Spring 2019 Capsule Debrief
Lessons to Take into Summer
Happy day, dear reader!
It’s that time again! Time to look back and forward at once. To see what worked for spring and what didn’t. Ostensibly, to learn from both the good things and the mistakes, and to peek forward into what I’m feeling like for summer.
As a reminder, here was my final inspiration board for spring:
It was a struggle to get to this board. I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired. Thank goodness I’m not feeling nearly as stuck as last season! I am thrilled to continue the same color scheme into summer’s capsule. I’ll lighten up the denims, add some more white, and swap out some closed shoes for sandals. Before I get the cart ahead of the horse, let’s see what I learned from spring!
Wins
(1) I had the sleeves on my pink polka dot blouse shortened as I mentioned in my spring planning post. Total win! It no longer drags in my food, so I grab it all the time, now.
(2) When I went to Chicago for the AICI Global Conference, there was an optional shopping trip the evening before the conference began. It was a lovely adventure at the nearby designer outlets, with drinks and treats for those who chose to attend. I am glad I saved some room in my spring/summer budget/plan for some serendipity purchases. I finally found a blush/pink tote. I had been hesitating for almost a year, but loved this one enough to take the plunge and am so glad I did, because it has become a fast fave. It’s an amazing travel bag, too! I also packed it as my carryon for our trip to Arizona later in the month, and have nothing but good things to say about it!
(3) On the same Chicago shopping trip, I also picked up a blush wrap skirt, thinking it could be a lighter color and lighter weight seasonal replacement for my red wool. I had some misgivings when I realized how easily it would get dirty, but love wearing it anyway, and the fabric spot cleans quite easily, saving me some dry cleaning expenses already!
(4) I loved, Loved, LOVED this palette! I never felt bored or limited! It packed for both trips like a dream, even if I needed to pull shorts out of storage for the trip to AZ.
Surprises
(1) Spring stayed cool longer than usual, so I was wearing my favorite Levi’s 501’s up until last week when we broke 90 and got up to the triple digits. That was an awesome run for my jeans, and completely unexpected!
(2) I added my green blouse for spring at the last minute, because I thought I might want some green for St. Patrick’s Day. Well, that blouse went from my body, to the laundry, and back on my body again! I think I was priming the pump to fall in love with the color palette I’m thinking about playing with this fall! Read more about that right here.
Learning Experiences
(1) I’m crying over my long white suit jacket. I’ve had it for about two years, and it has been part of every capsule since I purchased it. It’s been to the cleaners quite a few times, and always come home just fine… Until this last trip. I unwrapped it to find it had turned a dirty grey and had all kinds of new stains all over. I took it back to them for recleaning, and no joy. I will try washing it myself to see if I can salvage it, but am not holding out much hope. Sigh. Takeaway: Not sure yet. Online resale sites may be an option to try.
(2) It was time for my chambray shirt to go! I put it away last winter, thinking I would fall in love with it again in the spring. I put it in my capsule thinking I had, but I just kept passing it over. I’ve been looking for a replacement (since this one has stains that no longer come out) and found one on our trip to Arizona, and have not looked at the old one since. It served me well for years, and it was time to let it go. I love my new shirt and wear it at least once a week, sometimes twice! Takeaway: You never know when a replacement for a beloved item may pop up!
(3) It’s time to say goodbye to my grey and white polka dot dress. I didn’t wear it once this spring, and I had the same problem with it in a previous season, so it’s off to the consignment shop for that one! Takeaway: Sometimes the “perfect item” just doesn’t float your boat!
My apologies! This post turned out to be much longer than I expected. You’re an intrepid reader if you have gotten this far! Reflecting back on how your wardrobe served you last season, what takeaways do you have? Please let me know in the comments below!
Stylishly yours,
4 Comments
erika
First, your blush leather tote is just gorgeous. Have to say it.
Second, have you considered dying the now-dingy long white jacket? I am trying to give clothes that still fit me well a new life with dye and, depending on the material, white could take the dye and your new choice of color well.
closetplayadmin
I do dye, and overdye! This is a jacket I really want to be white! It’s looking better after one bleaching. I’ll see what happens with a second. Otherwise I’ll keep my eyes open for a new white jacket!
erika
I hear you about keeping it white. Some purchases are just perfect the way they are. Good luck with the bleaching experiment. I am considering using it to remove the color from a pair of new wide-leg jeans that I bought in black. (Black is a no-go color for me now). My attempt at the Rit color remover stunk up my whole house and didn’t work! (Don’t think I used enough product. but am probably not going to repeat the ordeal.)
closetplayadmin
Oh, Erika! That color remover experiment sounds unpleasant! I remember using color remover one time when we lived in England, but the brand was different… Not so smelly. How much color do you want to remove from the black jeans? If you just want to soften them to charcoal, bleach just might work.