closet clean-up: from cluttered to loved

Once I found out in February that I would have to move for school, I slowly started cleaning out my closet. I've lived in Madison for seven years now, and have lived in four different houses. Each time we moved, I just grabbed everything I owned and took it with me to the next place a few streets away. This move though, across several states and by myself, would require me greatly reduce the items I own.

I had clothes in three different places - my main closet that had all of my normal clothes, some coats in our coat closet, and my handful of dresses (which I couldn't wear to work) were in a shared closet in our bedroom - our place has a lot of closets! I started out by pulling all of the "big ticket" items that I knew I could sell on eBay - a few purses, a North Face jacket, and a few J.Crew / Banana Republic items. I'm a pretty beginner eBay seller so I don't have a ton of tips and tricks. I do a lot that is recommended here, and I almost always use the eBay app as you can take pictures, upload, and have a listing within just a few minutes from your phone.

Once those items were gone, I started going through the clothes that I regularly look at. I pulled out the pieces I knew I hadn't worn in years, and put them aside. I tried selling some on poshmark and on here, but those took more effort than it paid out. I basically worked through my closet a little bit at a time. Every time I by passed something and couldn't remember the last time I ever wore it, it went into the pile. About once a month, I would take a pile of clothing to Plato's Closet - a consignment store geared mostly towards teenagers. My experiences were fine there - I've made about $100 from selling clothes there, but I felt because they were so geared toward teens that a lot of my nicer items that just didn't fit were passed because they were "too mature". The items they didn't take I handed down to my mom and sister, and whatever they didn't want, they donated to St. Vinnies.

That was what I did up until this past weekend. I move on Friday, so this last closet clean out was really necessary to get rid of the last unnecessary pieces. I had already packed up all of my blazers, remaining bottoms, skirts, and shoes which hadn't been pulled. My family is shipping those boxes to me at the end of the week as I just didn't have enough room in my car. Next, I went through all of my tops. I pulled each one out of the closet and put it on. If I felt uncomfortable in it, if it fit me wrong, or if I knew I was just never going to wear it again, into the pile it went. I'm only packing the pieces I really wear. As hard as it was to let go of a bunch of relatively nice jeans, tees, and sweaters, I knew I hadn't worn them in so long, and with my restrictive dress code, I knew they weren't going to be worn in the future either. I tried one last time to take a few things to the consignment stores, made about $25, and took everything else directly to Goodwill. I set a side a few things again for my mom and sister, but the rest will find a new home with something who will appreciate them.

When I look at my closet now, and even during the cleaning out process, I felt so much better about getting dressed. I didn't feel guilt looking at all the clothes I spent money on, but didn't wear. My choices were limited, but I liked everything, so I never had "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR" moments. Since I started working with a budget, I feel like I've been a lot smarter about what I buy, so I'm hoping that in a year/four years from now, I won't be in this same situation. I need to make smart buying decisions, buy items off of my holes in my closet list, and not just buy on a whim. I want to find the balance of buying staple pieces versus more "fun" pieces - maybe do 3/4 of my budget towards purchasing items I will get a ton of wear, and then the rest towards statement/fun pieces? Since I will be living off student loans that I receive twice a year, instead of paychecks I receive twice a month, I may do what Kimmie and Jess do, and have a yearly budget and work with it that way. I'll definitely share what I decide to do!

I can't wait to show you guys by new closet next week! It's going to be beautiful :)

My tips for cleaning out your own closet - no moving 10 hours away necessary! :

+ Pull everything (EVERYTHING) out of your closet, and try each piece on. If it doesn't fit NOW, get rid of it (or if it may fit again for sure, put it into storage)

+  If you haven't worn it within the last year, ask yourself why. Does it just fit wrong? Donate or sell. Not your style anymore? Pass along to friends or donate. Needs alterations? Put into the alterations pile and actually do them.

+ Be prepared to make "the hard" decisions. Yes, it sucks that you spend x number of dollars on that sweater/pant/skirt/shoe....but what good is it doing you in your closet if you haven't worn it in years? Either store it in case it comes back into fashion, pass it along to family members/friends, sell it, or donate it. You'll feel better not looking at it every single time you open your closet.

