4a What's in my closet

Okay so this whole post isn't really part of the SBSGETBM, but it kind of goes with the 'what's on my desk' theme. It is basically for Jess, because she is obsessed with decluttering/culling and minimalism (though there really isn't much minimalism here) and asked me to blog about my closet cull.

I have a lot of stuff. Somehow I always end up with stacks and stacks of clothes, but end up wearing a variation on the same outfit all the time and feeling vaguely dissatisfied with a lot of what I own. Or a garment might have started out looking great but I really cannot be bothered with things that require fussy laundering (unless they're really really special) and so things can end up looking pretty terrible after a few washes.

Also, with my body type, I'd like to be a jeans/sneakers/hoodie kind of girl (and do often get around in such gear) but it really doesn't suit me. I've been embracing the dress a lot more over the last year. You may recall that I have issues finding dresses that fit. That was until I found Metalicus and eShakti.

Metalicus has one size. The fabric they use has been designed to stretch to fit many different body types. Sure, their clothes look vastly different on me than they do on their model, but that's ok, because I'm not that model. Also you can just throw their stuff in the washing machine (in a garment bag if you really care) and you don't have to iron it. And their clothes are designed with a layering principle in mind. So I have lots of their tops and dresses. And I tend to buy them online - I have had a couple of items that weren't perfect on me (seams that sat across the bust, etc), but easy enough to send back.

eShakti has lots of gorgeous designs right up my alley, and their key drawcard is that for $7.50 you can customise the item to your exact measurements, so I can have a structured dress that fits my bust AND my waist, I can give it long sleeves or make it shorter or change the neckline. It's amazing. Also the clothes aren't that expensive to begin with. And the dresses have pockets! So many pluses. Downside is that they only ship to the US. Upside is my ex-flatmate now lives in the US so I can get my order sent to him and he kindly sends it on!

Oh I've gotten sidetracked. Culling. Right.

I decided it was time to get rid of clothes that didn't make me feel good or didn't fit well. Turns out I was keeping rather a lot of clothes that fit that description. The particular culprits here are the clothes I wore to death last winter and were on their last legs, but I just put them back in the drawer when the weather got warmer instead of dealing with them then. So jumpers that were overly pilly or had shrunk in the wash. Long sleeved t shirts that had also shrunk so the hem was at the top of the hips instead of under them (makes a difference on a cold day!). Clothes that made me feel frumpy.

Into the Anglicare/Vinnie's/Salvo's bag. Also a few pairs of shoes, seeing as I pretty much wear the same shoes all the time (in winter, my ankle boots or my wonderful Bootmaker boots - another custom made brand!).

I amassed a pile of t shirts that I'm going to cut up into t shirt yarn, and try to crochet a pouffe out of, that I can stuff with the teeny tiny offcuts of fabric from my sewing (there is rather a lot and I don't like putting it all in landfill when surely there is something better that can be done with it - like making my feet comfy).

And I'm going to cut and re-sew these jeans so I can wear them inside boots. I don't like skinny jeans, but my normal kind of jeans have too much bulk at the ankle to tuck into boots comfortably. And I don't really need three pairs of similar jeans on rotation. Not when I have so many dresses!

So here's my temporarily neat closet. Not that interesting. Still a lot of black. But many more dresses!