Wardrobe Building Part 2: Working With What You Have

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I think a good place to start whenever you're building up a wardrobe in a new style is to scavenge your closet for pieces that might work already. Even with a small capsule wardrobe, 37 pieces can still add up if you're buying all new clothing! That's not counting accessories. So it's nice to be able to save a little money by starting with a base of clothes you already own, if possible. It's also nice because it makes the transition into a new style a bit easier. It might be a pretty drastic change in look, but at least there's still some tie ins to what you wore before the wardrobe change. This way, you're at least still recognizable to those around you, and people might think "Wow, she sure is looking stylish these days!" rather than "She went out and bought all new clothes didn't she."

So, after gathering some information on the style you're aiming for, the next step in the process is to go through your whole closet and pull aside anything you think might fit. In my case, I pulled out almost all of my skirts and casual dresses, some of my button up shirts and anything generally frilly, floral, or elegant looking.

My alpaca standing victorious over my wardrobe's potential beginnings.

The next step, unfortunately, is to take a long hard look at your actions, and then cry because your clothes aren't cute enough. ...Just kidding! But  you might actually cry when you realize that, even with all of these clothes... it just doesn't come together in a cohesive style. For some reason that vintage dress is just too vibrant, your eyelet dress just doesn't quite fit, and even though that peter pan collar shirt is adorable, the print is just too bold for the new look you're going for. It might take you a few days of deliberation over it, but eventually you have to kick it from this season's wardrobe. But never fear! Just because you're not going to wear it this season, doesn't mean you never will! Maybe you can fit it into some future wardrobe... but that wardrobe is not this one. That dress will see the light of day yet!

Anyway after paring it down I came to 11 items which I felt might be able to work as a starting point for this himekaji inspired wardrobe I'm working on. I might end up changing my mind on some of these as my wardrobe develops, but for now I'm happy with it.

Tops:

I managed to find four tops that I think might fit. As it turns out, most of these items were thrifted! (I love thrift stores~) The first top is the one I'm most sure about. The floral lace is really cute, and I love the ribbon in the front and the scalloped collar and I think it is really feminine and cute! I think the tag says Mono B, but it's a bit hard to read and I've never heard of that brand, so I'm not too sure.

The second top is a bit more casual, but I thought it was a good color to match with my chosen color scheme and since I am assembling an every day wardrobe, it's important for me to have these more toned down background pieces which I can dress up or down depending on what I'm doing that day. 

The third top is cute, but I've actually never worn it since I bought it on sale from Forever 21 years ago. The fabric is adorable and it's a good color, but it just fits me kind of awkwardly, the sleeves especially. So, I'm going to keep it for my summer wardrobe, but I'm going to modify it a bit to be short sleeved. I think that with light poofy sleeves a top like this will look a lot more natural, and I'm excited for the quick project! I've actually already started on this, which is why I've snagged the stock image for this post instead. 

The fourth I'm not really sure about... I feel like I've seen these kind of sheer crop tops in recent j-fashion coords before, not specifically himekaji but maybe larme-kei or something else? But of course when I went to look for them for inspiration I wasn't able to find anything... if I can't manage to pair it with anything else in my completed wardrobe I'll probably toss it but the floral pattern and lettuce hem was cute enough that I decided to keep it in for the time being.

The last top I've decided to include is probably the least notable of all. I debated not including it because it seems a bit too close to the kind of thing an office lady might wear, especially the two breast pockets. But it's made of a really soft light material, and the ribbing on the side make it fit really well. Since it's a very light soft peach color, I thought I'd see if it works for a more toned down coordinate for daily wear. Perhaps an item like this would be good for dressing down an otherwise overstated skirt? I'll decide later.

Sweaters:

I feel like these sweaters are both a bit too dark for my color scheme, but since I won't be wearing sweaters so much during the summer anyway I figured these would go well enough to bring along in case I feel cold through the day. The brown one is really chunky and over sized, so it kind of reminds me of some mori sweaters I've seen. The maroon cardigan is still dark, but I think that kind of red goes well with pinks and creams, so it might tie together somehow.

Bottoms:

After taking fit, color, and print into account, it turns out I didn't have any skirts which matched the style I'm going for! However, I did find some pants and shorts which I think have a place in my wardrobe.

Although pants are not typical of himekaji, I wanted to incorporate a few pairs of jeans in for every day wear. I think the blue floral jeans will work with a fancier top for a more casual but still very elegant look. It will definitely be a bit unconventional, but I think it has it's place! 

The light grey jeans are probably not very himekaji at all, but even with an easily stylish wardrobe, there will always be days that I feel like dressing very casually, so I wanted to give myself one super casual option.

That being said, I'm happy that my peach pleated shorts will have a place in this style! They're so soft and comfortable, and absolutely perfect for hot weather! I especially love these shorts because thanks to the soft fabric and generous pleats, it almost looks skirt-like, so they're both convenient and cute as well.

Finally, I have these bunny-print shorts which I bought a while ago. I thought they were so cute, but I was never able to figure out what to wear with them, so I haven't really worn them too many times. They're high-waisted and really short, so the silhouette is a bit different from the usual fluffy and poofy himekaji stuff that I see, but I think the print is very appropriate to the look, and with the right coordinate I think it might really work.

So, there's what I'm working with! I actually did all of this before making my eBay order. I'm still waiting on a few of my eBay items to come in before I write a review, and I also have shoes and accessories to worry about... but that will all come in a different post.

Until next time!