No Repeats W & W: Day Nineteen

pretty cute, if i do say so myself.

Well, i wanted to end this 'workaday capsule' series with a bang - nice outfits, somewhat creative pictures in fun settings....and Day Nineteen went pretty much to plan. See above.

However, Day Twenty (the grand finale) was a bust.  I planned to wear the beige dirndl with my palm tree jacket and red clogs. I had to wake up early early to drive with Mr. E to work so i could use the car to get the oil changed, do a blood draw, etc. I'd struggled into my bra, cami, sweater, tights, slip, skirt and clogs when Mr. E commented (from his rightful place on his throne) that i had a big stain right on the middle of my skirt back.  Even i had to admit it was too gross to wear in public, once i inspected it. (I've been known to play fast and loose with bitsy stains, little tears, and so on. I mean, who can tell that it didn't happen since you left the house?)

Overnight, the weather got vewy vewy foggy as well as a good ten degrees colder than it's been. Even with expert layering my chances of pulling off my cotton canvas palm tree jacket without risking hypothermia were nil. At that point, i put my whole closet up fro grabs in order to pull together whatever clothes would keep me warm, be comfy, and preserve public decency.  My choices, as it turned out, were pretty darn slim. See result below.

Frankly, I was skeptical about learning much from taking on this challenge. But i was wrong wrong wrong. Limiting myself in this way has showed me just how low i can go in terms of the number of basic, everyday workhorse pieces i need in my wardrobe. I can get away with a pretty small number.......for a while.

But, trouble ensues when you're relying on one piece to fill a central wardrobe role and that piece gets a naughty stain. Or that piece is realistically too uncomfortable for your leg to tolerate thirteen days out of fourteen. Or that one item is your go-to piece for cold weather, but the cold weather drags out for twice or three times as long as usual. Or that skirt just plumb wears out before you can make or find a replacement.

In other words, i could stand to be more honest with myself about a) what i truly feel comfortable wearing comfort-wise and b) building some buffer pieces in my wardrobe, especially with my workhorses. I'm certain i wouldn't have found that out (or believed it enough to act on it) without participating in this challenge.

Thank You Cynthia and Anne!