Capsule Decluttering for Weight Loss
Since adding so many pieces to my capsule, I finally feel at liberty to scale back on the things that are just too big.
1. Fashion To Figure black pull-on pants. Now that I have my Ann Taylor black trousers, I no longer need these as an option for dressy occasions. I always imagined that if something came up, I'd wear them with my black oversized silky blouse. The trousers are definitely a step up, so the 100% polyester pull-on pants are out.
2. Lands' End trouser jeans in size 20. I put these in the dryer to shrink them up a bit, but they are still too big in the waist at this point.
3. Black skinny D. Jeans in 18W. These don't stay up.
4. Blue skinny D. Jeans in 18W. Same. I have some remorse over buying these two pairs of skinny jeans for what turned out to be a relatively short period of time. Surely I could have gotten by on my joggers for the end of the winter, but in terms of cost-per-wear, at $19.99 a pair, they weren't such a huge mistake.
5. Men's Old Navy khakis (thrifted). Such a recent purchase that I feel ridiculous getting rid of them already. But the more loose-fitting they got, the more oddly oversized they became. It was as if the waist was tight but then the pants ballooned out and created a lower body potato shape. Highly unflattering, but only a $3 mistake- plus they were thrifted, so environmentally sound.
6. Black open cardigan (99 Jane Street). This just came out of storage, but has already proven to be not worth wearing. I reached for it today, but the full coating of my long hair on the back and the ratty-looking pilling made me recoil. Sometimes acrylic sweaters are lovely and soft. This one is not. It's surprisingly itchy for not having any wool in it, and it doesn't breathe, so it makes you sweaty.
7. Burgundy Lands' End short-sleeve cardigan (thrifted). This was a tough call, especially since it's a fairly new addition. But the fit is suddenly looking way too oversized. I love oversized clothing, but there is a point where it just makes you look bigger than you are. Oversized clothes have to have the right shape to work on your body, and this one doesn't have that shape. It's also bulky but short-sleeved, so tricky weather-wise, and the color kind of says "Lands' End" to me, and not in a good way.
8. Green Cable and Gauge sweater with exposed back zipper (3X). I put this on today since it's too warm for cashmere, but when I looked in the mirror I thought I resembled a mountain. My husband agreed that it made me look bigger than I am. I deliberated over it, considering my penchant for oversized things. But again, there's a point where something looks just too big instead of cool and drapey.
9. Purpley-grey short-sleeve cardigan (Sonoma). This one is a heart-breaker. I love the color and the idea of it, but it just doesn't work in the end, despite great effort and alterations.
10. Four LOFT Swing Tees. These have not technically been in my capsule, but they’ve been hanging around waiting for a final verdict. I tried wearing a couple of them out in the world, but I still find them unflattering and too short in front. The white one which I DIY-ed with elastic in the hem hasn’t thrilled me- the front is just too short- so that one is included in this batch of decluttering.
This round of decluttering leaves me with 30 items in my capsule, down from 39, which makes getting dressed easier. I've been finding it difficult to get dressed with so many items in front of me, especially when everything is under consideration for the chopping block. I've really just been wearing my grey men's pants or my blue ones with a T-shirt and some layers. The tan anorak jacket is really coming in handy with the weather warming up and the LOFT oatmeal cotton sweater will be a great replacement for the green Cable and Gauge one as a lightweight option. Some lace bralettes have become my everyday staples, as they're comfortable enough but don't make my boobs look worse than just going braless (which many bralettes and sports bras can do). Overall, though, this round of clearing out makes me question how often it's worth buying clothes when you're gaining or losing weight. It may help your confidence to have a great wardrobe during a weight change, but I wonder if maybe I could've gotten by on an even more minimalist capsule at my higher weight. And how do you know when something is suddenly too big or too small? I mean, it's not like one day it fits and the next it doesn't, so where do we draw the lines? And what to do with the clothes we've discarded? The donation option is apparently not as good as we once thought, with so many of those clothes ending up in landfills. I think I can sell all of these items on Ebay, save but four: the black 99 Jane Street cardigan (too pilly) and the men's Old Navy khakis (too beat up), the purpley-grey cardigan (irrepairably altered), and the white LOFT swing tee (pit stains). But otherwise, plus size clothes do sell on Ebay, even if they're not a top-notch brand. I highly recommend it as a good way to find things a new home and keep them out of the garbage. I've decided Ebay will be my strategy instead of storing things away in case of future weight gain. At other times in my life, I've done just that, and not regretted it. But this most recent weight gain was mainly attributed to medication, so I feel less inclined to hang on to stuff at that size. I guess I'm also feeling like this time weight loss is more of a commitment than in the past. I think I'm finally resigning myself to the idea that I need structure in my eating for the sake of my mental health. Hopefully it'll stick this time for good, and I won't find these clothes on a "Clothes I Miss" post.