+ Reorganize your closet so you can see your clothes better. I currently organize by color, but when I move, I'm going to organize by type - blazers, cardigans, sweaters, tees. Seeing your clothes in a different way may inspire you to wear it a different way.

medical school wardrobe: building a foundation

It's been several months since I last wrote about trying to build my wardrobe for medical school. As a refresher, my school has a dress code as follows:

A clean and well-cared-for appearance should be maintained. Women are required to wear 

appropriate dresses of reasonable length or slacks with appropriate blouses. Halter tops, midriff tops, strapless or backless tops or dresses; sundresses, crop pants, capri pants and miniskirts are not permitted. Revealing or tight, form-fitting clothing is unacceptable. Women’s hair must be neat and trimmed at all times, avoiding extreme styles or colors. Excessive body piercing is not acceptable. Women are required to wear shoes or sandals with socks or stockings. Shorts, jeans, T-shirts and sandals with bare feet are not permitted.

In order to have pieces in my closet that I can easily throw on and go to class for 8 hours a day, but still be comfortable and happy with my outfits, I'm dedicating my once "dream purse" fund to add the necessary pieces to my closet. First I'll tell you guys where I stand now, and then I'll discuss the last few pieces that are still needed.

Heels: Black closed toed pumps were going to be a necessity for me. I own very few pairs of heels, and the ones I do own can't be worn more than a short amount of time before I start walking around barefoot (the only time I really have worn heels has been for weddings so...barefooted dancing. Welcome to Wisconsin!). I've heard great things about both the Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps (as recommended by both Mix & Match Fashion and Professionally Petite)  and the J.Crew Miri heel (as reviewed here by Easy Petite Looks) but everyone said that nothing beats Cole Haan shoes. When Chris and I were in Minneapolis, we specifically went to Nordstrom so I could figure out sizing (we don't have a Nordstrom anywhere near Madison). I tried on this shoe, and really liked how they felt on my feet, but if you look at the price, you know that wasn't really in my budget. Knowing my preferred size, I started searching eBay and eventually got lucky when I found this style, brand new, for $90. I've worn them around the house a bit and they feel very nice. As comfortable as walking around barefoot? No, but they are a definite improvement over my plastic Target heels. I've already tried them on with a few skirts/pants in my closet and am happy how they improve my outfits - man, heels really do make everything look better, don't they?

Nude Flats: While I said that I would like a pair of nude flats for my school wardrobe, my current work wardrobe was missing out on them too so I was very excited when I found this Sam Edelman pair at Nordstrom Rack for 60% off of the retail price. They were paid for with the remaining budget money from April, but since I said in March that I would like them for school I figured I should mention them here. These are a great pair of shoes that have required absolutely no breaking in (as opposed to my Revas which took a painful amount of time to get to where they are now) and have extra padding which make them very comfortable. HIGHLY recommend them!

Skirts: I started from absolute scratch here. I own one that is about two sizes too large (but super cute!) and that's it. I thrifted this black A-lineish skirt a few months ago, and then purchased the Fran skirt in April. As much as I want to wear pencil skirts, I'm still unsure about them. Every single one I've tried on hasn't fit right at all - too tight in the rear/thighs and too loose in the waist. I know I could always size up to have it fit comfortably in the seat and then get the waist tailored to fit, but I'm unsure if I want to go through all of that trouble for a style of skirt I'm unsure I even like. I plan on really paying attention to the skirt section in Goodwill in the coming months to see if I can't add a few more cute skirts at a low cost. 

Dresses: Over the years I've accumulated a bunch of cheap dresses from Target and the like. I've sold or donated almost all of them because they just didn't fit me correctly, and now have about 4 dresses left in my closet. I bought this Gap dress a few months ago - I think the color is fun but still in the professional realm, and the fit is very flattering. I got it during a 40% of sale so the price was right over $40. I also bought a light grey faux wrap dress at the Banana Republic Outlet on clearance for just over $20, but it will need to be taken in at the waist. I know both of these dresses will be major staples when I just want to throw something on quick.

Tops: My current tops collection will transition seamlessly from my work wardrobe to my school wardrobe as I'm pretty conservative to begin with. I did purchase two tops with my budget money - a black geometric top which will be an easy way to add interest to an other wise boring outfit, and an oxford popover. The geometric top was around $20 at the Banana Republic outlet, and the popover was around $40 final sale from J.Crew. 

