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With the end of 2015 comes resolutions for 2016. This has been a year where I’ve nailed down my season as best as I can without getting draped and further developed what “Flamboyant Gamine” means to me. I’ve decided upon my Zyla archetype, and have used it to refine my season and my Kibbe. Now that the work of deciding what I am is done, for now, my task for 2016 will be wardrobe rebuilding. I created a roadmap for myself while writing the workbook, but I definitely still have a long way to go.
What I’ll be concentrating on in the coming year is:
1. Accessorizing!
I tend to err on the side of practicality when it comes to clothing. I have a limited budget, so when I do have money to spend, I’m far less likely to purchase accessories than I am something that I need in order to stay warm or just clothed in general. You can walk around without jewelry just fine, but walking around naked in winter would certainly garner some stares (and an arrest). Jewelry is my last priority.
I also have trouble finding what works for me. I have a jewelry board, but it’s mostly out of my price range and some of may be too heavy for me. I have to be careful to stay in FG and not go too far into FN. And the kind of jewelry I like can’t be found by the basketload at a place like Charming Charlie’s.
Despite the fact that I don’t remember the last time I wore jewelry, I know that it’s an important element for creating a head-to-toe look for any Kibbe type. I need to take some cash and do some damage at H&M or Forever 21 to have something to wear while I work to supplement the cheap stuff with nicer pieces. I will probably seek out necklaces first, since they won’t bother me when trying to type at work or interfere with gloves and coat sleeves like bracelets or rings would. I also have sensitivity issues that make cheap earrings something I can’t do.
2. Building up my One-Star wardrobe.
One of the central ideas of the workbook is “The Three Levels of Dress,” so roughly casual/business/formal. I call the second level “one star,” and it’s the one that is almost completely lacking from my wardrobe. My job doesn’t have a dress code, and if given the choice, I’ll go with what’s more comfortable. But the archetype I created for myself is “Grown Up Punk,” and I think that a more polished, “higher level” daily look goes along with that. Occasions that absolutely require one-star dress come up rarely–the only one I can think of is when I’m visiting my dad and he wants to go to a restaurant that doesn’t allow jeans–but I think that if I really want to fulfill the “grown-up” part of my archetype, it’s something I need to work on.
3. Getting fully dressed.
This goes hand-in-hand with one of my personal resolutions, which is to get to bed and wake up earlier. It’s all I can do most mornings to make it out the door vaguely on time. A head-to-toe look, however, is key. I need to do more in the morning than just run a brush through my hair and slap on some moisturizer and lip balm. So if I could style my hair and put on some minimal makeup, it’d go a long way toward making my look more polished overall.
What are your style resolutions for 2016?
Susan
December 29, 2015 at 12:29 amI love how organized you are about all of this. I don’t think I have ever done more than thought about New Year resolutions in many years.
I have many of the same issues you have with accessories (need them to be practical, cannot wear many metals, esp for earrings.) I have however, always loved jewelry and always worn at least earrings. It really does make an outfit look much better, and can even fix proportions that are otherwise not so good.
Do you have any good thrift or resale shops where you are? Decent ones can carry interesting accessories, but you have to look thoroughly and often. I have been focusing on getting some 14K gold earrings, and have now scooped up several pairs at about 30% of even sale prices of new ones. Still sometimes pricey, much more than the mall shops, but way less than other options. For example, I just got some gold studs that were selling on sale in regular shops over the weekend for about $200, but I paid $21.25. 🙂 I have tried to focus really clearly on what I can wear often, if not daily, so I get my money out of it. I have tended to be less focused in my shopping in the past, so that is an area I intend to continue to pay attention to.
I have also been trying to wear lipstick every day, even at home, as I work there also. Just that bright lip can add a lot of polish, and my lippie is very moisturizing, so stands in for balm.
I’m also trying to avoid the “saving my nice clothes for special” mindset. Working at home means I have fewer occasions to dress, and have tended to wear what could be cast offs, so as not to wear out my nicer things. I have been trying to replace the less flattering clothing with comfortable clothes that are in my colors and my best style. Even if no one else sees it, I feel better, and have more energy.
Guess I have a few “resolutions”, even though I hadn’t been thinking of them that way!
stylesyntax
December 29, 2015 at 2:39 pmHaha, well, if I weren’t writing blog posts, I don’t think I’d be that organized about it either!
I don’t think the thrift/resale shops here would carry anything even close to FG jewelry, unfortunately.
The issue with getting dressed at home is that culturally, it’s just not done here. We have separate clothes for home and the street. So I would either have to buy separate fancy home outfits, which is dumb, or get yelled at for sitting on the furniture in clothes I wear outside. I do agree that lipstick does wonders for your mood! Maybe I should get dressed from the waist up and then put on sweatpants, haha.
Susan
January 1, 2016 at 11:21 pmOn thrifting for jewelry, maybe try online sites? I have had good luck there.
Interesting about the cultural issues on wearing “outside” clothing. Makes total sense, though I hadn’t thought about it. How about just a couple pairs of nice sweatpants to go with the dressed upper part, and lipstick. 🙂
ruby
December 30, 2015 at 2:07 pmMine is not to discount anything until I’ve tried it. I’ve already discovered a few things that I would never have thought I could wear, by taking a risk based on an an educated guess guided by my type (DC) and my season (TA). For example, if you’d told me a year ago I would want to wear a straight knee length tweed skirt I’d have laughed in your face – but when I actually found such a garment (2nd hand) & tried it on, it is all kinds of awesome on me. Worn a bit dressed down with flat Chelsea boots & leggings & a jumper it doesn’t look stuffy or boring, when I wore this outfit to work recently I got a load of comments from different people about how much it suited me. So, more (hopefully intelligent) experimenting for 2016.
stylesyntax
December 30, 2015 at 5:04 pmThat kind of skirt sounds great for a TA DC 🙂
ruby
December 31, 2015 at 9:30 amHa, yes. The point is that I would never have thought of it without the framework of DC / TA to work within.
Laurel
January 4, 2016 at 2:55 pmMy resolution is to be who I am: a curly haired, true winter romantic. No more blow dryers, no more warm colors, no more color blocking, stripes or tailoring. Accept who I am and make the most of it.