Pri-marni and Me

Just walking into our local Primark store disturbs me.  There's just so much stuff jammed onto the rails and not much space between them.  Much prefer Jigsaw with those lovely wooden hangers and selection of lovely-but-out-of-my-budget clothes.

Not that I actually shop much in Primark. I know I shouldn't anyway - the clothes are cheap because some unfortunate workers are being exploited and underpaid; the quality is often poor and disposable fashion is bad for the environment.  But Fashion Girl is quite keen on it so did venture in there before Christmas to buy some stocking fillers for her.  Got a maroon pompom scarf, a pair of fingerless gloves with a nifty little hat you can pull over to transform them into mittens and a two pack of black sparkly socks all for around £10.  And she has a really useful hooded navy gilet which looks a lot like the £98 Jack Wills one which some of her friends own.  It was worn illegally the other day over her school tracksuit for outdoor PE. It was well worth the £12 it cost.

I'd be lying too if I claimed never to wear anything from Primark.  Most have been presents.  The pyjamas above were from my sister and are really cosy and cheerful with a bird print and a velvet ribbon at the waist.

I also have quite a few scarves, mainly presents from Fashion Girl.  The red, white and blue took me through jubilee summer and the nautical print one is lovely and silky.  Both seem well made and there's a lot of fabric for what they cost - less than a fiver each she tells me. 

But the Primark purchase I wear most is this silver/grey scarf which was originally bought by me for her but is now a shared wardrobe item.  It's kind of brocadey with a rose print and I like it because it sort of lifts things that might be too grey on their own.

So I'll be braving the crowds, chaos and clutter in Primark again. If my conscience lets me.

Grey M&S ribbed polo, Grey M&S wool dress, Grey M&S Waterfall Cardigan, Primark Scarf

Donkey jacket top from M&S

Bought my first item of clothing of the year yesterday.  Bit of an impulse buy as I spotted it while on the way to children's section where I purchased two non-matching Batman T-shirts for my twin nephews' 4th birthday. But I already know it was a good buy as I wore it right away today and it passed the test as it is warm, comfortable and stylish.  It's a black top from M&S which has leather (or leather look) panels on the shoulders in the style of a donkey jacket, though offically it is called a Slash Neck Ponte Top.

I wasn't quite sure what ponte is so I checked it out and the term refers to the fabric which is a kind of jersey - not as bulky as a jumper but thicker and warmer than cotton.  It's quite fitted too so I wore it tucked in to my Red/Black Geometric Print Skirt (Wardrobe Item 6). Also like the three quarter length sleeve.  Not sure about the leather trim at first but think it will look quite good too with my Next skirt with the leather trim on the waist and pockets.  So this item is added to the 33 to replace the black cotton long sleeve t-shirt (26) which is too chilly for the current weather.  No picture of me today - no time what with all the de-icing to be done this morning.

Brassed off with Clearing Clutter

  

 Clutter clearing in crisis - I'm not a natural at creating order as this fridge magnet given to me cheekily by a more organised relative suggests. Two weeks into term so the ironing board is permanently erected and piles of books, papers etc are scattered around the kitchen.  I'm too easily distracted, you see, and now that the initial enthusiasm has worn off, I'm falling back into bad old habits.  Today instead of clearing up I baked caramel squares (or millionaires' shortbread) for a charity cake sale.  Should have taken a picture but too late now as they have all gone.  Pretty good too even though I singed the shortbread slightly.

But some progress as I have decluttered the cupboard under the sink, the one that contains cleaning fluids, various dusters and dubious cloths.  It also contained about 25 empty jam jars carefully saved because of my intention to make my own jam.  As I child I remember how my granny had jar and jars of jewel-coloured jam -strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and gooseberry -  all made from fruit grown in the garden by Granda as we called him.  I long to recreate this idyll and did a couple of years ago make some strawberry preserve using a Delia recipe.  The house smelt divine, better than any overpriced scented candle, and I was transported back to my childhood in Northern Ireland.  But I only made a couple of jars.  I don't need 25, so I recycled them.

