Ready For Spring Fashions? First, Evaluate Your Wardrobe For Spring -

Hello, Darlings! Today we are going to be talking about how you can Evaluate Your Wardrobe For Spring. Last week many people dealt with winter storms, hopefully, that will be nature’s last hurrah and we will begin to see more spring-like weather.

Spring here in the south can be very volatile. We get the full gambit of weather- cold, windy, warm, hot, stormy, and it begins our tornado season. It is not uncommon to start the day with a coat and end the day in shorts.

Also, many retails are launching their Spring/Summer Collections and you will want to be ready with your wish list because inventory may be limited due to continual COVID issues in factories, especially overseas.

Evaluate Your Wardrobe For Spring

Time To Take Inventory Of Your Closet

If you have not already, you need to take an inventory of your wardrobe. This means trying on clothes to make sure they fit and are in good condition. Use the last of these rainy, dreary days to go thru your clothes. You may find that some items are in bad condition (stains, worn out, need of repair) others may not fit anymore due to weight loss.

Start making a list of those items you need to REPLACE.

Time For A Lifestyle Evaluation

This is the first step to having a wardrobe that you will really wear. Do the clothes in my closet fit my true lifestyle or am I buying clothes for a life I don’t live? For me personally, I have no need for any professional clothes. I do not work and if I do need to go to a professional setting, I can put together an outfit easily from clothes that I have for Date Night and church.

Time To Evaluate Your Wardrobe For Spring. Don't forget to evaluate your professional wardrobe — If you do work in a professional environment it is important to look your best when participating in Zoom meetings. Make sure you are wearing your BEST colors. Wear makeup, including lipstick, and don’t forget your accessories. Looking put together gives you “visual authority”. People will take you more seriously when you look put together.

But if you do ZOOM calls or are heading back to the office, this is a category you might need to re-evaluate. Many office environments have gone casual, some I think have gone too casual and that lost professionalism.

My Personal Lifestyle Evaluation

My personal evaluation of my wardrobe for spring includes making a list in anticipation of the Kettlewell Spring Collection launching in March

What does my personal lifestyle evaluation look like? I need lots of Athleisure/Relaxed Casual style clothes that I can wear very casually for things such as running errands and everyday clothes. These items include short/skort/cropped pants/knit pants and tops to coordinate. This is an area I am really going to be focusing on this year.

Dressy Casual-Date Night/Girl’s Night/Church

Date Night/Girl’s Night Out and clothes for church is another area of my life that I need a functional wardrobe. Last year I really focused on this area and feel I truly have a good grasp with the addition of my Kettlewell Colours clothing. My new purchases allow me to mix and match, putting together very quickly outfits to wear for occasions when I need to “level-up” my looks.

My church is a more “casual” atmosphere where dresses are not needed. I still like to look put together and nice. A typical church outfit for me would be my Ponte knit pants with sleeveless top, adding a cardigan and completing the look with accessories.

This is a typical outfit I would wear to both Sunday church or my Thursday Date Night. Colorful and well put together. For Spring, I will change out the cardigan to a shorter version and pants to ankle style. I have a nice array of sandals and wedges to wear for spring/summer.

My new collection of Kettlewell Colours pieces, including jackets such as the Chloe, enable me to easily put together great outfits for activities such as Date Night and church. Black Ponte Knit Pants from Beyond Proper is the basis for my wardrobe. They are thicker material that helps cover lumps and bumps. I can also get them in Short.

Special Occassion/Formal Attire

Special Occasion clothes are for more formal activities such as weddings and other events. COVID has really dropped the need for these items. Also with my husband’s retirement, I no longer have events that I am required to attend. I purchased lots of dresses and outfits for my twin sons’ weddings and those garments can be used for these types of events. Now, I have a good collection of dresses, shoes, and accessories/shapewear. I have no need to purchases anymore, but I will try on some of these garments as I have lost a good bit of weight.

