Getting ready for Fall, part 3 // Discover yourself

Taking stock is just an inventory, a necessary step to bring you to a more important phase. Indeed, the contents of your closet are, first and foremost, a reflection of who you are, of your likes, dislikes and obsessions.

The first question you need to ask yourself after taking stock of your closet's contents thus is: am I happy with it or do I have the feeling I have nothing to wear in the morning? If you are satisfied, and you just want to add few new pieces from the latest Fall trends, I ask you to be patient and wait until my next post in this series. On the contrary, if you need some help in your quest for discovery, or you just want to smile at the tales of us unhappy-closet people, read on.

I would like to believe that my present unsatisfaction is due to our move to a new place and its new fashion culture (remember yesterday's post?) but I cannot. One of my goals this year was actually to take advantage of this new environment (and my mother's unforgiving but generally accurate fashion sense) to cast away unsettling feelings when I get dressed in the morning.

Let's take a look at my annotated list (you can download the template here). If I would have to describe my closet I would say it is monochrome and boring. Most of my blouses are white, and my jackets and pants are either black, blue or dark brown. Same goes for my handbags. Gosh, I think there is more variety in my husband's closet! When it comes to shoes, I have brought mainly ballerinas, that likely I will not be able to wear because of my foot injury.

That's the diagnosis. What is the cure? Here will be my commitments and commandments for this year:

1. I will not invest into any monochrome item or pair of jeans.
2. I will learn how to add color to my closet.
3. I will explore footwear alternatives to flats.

Am I not lucky that color and skyrocket heels are trendy this season! Obviously though the challenge of "curing" your closet is that, with few exceptions, you do not want to throw everything away and start from scratch. But my advice is to do it figuratively.

For the next few days, imagine that your closet is empty. Then do some research. Look at what your fashion icon is wearing, or in fashion magazines, or online, and set aside what inspires you, what you could see yourself wearing and be happy. I'll do the same, and I'll report back on this "homework" in my next post.