Tiara King's Blog: Jewel Divas Style, page 74

My Ever Changing Fashion Style

When I was going through my closet over the xmas/new year period having a massively huge clean out I noticed that my clothes were changing. That my style was changing. Maybe it’s because I’m older and can afford nice things, or maybe it’s because those nice things are becoming less expensive, either way, I noticed that my tastes have changed.

 

So I thought I’d talk about my style over the last 40 years because just last year dresses I wore as a kid have come back around. Dresses with shirred bodices. Remember them? I wore them as a kid, 3 – 10 years of age or more as they were the trend in the 70s and 80s. Now, they’re back and I have added one to the collection. Adult size of course.

 

 

This got me thinking about all the fashion styles I’ve gone through and I’ve tried to document them here. It’s very hard to remember back over 40 years.

1974 – 1982: 1 – 8 years of age – shirred bodice dresses, thick wool cardigans, floral skirts that my mum made me, and tracksuits.

1983 – 1985: 9 – 11 years of age – zip up grey vest (reversible with pale pink) and matching short grey skirt (both from my sister). Plastic jelly sandals (they came back two years ago), coloured floral skirts in pink, yellow or blue that mum made. Poirot clown, E.T., choose life, and many other printed tshirts.

1986: 12 years of age – comic strip pants, multi coloured pants, Madonna tshirt, lace gloves, funky jewellery, silk ties, berets, plastic jelly sandals, coloured socks, funky jewellery. I was so freakin cool.

1987 – 1989: (high school) – 13 – 15 years of age – lots of blue as our uniform was blue and if you didn’t wear your uniform it was blue or grey. Outside of school it was bright coloured skirts, tops, shirts, dresses, smiley face tops and badges, ripped jeans, denim jackets with funky brooches. I love the late 80s!

1990 – 1995: 16 – 21 years of age – carried on wearing the coloured clothes I had until I grew out of them, then floral came to stay. I also wore a lot of bike shorts with big funky tshirts and tanks and started gaining blazers and waistcoats.

1996 – 2004: 22 – 30 years of age. My ex-brother-in-law was in a country western band and in Jan 1996 we got into line dancing, so lots of line dancing shirts in technicolour. More floral in blacks, navy, lots of dark coloured clothes came my way. Three piece business suits in navy, grey stripe and black, with coloured embroidered blouses and people always thought I worked in Target or Big W. I also went through a phase of coloured skivvies and matching polar fleece vests. Pink skivvy, pink vest. Blue skivvy, blue vest. Red skivvy, red vest, you get the picture. We also had lots of printed tshirts, many I still have, and I did a lot of fabric painting back then so I added glitter paint to many of them.

2005 – 2008: 31 – 34 years of age – lots of jeans and tshirts in winter, two piece tracksuits with sneakers. Around this time I started buying Millers clothes, so nice beaded tanks and matching coloured pants which I still have. Lots of op shop stuff as we used to go all the time, so pretty much anything I could find. Some funky tops if they were on sale in stores as clothes were still quite expensive then and I certainly couldn’t afford them.

I only have a few pieces left from this era so must have pretty much worn what I had and not really bought anything, unless it’s all gone back to the op shop or in the rag bag since.

2009: 35 years of age – bought a lot of clothes on eBay that year. Lots of funky looking printed and beaded tops, many I’ve shown and some I sold last year. The best piece, probably my girl jacket.

2010 – 2012: 36 – 38 years of age – not too many clothes in 2010 and 11, but for the odd gorgeous kimono here and there. 2012 was the year of funky tops from Kmart, my funky surf poncho and fur vest, and the era of printed embellished tops and tshirts that were low in price and I could afford.

2013 – 2015: 39 – 41 years of age – the era of kaftans and more embellished tops. 2013 saw the coming of $1 tops from Millers, gorgeous blouses and under tanks. 2014 saw in more tops than I’ve probably ever bought in my entire lifetime. I think I bought more clothes last year than ever before; all because the stores brought their prices down to get the people in the door. And they also started buying directly from factories in China to cut out the middle man.

I ended last year with two gorgeous kaftan dresses from ebay, plus more embellished tops, kaftan tops from Millers as well as two pieces from Missoni for Target Australia. A gorgeous teal and white top and a multi green knitted overcoat (all above).

