March Edits and Purchases

Edits this month:






This purple top did not survive the Color Project: Red initiative. I am slowly purging as many wide-neck tops as I can; I hate, hate, hate that neckline so prevalent in plus-size shirts.



This LOTF Outlet tee is a triplet; I kept the white one after much dithering after the White Project, and the version I have in light purple is going nowhere. This one has gotten a lot of wear, especially last summer, but it's the last unworn item of Color Project: Red and it's been hanging in my closet for weeks.  I could not find anything to wear with it! I finally tried it on the other day, and realized the short hem is what has been bugging me about it. So out it goes.



My broken circle necklace! Sob.





This melon cardigan had a nice run, but in the end the cheap fabric got too sprung out.





This coral shortsleeve faux-wrap from Forth & Towne had a long, long run. I'm going to miss it, but it's too faded, stretched out, and pilly.



Nothing wrong with this pretty lilac cardigan except it is too small for me.



Ditto this Gap Outlet purple cardigan with grey stripes.




This Target tank suffered the same fate. Pity, because the ruffled edging made it look great for a layering top for work.

Purchases were a few solid pieces: the birthday gifts, of course, and a few pullover sweaters in various weights and styles.



I've pretty much worn everything on the blog already.












Still on the hunt for some new pants: I have orders being returned and/or exchanged from Eddie Bauer, Lands End and Gap. I am striking out all over! Sigh.

Next month *gulp* I am considering reviewing and editing my shoe collection. I don't want to, but it's time. I have quite a few pairs that I haven't worn in years, and it's time to acknowledge I probably won't wear them again. Think good thoughts for me!

What did you buy this month?

February Edits and Purchases

I culled out of my closet in February...



Just one of the Color Project: White tops. For now.



This canteloupe colored long Gap cardigan is one of TWO canteloupe/coral long cardigans I somehow owned, and this one was too small in the shoulders. Time to go.



I did not even wait until the end of the Color Project: Red to get rid of this. I tried multiple times to find an outfit for this, and hated every attempt. Too boxy on its own, and the tones were not right under any of my sweaters, even the black and grey ones. See ya!



This edit hurt, mainly because I just bought both of these jeans a few months ago. I got dazzled by a recommendation from another blogger and loved the idea of these jeans without any fasteners at the waistline. No worrying about muffin top or my zipper poking out! It was weird, but it seemed like it would work.



Unfortunately they stretched out so much so fast I ended up looking like I had a guy's junk in the front of my pants. I even bought another smaller pair to see if that helped, but they stretched out too much too. As much as it kills me to have wasted the money on these, I have to cut my losses and get rid of them. They just frustrate and upset me when I see them in my jeans drawer. So they are gone, and I will be more careful in my denim choices in the future.

One of my friends suggested cleaning out makeup drawers. As I think we have to replace our bathroom vanity fairly soon, I may do that in March. It's not just clothes that need editing!

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My purchases for February:

Nada. Zilch. Nothing.

Don't be too impressed: I already have several things on order this month. Unless I can go other months this year without buying anything, I have to assume February was a fluke. I am killing the impulse shopping urge, not the need for shopping completely.

Still, I'm kind of impressed I managed to go one month, at least. :)

January Edits and Purchases

*waves to Lorena* See, I did keep up with this during my hiatus!

We had our first real cold temperatures of the winter in January, so I reached into the sweater section of my closet to bundle up. Turns out there were several items in there that ended up in the edit bag.



Cream Gap long grandpa cardigan. The color always washed me out, and now it is too small in the shoulders to boot.



Blue marled extra-thick long open cardigan with tie, from Old Navy. The fit isn't right anymore, and it looked terrible as loungewear.



One of my very first boyfriend cardigans from LOFT. I still love the look, but this is too small in the shoulders. I couldn't completely let it go, so it went downstairs to my plastic clothes bin.



Grey cocoon cardigan from Gap. This was a fairly recent purchase from this fall, but I realize I should have gotten it a size up (I did so for the same sweater in black), and I already have a grey sweater that I wear much more often. A regretted purchase, for sure.



My sister and I traded these super-soft Target hoodies back and forth between us for years, but they are way too stretched out to keep anymore. This one was in white.




This one was in pale pink. It was so pill-y and worn out!



Last item that got kicked out was a grey LOFT tee. I actually loved this top; it sat well on me and the neckline was just right.




Too bad the grease stains ruined it.



January total: 7 pieces edited out.

On the purchase front, it was even less.



The first three came from an outlet mall trip with Jessie and Kate; I was far more restrained in my purchases than either of them were. (For once.)

Ooooh, that was the trip where one of my readers secretly spotted me in the LOFT store! Hello, Mary, hope you are still reading, and that you are doing well. :)

I also picked up a couple of pullover sweaters, as going through the sweater section of my closet revealed that I did not own a single one. Isn't that crazy? I love both of the ones I got and have been getting quite a bit of wear out of them.

Cozy, thick cotton. I especially love the tight knit of the weave; too many sweaters these days are too thin and baggy. This one is much better quality than that. On sale at Gap in purple, green or black stripe for $35.

This is also a chunky knit, but it is Old Navy and is a looser, cheaper weave. Which is okay, because I've owned and worn heavy woolen fisherman's knit sweaters before, and that is just too much. I only wanted a facsimile of that, which this delivers. :) Now on sale at Old Navy in a number of colors for $15.

So that was what I bought and got rid of in January. How did you do?

December Edits and Purchases

First things first: on the shopping front, I went a little crazy in December.



