Maybe I should have put cleaning out my closet and looking more put together on my resolutions list, because I could have checked those right off!

I've always had a really hard time figuring out how to dress for the office. All of the other attorneys in my office are men. They have it easy... slacks, shirt, tie. I've never quite been able to figure out the female equivalent to that attire. If I wear a suit when I don't have a court date or client meeting, I feel overdressed. But I often also feel underdressed in my usual sweater or shirt/cardigan combo, considering they all have ties on, which seems to clearly elevate things a level beyond just business casual.

I've also had overflowing drawers for quite some time now. There were many items I was holding onto for no good reason at all, even though I don't wear them anymore. Did I really still need all those college t-shirts I collected? The long-sleeved race t-shirts with stains on them? Just how many pajama pants does one girl need... when she hate wearing pants to bed? (Note: I do wear shorts to bed.) And why, oh why, do I have so many pairs of non-work socks, when I can only wear them two days a week?

Enter: Shop Your Closet and The Put Together Project (TPTP).

Susan's checklist for shopping your closet is fantastic. I printed that sucker out and took it into my bedroom to tackle my closets and drawers. I didn't even need try on most of the items -- I just opened drawers, threw out old t-shirts, donated clothes that have been packed away in storage for several seasons, tossed old socks I never wear anymore (I used to really have a thing for fun and colorful socks... doesn't so much work with the lawyerly wardrobe these days). Just this simple step of admitting that I actually don't wear these things anymore and they will not be missed helped me immensely. (It was a little sad to part with my volleyball sweatshirt from the first year I played in high school... meaning that shirt was more than FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. Also meaning, I had that shirt for as many years of my life as I didn't. Uhhh... and it showed, because I actually still did wear it - only in the house, usually when baking - all these years later.)

Then, I got down to everything else. I tried everything on. I was honest with myself about what I would wear and what I wouldn't. If I rarely wore something, I asked myself why. If it was just because it was forgotten, I thought about outfits I could create with it. If it was because it was too itchy, or too tight, or too short... it got donated. That pink J Crew blazer I never wear because I don't have anything to go with it? eBay. Same with a few J Crew sundresses that I bought just because they were on sale, even though I know I don't like halter tops so I'm not sure why I thought this time would be different.

My closet is much more pared down now, but I like it. I know what I am actually missing. (A white shirt, for example. Or brown flats that aren't a half-size too big.) I realized my black blazer quite obviously doesn't actually match my black pants, and a basic black suit is kind of crucial in my line of work, so I bought matching black jacket and pants at the GAP this weekend at 30% off.

So, now, I have a good starting point for TPTP, to actually put some effort into how I look each day at work. You can see my contributions to TPTP here. Only problem is, I'm afraid I'm going to run out of new "put together" looks pretty quickly.

Posted by: bex | January 12, 2011 9:11 AM