So far, this year is more of the same, pretty kaftan tops are the must have for me right now and I’m hoping to get my hands on some Camilla kaftans and capes for my birthday in May. With my new year’s resolution to not buy black and only buy coloured clothes I love, it’s going to be hard to not buy everything I see. I’d consider a budget if I knew I could stick to it, but from previous experience I know I can’t. You never know when one piece will reach your budget limit or if you’ll even find anything at all to buy in that month. And what about your shoe budget? If that exceeded itself do you not buy clothes and go without?

Ugh, life is so bloody hard when you love pretty things. You just have to have them all.

And the funny thing is, while I’m late to the “my stars for 2015″ party, my numerology guide says my number for the year is 7, (you add your birth day and month to 2015) and this year my power colour is “rainbow colours”. So I clearly have it right!

New Year’s Resolutions: My Wardrobe and Me! The Glamorization of my Closet.

At the end of the first week back to blogging, recounting my clothing audit and overhaul, I thought I’d touch on something else that came to me over my break away.

I normally don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I generally just write out a list of things I need or want to do through the year, book them into the appropriate month in my diary and then do one after the other. Essentially, make an appointment to do it.

Losing weight has always been September 1st for spring and last year I did that, although since the weight has stopped falling off my next step is Zumba to see if that burns off more.

I don’t smoke or drink so no need to give up those. But this year was different, and this year I plan on sticking to it.

Hopefully…..

My New Year’s resolution came on New Year’s Day itself. It was hot and muggy and I was still slaving over my clothing lists even though I had a migraine, feeling, needing to continue throwing out. And then boom! Out of the blue, there was my resolution. NO MORE BLACK CLOTHES! So out went more black clothes, 25 pieces in total, which doesn’t seem many when I still have 138 pieces of black clothes. But as I mentioned in my first post, I threw out 70 pieces in total.

I have more black than any colour and it’s not my best neutral or base colour. I think my neutral is navy or royal blue as black and white make me look sick and washed out. So I’ve only kept the best in black. The best skirts, jeans (I have big brand names of Wrangler, Mustangs, Jag and Macs so I’m sure as hell not throwing them out when most actually came from op shops and the retails prices are expensive), the best blazers, coats, jackets, pants, tops, shirts and blouses (although I got rid of a few of those).  Unless it’s an embellished top, because so many embellished tops seem to only be black, it’s NO MORE BLACK, and definitely NO white, although I now have 5 pieces of white clothing (down from 9 as four went), only colours I love; only multi coloured, and only pieces I cannot live without in my wardrobe.

I decided to be choosier with what I buy. I want to spend my money more wisely, only buy what I fall madly in love with and can really get a long time out of, instead of something that can only be worn for one year because the underarms go manky, or it stains or stretches easily.

It has to be my colours, my favourite colours, colours that suit me and do wonders for me and my complexion and not the other way around. Some clothes can drag you to hell and back, making you look washed out, anaemic, yellow, sick, and just absolutely horrible. Generally, that’s because you have the wrong tone (cool or warm) and the wrong shade for you and your skin tone.

I find blues, blue/greens such as teal, and green look best on me, most likely because they suit my green eyes with their slate blue ring around the iris. I also look good in pink as it brings that glow to my cheeks. Multi colours, especially my favourites, look fantastic, so there will definitely be more of those coming my way this year.

I also found in my purging that my style is changing again. Gone are plain shirts and blouses from twenty years ago when I went through that stage and now there are more flirty, fun kaftans and embellished tops. Prices over the last thirty years for clothes have changed so much. A sequin top that was once a hundred dollars or more can now be bought for less than twenty. Kaftans, my mum had the old fashioned variety in the 70s when I was growing up, have changed as well. Coming in a variety of lengths they are made with gorgeous colours and designs. The prices aren’t always cheap, but the tops I’ve gotten from Millers are fantastic.

So now I’m into floaty, fun clothes and I’d say this style will stay for a good while. That also means more purging of the older items I still have but will eventually go over the next few years.

And since I’m moving into this new phase of mine, and chosen to spend more wisely (we’ll see how long that lasts) I also decided that I’d like a few key pieces this year such as Camilla kaftans and capes. They are on the pricier side of clothes and I should have been looking in their pre-Christmas sale (I could have gotten the pieces I wanted cheap), but I only want a few pieces and only in my colours.