Tights: Because we are required to wear tights when we were skirts or dresses, tights were obviously necessary. I was lucky enough to receive about 6 pairs from Hanes during a recent collaboration so I'm set there! They are comfortable, have held up so far, and best of all, were free ;)  I will need fleece lined and/or sweater tights for the winter but no real need to buy those in May.

I have around $250 remaining in my budget for school clothes. Here is the plan for the rest of that money!

Pants: I needed to wait until I found at least my first pair of heels so I could figure out the length of pants to buy. I would love to find dress pants while thrifting, but I'm 5'9" so most pants off the rack, and especially a thrift store rack, will be too short. I'm hoping that around the Memorial Day sales will be a good time to look for pants at either The Limited (like this pair), Express (this pair), or Banana Republic (this pair) as I don't plan on paying any where near full listed price for them. I have a pair of black pants that are the length to wear with flats, so I need a pair to wear with heels. I would also like a dark grey pair of dress pants.

White Blouse: The perfect white button up is on list of holes in my closet, and I feel it would be beneficial for my school wardrobe especially. I'd love to try the silk version from Everlane or maybe track down the Equipment version on eBay.

Cardigans: I really don't own as many cardigans as I thought, so a few solid colored ones would be nice to have. I plan on buying these mostly thrifted. 

Shoes: a black pair of wedges would be nice to mix up shoes, and would probably be more comfortable than heels. If I find some in the coming weeks I might actually use my monthly budget money to buy these as I think I could probably get away with wearing them at work - I like this Franco Sarto pair. I'd also love to have a pair of maryjane heels. I think they are just so cute (I love them on Future Lint). This Frye pair and this Fitzwell pair are both adorable, and within a reasonable price range.

medical school wardrobe: dress code

Having worked in a very, very casual work environment means that I've had a lot of freedom with what I can wear everyday (except for the safety restrictions of needing to wear pants, flat shoes, and a lab coat). With school starting at the very end of July, my closet needs a some additions that I previously didn't have much use for. My school does have a dress code for any time we are on campus (including lecture and studying in the library) - it's as follows:

A clean and well-cared-for appearance should be maintained. Women are required to wear 

appropriate dresses of reasonable length or slacks with appropriate blouses. Halter tops, midriff tops, strapless or backless tops or dresses; sundresses, crop pants, capri pants and miniskirts are not permitted. Revealing or tight, form-fitting clothing is unacceptable. Women’s hair must be neat and trimmed at all times, avoiding extreme styles or colors. Excessive body piercing is not acceptable. Women are required to wear shoes or sandals with socks or stockings. Shorts, jeans, T-shirts and sandals with bare feet are not permitted.

So - halter tops, midriff tops, strapless or backless dresses, and mini skirt are not going to be a problem for me. I don't even own any of those things! It seems that ankle pants may be considered cropped pants, which is really unfortunate as I consider ankle pants to be dress pants. The other thing is that when wearing dresses or skirts, I'll need to wear tights. I was a dancer for 14 years, so tights for me are like a death sentence (but partially because I just think of shiny shiny tights). The dress code is what it is, so there isn't much use in complaining about it. Instead I'm going to shop for it!

On my 25th birthday I made a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. One of those items was to own a Chanel bag. I started a savings account where for every paycheck, $25 is automatically transferred into it so I could walk into a Chanel store on my 30th birthday and purchase a bag without any guilt. Unfortunately for my handbag collection, my life has gone in a different direction and I now have different priorities. Since I won't have a paycheck for another 4 years, I am going to cash out that account out and use it to buy my clothes for school. By the time I quit my job in the middle of June, I'll have about $500.

So what do I think I need? I plan on finding the following things:

+ Dress pants: I have never been comfortable in dress pants - they always fit wrong, are too short or too long, and always itchy. I would like to buy a pair of black pants and a pair of dark grey pants. I plan on purchasing them larger and longer and then have them tailored to be exactly what I want. Ideally I would like a pair for heels and a pair for flats - maybe I'll find a great deal on pants I really like and then be able to have both.

