Winter 2018 Trimm Challenge Recap

Ohhh hello there, it’s been a minute since I did my winter Trimm Challenge, so hi! I’m very excited to do a recap on what I pulled out for my 10 Trimms, why they aren’t working for me, what my goals are in the upcoming season, and a couple adjectives I’m throwing in to build on what my goals were for the fall.

If you need a refresh on what the challenge is, or have never read about it before, you can learn more in-depth about it here.

But for now – its an abbreviated seasonal wardrobe edit with a goal of creating clarity in your wardrobe on what to buy in the upcoming season, and most importantly what to stay away from purchasing. 

You take out 10 items, write down why they aren’t working, what to stay away from, items to look at purchasing, and then finish it off with a couple overarching adjectives to describe how you want your style to be moving forward.

And that’s it!

It’s an ode to my personal styling/capsule wardrobe wearing days, that encourages intentionality with how you build your wardrobe without the stress that sometimes comes along with minimalism.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at my #wintertrimm.

For my second Trimm Challenge, I kept it even more simple than the first, and took out my 10 items and wrote down my goals in less than 30 minutes.

I finished it so quickly because I was crunched for time, but that just goes to show you how little time you really need to set the right foot forward in your wardrobe. Right?

So here are the details…

STEP 1:

10 things I “trimmed” out of my wardrobe

• 1 pair of blue skinny jeans
• 1 grey basic
• 2 plaid button downs
• 1 chambray shirt
• 1 loafer
• 1 suede grey bootie
• 1 black wool sweater
• 1 black acrylic sweater
• 1 black mock-neck dress

STEP 2:

THE REASONS

• To start I passed on some blue skinny jeans that I just haven’t worn in a while. I like a good black skinny depending on the type of boot I am wearing, but for the most part, a blue skinny jean is the last choice of pant I grab for these days (even though I will occasionally still wear one).
• The grey basic I passed on because it was restricting on my arms. I’ve learned if I’m ever pulling a lot at an item in my closet I usually end up not wearing it, so out it went.
• The plaid button downs I let go of simply because it’s been a really long time since I’ve worn plaid or checkered button-downs, and I just don’t feel quite like me in them anymore.
• The chambray shirt is another case of not caring for the fit so out she went…
• The loafer was too artsy/jazzy for me, and there is just something about them that makes me feel like too safe and I don’t love that feeling.
• The grey bootie just didn’t excite me, or really say anything about my style right now. I think I’ve kept them because they seemed comfortable enough, but they really just make me feel a little boring.
• I also passed on 2 black sweaters because of the fit and fabric, both were itchy and I pulled a lot at the neck and base of the sweaters.
• And last but not least the black mock-neck dress I let go of because of the style…If it was a midi dress and hugged my body a bit more or was crazy flowy, I would have loved both extremes, but there is something about it that makes me feel too conservative when I wear it.

And that’s a wrap on my thoughts. I just want to point out one common thread in all of my pass-on’s.

Ultimately they didn’t make me “feel” the way I want to feel in my clothing.

When it comes to letting go clothes, I think the most valuable thing to understand is how I want to feel when I wear something, because that is the overarching, final trump card so to speak to adding or subtracting in your closet. 

For instance, you could buy something that is in your color palette and style on paper, but when you put it on it makes you feel frumpy, or too classic, or worse it makes you feel nothing at all.

These are the things we all need to just stop buying, and I get, sometimes it takes a few wears to decide how you feel in something, but you know that feeling when you put something on and you think “oh ya” that’s what we should always aim for because there are too many choices in this world to not. Ya feel?

STEP 3:

THE DONT’S

• Shoes that don’t really make a statement
• Basics that I don’t care for the shape or texture of
• Items that feel too safe
• Skinny jeans
• Plaids unless they are an interesting silhouette

STEP 4:

THE OVERALL GOALS

• Experiment with your colors: all the greens, all the browns/oranges/blushes, creams/beige/whites
• Try more monochromatic looks
• Statement shoes/boots
• Pants that are straight leg and have interest
• Minimal gold jewelry
• Vintage/modern purses

For my style goals, I found that they were still very similar to my fall challenge which made me feel confident to continue to build my wardrobe or subtract from it with those goals!

STEP 5:

THE OVERALL STYLE FEELING

• Romantic meets Modern
• Street style (a little sporty, a little unexpected, a little funky)
• I want to feel a touch more of feminity and fun like I said in my fall wardrobe, but I also am drawn to street style, I love a little bit of edge, a touch of something unexpected, and dressing up just a plain ol’ tee with some edgy boots or statement coat and calling it a day. I think there is space in my own personal style for all of these things.

The trick is blending two or three of these styles at a time to come up with many outfits that feel more signature to me.

Summing it all up, much of my goals have been carried through from my Fall Trimm, but this time I feel the ever-growing desire to not play things safe.

Maybe it’s the new year, but I’d say more than likely it’s been this new version of myself that has been emerging over the past 8 months, and I’m seeing it come out in my clothing choices and interests more and more (big surprise).

So tell me, do you think about how you want to feel in your clothing? Or reflect on why you buy/wear the things you do? And how have your internal changes affected material things that you are drawn to? Do you ever see the connection?

So much love,

Mary Beth

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