Righteo, apparently it’s me-made-May again.  I mostly wear clothing that I’ve made all year round, so I’ve decided not to participate in the “challenge” part of me-made-May this year.  And I don’t like the “me-made” label all that much, I must admit.  I’m all for alliteration, but there’s no grammar there.  However, past experience participating in this challenge and other clothing documentation challenges has taught me that there can be significant value in creating a visual record of your outfits. Given that I’ve just done a major wardrobe cull, this is a great time for me to really take stock of what clothing I have and in what combinations I wear it.  Summer is easy – I prefer dresses.  But autumn/winter?  Much more difficult.  More garments, more layers, more to coordinate. There are months of cold weather ahead, so this really is the perfect time for me to figure out what wardrobe gaps I have and fill them in!

When I culled my wardrobe I took out everything that didn’t fit, was tired or worn out, or that I didn’t like much any more. I took out everything that I’d enjoyed wearing but knew I was now passing over in favour of something else. And I took out everything that I never really wore – even if there was technically “nothing wrong with it”.  This meant that I was left with some garments that are wardrobe orphans, but I still really like and want to wear. These are the wardrobe gaps. The challenge now is in figuring out what garments will be the right ones to fill those spaces.

So now I’m working out what still works for me.  I think that I am style transitioning a little at the moment.  I’ve enjoyed experimenting a bit lately with different silhouettes, styles, textures, colours and prints, and think that I’m now settling on the ones that currently feel right for me.  As a result I have quite a large to-sew pile again.  I’m really looking forward to making a start once I get rid of this rotten cold that’s been exhausting me over the past ten days.  In the meantime I’ll keep taking daily photos and subjecting you to them on a weekly basis.  Navigating the waters of personal style when you’re almost 47 and don’t want to look like mutton dressed as lamb or look way older than your years – while still staying true to yourself and the way you prefer to dress – is a really tricky thing!