A few posts back I talked about my intention of building myself a capsule wardrobe. Since I don’t have a lot of extra disposable income I can’t rebuild my wardrobe from scratch like they do on What Not to Wear. I always secretly hoped that I would get nominated for the show (even though I didn’t dress bad) just so I could get Stacey and Clinton to build me a wardrobe. Since I can’t build from scratch I have to build from what I already own which is going to be a huge step by step process.
My first step was to purge my clothes. I wish that I had a group of friends like in the Sex in the City movie where Carrie goes through her closet and tries on all of her clothes and the girls yay or nay them so she can get rid of things before moving in with Big. I need that kind of help. I had a lot of things hanging in there that haven’t been worn in a long while. Some of it even years. I tend to hold on to things because I think that they may come back in style in a few years. I have learned the hard way that they tend to. For example I had an awesome pair of red espadrilles that I bought years ago. I pitched them about 4 years ago and now I see them all over the place. It figures. I managed to purge so much stuff this time around. I was super cut-throat and managed to get rid of A LOT. This was my closet before.
Everywhere I look online I am reading about the capsule wardrobe and how it is life changing. Every woman in my Facebook groups are posting links and announcing “I need to try this!” I kind of have been doing this for years but a) without knowing it and b) not following the rules per-say.
I live in a city centre which means I am surrounded by a lot of tall buildings, cement, and shopping everywhere. Green space is somewhat limited so when we go out for walks our end destination usually is a shop or restaurant. The mall across the street is massive and was actually beneficial in giving us some exercise during the winter since walking around outside in the death-cold isn’t ideal. We were kind of like the geriatric mall walkers you see early morning when the mall first opens.
When I heard that Target in was closing it was kind of huge bummer because it was one of our stops that we made regularly. I mean, who doesn’t love Target? Last month, right beside it the mall opened a huge Forever 21. I’m sure they picked that spot because of its proximity to Target which sucks for them, but I was excited to shop there. I have always had to order online from Forever 21 because I never l lived close to one before. This was new territory for me.
I like Forever 21 mostly because of the price. I am a bargain shopper, and while I would love to spend more money buying quality pieces for my wardrobe I also know that realistically it make more sense for me to buy cheaper at the moment. I will be honest though, I sometimes feel old shopping there. You know, since I am slightly over 21 😉 If you can call almost 15 years over slightly. I refer to it as Forever 31 because I don’t actually want to be Forever 21. Forever 31 would be my ideal age to stay if that was ever a possibility. I also don’t believe in the phrase “dress your age”. I don’t think that because I am a certain age that I basically have to give up on being trendy or fashionable. It’s just not in me to not really care about what I am wearing.
The other day we stopped off at the mall. I was being masochistic and wanted to see Target all closed up (it officially closed last Saturday) and I was craving the chicken salad and basil Tomato Soup from Wholefoods anyway. Two birds with one stone. We ended up taking a detour through Forever 21 because I wanted to look at all the new summer merchandise. It was warm out that day and warm weather makes me think of dress, breezy tops, and hats. I didn’t end up buying anything but I did compile a list of things that are both for summer and doesn’t look like I am trying to pretend I am in college again. Below are a few things I found that would be nice for summer.
Weekends in our house are for running errands. I generally have a weekend wardrobe uniform that I stick to in one form or another and I recently added some new pieces. When I really love an item of clothing I’m the type of person that will go back and buy other colours if they are available. Continue Reading →
I bought a new hat from H&M on Saturday. I love wearing hats but sometimes it is hard to find one that suits me or fits my big head. So when I tried on this felt hat with brim and it fit great I knew I had to buy it. I wanted it in black but the only colour options left were this brown, a lighter brown, and cream. My 10-year-old daughter Roo said
“You look like you should be fighting zombies on The Walking Dead in that hat.”
