Ladies, I Need Your Help

Before I get into what I need help with (and I really do), let me tell you what inspired my current dilemma.

I was in a grumpy mood this entire weekend (side note: car related) so, knowing that I had to distract myself when I'm a grump, I threw myself into a new project: Emmy's Wardrobe Overhaul. This is where I've entered new territory because I've never been particularly into clothes. Gentlemen, I'm not sure this post will interest you but feel free to read if you're curious.

Basically, last year I decided that I needed an overhaul of my wardrobe because a) my clothes are getting worn out from the years of use, c) I've lost a lot of weight in recent months and I'm having a hard time regaining it (read: pants keep falling down), and c) my style has changed over the years. Some of the blouses I have I've had (and still use) a decade later. I take good care of my clothes (I am my mother's daughter; she's worked in laundry for 40+ years) so they last a long time. Sadly, because it's been years since I've purchased clothes, I need to replace almost everything. Last time I bought pants? Um... 2-3 years ago at the most recent. Shirts? About the time length of time. Sweaters? Um... I want to say more than 5 years ago. Dress? Graduation, 2012. Yeah, seriously. The skinny jeans debate continues internally but I think I've figured out my current style... and it's expensive.

What my wardrobe used to be made up of: a lot of pieces from Forever 21 (prior to my finding out their shady dealings with their workers), Target, some Ann Taylor Loft, and a bunch of random stuff from random stores. Before that it was a lot of Wet Seal, Forever 21, Anchor Blue, Abercrombie, Pacsun, etc.

My style over the decades: I was a full on tomboy in my teens so there was a lots of sporty attire. My early 20s were a mix of sporty and casual. Mid 20s brought on girlier with casual. Late 20s were girly but clean and at 30 I'm a mix of "romantic and soft" but "classic and clean cut." Yes, I might've taken a quiz or five to figure it out. lol.

What I wish my wardrobe would consist of (a.k.a. what my current style is): Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Modcloth, J. Crew, Banana Republic, etc. If the Duchess of Cambridge wears it, I'll most likely want it, too. lol. Luckily H&M is within my sad budget but still... siiiiigh. A lot of what I like is in the Ralph Lauren price range. One dress that I really liked? $230. Ouch.

There is one big question that came up: is pricey clothing worth it? I'm Miss Frugal. I'll occasionally splurge if something is worth the $ but will more often look for a bargain or talk myself out of buying it all together. Since my clothes do last so long, I've been toying with the idea of doing a capsule wardrobe with higher end clothing. Part of me is like "yes! That Ralph Lauren top / dress / skirt would go well with so many things over the years" and the other part of me is in the "but it's so expensive!" It kind of feels almost sinful to spend so much money on clothes.

Ladies, help me out here: what do you think about splurging for a wardrobe that you plan on using over the years? I'm not into trends. I know what works for me. I don't care about not being "in season." I know what clothes I like, what colors work best with my weird light olive tone (it's considered "cool" which means a lot of jewel tones), and what my body shape (more pear shaped normally, a bit lanky right now) is. I know my body will most likely change whenever I have children but since that seems so far away (no fella anywhere near being a candidate), I don't have to worry about that anytime soon.

The other issue is the weight gain. My goal is around 125 because that's been my average from my teens to my mid-late 20s, not counting the last couple of years of health issues. I'm about 112-113 right now which is too small for my nearly 5'8" frame. Yeah, the stress from late last year really affected me. Should I buy a size up for the anticipated weight gain, wait a couple of months to see the progress, or stop making excuses to buy what I need now? I think I may buy a couple of inexpensive pants and skirts while I wait to see where my weight ends up but what about the rest? I need you ladies to talk me through this because I'm still fairly new to the caring about my wardrobe thing. lol.

If anyone else has any other stores or brands that you can recommend that are more budget conscience (read: good quality but under the triple digits), please let me know! I would splurge on a coat but paying over $200 for a dress seems like way too much to me. Tips? Advice? Offer to take me shopping (I do live in L.A. so the options aren't limited)? Talk me to me. ;)

Anyway, it's 1:44 a.m. right now so I'm going to finish this post and then try to get some sleep. I say "try" because I've slept almost all day for the past 3 days (yay stomach bug and stress combo) so I'm not exactly tired. My sleeping schedule is out of whack again. Oh well. Still planning on getting 5 hours of sleep to get it back on track. ;)

I hope y'all had/continue having a great weekend!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

The Skinny Jeans Debate

As I wrote in the Warm Weather Bucket List post, one of my wishes is to "give my wardrobe a much needed overhaul... and do it on a budget." This isn't a "style makeover" per se; I just need to upgrade my wardrobe in a big way. I should also say that it's been YEARS since I last gave it an upgrade.

Do you know how old my recent (I just donated a bunch of clothes to Goodwill last week) wardrobe was? I still had clothing (in good condition) from junior year. Seriously, I had a skirt that I wore in 7th-8th grade. Other pieces were from my early 20s (jeans included). What can I say? I take good care of my clothes. My mom is the head of the laundry department at the convalescent hospital where she works so she's picked up tricks that made clothes cleaner and last longer. (side note: in case you're wondering... no, I'm absolutely not embarrassed that my mom works in the laundry; it's honest, hard work and I'm so proud of her.) So why the sudden makeover? Because clothes were either no longer fitting me or because it's no longer appropriate at 30.

Now that my weight has been (thank goodness) within low-normal range for my height, a lot of the clothes I've worn over the last couple of years have not been fitting. Those that were in good condition (and others that I had worn only once or twice) were donated. Other clothes either still fit and are faded or falling apart or look like something a teenager would wear, not a young woman of 30; these clothes will be replaced (little by little) over the next couple of weeks and months. I've been using Pinterest (*gasp* I know, I finally have a legit reason to use it) to figure out outfits and accessories but I've come across one big inner debate: whether or not I would want to to get myself a pair (or two) of skinny jeans.

A big reason why it's an inner debate is because of the modesty issue. See, I personally have not liked wearing shirts, blouses, and sweaters that don't cover my tush. It's just a personal preference thing. Though my mom is the same way, she has never told me to do this... it's just what I've felt most comfortable with. The reason why I'd like skinny jeans is because of boots. I love wearing boots in the autumn and winter and I think they look best with skinny jeans. I love my boot-cut jeans, too, but they don't always look good with certain boots (despite their name). With my preference of shirts and sweaters being long enough to cover my tush, I don't see a modesty problem... until I then hear that the jeans are still too tight.

I don't like very fitted clothing so skinny jeans are an exception. I like my skirts and dresses to be A-line. I don't like pencil skirts because of how tight they are. I don't like shirts and blouses to be tight. I'm not "shaming" anyone here; this is just my personal preference. However, the last time I did own a pair of skinny jeans a couple of years ago, I felt (basically) shamed for owning them. "They're not modest!" "They're still too tight and should be worn looser!" This debate keeps going on in my head as I rethink wardrobe changes. Thankfully, I have several weeks to think it over (we're starting summer weather in L.A. and it'll probably continue through early October) but I'm wondering what y'all think about this whole skinny jeans / modesty debate? I don't want any lectures or any debates telling me what to do (some of you mean well but...)... I'm just interested in hearing what others think about this whole thing.

So, leave me a comment on here, on the blog's FB page, or send me a tweet on Twitter if you'd like to chime in. :)

Anyway, that's what's been on my mind these last two days.

I hope y'all had a great weekend and have a great week!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D