Work It. Elsewhere.

Work It. Elsewhere.
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: A mound of no-longer-worn work clothing.
Origin: Various.
How long kept/usage: The oldest item was a suit last worn in the mid-90s. The newest items were purchased circa 2005/2006, most of them last worn in 2007. See confession.
Why kept: I might wear them again, and thus They Might Be Useful. They were in my closet -- Out Of Sight, Out of Mind. The 90s suit, in particular, Nostalgia, I loved that suit! See confession.
Destination: Housing Works. In almost the last shopping bag.

Confession: There were several pairs of black work pants, two of them too large, and the other unflattering. All were out of style (mostly pant legs too wide). Yes, maybe a tailor could have either made them fit or narrowed the pant legs...but best they find someone who likes them as they are.

Rumination:  Last weekend, I visited one of my oldest friends.   After some quality conversation about age-appropriate business-appropriate clothing, and how much of our old stuff we were holding onto,  I was galvanized to empty my closet of clothing that no longer serves me. (Stay tuned for more, as well as more rumination on the topic on why Storage Boxes Are Evil.)

I have two other 90s era suits that I hung onto, mostly Sticky, Nostalgia. With the help of a good tailor, I do think that one of the jackets can be re-purposed and worn over a sheath dress.   (Stay tuned to see whether I'll actually do that.)

Recently, I found and got very charged up about The Uniform Project. Since I work with many different clients, and don't go into the same office every day, I really don't need to own a closet full of work clothes! Left to my own devices, I would be tempted to wear the same thing every day. (Like Harriet the Spy!)

The young women in The Uniform Project wear the same versatile dresses every day for a period of time, dressed up or down with accessories or by using design features that alter the appearance of the dress.   These dresses are darling -- my quest is for an age appropriate version of their "little black dress."