Evaluate your wardrobe for special occasion and event clothes for spring. A LBD is a great piece to add to your wardrobe — A little black dress (LBD) can be a workhorse in your wardrobe for more formal events or even events such as funerals. I have an LBD in 3/4 sleeves and a sleeveless. My shoes are platform heels with a block heel for support and comfort. This dress is the Faux-Wrap Dress from Anne Klein.

Relaxed Casual-Clothes For Travel

Travel is another area of my wardrobe that I need to think about. Before COVID struck, my husband and I had talked about doing some traveling. Now that we have both had COVID and the “scare” is gone, I would like to do some traveling. I need to have clothes that I can easily pack and will work for sightseeing and travel. Many of my Kettlewell Colours purchases meet this need, but I will be making a list of some of the more spring/summer garments that I would need to put together outfits for warmer weather. I need to work on my Relaxed Casual category.

The Relaxed Casual category is defined by shoes. This category is used to “level-up” your look. If you wear nice sandals, cute slip-on, or canvas shoes with your outfit and add a piece of jewelry or accessories it would fit in this category. This is an outfit you could go out to lunch with your girlfriends.

When you travel or are on vacation you need outfits that will look good on you (Instagram worthy) are comfortable and you can easily pack.

Sporty Casual/Athleisure

Athleisure is a “weird” category because depending on who you ask it can really be defined as Sporty Casual. With my recent weight loss, many of the items in this category are stretched out or do not fit. Sporty Casual really defines itself by athletic shoes/Birkenstock or Teva style sandal. If you wear your walking/tennis shoes with the outfit, it is considered a Sporty Casual outfit.

This is a good time to evaluate your workout wear too. I love to exercise is bright bold colors. The colors give me energy and encouragement. Many of the newer workout items can be repurposed for Athleisure.

Spring is a great time to get outdoors for exercise such as a long walk. Look to adding sporty casual clothes in your best colors — I try to look good when I am out and about walking around the neighborhood. Most times I run into someone I know. I don’t want to look like I rolled out of bed.

Athleisure would be clothes that are more polyester/elastane while Sporty Casual would be your cotton t-shirts with jeans or denim shorts.

Swim Wear/Resort Clothing

Summer clothing and swimsuit season is where I have lots of holes. Many of my swimsuits are now badly faded and of course the manufacturers are NOT making those styles again. I recently ordered several suits to try on. Because we spend so much time at the beach and lake, this is a “high priority”.

Hotter weather will be here before you know it. Time to evaluate your vacation outfits and accessories.

Loungewear/ Pajamas

I recently listened to a Facebook Live from Kelly Snyder of Adore Your Wardrobe. As many of you know, she is my “fashion mentor” and I have taken all of her online courses in hopes to get a better grip on fashion, specifically my own wardrobe. One of her recent topics is how we deserve to look good in our loungewear/pajamas.

You deserve to have cute and comfortable loungewear and pj. This may be an area you need to evaluate. — I LOVE cute pajamas. Most of mine are getting pretty worn out. I will be shopping for Soma’s Cool Night’s Line. Hopefully, I will be able to get some bright colors in my Winter Seasonal Color Palette to add to my wardrobe. My favorite styles are the Cropped Pajama Pants and the V Neck Camisole.

With that lecture in mind, I need to “level-up” my loungewear/ pajama category. I will be looking for brighter loungewear and pajamas that are in my Winter Seasonal Color Palette but are still comfortable. My undergarments such as bras, panties, and shapewear are in good condition.

Tennis As A Whole Category

I play a lot of tennis. I absolutely love the sport and many weeks I play as much as 3 times a week, especially in the spring. My husband and I have recently taken up pickleball, a tennis-like game played with paddles instead of racquets. Because I play so much, a good bit of my closet is devoted to tennis outfits. I have pieces for both warmer/cooler weather.

Do you play a sport? I love tennis and found that Dona Jo makes longer tennis skorts in bold bright colors. — I LOVE Dona Jo for tennis skorts. This is the Ultimate and it is 17 inches long ( most tennis skirts are 13 inches) The Ultimate comes in many prints to choose from. If you want a shorter skirt, Dona Jo has several styles and prints to chose from going from 13.5 inches to 17 inches long.

