What Should I Wear? Part 2
What do I do now that I’ve purged half of my clothing?
Why find new cloths, of course. If you spent your career wearing a uniform, you may want to do some research to figure out what’s in style. By the time we are retired, we are generally of a certain age. This doesn’t mean polyester pants with elastic waist bands and balloon shirts or the styles your high school granddaughter is wearing. There is less of a distinction in fashion between young and more mature women in this day and age.
Wear What Looks Good On YOU
Beware, fashionable colors and styles change annually and you don’t want to be pressured into keeping up. Now that you’re retired, you can find the fashion styles and colors that are just right for you. I had to bristle when I saw the new fall 2023 styles appear. While I love a good cup of coffee and an occasional latte, I don’t want to wear them. One thing I know about color is which ones I can’t wear.
In 1987 Carol Jackson published Color Me Beautiful, which encouraged women to dress for their skin tone. The first thing you had to do was learn what ‘season’ you were, Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer, based on your skin, eye and hair color, then you were given a color pallet for clothing based on that season. Your color pallet included colors you would find during that season of the year for example, if you are Fall, the colors that look good on you are warm oranges, browns, gold and etc, if you are a Winter your colors are bright greens, reds, blues and etc. You can still find information about dressing for your skin tone 40 years later. As you move forward in your quest to find your new wardrobe, it’s a good idea to know what colors look good on you. If you spent your work life in olive green, you may not have had a chance to explore other colors that enhance your beauty. If olive green is one of your colors, you looked dynamite so keep that color in you wardrobe.
There Are Lots of Places To Find New Clothing
Some people look on-line to find ideas, others shop in boutiques and department stores, some have a personal stylist, some choose clothing ‘parties’. I don’t like to shop for clothing, in fact I hate it. Department stores overwhelm me, I’m too busy to keep up with fashion trends and colors, and I don’t know how to match separates, so I have a CABI stylist take care of me. Think about what your cloths shopping comfort zone is. Do you enjoy browsing through the new arrivals at a large department store? Is on-line shopping a better use of your time? Do you like to shop at thrift stores for vintage treasures? Do you enjoy the personal attention you get a small clothing parties? The options for shopping are endless, find the one that best fits your personality type.
You don’t have to buy a complete wardrobe tomorrow. Take your time. Assess your needs. Look at your purged closets and drawers and decide what pieces you need to fill the voids. Evaluate the space that’s left for storage in your closets and drawers. You are now probably on more of a fixed income so you will want to make a budget for your purchases. Maybe you will budget $100.00 per month for clothing, or maybe you will shop once every 6 months and plan to spend $500.00 when you shop. If you have a spending plan for cloths shopping you won’t feel guilty about your new purchases.
It may be helpful to be thoughtful and focused in your quest to find a retirement wardrobe. Enjoy the challenge.