my intention is to buy only items which fit all of the following criteria.

"Hello"

Hydrangea, personal photo

Caer is a moniker taken from the Irish goddess Caer Ibormeith, and chosen for no other reason than I like the way it's written.

The title of this blog comes from the word redamancy, the act of loving in return. My intention with creating it is more or less to discuss my attempts at purchasing fashion and beauty products with more thought and attention towards whether or not they are created in line with what I consider my morals to be. So, basically, I'm gonna talk about clothes and makeup a lot. Of course the world needs another blog like this, don't be ridiculous.