Speed Piling - Part One

Even though I’m concentrating on my work-at-home wardrobe, I’m still going to whizz through the other piles, if only to clear a bit of space and get rid of the stuff that is completely useless. Here are the results of this morning’s piling:

Trousers

Only two pairs of trousers escaped the cull. The first is a plain pair of khaki trousers, which are frayed and rabbity but the perfect cut for me (photo below). I’ve put them aside so I can take them apart to make a pattern for cloning. The second is a pair of jeans I bought in February, which need taking in about 6 inches(!) around the waist, but are great on the thighs.

The throw away pile consisted entirely of Torture Rabbits (clothes that are both torture to wear and worn out - am I the only one with this category?). A quick analysis suggests I should avoid the following in future trouser purchases: linen (I’m not a fan of the crumpled look), anything without a proper waistband (i.e. elastic or tie waists), side pockets (which always gape due to my curves) and noisy fabric.

Dresses

I have a lot more dresses than I thought - a few which I love but don’t fit into, some boring, some unflattering and one which startles me.

Rather than post lots of pictures of dresses, most of which are destined for charity, I’ll just post a few highlights.

In the unflattering group is this purchase from last year:

It makes me look and feel like a potato. The deep v-neck with gathers doesn’t help, but the main problem is the fabric - it’s a very fine jersey and is too clingy and drapey and generally unflattering. I’m going to see if I can recycle it to make a pair of yoga pants for my work-at-home wardrobe.

Next up, in the love-but-don’t-fit-into category:

The colour and pattern are truly joyous for me. It’s jersey, but quite a thick jersey, so not too clingy (when I’m a bit slimmer). Even though I have no use for it right now, I can’t bring myself to get rid of it, so I’m going to file it away under ‘too small’ in my wardrobe.

Finally, the startling dress:

It’s peach and sparkly. It’s a cocktail dress. It’s missing its zip. What on earth is it doing in my wardrobe? There is something about this dress that I love (perhaps simply that it’s vintage) and I’m torn about getting rid of it. However, in all my thirty-five years I have never been invited to an occasion for which this would be appropriate attire. In fact, does anyone have any suggestions as to what such an occasion might involve? It really has to go. I think I’ll take it to the vintage dress agency and see what they think. (Alternatively, there is a fellow WT-er who I think would look amazing in this and who has the sewing skills to do the necessary alterations- you know who you are, LS! - and if they would like it (for the cost of postage), it could easily be parcelled up and sent across the pond…)