Last Chance Salon

Happy Guy Fawkes day to all my UK readers, hope you're having a blast!!
And good day to you all, wherever you may be.  Sunday here and chances are it will be Sunday where you are too.  It's been a beautiful autumn day, a tad on the blowy side but crisp and dry.   Good drying weather, as my mum would have described it.


Now, my news!  I have presented myself with a bit of a challenge.  For November initially, but potentially a little longer.

My fun Floridian friend, Kellyann, has just completed a month of the Common Threads Challenge.  The idea is that you identify five pieces of clothing then wear at least one of them each day throughout the month.  And for those who don't like sticking to the rules, rules can be tweaked, eh Kellyann?! 

Well, I thought about doing this in November but I have taken a slightly different approach. 
I'm using it as a platform to try out stuff I haven't worn for a while, or things I've never really got into the swing of.  Each day I have a short rummage and grab an item or three.  Some things I know instantly I will never EVER want to wear again and they are dealt with appropriately.  But if they are a "hmmnn" then my plan is to test-drive them and see how many times I wear them in the month.  If I've grown to like them in 30 days, they're keepers.  If I still don't feel the love, they're ditchers.

There really is no more science to it than that but I see it as an opportunity to truly consider items that are hanging in my stuffed wardrobes and cupboards.  I really don't like the idea of manicly pulling stuff out and sparing it 5 seconds thinking time to decide should it go or should it stay.  And the Marie Kondo approach which gives a piece a little longer than 5 seconds still isn't long enough for this hoarder procrastinator.  I need time.


So over the coming days you may see random items appearing on your screens and potentially they will sneak in again as the month progresses.  It's their last chance to prove they are keepers.
Last Chance Saloon kept swirling around in my fuddled mind as I thought up this plan, so that's the tag it's been given as we hit November.  

Like this Uniqlo soft slouchy jacket.  It's been hanging around in my wardrobe feeling most unloved and it deserved some of my LCS treatment.  It needs some 2nd lovin'.

Why haven't I been keen on it?  I don't really know.  Perhaps it is because I've teamed it with black a lot of the time, which is maybe a bit too stark for this tone of stone.  So I tried it with grey jeans, a black and grey striped top and black boots.  Touches of black are there, admittedly, but I think the grey softens into the jacket rather than fights  as all-black does.

It's too soon to tell, but I'm going to try this out with a few more variations in the coming weeks.

And where did I take this OOTD?  To the hygienist!

I think I've mentioned it before on this blog but my approach is that if you dress nicely, those you meet will appreciate your effort and reciprocate the niceness.  Karma Dressing.  Did it work on this occasion?  Well, let just say that as I left her "chamber" she shouted out "Nice seeing you".  And I found myself responding with "Nice seeing you too".  Yup, she enjoyed the experience and so did I.  Perhaps the dressing-nicely approach had worked,

I know she sometimes reads my blog so - love ya, H !!

So, with nicely polished gnashers, I am heading smilingly into November.  What else did I try during these first few days?

This jumper.  It's quite a few years old now.  Because it's uber long, I feel it makes me look tub-like.  But I saw the lovely Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb wearing a cosy jumper recently and she reminded me that I have something similar and maybe I should give this piece a chance too.

Hmmnn.  Undecided on this one.  I still don't find it too flattering (probably designed for a body more elongated than mine) but it is cosy, so who knows where this will be come December 1.

Maybe in the pile over my left shoulder! 

As you can tell by these selfies, The Photographer had abandoned me again.  But I'm hoping that you are paying scant attention to me in the amateur pics and are instead homing in on that corner.  Yes, wardrobe de-cluttering had already started a few days earlier.  The pile there is made up of perfectly good fleeces, but I have accumulated so many of them over the years and there really is a limit to how many a girl can squeeze into her busy wardrobe calendar. And behind my head is box I am now running, where I ditch items I grab which are just not going to cut any mustard EVER again. 

So, my dears, I hope you are impressed that the process has already been started, as evidenced by the activity in this spare room.

Now, my dearies, is this something you fancy doing too?  Last Chance Salon-ing?

Is this slow-burn approach to wardrobe cleansing for you?

Giving some try out time to items in your wardrobe that you rarely wear these days, or items you never really got into?

I think this approach will suit me better than blindly stuffing no-longer-loveds into bin bags. 

Yes, an Englishman may need time, but so does your Pout when it comes to ditching decisions.

A la perchoine.