Curated Closet

[Wavingnotdowning]

I am just reading this amazing book. Has anyone else tried The Curated Closet. Any tips?

My copy arrived yesterday and I’m very much enjoying it so far. I’m going to start the ‘exercises’ from tomorrow by doing the daily photo thing.

im not sure where to start finding pics of styles I like though as I don’t really look at fashion blogs or Insta. Any good suggestion for chic smart-casual 40-something inspiration? I’m drawn to more minimalist styles and geometric patterns or stripes rather than lots of ruffles or floaty stuff or floral patterns. Currently digging wide-leg trousers and high waists. Love a French tuck!

I'm currently losing a bit of weight (takes years sometimes, for me to get genuinely in the zone mentally to really do it and i'm finally in one at the moment) so i think i'll aim to plough on as i am clothes wise, loose through summer (wearing my usual old summer clothes) and then revisit all this in Autumn.

Hopefully by then i'll feel better enough about myself to experiment a bit.

Interesting about the whole - What does Looks Good mean to you? Thinking about it, for me, looks good does = makes me look slimmer. But then i've been a bit obsessed with my weight and appearance since i was a child. Dancer till i was 20, pressure to be thin, weight on weight off with 4 DCs yada yada yada. Struggling now with 'age related shape issues' (lol) and the fact that it's no longer possible for me to just skip meals for a few weeks and the weight all falls off. I'm very hard on myself.

I'm much less judgmental about every body else. I LOVE to see women in clothes with they've obviously chosen because they love them and feel good wearing them without giving a hoot to fashion or what's 'right'. They feel fabulous and so they look fabulous. Andi Oliver for example. Beautiful to behold!!

Did you try Googling with those key words? Minimalist, Chic etc. And then just scrolling through? Or is there anyone you like the style of that you could search for. For me it’s Jennifer Aniston and lots came up. As much as I’m not her size anymore, it helped because that’s how I see my style.

@Laiste We are often hard on ourselves I think.

I was slim most of my life (though some of it was because of untreated ED). Then I gained weight with recovery from that and other ailments. It’s definitely much harder at this size to find my style because of the ill fitting polyester tat that plus size ranges tend to offer but I do find I feel soooo much better in things that fit well, regardless of my size so I’m going to build on that. Weirdly, I feel my arms are better with a vest top than covered up. I bought a kimono type thing to try and I tried it over a vest and it just made me look bigger even though it was like chiffon. I took it off and instantly felt better even though my big arms were on display!

I always find summer easier so although I’m going to try and find some new items for then, I’m going to also focus on autumn/winter to help me get ahead.

Good idea. I love the feminine-androgynous look (if that’s a thing) of Tilda Swinton and Emma Thompson. I like the idea of ‘a little bit quirky’ but I’m not sure how to make that functional for a life not spent wafting around with an assistant trailing after me… I am also a very comfort-driven dresser. I cannot wear anything that I find physically uncomfortable (which includes stiff cotton shirts, scratchy fabrics). I guess I like a combination of drape + tailored lines?

I think what I want is to figure out how to make what I already like wearing look more put together and like a style.

Anyway, very much enjoying this journey so far. It has been so completely liberating to ditch about 35% of my clothes. I feel free!

BeretRaspberry - Weirdly, I feel my arms are better with a vest top than covered up. I bought a kimono type thing to try and I tried it over a vest and it just made me look bigger even though it was like chiffon. I took it off and instantly felt better even though my big arms were on display!

I'm the same! My arms are my most disappointing bit to me, i'm very conscious of them, but they're always out in summer. And mooching about at home through the year tbh. I went through a phase when even in mid sumer i would always wear little cardis or one of those shrug things because i was conscious of them, and looking at photos i just looked frumpy and odd ... and hot! and basically like i was wearing a cardi to hide my arms ... which i was 🙄It 'hid' nothing at all.

I don't like to say this because folks are sensitive, but most 'cover up techniques' just scream LOOK! LOOK AT THIS ... I'M COVERING UP X Y Z BECAUSE I HATE IT!! The god awful ''ruched'' tummy dresses. I've bought them in the past - they look worse that a basic body con dress in the end. Look i've had to buy one with a ruched tummy! Boleros and shrugs over perfectly lovely dresses, massive black tunics and black leggings when it's 100 degrees out. All the same. Here i am in my black things; sweltering but hopefully looking 2 pounds lighter ...

i've done it. I still do it to some extent. It takes a really long very hot spell of weather to make me drum up the courage to put shorts on. As if everyone is strangely blinded by the heat and won't look 😂Loads of us do it and it's so sad and self limiting.

Well, I got my summer clothes out today as I went for lunch and it’s been nice here.

I also went through the rest of my wardrobe and honestly, there’s not a thing I really like.

