Flush

I'm still cleaning out the closets.  I spent a lot of time for a couple of days doing the basic stuff, things I wear every day like pants, skirts, and knit tops.  And I've worked a little bit every day since, but there are still things I am avoiding, like my sweaters.  But I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff, really an amazing amount of stuff.  

 So what I have I found in the closets?  Quite a bit actually.

I have 8 pairs of pants I can wear now, and one pair of summer pants, over there on the far left in the photo.  By summer I will need pants as the striped pair shown here are anything but basic, unless perhaps I run away and join the circus.

 Pants are perfect for right now when it is cold and windy, snowy and slushy outside and the fact that I have so many choices amazes me.

The pants are grouped by heel height, and within that by color.  I always aim to have basic pants in at least two, if not three lengths, to accommodate different heels. 

From left to right:

2 pairs of black pants I can wear with flats:  one Saint John knit pair, and a pair of slim fitting matte jersey pants, that will actually be comfortable well into spring.

1 pair of gray stretch cotton chinos.  This sit a little higher in the waist than is currently fashionable but they fit so well it is almost uncanny.  None of the problems I usually have with pants is evident in this pair.  I should trace them off and compare them to my pant pattern from November.

1 pair of yellow cords.  I need some color to keep me sane.  

Then there are two pairs of black pants to wear with mid-heels 1 1/2 to 2 inches or so.  One of these is solid, the other is a lovely suiting fabric with gray and red pinstripes.

Finally, on the right, two pairs to wear with heels, black and winter white.  As I said, I am set. 

 The skirt population took a bigger hit.  But even here I have enough choices to get me through the season.  

White with red and black appliques.

Two pencil skirts in black, one with little pleats at the knee.

My favorite turquoise plaid Pendelton skirt, which has been taken up twice and will not be taken up again.

There are several other skirts, all skirts I made in 2005 or 2006 that have been put aside as they can be easily altered and worn and still look good.  We will see if I get to them.

Otherwise everything else has gone.

Two things I have learned so far:

1.  I do indeed have a few TNT patterns, or will after a few very minor alterations.  They are all patterns for things I made in 2004 or 2005.

2.  Good fabric truly is worth the investment.  The things I own that are made of really good fabric have held up beautifully and fresh and new.  The styles may not be perfectly current, but they are classic enough and the fabric good enough that they are fine.  Things I made out of less than stellar fabric often look tired and worn-out, even if they haven't been worn that much.  They weren't worth the effort that went into them, unless I was sewing them as a quick thrill to wear and toss.

Quick thrills aren't usually my style.