Out also went various bottles of unused, half-empty cleaning fluids.  But found it hard to part with this Brasso, which is practically antique.  Love the retro styling of the container.  It dates from the time I used to polish the brass on my front door, a messy business which wrecks your hands. I did this occasionally to please my mother in law, who sadly passed away a few years ago. Her door furniture was always gleaming and her kitchen immaculate: she even employed someone to clean her wheelie bin.  I fear I was a bit of a disappointment to her as I don't care very much about such things.  So I've kept the Brasso for now in homage to Hilda.

Here I am in my outfit of the day from the capsule wardrobe in front of one of my newly decluttered kitchen cupboards.

Item 9, Boden skirt, Item 25  Next blue long sleeved top, Item 10, M&S cardigan, 31. Gabor Black Patent Shoes.

. 

Warmth versus Style in Boden and Next

 

 Wardrobe items: 28, 14, 29

M&S Polo, Boden Tunic Dress, Black Patent Boots

My choice of clothing from the capsule warbrobe is a bit limited now that winter has started to bite: none of my dresses is particulary warm.  So on Friday I layered a grey polo under this Boden dress and added a necklace.  The dress looks better without the polo really - not sure this works.  But at least I was warm. Also added number 23 (it's like a takeaway menu), the M&S grey waterfall cardigan, at one point but then took it off in work when it warmed up and left it there in a classroom somewhere.  Hope it hasn't disappeared into lost property, buried under a pile of discarded blazers and smelly socks.  

Tan Ankle Boots form Clarks

Orla Keily Scarf

I also have a photo of Saturday's outfit but I look horrible so I won't print it.  Perhaps I should use headless photos which seem to be the practice in some of the fashion blogs I have read.  I put my denim shirt (17) over the black narrow leg trousers (21) and wore my tan ankle boots (30).  Would have been happier in jeans but Fashion Girl tells me double denim is not acceptable.  And these trousers didn't cover my ankle boots which are one of my favourite wardrobe items right now.  Added my lovely Orla Keily print scarf from Uniqlo.  It was a real bargain at only £9.99 -great quality for the price and everyone admires it.  Thanks again to Beth at Style Guile who blog spotted it and wrote about it in her blog.

On Sunday Fashion Girl said she'd choose my outfit.  Below is what she selected. No 16, the Teal Reindeer Print top from Next. With short sleeves.  Even layering it over a cami (underwear, so doesn't count in the 33), I was still freezing.  She of course never feels the cold and was wearing her usual shorts and tights combo. Sub-zero outside at that time so I added 22, Grey Cardigan and the scarf again for warmth and have felt cosy all day.   Not sure about the reindeer print when I first bought this top from Next.  Was it another item that was just for Christmas? But love the colour, the fabric and the shape - the way it flows out and then is nipped in again is very flattering.  And to be honest you can't see that they are reindeer unless you look closely.  In the Spring/Summer directory there's one with mini-elephants on it and a jumper with a huge cat on the front.  What is going on with animal thing?  The cat one is hideous.

 

What I really wear

Will have to add another item to my Project 333 list.  Forgot to check the downstairs cupboard which stores the outdoor coats.  This red Berghaus waterproof coat is worn practically everyday as I am chief dogwalker in our house and it has of course rained non-stop for most of this year.  It is paired with my very muddy grey/pink walking boots and often accessorised by a lovely green nappy sack of doggy poo.

Above is the offending mutt who I love dearly despite the fact that he is smelly and creates mess everywhere.  Though that criticism could be levelled at other members of the household too.

Will have to therefore remove one item from the 33 in the wardrobe.  It will have to be the most expensive item, the red Jigsaw coat, bought in the outlet store at half price £175 in October.  It's beautiful - soft and really well made with details like a bow on the back.  I wore it quite a lot on the run up to Christmas, feeling very festive in it on occasions such as the Christingle service.  But it seems a bit out of place in grey January.  And it doesn't really go with much in the rest of the wardrobe. Will put it away until next Christmas, but worried whether the styling with the bow detail and the slight flare will date it.  Should have invested in a more classic camel coat with that amount of money.  Another foolish impulse buy I fear.