I can wear the same garments for pickleball as I do for tennis. Recently I did a huge purge of this section, getting rid of pieces that were not in my color palette and I did not wear. Now I feel like this area is a great condition, ready for the season.

Shoes are Important

Most outfits start with shoes, and with shoes, comfort is the #1 priority. If you have ever dealt with plantar fasciitis you will know how important it is to keep your feet “happy”.

Now is a very good time to evaluate your food wear for spring. I just purchased the Vionic Malibu Slip On Canvas Sneaker. Comfortable and cute — I just purchased the Vionic Malibu Slip-On Canvas Sneaker. My feet are starting to bother me again and I need shoes that are made for comfort. Vionic makes a great shoe and is highly rated among women with feet issues. This shoe comes in an array of great spring colors.

So me as I am planning an outfit for the day or event I really take into consideration my shoes. Comfort-style shoes have really come a long way in terms of style/cuteness. For dressier looks, platform-style shoes or wedges can help keep your feet happy for the evening.

I will be adding more Comfort shoes to help “level-up” my Relaxed Casual outfits. I hope to write a whole blog post on shoes very soon with some of my favorites.

Accessories and Jewelry

This is a category I feel I have well in hand. If anything, I need to pair it down. It is an important category as it can help “level-up” a casual outfit and even balance an outfit for a Pear shape body.

Herringbone Chain Necklace from the Banana Republic. It reminds me of the gold herringbone necklace I wore in the '80s. This one is not near as thick or heavy and so far does not seem to kink when traveling. The Banana Republic has a really good selection of layered gold and silver necklaces and link-style necklaces. Plus, they are ALWAYS having a sale. — Here is a close-up of the Herringbone Chain Necklace from the Banana Republic. It reminds me of the gold herringbone necklace I wore in the ’80s. This one is not near as thick or heavy and so far does not seem to kink when traveling. The Banana Republic has a really good selection of layered gold and silver necklaces and link-style necklaces. Plus, they are ALWAYS having a sale.

In this category, I have statement necklaces in silver, layered necklaces for a more casual look, and a couple of event necklaces to complete those outfits. I have a nice collection of earrings and bracelets that will help give outfits that “finished” look.

This year I have added several of the Florence Infinity Scarves from Kettlewell Colours to add color and interest to my outfits. These scarves will work great as we transition from winter to spring.

This year I have added more colored scarves that really add pizzaz and interest to my outfits. These will be great as we transition into spring.

How To Evaluate Your Wardrobe For Spring

One of the easiest ways to evaluate your wardrobe for spring is to make a 10-day plan. Plan out 10 outfits that you would wear on a normal week + during the spring months. Then evaluate each outfit to see how you can “level-up” the look. Also, check that the outfits fit you properly, and are in your color palette. Do you have the appropriate shoes to go with each outfit?

Finally think about your accessories for each outfit. Do you have a casual necklace? Maybe you need to update your handbag? Even the Sporty Casual look may need a refresh with new socks and more comfortable tennis shoes.

Finally-Make A List Of Your Spring Wardrobe Needs

You already made a list of items you need to replace. Now you will make a list of “holes” in your wardrobe. Those items you will need to be able to create outfits for your lifestyle that fit properly and you look AWESOME in.

This year my goal is to look my BEST. Especially when I leave my home. COVID restrictions have made it so easy to slack off and grunge down. But taking the time to put makeup on, do our hair, and pick out an outfit that looks good on us will make you feel better, and give you more confidence.

Looking for transitioning pieces for spring? Check out my Moto-Jacket post

Ready For Spring Fashions? First, Evaluate Your Wardrobe For Spring

Evaluate Your Wardrobe For Spring

Time To Take Inventory Of Your Closet

Time For A Lifestyle Evaluation

Here are some of the categories that clothes fall under

My Personal Lifestyle Evaluation