So my resolutions for the year are this –

1 – NO MORE BLACK CLOTHES (unless it’s an embellished top I MUST HAVE!!!!)

2 – Choose clothes more wisely. (I think I already broke that one last month….)

3 – Spend more wisely on the pieces I do buy. (At least they were cheap and on sale….)

4 – Only buy colours that do “something” for me and my complexion.

5 – Only buy clothes in colours I love and that MAKES ME HAPPY!!!!

I want nice, I want pretty, I want colour!

God help me when it comes to jewellery though….

What resolutions did you guys make and have you already broken them?

CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL: My Wardrobe Storage Ideas

I mentioned on Monday how I was still overhauling my life and wardrobe so today I’ll show you the space saving items I used.

First and foremost, I changed my hangers.

Since I was a teenager I used blue plastic hangers that I had bought in packs of 5 from Big W many a decade ago. And more recently, wood hangers which I still use for some of my coats.

So this year, after seeing how so many other people were upgrading theirs, I decided to upgrade mine. I bought the new space saving velvet hangers that are thin enough to fit more into a wardrobe. I wanted to colour co-ordinate my hangers to my clothes of course, but realised, after seeing how black ones left black everywhere, that cream may full well be the way to go so no little flecks of coloured velvet were left on my clothes. It would also be too expensive to buy batches of each colour.

I googled and checked every website I could find that sold them. I eventually found an eBay store and bought 300 of them. Funnily enough, even though I had calculated the amount I would need, I didn’t end up with enough room to hang tops so I barely used half. Mum got the other half and I cleared out her wardrobe as well.

I overhauled my drawers as well, buying clear drawer divider containers for underwear and socks etc. I also found over-the-door hangers. Nothing unusual, but for a place to hang the clothes you’re deciding on wearing or chucking, it’s a great minimal space idea. And I got one in blue and one in pink. Ha!

Vac bags came home with me but only for the clothes that don’t fit, or don’t have the room to hang (like my overcoat), that I wanted to keep so they got sucked up and stored in my suitcase.

I also decided that my bead and findings stash had to have a clean out, so the original pink material storage containers under my desk were cleared out and used for my knits, winter wear and as shelving for my bags. Which was my brainy idea after buying containers from Spotlight, but after having a good look around the house I decided to save a bunch of money and take them back, hence using my pink bead containers.

I bought two big pink roller containers from Kmart for $9 each for my bead stash and they hold the jewellery for sale as well. Two smaller blue containers for $7 each come in handy for any extra bits and pieces, and the packing station, containing all the goods ready for wrapping up the goodies to be shipped.

After doing the Closet Confidential blog post about storage last year I knew I needed to redo mine completely. What had serviced me for twenty years needed to be changed and upgraded. I had a budget, and needed to keep things on the cheap while still getting what I needed and wanted, and all up I managed to keep the cost low which was great.

Hangers – eBay – 300 for $110.10

Over-the-door hangers – discount store – two at $6.95 each = $13.90

Vac Bags – Kmart – 6 bags of two for $8 each = $48

Drawer Dividers – Big W – three packs for $9 each – $27

The grand total being $199, although if I can get mum to pay for half the hangers, then it only comes to $143.95.

Considering how expensive some stores sell velvet hangers I definitely got a bargain. Kmart has packs of 8 for $6, Cheap As Chips, a discount store, sells 10 for $10. I bought 300 for $110.10 which comes to .36 cents each. Definitely a bargain.

Have you guys considered overhauling your hangers, storage containers and shelves instead of just your clothes?

IN MY LIFE: My Journey for this Year, Purifying My Closet AND My Life.

I’m back for another year and this year is going to be a “journey”, not only with my weight and health but with my clothing style as well.

Before I get into that though a quick update, thankfully this xmas/new year I did not get sick. After being sick for ten years in a row I finally wasn’t and that’s great. I also got mass amounts of paperwork done so I’m thankful for having two months off. Not only do I do my yearly cost diary for the cash I spend, I do one for what I spend on the credit card too. I updated my Nancy Drew paperwork which had been sadly lacking for four years and the cost of that collection has increased as well the amount in the collection which had a thorough cleanout and reorganize. I reorganised my bead stash into pretty pink roller containers and made up a ‘packing station’ container with all the gift wrapping, boxes, bags, tissue and ribbons, plus cleaned out everything in general.