It took me ages to find anything remotely suitable and even then I felt meh.

The bit about “if you wouldn’t buy it now, it doesn’t belong in your wardrobe” is really apt and means I’ll need to completely start again.

@Flockameanie just wondering how you got on with photographing your outfits every day? I'm on day 3 and am finding I'm considering what to wear for a decent photo, rather than pulling on the first thing to hand.

Same @Cyclingmummy1 - although for the first few days I was at a work conference, so had anyway put more thought into what I was wearing.
Some days (e.g. today, when I'm not leaving the house as WFH and no Zoom mtgs) I don't photograph...

@Flockameanie back to work on Monday so I might get a change of outfit 😁

People who've recently bought the book, how are you finding it?

I've kept photographing after the initial two weeks as the weather is so changeable. I wear a lot of pink (which I knew!) And a lot of blue (which I didn't).

Started the next section yesterday and I don't think it's going to revolutionise what I wear but it's definitely focused my mind on what I like, and why.

Well done cycling mummy…I’ve yet to get the book out after saying l was going to revisit it!! Must do better. It has definitely given you some information x

Thanks for posting about this book.
I bought it on Kindle last night and am halfway through and have booked a personal shopper at John Lewis.

I have already sorted out what sort of style I want and made a wish list.

It really is an inspiring book!

I didn't photograph myself as I know I've worn T-shirts and jeans for weeks on end!!

Is anyone else currently working through this?

Interesting that a PP said having had her hair cut short short made her rethink everything. I’m the same. I love summer clothes with a hippy vibe, but the contrast is jarring and I feel like Bod with a tiny head on a wide body.

I’m very interested in this book…

I'm back to school soon so need to get my note book back out and think about my winter look.

Anyone still doing this? I'm trying to work myself up to letting go of things and not sure whether to try the book or the workbook. I basically already know what I wore for the last 2 weeks (skinny jeans and tshirts/sleeveless shirts) and I basically know what I like (tailored sort of classic cuts but not formal, peacoats, loafers, skinnies, well cut on shoulders and waist) but I struggle more with letting things go. What if I need it and all that. Will this help?

@Justkoko

I suppose one question to ask yourself is whether you feel really good wearing an item and would you buy it now if you saw it in a shop? Do you have space to tuck the “maybes” away and see if you miss them? I’ve just got a box down from the loft and half of it I didn’t even remember having. Multiple versions of the same thing. I’m getting rid of most of it and I’m not talking cheapy brands - it’s a lot of Cos and Arket which I love.

sorry I didn’t answer the question …. Will it help? Well it’s more about finding your style. If you know your style then I’m not sure what items you’re struggling to get rid of and why?

@Divebar2021 yes I do basically know where I'm aiming in terms of what I like/what cuts suit me. Ultimately, it comes down to whether things might suit me if I was thinner. It's bizarrely emotional. That's what I struggle with. Or items I think are lovely on the hanger but feel slightly off on me. I have a kimono style top with a gorgeous floral Kew print, but when I've worn it, it feels 'flappy' and wide because of the shoulders. But then it's nipped at the waist which is good for me. Just one example. I have perfectly good t shirts for schlepping about in but they are a bit too boxy for me. Maybe it's a bit of disappointment thrown in there or something. I've been trying yo do this for years and it is so complex in terms of how I feel.

@Justkoko This is where the photos help - I had four mid/dark blue maxi skirts/culottes. I realised that elasticated waists didn't suit me as much as A line so put them on vinted. They've gone and I think 'great, I can buy one A line replacement'.

@Justkoko

theres a few things that struck a chord…. Do you have a whole section of “ skinny” clothes for when you lose weight? That’s pretty much me but I have been able to part with a great deal of them without too much angst. Not all of them but a fair amount.

i prioritise feeling like “me” over flattering - like today I wore a jumpsuit without the belt even though I know as an hourglass accentuating the waist is recommended.
Some things are flattering but are no longer me so they’re going ( it’s partly to do with my hair change and partly that I don’t differentiate between work and out or work wardrobes) It sounds like you like the print of the kimono but it’s not making you feel amazing when you put it on. Could you get it altered?

@Justkoko I think what it comes down to is, do you put on that top and feel like you? Do you feel like you like your outfit that day, or do you feel like you're spending your day kind of rearranging yourself because you don't feel quite right?

I bought a sleeveless shirt for work that on paper is very me. I wore it, I like the way it looked, I got some great compliments, but I spent the full day fiddling with it as it just didn't feel right. I've moved it straight back in to the out pile, as I've realised that I dont want to wear stuff that I don't feel just right in. That's what I'm taking from this book.

On the other hand, I had a day of house/ supermarket stuff to do, wore jeans and a jumper, and I felt right in it, so I'm happy that I'm pinpointing where I want to be.