The total amount wasn't too bad: 4 blouses and sweater, black booties, a clutch and a pair of cords (plus a gorgeous gift jacket from my Mom), but it occurred over 4 different shopping trips, which felt like a lot. Funny, I used to think nothing of shopping every weekend, but now 4 trips in a month made me feel like a glutton. Perspective!

That said, all the items have been in heavy rotation all month. The Lane Bryant items were the ones that traveled to Detroit and Connecticut for our holiday trips, so while I didn't get any photos of them, my family sure saw enough of them!

Between those and the Gwynnie Bee tops that I continue to happily cycle through, getting dressed in the morning is still a breeze. Finally found a good place to keep my camera inside for morning photos, so I might get back to showing you guys what I mean!

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This month's edits are an odd assortment.



A pair of butt-ugly dress shoes that I bought in a panic a few years ago (for a party) and which have been sitting in a plastic box on the top of my closet ever since. I needed the plastic box for something else so it was time to get rid of what was inside them.



I needed two boxes. ;-)
I don't know if I ever wore these. Maybe once. They were cheap and uncomfortable; I am much better about buying shoes now.



The faux Chanel bag. Farewell, my lovely!



See how the faux-leather was crumbling along the chain strap? It left red pieces everywhere.



Tis the season for chunky/oversized sweaters, and this was one of my favorites last year. I had high hopes for wearing this with my new burgundy cords, but where was a stain on the chest that I could not get out.



Stupid stain.



This is a perfect example of my impulse purchases of multiple colors. I bought these tops a few years ago with Shopping Friend up at the Eddie Bauer outlet. The colors are great, the knit is so soft, they're perfectly fine...and I never wore them. Plain v-neck shirts are just not my style.
So I relegated them to lounge wear, but I haven't worn them in a least a year. Now the two Old Navy fleece v-necks have become my go-to lounge wear, and it's time for these to go. 



Another loungewear top from Old Navy. Love the mustard, the extra-long sleeves and the waffle knit fabric, but the scoop is deep, and the shirt is very big, so the girls were a little too visible for lounging, if you know what I mean. Time to go!



As long as I was going through the loungewear drawer, I found this Gap knit top at the bottom of the pile. Since I had forgotten I even owned it...time to go!



I don't even know why I bought this Old Navy hoodie top. It had all the same fit problems as the mustard one.



The hole in the chest didn't help matters. Time to go!

This one makes me the saddest. I have another version of this sheer tie-neck Target blouse in a pattern that I love and wear all the time, so when I saw this one I thought it would become even more beloved. Teal, red and black -- how could it go wrong!

But it was so, so wrong. The colors looked awful, or maybe the pattern was too busy, or something. I just hated it with everything I tried to pair it with. I am giving up.



We also cleaned out the old scarves and hats from the coat closet, and Hubby cleaned out some of his stuff from the basement. The Goodwill people were happy to see my four bags this month!

November Edits and Purchases

Welcome to the monthly edition of Edits and Purchases, which I kicked off last month.

This month's edits were all grey or black, strangely enough.



This H&M short-sleeved chunky knit long open cardigan has served me well the last few years over the ups and down up the scale, but it's reached the point of being too small and looks odd. I am storing it in my bins downstairs instead of donating it; I don't want it taking up precious real estate in my closet, but I am not quite ready to give it up altogether.



As mentioned earlier in the month, it is time for these grey Gap straight legs/stretch pants to go. They just look like faded black and the thighs are pilling.



I have a terrible compulsion to buy fancy lounge wear that doesn't work with my non-fancy lounging. This is a cotton jacket from Target that looked cute the two times I wore it, then got stuck in the back of my closet with the rest of the other sweatshirts. The problem is I prefer my lounge tops to be oversized and this only works with fitted. Time to go!



This black ruffled Black Market White House long cardigan is a much beloved Christmas present from my mom during our holiday in Vegas a few years ago. Unfortunately it is too small now, but it is still in great shape so it too is going downstairs to the bins.



Another Target impulse mistake. I love everything about this except the fabric; the knit is too clingy so every roll of my belly shows in stark relief. Such a bummer -- the pattern and the neckline was perfect under all my jackets!


That was it for edits this month. Strangely, it was hard not to add more to the pile; it's not that it is necessarily time for other items to go, but I am so used to doing a giant purge all at once that it's counter-instinctive to go slowly and thoughtfully, genuinely evaluating each piece and deciding if I am ever going to wear it again or if it just doesn't fit my closet now. I just want to pull them all out...and then go buy more to fill the "holes". That was the cycle before, and it feels very different this way. Which is a good thing!


But the most remarkable thing this month was the small number of purchases.



I don't think my shopping haul has been this small in one month in years. And it wasn't for lack of trying; I ordered a couple of rounds from Nordstrom, Old Navy and even picked up a few Target impulses. But they all went back -- either they were too cheap, didn't fit right, or I couldn't find anything to coordinate them with in my closet. The lessons from the Overdressed book still rings in my head every time I consider buying new items, for sure!

I did keep another fleece lounge top (see what I mean about my loungewear thing?) for $6 from Old Navy in a different pink, since I adore my other one so much. Now they can rotate through the winter. :) I also bought some pull-up Jag jeans, in two different sizes. Those I debated sending back, and I will probably regret not doing so. They stretch a lot and the pull-up aspect is just weird; with no zipper/waistband digging into me, I constantly feel like they are going to fall off so I keep tugging them up. But they look great and they do feel better than regular jeans, so I decided to keep them and try getting used to their different fit.

My very best purchase was my new Michael Kors bag. I have been using it nearly every day. Love everything about it: the color, the side pockets, the fit under my arm, the weight, the size, all of it.



I am actually really glad I didn't buy much else this month just so I could appreciate and enjoy splurging on it. Who woulda thunk it?