A wardrobe edit – the autumn edition…

Since it’s officially October now I thought it was about high time that I put a few hours aside to pack away all of my spring/summer clothes and get out all of my autumn/winter clothes.  We don’t have a lot of clothes storage in our bedroom so I tend to do a seasonal switch over rather than keep everything out.  I think this helps to see what I actually have to wear that’s appropriate for the seasons too.

So one grey morning in October I decided I would use the day to have a good old fashioned sort out.  I got literally EVERYTHING out of all of my wardrobes, drawers and cupboards, put it all on and around my bed and began to edit.

I’m a big fan of the Marie Kondo way of organising but I’ll admit to being a kind of luke warm follower of her way of doing things.  That said, I very much love the idea of only keeping things in your wardrobe that ‘spark joy’ so I kept this way of thinking at the forefront of my mind whilst deciding what to keep and what to donate, refashion or sell.

I’ve mentioned before that, while I absolutely love a pretty dress and actually dresses are my favourite thing to sew, my lifestyle just doesn’t always call for being too dressed up.  I work at home, I walk to school with my kids, I walk the dog.  At the risk of sounding like a complete hermit I will say that I do meet friends out for coffee now and again but more often than not those meetings will too involve being outdoors or walking as my friends tend to have a similar lifestyle to my own.  So, I also wanted to keep this in mind while sorting and thinking about the garments that do and don’t suit my lifestyle now.

While emptying all of my summer wardrobe onto my bed it became clear to me that I have A LOT of clothes for the warmer months, and I mean a lot.  Lockdown this year has meant that I’ve done a lot more sewing, I’ve made a lot more things and therefore my wardrobe has grown extensively.  I love sewing for summer, dresses and pretty tops are my favourite to make and I also feel more comfortable wearing those kinds of things when the weather is better. So I kept all of my handmade things this time but did donate some shorts that I’ve, ahem, grown out of and t shirts and vests that have seen better days which created some space for packing all of the rest away underneath the bed.

So onto the autumn/winter edit.  Looking at what I already had I really wanted to be quite ruthless in what did actually ‘spark joy’ in the clothing I already had.  For some reason I’m less inclined to get rid of winter wear and tend to hold onto things for much longer, even if I know they don’t really suit or make me feel good when wearing them.  So this time I had a good think about whether I wanted to continue wearing the item, whether it could be refashioned or whether I’d really rather not have the guilt of it going another year unworn when potentially someone else could be making use of it.

So I spend a couple of happy (??) hours sorting away and really narrowed down what I had all the while making a couple of notes in my phone as to what gaps I felt needed filling, what I could make myself and what I might need to buy.

So here’s the result.  I’m realising that in the cold weather I like to be cosy, which means woolley tights, with dresses and skirts, warm jumpers with jeans and jersey dresses with leggings or tights and of course a lot of loungewear and PJs.

Here are a couple of looks I’m loving from Pinterest and Instagram

There are gaps in my wardrobe for a couple of soft viscose dresses to wear with warm tights and boots or trainers, as above. Jersey T shirts, cosy sweatshirts, loungewear aplenty and warm cardigans so here’s what I’m planning to make:

The Myosotis dress – which I’m hoping to hack to be long sleeved and am considering in maxi length??  I have this blue animal print in my stash and I’m hoping that’ll work nicely.

The Tabitha T Shirt from the Tilly and the Buttons Make It Simple book with some pretty jerseys such as this one from Stoff and Still

The Linden Sweatshirt by Grainline Studio – I love the raglan sleeves on this, I’ve included a fabric that’s caught my eye recently which I think would be perfect for this.

The Hudson Pants by True Bias – these have been on my list for absolutely ages and I really must have a go at them.  I love the fact that they are a tapered leg which I feel is much more flattering on me.

A pair of Juno Pyjamas from the Tilly and the Buttons Make It Simple book – I LOVE the look of these PJs and won’t they be just perfect for cosy evenings knitting in the winter.  I love this pretty French terry for these.

As for cardigans, I’d love to say that I’ll be hand knitting them but my knitting is unfortunately just not that speedy. I would, however, like to have a go at this Rowan pattern this winter so that at least one of my winter woollies is handmade.  But I will also be buying myself a couple of cardigans, I love this beauty from Sezane which is a bit pricey but wouldn’t it be a great investment piece.

So those are my plans!  I’m looking forward to getting started on my winter wardrobe.  Sewing with jersey is still different for me as I much prefer to sew with woven fabrics but I think I need to admit now that for the colder months, jersey is the way forward.

If you’d like to watch the video of my wardrobe sort out over on YouTube I’ve linked it below…

Thanks so much for reading – I’d love to know any autumn/winter sewing plans you have in the comments below.

Until next time

Sally xxx

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