A Closet Full of Clothes But Nothing to Wear

And sew it goes.......the closet is full but I have nothing to wear.

Even more sew, the fabric 'stash' shelves are full but I still have 'nothing to sew.'

The overhaul begins. Going through the closets and asking "When was the last time I wore this? Did I ever wear it? Will I ever wear it?"  What is the reason I am not wearing it - style, fit, color, etc??

Time to heed the advice of the clutter gurus and "clean out the mental, emotional, and physical closets of my life." Same is true for my fabric stash.  I find myself lamenting, "What was I thinking when I bought this fabric?"

Armed with a much more savvy (and realistic) thought process about what I would actually wear (and sew) I am amassing discard piles - heaps really. Fellow sewists are reaping the benefits of my stash overload.

Now the challenge of staying on track to create a wardrobe of clothes I would actually wear and are timeless essentials.

I consulted a few blogs and decided to generate my own list of must-haves to guide my sewing endeavors for the rest of the year or so:

Tim Gunns Ten Essential Wardrobe Items

Top Ten Closet Must Haves

Ten Fashion Items That Will Always Be In Style

InStyle Ten Things Every Woman Must Own

My list (in random order):
1) Something Animal Print - have a Cheetah print Ponte de Roma will use Kwik Sew 3740
2) Jeans - have the fabric dark wash, white, red
3) Oversize men's blazer - Almost finished in dark brown wool (about 2 more hours to go) in Kwik Sew 3715
3) Fitted black blazer - have the fabric probably use a BurdaStyle Pattern
4) Crisp white blouse - have the fabric - many patterns to choose from here
5) Black pencil skirt - Likely take from a BurdaStyle Magazine
6) Little Black Dress - have the black wool crepe will use Pattern by Go Patterns
7) Yoga Pants - grey Ponte de Roma will use Silhouette Patterns Yoga Pant
8) Yoga Top - pink floral wick-a-way will use Lingerie Secrets Undies Top & blue wick-a-way or Ponte de Roma will use Great Copy Patterns Cross-Over Top
(Especially in need of #7-8 since some friends and I decided that taking pole-dancing lessons would be fun. I am certain this will be the topic of a future blog post.)

BurdaStyle Fitted Blazer (#3)

Crisp, White Button-Down Blouse (#4)

I will post pics and thoughts as this sewing adventure unfolds.

Let the stitching begin!

Strike A Pose!

Know why actresses (almost) always look so good?  They've mastered the art of how to pose for a picture.  A bit of Spanx helps a too.

If you don't want to look bad (aka fat) in a picture, don't ever face a camera straight on.  Notice that all the actresses and models are always standing at angles.

I am 'borrowing' the simple photo primer below from the Jan/Feb, 2013 issue of Mental Floss Magazine.  (This is a cool magazine that let's you feel super smart when you wow your friends with useless information and trivia.)

It may seem like many steps to remember. At the very least, hand on hip, one foot in front of the other, and turn sideways a bit.  It often helps to hold your tongue on the roof of your mouth when you  smile. Say Cheese!

Corner Office Kudos to Stila

Sometime ago I was approached by two colleagues - two female colleagues. They stopped me in the hall outside my office.  "What are you doing?" they queried backing me into my office - the only space I thought I was safe until now. "Huh?"  was the best I could muster.  Again, they pressed "What are you doing? To your face? What are you doing to your skin?  Something is different you look wonderful."

I had to think for a moment. Only one thing was different. "Stila!" I exclaimed. Stila One-Step Correct. I had purchased it from Sephora only a couple of weeks prior to being accosted by my colleagues. A few days later, someone else asked me the same question.  I can't say enough good about this product.  It is worth every penny.  I used it almost every single day and the bottle lasted over 8 months.  I don't use any other foundation with it either. It's considered a primer but use it like you would make-up. It evens out skin tone using three different color corrects and includes some moisturizers to nourish the skin.  Plus, it's got that super cool helix look akin to good old DNA.

There are similar products manufactured by traditional drugstore cosmetic brands that cost less.  I haven't tried them so I can't compare.  I am very happy with this one and don't care to rock the boat.