Now, onto the good stuff. Back in November I did the two week Closet Confidential sessions where I told you all about how I audit. Well, I got into a mad cleaning and decluttering frenzy during the course of those posts and I’m still going in my wardrobe three months on. I was so excited about it all that I’ve kept at it, purging, sorting, decluttering, and cleaning out from 25 plus years of life (although I’m 41 this year so what does that say about how we all hang onto things?).

I decided to overhaul more than just my wardrobe. I overhauled my music collection, ridding myself of cds I no longer play or use and just kept the good, collectable stuff in a huge clear roller container (at least 100 cds went and about 50 cd singles). There were desks and drawers, containers, cupboards, boxes, anything and everything. I raided my shoes, bags, make up purses (or cosmetic purse collection in general), belts, scarves, anything I could think of to clear out and sort through as the collections have all become mighty in their size. The wardrobe, mind you, is an ongoing beast.

I threw out at least 7 pairs of shoes last year but then replaced them with 7. As everyone knows, shoes need updating or repairing and if they cannot be repaired then out they go. So they got replaced. Sandals replaced with sandals, boots with boots etc. Shoes are understandable though, we use them more than clothes. But the wardrobe itself took on mass proportions with reorganizing to use every inch of space, shelf and hanging that I had. Take a look.

Top hanging space before – I had 2-3 things on each hanger which is a bad idea for being able to see things with one glance.

After – every blouse, vest, shirt, kaftan, blazer all have their own hanger, even some jackets fit on the top shelf as I had extra room. I don’t hang tops; they’re all folded on the shelves. And I’ve sorted and thrown out some more since taking this picture.

Top shelves before – bags lying flat out, clothes I didn’t wear folded and piled.

Shelves after – I used two of the pink containers for knits and jumpers/tracksuits that I don’t wear often, no need for them in summer. I also used two for my bags. I simply tucked the lid in and lay them on their side, using them as shelves for my bags.

Long shelves before – tops folded in quarters, things just placed anywhere, stuff in bags, basically, a mess.

Long shelves after – Tops folded neatly and the right way. Two shelves of short sleeve tops, one for long sleeve tops, bottom for tshirts. Of course the shelves are deep enough to tuck things behind each pile, such as work out gear, winter jeans, tights and tops that I wear under my see through blouses and kaftans. I have plenty of both.

I got into my wardrobe on Christmas day. The shelves had been done a month earlier while waiting for my new hangers, but I didn’t get them until the week before xmas, so I did it on xmas day.

It was a quiet one for us, mum slept in so I had the peace and quiet, and I finally wasn’t sick so I had the energy. And even during the re-hanging I still threw stuff out as I went and kept going over and over my clothing lists (each colour has its own page), and asking myself the same questions over and over. Will I wear it? Does it suit me? Would I wear it in Queensland (I mentioned several years ago I wanted to move there)? Essentially, is it me anymore?

What I did find during my clothing audit is that I bought more clothes in 2014 than probably any other year.

I ditched at least 70 pieces of clothing over the last 12 months and bought at least 96. So almost one for one, or, to get mathematical, for every 1.37 pieces bought, one went. I ended the year with 481 pieces of clothing, 450 pieces of accessories and 1881 pieces of jewellery. My jewellery costs the most (three times the cost of my clothes), followed by my clothes and accessories close behind. And sadly, I have a want list of about 50 things that I’m after, so hopefully I can keep a reign on my spending this year.

I recrafted my clothing lists. They’re still in their colours, but I did my tops in separate columns. Long sleeve, short sleeves, tanks, then there’s jackets, cardis, kimonos/boleros, jumpers, etc. Dividing up my tops into long, short and tank columns really helped me see how many I have so I don’t double up in future, and I can get what I do need to fill the gaps. I also figured out which year I had bought each piece in and was pretty damn close to getting them all right. That’s how come I know how many I bought last year.

I still have a list of other pieces that are on the chopping block ready to go by the end of this year or sooner. It seems 2015 is the year of the purge for me. What about you guys?

JDS is coming back for 2015!