The Capsule Wardrobe: What I Wore Day One

Slim leg Trousers, grey ribbed polo,  waterfall cardigan, necklace.  All M&S

Have chosen my 33 items which will form my capsule wardrobe for the next three months, by which time I hope it will be getting warmer and I can switch to Spring/Summer clothes.  Have decided to post what I wear weekly as attempts to photograph outfits without me in them haven't worked very well.  I'd also like to have a record of what the clothes actually look like on me.  Above is my choice for Day One - a work outfit which I repeat fairly often (despite it being shades of grey).

I love these trousers and found them with the help of stylist Beth Goodrham at Style Guile.
She told me I didn't have to stick to the boot cut styles Gok advises for those of us with bottom and thighs.  They are from M&S and are still available this season in the same cut but with slightly different styling of the zips etc.

Here's the list then and a collage picture featuring most of the items:

1. Red Winter Coat from Jigsaw outlet
2. Dark Purple Doublebreasted Moleskin Winter Coat with leather trim from Next last year
3. Black/White Herringbone Jacket (Next several seasons ago)
4. Brown Leather Jacket (Lakeland Leathers)
5. Black Work Jacket (Next)
6. Red/Black Geometric Print Skirt (Phase Eight, new this year)
7. Suede Skirt (M&S Sale Bargain last year)
8. Navy Work Skirt with leather trim and zip detail (Next)
9. Shadow Print Skirt (Boden)
10. Navy Fine Knit Cardigan (M&S)
11. Bright blue cardigan with silver buttons (Next)
12. Mini Pansy Print Dress in Pine (Boden)
13. Colourblock Tunic Dress (Boden)
14. Purple/Grey Fine Cord Print Dress (Boden)
15. White Shirt (Next)
16. Teal Reindeer Print top (Next)
17. Denim Shirt (Next)
18. Burnt Orange Jumper (Next)
19. Black Slimleg Trousers (M&S) 
20. Highwaisted Bootcut Lift and Shape Jeans (Next)
21. Black Cotton Tapered Trousers (Next)
22. Grey Boxy Cable Knit Cardigan (Celtic Sheepskin)
23. Grey Waterfall Cardigan (M&S)
24. Navy Sequin Jumper (Next)
25. Blue long sleeved Cotton Scoop Neck Top (Next)
26. Black long sleeved Cotton T Shirt (Next)
27. Black Ribbed Polo (Next)
28. Grey Ribbed Polo (M&S)
29. Black Patent Mock Croc Flat Boots (Gabor)
30. Tan Lotte Beccles Ankle Boots (Clarks)
31. Black Patent Mid Heel shoes (Gabor)
32. Black Brogues with heel (Clarks)

33. All accessories - scarves, necklaces, bag etc.


Ok so I am cheating lumping all the accessories together.  But it's my new slimmed down wardrobe is a an improvement on the confused clutter that used to reside there.

Would love to hear any views or advice on my version of Project 333.

Project 333 - the launch

So wardrobe is decluttered and my 33 items have been selected. Most of this was achieved at the weekend, but I've spend a few days thinking hard and removing a few more items in order to reach the target.  I love how neat and spacious the wardrobe is now.  And to be honest most of the things I actually wear are still there.  I've not been too strict about things like accessories and jewellery: will put all scarves in one category and all jewellery in another.  Do handbags count?  Can anyone help me on this?

What I have noticed is how few wearable tops I actually have to go with the trousers and skirts in my wardrobe. The selection here is basically everything I have that is not cheap and nasty or the wrong colour.  And some of them need replacing.

So a shopping list:

White shirt
Black top (Crossover style?)
Colour top to go with black trousers
Black shoes with wearable heel to replace well worn ones above right

No time to list the individual items now.  Hope to do this tomorrow and plan some outfits using the column system devised by Linda at making things beautiful again.  Then I will take a photo of what I wear each day and post this every few days.  Perhaps not for 3 months but for one at least.