+ Skirts: Since I haven't worn many skirts (or really any), I don't really know what I'm looking for here. A black skirt that fits correctly is something I shouldn't be able to mess up too much so again I plan on finding one that either fits comfortably off the rack (doubtful) or find something that can be tailored to what I feel comfortable in. A printed version would be fun too. I did purchase this Banana Republic skirt a few weeks ago when it was on sale for $40, but I feel the certain color of blue and the pattern is kind of limiting (what do you do in the winter?) so I returned it. I did like the fit though so I will make sure to try on more skirts at Banana Republic 

+ Cardigans: I'm told our building is pretty chilly, so cardigans for easy layering will be necessary. I realized looking through my closet that I don't have many cardigans. I'd like a few solid colored cardigans that fit well and can easily be mixed and matched with different shirts and bottoms.

+ Printed Blouses: I have a few solid blouses but very few printed (besides my new awesome cat printed blouse). I think a few printed blouses will be easy to mix and match with the solid cardigans and won't be something I have to think a lot about in the morning.

+ Dresses: A few solid dresses that can either be worn alone (preferable with tee-shirt sleeves or long sleeves) or with cardigans/blazers will be something that will be great to have for the warm months and then later to be layered in the winter. I purchased this Gap dress (seen here) this week during the friends and family event - I think it'll be a staple that can go with many different cardigans/blazers.

+ Black Heels: I've mentioned this before, but I don't own any closed toed black heels, and I don't own any heels that I can wear for more than like 20 minutes. A pair with a stable heel (even though my mom hates the thicker heels!) that allows me to walk and be comfortable will be a must.

+ Nude Flats: Goes with everything! Especially with...

+ Tights: ugh. I'm hoping to find a few very thin pairs for the summer and then transition into sweater or fleece lined tights in the fall/winter. Any recommendations for a tall (5'9'') girl?

So. That's the plan. I don't really plan on purchasing many of these things right now unless I happen upon them (like the Gap dress). I will keep a running total in each month's budget recap for the items that are specifically purchased for school. I don't plan on spending all of this money before school starts but I do want a majority of them so I don't have to worry about it once all the studying starts. 

I'd love to hear if you've had to work with a similar dress code, and what ended up being staples for you.

I want to make smart purchases when buying these clothes, so there will be lots of trips to the mall and tailor to make sure I get exactly what I want. Is my search for these items something you guys care to hear about or would you rather just know the end result? I don't want to bore you about finding the perfect black heel...unless you're into it.

taxed

Are you guys sick of me talking about school starting in 5 months? Me either...

But...with school starting and only working for another 4.5 months, I am really working on tucking money away. I'm putting my entire work bonus, a certain percentage of each paycheck, and the money I make from this blog into savings. I am also putting all but $250 of my tax return into savings. With those $250 I was planning on purchasing a few items from "the list". Last Friday I ordered this blazer as it was a color I was looking for, I wear my blue version all the time, and I knew what size I thought I needed. Well I received it today and it just didn't work - it was a little too tight in the shoulders and it felt too short. I think the 2% spandex in my blue version makes enough of a difference in fit that it just wasn't worth the money to keep.

So while I was returning the blazer, the sales associate convinced me I needed to look at the sale section (it took a bunch of convincing...). Another one of my items on my list is a pencil skirt. They had a lot of the black #2 pencil skirts on sale, so I tried a few on. I tried on my normal skirt/pants size, but it didn't even close. I went up one size, and it still didn't look right. Several ladies said that they sometimes have to size up two sizes. I think that's important to remember - it's not about the number on the tag but how it fits. I walked away without a skirt even though the price was good because the size they had in store wasn't going to work. I don't think I'm ready to put a bunch of money down on something I can't wear right now anyway.

What I can wear right now and in the future is this cute striped shirt, so it did come home with me :)

Shirt: Gap*

Blouse: J. Crew Factory {save | exact}

Jeans: Gap  {similar}

Scarf: c/o The Posh'mina

Boots: Steve Madden  {save | splurge}

Watch: Boccia

*I found this shirt hiding in my closet this weekend. I'm certain the last time I wore this shirt was in this picture, taken at a house party my sophomore year of college. so classy.

Linking up with wiww and Bri's Third Thursday Threads (POLKA DOTS!)

20ish days in, and no one has realized that I'm re-wearing something every day. Either I'm really good at TOPIO (not as likely) or people at work aren't paying attention (most likely).