It’s late August and time to make appointments to cut and color the hair and to put on some nails, which are all chawed down. I must admit that I’ve enjoyed chewing them with impunity all summer. But they look cruddy, so it’s back to Lee the Magical Manicurist!
I’m wearing real shoes today to get my feet prepared for the big transition from free toes to enclosed tootsies. The prison door closes in! (Although it’s absolutely fine to wear dressy open-toed sandals or shoes for the office for as long as you can stand it weather-wise).
Time to shake out and re-fold all the sweaters, look to make sure I have enough pantyhose and tights and socks and undies so I don’t have to waste time shopping for them in the busy season coming up. Time to check the shampoo and soap and paper supplies and lay in enough of all the basics to get me through January, at least. Time to reorganize cosmetics and jewelry cases to make morning get-ready time easier.
In the closet:
1. What needs to be given away?
Things that really don’t fit — either too big or too snug.
Things that I hate and that depress me to wear even if they fit and were good bargains.
Things that for one reason or another I just don’t ever wear. Someone else can get better use of them.
Shoes that don’t get worn, bags that aren’t used but are still in good condition.
2. What needs to be ripped up for the rag pile or thrown out?
Stained tee-shirts.
Super ratty pajamas.
Holy hose.
Faded and shrunken work-out clothing.
Socks that fall down around my ankles.
Black cotton shirts that are fading in weird patchy blotches.
Anything with an infinitesimal bleach or grease stain on it. You know someone with eagle eyes will spot that sucker.
Blouses with hopelessly frayed button holes.
3. What needs to be saved for the church fair?
Pretty jewelry that someone else might like but that I never wear for one reason or another.
Purses and totes.
4. What needs to be weeded out for the “I love this garment but I need to lose 10 lbs. before wearing it again” section of the guest bedroom closet? There are always a few items!
5. Do I feel good about my wardrobe staples? Does anything need to be replenished, repaired or cleaned?These include:
Black pants
Dark denim jeans
White blouse(s)
A store of blazers, including black, pin-striped, blue, and white (until mid-September or so, or whenever it stops being hot. Yes, you can wear white after Labor Day now but not with light florals or anything else summery. Wear it as a neutral and make it transitional).
A few blouses with “wow” factor to wear under blazers (interesting style, great colors/fabrics).
Cardigans. I just noticed that my favorite black cardy has a frayed collar. It gets a ton of wear; I need to replace it.
A good selection of tee-shirts in long, short sleeves and sleeveless. Some dressy. Most very tailored in spandex/cotton blend. White, black, bright pink, baby pink, and aqua (transitional under blazers before I bring out the autumnal blouses).
Black mid-length skirt.
Brown mid-length skirt.
Favorite church skirts (on which I need to fix a few hook-and-eye closures).
Boots, both with heels and flats.
Black pumps – mid-heel and high heel.
Brown pumps.
Belts and necklaces and a few pieces with “freshness” factor (ie, in style this season).
A good bag.
Properly fitted undergarments including a waist-cincher for formal events when it’s important to have excellent posture and smooth lines (I didn’t say slim lines, I said smooth lines. As in, not jiggling.)
One pair of shoes that I can look at when I have no idea what to wear and say, “Let’s start with these fabulous shoes that will give me the inspiration to get out there and be present to this day.”
Because, I mean, sometimes you can pray and exercise and have a healthy breakfast and feel very ready to do the Lord’s bidding but you just don’t know WHAT to wear. And when that happens, you’ve got that one pair of shoes that says to you, “Baby, you wear me and I promise that together we can totally bring about the Kingdom of Heaven.” You start with the shoes, the rest of the outfit falls into place.
Time to stock the office drawer with wintergreen Life Savers, tissues, lip gloss and hand sanitizer.
Time to send any broken jewelry to get repaired, and to put new batteries in the watch (also to check the batteries in the smoke detectors in the house).
Time to eyeball the scarf/gloves/winter coat situation to make sure I’m ready in case the cold hits early.
The key here, possums, is that you don’t want to be surprised some Sunday afternoon realizing you have an ordination to attend and not one pair of decent shoes or one elegant-enough headband that will carry you through that awkward growing-out-your-bangs stage. Please, my darlings, don’t do what I saw one young minister do and plunk your hair on the top of your head with a cheap plastic clip. Aieee! With a formal velvet-trimmed pulpit robe, no less!
And hey, there’s nothing wrong or vain about taking polaroid or digital snaps of a few tried-and-true outfits –everything from shoes to earrings– and keeping them in the closet. When you get as busy as we do, that resource can be a real time-saver. You can put together six great Sunday morning outfits, two great special event outfits, and three or four “what to wear to the office today?” outfits. Why not? I think I may try it myself this year. I’ll let you know how it goes.
And don’t forget to shine up yer shoes, kids.
If you find a good, affordable source for standard black cardies, please keep us informed. I find that a simple cardigan (that isn’t cashmere or wool, doesn’t zip, or have ginormous buttons) is really hard to come by, at least in these parts.
Thanks for this. I was just thinking today I’d better get busy thinking about fall. This is the perfect list.
Oh, wintergreen.
FYI. My father forbade my brother and I from eating wintergreen candy because it reminded him of dead soldiers and sailors. Seems in Vietnam, oil of wintergreen — an easily synthesized chemical — was used to deodorize recovered bodies.
Even now, I stick to peppermint.
oh my heavens. Well.
@Librarian: I get my cardies at Macy’s — the Charter Club brand in the plus-size dept. They’re $35 and a great blend of cotton/spandex. LOVE ’em.
Oooh, this is just the post I needed to get motivated to write a closet organization article for my own blog.
While all the stores are showing fall fashions, now is the very best time to buy summer clothes on sale. The basics like t-shirts will be wearable for months because the hot weather is here for a while. Look for summer skirts and blouses in darker or more neutral colors to wear through the early fall, especially if mixed with a couple of fall-themed items like suede or boots.
For instance, I found a very light and floaty skirt on sale at WalMart in their summer clearance rack, but the colors are black, white, taupe and dark red. Probably didn’t sell well because those aren’t really summer colors.
Just making a shift from pastels to darks feels autumn-y, but if it is still 95 degrees then cotton and chiffon will be weather-friendly.
I meant to say that the WalMart skirt was all those colors in a leafy pattern.
Go Lou-iii-se! Go Lou-iii-se! (of course you’ll get flak for shopping at Wal-Mart but not by me)
Oh yes, the WalMart detractors. I have a blog rant, um, I mean post, about that too. That debate is about wealth and class, NOT about fashion.
From the fashion perspective, one must carefully screen their clothes. Some are very poorly made (also true at Macy’s) and some are just fine. The swimsuits are a great buy and last a long time, for instance, but t-shirt are made of unacceptably thin fabric.
One little hint:
I’ve found I can dye black knit clothing black one time and get another year or two out of faded turtlenecks and t shirts. I just use the stuff at the grocery store and follow the directions. It is messy, but if you have things that otherwise fit well it can be worth the trouble.
Recommendations for hose? panty hose? I buy opaque tights from Lands End at $18 pair and they are indestructable. Also the “knee high” hose to wear with pants. But what about sheer hose…I have not had luck finding a brand that wears well. I love catching up on PB posts after vacation.