Friday, 24th of September 2010 at 10:13:27 AM 
I am totally going to make it work. Maybe.
When Joshilyn first suggested we gear up for a fashion challenge, I have to admit—I felt rather smug. “This will be easy for me,” I thought. “I like to shop. I like clothes. I’m relatively happy with my body, and I’ve seen nearly every episode of What Not To Wear, so I’m totally going to rock this.”
Ah, hubris. My old pal!
In preparation for our upcoming challenge I’ve been thinking a lot about clothes and my closet. It’s true that I do rock a number of positives in this realm, including:
1) I tend to go for classic cuts that never go out of style
2) I love and wear a variety of colors
3) I’m ruthless about tossing items that have outlived their natural lifespan
4) I am obsessive about cut (to the point of neurosis), so my clothes always fit me very well, which I happen to think is about 2/3 of the battle when it comes to looking good in your clothes.
So I’m going to sail through this one with my eyes closed, right?
… ummmmm. Maybe not.
Here’s the thing about my wardrobe: It’s nice. It’s fine. When I go to conferences or fancy events or even when I’m running out to PTA meetings or whatever, I don’t think anyone looking at me would have anything negative to say about my clothes. They’re nice clothes; they fit me well. But… they’re boring.
Most of my clothing is solid-colored. Most of my clothing is very safe. Every now and then I buy something in a pretty pattern (thinking to myself, “I should go for something a little different!”), and then half the time I end up never wearing that item because I’m not sure what to wear it with. Or I buy a nice patterned top and wear it with jeans. Which is… fine.
Every time I watch What Not To Wear and see them explaining yet again to a fashion moron that yes, really, you can mix patterns and textures and it gives an outfit interest and depth, I think to myself, “Wow, that looks fantastic.” And then my next thought is invariably, “And if I tried to put that outfit together with that floral print and a glen plaid I would end up looking like a hobo. Or possibly a blind hobo.”
I’m almost 40. It’s time to step outside of my “this is a very lovely gray dress” or “these jeans fit very well and also I guess that shirt is okay too” box.
My mission: Spice it up. Patterns. Textures. Unexpected pairings. Something that is more than “fine.” I’m kind of excited. And also a little frightened. That’s good, right?
I don’t know, woman. If I could get to that “Hey that lovely gray dress fits you okay,” I’d be pleased enough to just throw a scarf over it and call it fashion. I have a fashion sense but no wardrobe to test it on. Plus, I seem to think jeans with boots is cutting edge. Sigh.
I hardly ever wear patterns either. Perhaps that can be part of my personal challenge, too. It’s funny, because I never wear them but I like the way they look on other people. I’m loving Mondo on Project Runway right now precisely because he uses bright colors and mixes patterns and makes clothes that are fun. My clothes? Not fun.
Today I blogged about what I think is the biggest fashion faux pas- not wearing clothes appropriate to your body type. BUT, I was going to blog about how a disorganized closet can lead to a bland drabness of wardrobe because of the fear of experimenting with color and pattern. Maybe I’ll write another one…
But what is the challenge? You never did say. Is it just to blog about fashion? Or is there some sort of rummaging through the closet to revamp your wardrobe? What?
We’re each going to be challenging ourselves, fashion-wise, Carol. Depends on what our particular issues are. Like, Joss blogged about her aversion to wearing color, and also that she never buys a complete outfit unless someone else puts it together for her. And I just tend to play it safe, so I’ll be looking to take more risks. It’s kind of a step-outside-our-own-personal-fashion-boxes thing.
Alrighty, got ‘er done. Closet organization = wardrobe experimentation? Maybe.