Almost two years ago a close friend of mine on a birth-board posted a link that was a life changer. Back story: I have been relatively small my entire life. I am 5’3″ and my weight has always fluctuated from 100-115 lbs except during pregnancy when I topped out at 140-143 lbs each time with my weight gain being strictly belly and boobs. So my bra size has pretty much been consistent since I was 15 except during the times I was pregnant. Pregnancy wreaked havoc on my boobs. Large to small, large to small, it really deflated what I had, and when you don’t have much to begin with it makes for sad little boobs. I have always worn a 32B. It has never, ever been comfortable and I constantly would be adjusting it, but every time I got measured this was the size I was told that I am. So I just dealt with it because I thought that is how it was supposed to be (especially since most women wear incorrect sizes and are also adjusting or complaining of discomfort). I didn’t know any better.
Little did I know that most places that sell bras and do measurements for you automatically give you the sister size if your actual size happens to be a that size they don’t carry. And to top it off they don’t actually tell you that it isn’t the actual size because they want to make the sale. So you end up wearing a completely wrong size for the 20 years you have worn a bra because someone wanted commission. Not cool.
When my friend posted the link back in 2013 we all commented back with what our new “accurate sizes” were. Most of our sizes ended up being way different from what we had worn, we were shocked and in many cases didn’t believe that we were in fact these sizes. The measuring yourself part is actually pretty simple. You just need a few minutes alone to accurately measure since you have to do it topless. The first step is to read this article Everything You Never Knew You Needed to Know About Bras. It’s very informative and eye-opening. You need to learn the Scoop and Swoop step of placing your breasts into the bra properly to achieve maximum presentation and fit. The next step is the measurement. It’s from a Reddit thread about Bra fitting and measuring experiences. The whole thread was jam-packed with information and funny stories and experiences most of us had, had. But I am going to highlight and link the measurement post from MyWifesBusty. Read it carefully, follow the instruction and be prepared to be amazed. All you need is paper, pen, a cloth measuring tape, and your naked torso. After you take your measurements you can manually figure out your size or input your measurements into this calculator. Most calculator online suck but this is one of the better ones.
When I said this was a life changer, I literally meant it. I went from a 32B to a 28DD. That is a huge difference. I was excited to find this out but also frustrated to realize that this wasn’t going to be a size that I found in any regular bra store. I reached out to my friends who also had hard to find bra sizes, although there’s mostly were regular band but too big cup size problems. I was referred to a UK site called FigLeaves who specialize in irregular and hard to find sizes, and there it was listed under their regular bras, a 28DD. I also hear that both Bare Necessities and Nordstroms also have hard to find sizes for convenient shopping within the United States. I was excited and scared to make that first purchase because I couldn’t try it on. I was nervous about spending the money on a bra that I based the sizing on from a Reddit thread. I should know better by now though, because Reddit users always know what they are talking about it seems. On May 16th 2013 I took a gamble and ordered the Juna Balconette bra by Cleo by Panache in black, and although it was coming from the UK to Canada I received it in less than a week. When it arrived I ripped it open as I ran into my room and locked the door (to the complaints and banging on the door from my children) and tried it on in front of my full length mirror. After doing the scoop and swoop technique I looked. It was like the clouds opened up and Angels started singing Hallelujah. I’m not lying, it was like a new pair of boobs. I tried it on with a t-shirt to see what kind of visual changes there would be and it was like night and day. I always had seams and noticeable bra lines, it was now smooth, and my boobs were up where they were supposed to be. I looked better, much better. I decided to reserve my judgement until I wore it all day, so after about 10 hours of new bra I realized that I had not adjusted my straps or band or cups, once that day. It stayed put, didn’t move or ride up. It was a bloody miracle. So much so that I immediately ordered another one in my new size in a nude.
I made a mistake with the second one though. I ordered the Porcelain underwired bra by Panache. While it fits properly it wasn’t a style made for my breasts. It didn’t push up to make the most of what I had, it kind of left them flat and me self conscience. So I learned two things with the experience a) what size I should be wearing in a bra and b) the Balconette style it best for me because they make the most of what little I have. My next purchase is going to be the Panache Tango Underwired Balconette. I have shared this story and these links with every woman in my life hoping to give them the same gift that my friend Stephanie gave me. I hope it helps you too.
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