JDS will be back on the 2nd of Feb after a, what I had hoped, would be a relaxing holiday. Sadly, I worked like a trooper doing all the end of year paperwork (which is still not done), auditing my closet (which is still ongoing after two months), and a whole bunch of blog updating, food eating, shit dealing with stuff.

But I will be back three days a week and talking more about the RSL, awards shows, clothes, jewels and the fabulousness of kimonos and kaftans (which I have been stocking up on).

See you all then!

HOLIDAY STYLE: HAPPY NEW YEAR

HOLIDAY STYLE: MERRY CHRISTMAS

HOLIDAY STYLE: I’m off for two months holiday

 

Well, off from blogging anyway as it’s the 1st of December 2014 and I need a holiday. I may be back on February 1st, it will all depend on how I’m feeling about it all then.

So while I won’t be blogging in person, there will be scheduled posts, you can still find me on Instagram and Facebook.

CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL: Now Go Shopping

Step 13, unlucky for some, is the final step in How To Audit Your Wardrobe and Update Your Style in Two Days.

Once you’ve uncluttered your life and are feeling light and free it’s time to shop.

Yes, shop!

Shop for all those clothes you actually need and some you want to add to the specialness of your closet. Keep your list in your bag at all times for either that special shopping day or whenever you are able to pop into a shop. And if you can’t find what you want instore then go online.

Base your wardrobe around your lifestyle and make it all your own. Make it all about you; make it all about your style and live your life to its fullest!

CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL: Wardrobe Essentials

We’ve all seen them, the list of essentials every woman ‘needs’ and ‘must have’ in their closet or wardrobe. The list has expanded over the years, from 7 articles of clothing to 100 pieces with accessories included. The basics have always been a little black dress, pants, skirt, blazer, trench, white tshirt, white blouse/shirt, and jeans. Then came tights, a Cashmere cardi, good shoes heels/ballet flats, good leather bag, big sunglasses, scarf and on and on and on.

What I realised is that everyone’s lifestyle and job will dictate what is in their closet. For example, if you work in a bank or office, then you will have business suits and blouses, so pants, skirts and blazers mixed with white blouses and shirts. I’ve been there and done that and yes, I still have those things in my wardrobe as they are too good to throw out and they may full well be necessary for future functions, such as weddings, funerals or meetings.

Some of the other things they’ve added have been very specific. Button down blouses, Oxford shirts, boyfriend cardigans. Apparently you can’t have your own cardigan you must have his. Then there’s skinny jeans, cigarette pants, pencil skirts, grandpa sweater, ribbed tanks, bra shelf tanks, tshirts for casual, dressy or housework. The list is long. So, so, long…

So, I decided to do my own, and I think every woman should do their own basic wardrobe essentials as everyone is going to be different to everyone else. It’s all going to depend on our jobs, our lifestyle, and our spare time. What do we wear for work and do we wear that for casual days out? Do we have pieces to get dressed up in or are we dressed up all the time?

Step 11 – Get a big A4 notepad and pen, stand in front of your wardrobe again, and take a good look at what’s left. Go slowly through your clothes and write down everything you have. Use a separate page for each colour and at the end you will have multiple lists.

Do you need to replace business clothes, casual pants, workout wear? Do you want plain clothes, printed clothes or fancy clothes?

And remember, fancy clothes, such as sequined tops or jackets, or articles of high style, design or quality fabric don’t have to be left ‘for best’ (although if you’ve paid more for the article then they should last longer). Wear them anytime you want. So many stores sell sequined tops these days, at greatly reduced prices, that you can afford to have them in every colour and wear them when and how you like.

12 – If you find a deficiency in what you have, now is the time to write up another list. Get to work on what you need, and I said NEED, and what you want, although they may be the same thing. Make up two columns on the one page and start writing. Think about what you need for work, play, casual, sport, gardening etc and write it all down. Then write in your want list. Once you’re done cut and cull those lists because depending on your budget you may not be able to buy everything on the list or what you want. You could also write down names of shops you’d like to check out for what you need and consider stores you wouldn’t or don’t normally shop in.

The limit is yours as to what you buy, it’s only limited by your budget, just don’t feel you need to go overboard because your favourite celebrity or blogger has something and you think you should have it too. Stick to magazines for ideas and the latest styles.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the final instalment of How to Audit Your Wardrobe and Update Your Style in Two Days.