Swap time

OK, so I have to confess, I was getting a little bored with my Project 333 selections. I have been wearing my 25 items for about 50 days!  I decided to swap some of them to make it more fun. I think most people swap 3 items every month, but I decided I will swap once, in the middle of the cycle. My initial plan was to swap 6 items but in the end I selected 10.

10 may seem like a lot, but I was feeling sorry for some of my abandoned darlings, sitting in the dark closet and crying out to me :) Besides, if you are having such a limited selection, you have to be sure that they go with each other, so once I decided to swap one thing I needed to swap something else, I can actually wear it and be happy with what I have.

Maybe I am just not able to live with so little? I am not going to beat myself over it. This experiment helped me enjoy my clothes more and buy less, so I am just sticking with my way of doing it.  Hey, whatever works, right?

You can see what had in my closet HERE.

This is what I decided to swap: 

I really like skirts and I was craving variety, so I replaced all of them, black, ochre, viridian green and Floating Rose. I still have 3 pencil skirts and one a-line skirt, but this time I have two prints (floral and plaid) and two solids (honey glaze and bright dahlia).   

Four Skirts

I swapped my J.Crew Terra Paisley dress for DVF sweater wrap dress in camel, black and white pattern and my Talbots LBD for Brora Mallard solid forest green dress.

Two Dresses

I swapped my skinny True Religion jeans for People's Liberation flares.

Pair of Jeans

 I got rid of one of my white shirts and added a pair of black capris.

Black Capris

 I swapped my J. Crew camel v-neck for gray pullover from Banana Republic and my J.Crew cobblestone cardigan for straw chunky cardigan from Brora.

Two sweaters

 This is one side of my current working closet:

Skirts, Dresses, Pants & Shirts

This is the rest of it:

Sweaters and Tops

How did I decide what to swap? To make it easy, I replaced with similar items, because this gave me some novelty, while still ensuring my clothes will work together. For example, I swapped ochre skirt for honey glaze, and I removed black skirt but added black pants. I added two printed skirts with different cut and pattern but similar colors, so I knew they will both work with many existing items. I exchanged viridian green pencil for bright dahlia because I knew they will work with the same tops.  As for dresses, I still wanted to have one print and one solid and I just picked what I most wanted to wear and what was season appropriate.


Would you consider doing Project 333 or something similar?
What clothing items you cannot live without?

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What's up with the white shirts?

Ines de la Fressange

If you'd peeked into my closet (you can do it HERE) you'd see that among my very limited selection of items, there are two white button down shirts. What's up with that? I also have a 3/4 sleeve white lace top and, you bet, there is an elbow sleeve plain white t-shirt in my lounge wear.

The truth is, if I have to pick only one outfit to wear, it would be a white shirt with jeans. I like to imagine I am channeling Ines de la Fressange when I wear it.  Now, don't laugh about the setting. OK, laugh, since apparently I also thought my reflection was hilarious. Is Ines funny, I wonder?

J.Crew white stretch perfect shirt size Medium

White shirts can easily get ruined, but fear not, I have a backup:

Charles Tyrwhitt Size 12 UK

White tops can go casual with rolled sleeves, jeans, hippie necklace and/or funky shoes, or this-time -I-mean-business with trousers and navy blazer. Plain white t-shirt will tone down loud printed skirt. White blouse can go to a party when paired with sparkly pencil skirt. White collar peeking from under a dark v-neck will bring out some light to your face.  I can go on, but you know what I mean.

I LOVE this vintage cotton lace tee but it is very see through

So I am wearing this underneath, similar here

I used to buy my white button downs at Banana Republic but the last time I tried them, the Medium was too tight and gaping at the chest and Large was too big all over. I think they changed the cut becasue they now come in numerical sizes, I should check it out. I like the fit of J.Crew perfect stretch shirts, although the fabric feels a little cheap (thinner, rougher and more prone to wrinkling), they are great for casual wear.

Maybe one day, when I am rich and famous (dream on), I will be buying my shirts from this woman:

Anne Fontaine

But for now, my current favorite white shirt is from a British brand, Charles Tyrwhitt. I like the fabric they use, medium weight, not see through, it feels crisp and smooth. I machine wash it, put it in the dryer for a few minutes then hang it to dry. I only needed a light touch up with an iron, much less than my J.Crew shirt.

cami: Brora,  Trousers: last year's (lined) 1035 in camel

Lisa from Privilege did an excellent post on white shirts and another one on  button downs, check it out. You will also find out that we are actually talking about 'button fronts'. Who'd knew?


Do you wear white shirts? What is your favorite brand? Please, share.

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The Name of the (Floating) Rose

You know you are a nerd when you reference Umberto Eco in your fashion blog and you think it is cool.

A print that is pleasant to the eye and flattering against ones complection is priceless, snatch it when you see one. This is what I did with the 'Blurry Rose' aka 'Floating Rose' print ( why wouldn't J.Crew stick with one name for the same print is a mystery). I bought both Winsome dress and wool double serge flair skirt.

Check out the skirt on Gigi HERE, she is also referencing other wonderful, creative bloggers that have reviewed and styled it. I am planning to wear the Winsome dress on Valentines Day, and if I do, I will post pictures. This dress in not one of my 33 items, since I consider it special occasion dress and therefore separate category. It would seem silly not to wear a perfect dress that I already own. Buying a new special occasion dress is another story.

So now, about the skirt. I don't wear many prints and I don't wear too many a-line skirts. I usually stick to pencil skirts since they are a reliable fit on me, especially the J.Crew ones. I tried the solid and plaid flair and it did not work for me. But the rose print skirt was perfect. I think the fabric is softer and this makes the drape better. Like many bloggers, I sized up one size from my pencil skirt size.

Today, I am wearing it with black and it is a very comfortable and surprisingly easy outfit The print is bold and quite memorable, so I try to keep rest of my clothes neutral and accessories minimal.

My sweater is from Brora, they make the best cashmere. I didn't know about Brora until I read about them on DaniBP's blog couple of years ago. But after my first purchase I was hooked. The fit is divine, nipped in waist, with the v-neck cut just so, and perfect length to wear with the skirt. They have a sale going on right now, it is still pricey, but you get what you pay for. If  the prices seem too high, there is always an ebay, and this is where I got this sweater for pennies (comparatively speaking).  It an older version, with slightly different cut (shorter an more fitted), that what they currently sell.. It does not pill, if you can believe it.

How do you like this print? Do you own this skirt or Winsome dress? How do you wear it?
Please share, your comments are the best!

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