Wardrobe Architect, week 4: Silhouettes

This week's discussion was all about figuring out proportions and silhouettes that I want to bring into my wardrobe, based on the shapes that I figured out in week 3. Sarai suggested using Polyvore to play around, so I did. I'm honestly not too much of a retail shopper anymore--the closest I usually get is the thrift store--so my goal was more to try to put together different outfit ideas based on things I already have or would be likely to bring into my closet. Of course, even though the challenge was more based on shapes, I couldn't ignore prints or colors! So I thought I'd share what I came up with.
What I learned overall:

• I will completely ignore a silhouette if I don't like the print or color. I probably need to work on embracing the solids, don't I?
• I'm somewhat limited in my shoes--since I know I can't find a lot to fit my extra-wide feet, I tried to stick with ideas that would use similar shoes to what I already have.
• No wonder I'm having trouble with winter clothes--most of the sweaters I have don't fit the silhouettes I'm drawn to.

And here's my various collections! The first two were actually two sets I made on Polyvore years ago, but they fit the project nicely, so with a few tweaks, I used them.

From "My Core Style" Pinterest board

 I think these are probably pretty self-explanatory with the silhouettes-- I made this one during one of my other "figure out my style" phases to show how I'd typically dress for when I'm teaching my flute lessons.



Same with this one--more of a casual weekend look.

And now, on to the ones I made specifically for this project! For these, I tried to think of ways I could vary a particular outfit, either to make it appropriate for another season or just to mix it up. I did two for summer, two for winter, and two that could go either way, depending on what I wear with it. So let's start with summer, shall we?

Even though this one is made with a dress, I think the same principle could apply for separates--a fitted top with an A-line skirt, for instance. Some kind of lightweight layer for when the AC freezes me out, sandals, and chunky jewelry. The fall variation would swap out the cardigan for a jacket. And my brown boots aren't exactly like that, but close enough. (Also, this outfit is reminding me that I need to replace my falling-apart tan sandals this year. Ugh. I hate shoe shopping.)


For my second summer look, I decided to go maxi! The flats would most likely be sandals in the summer. But I thought this would be a potentially good look for how to wear my t-shirts, too. (Incidentally, it's hard to find the type of graphic tees that I actually wear on Polyvore, but I did find one, thanks to Etsy. It says, "I never received my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. So I have left the Shire to become a Jedi.")  Of course, for this to actually work, I probably need a maxi-skirt or two that's actually solid...

I noticed belatedly that I didn't have any shorts outfits on here. But the truth is, even though I have to own them for at least my retail job, I'm actually a lot more comfortable wearing skirts and dresses in the summer. Probably because they're generally longer. I probably should come up with some kind of shorts silhouette I can live with, though, because skirts aren't always a practical option in my world.


For my first winter look, I decided to go with more of what I'd want to wear to work--in this case, skinny pants with boots, a longer top, and a sweater. This is how I've been wearing that short sweater that I dyed back in the fall, and I surprisingly like the look. So I'll have to attempt making skinny pants at some point so I can play with this sort of thing more.

My second cold-weather look is much more fall-ish, due to the color scheme of what I found. In the real world, I think I'd be more likely to wear the straight skirt with a looser sweater and the A-line skirt with a more fitted sweater. Also, I wouldn't wear that particular print. It was just what happened to go. Also also, I need more tights. Or maybe leggings to wear as tights.

 Finally, my two looks that I tried to make multi-seasonal:
This is the closest to what I actually have. Those grey pants could quite easily be Thurlows--and are very close to the one pair I have left to show up. I actually own those particular black flats, even though I had to import them into Polyvore to make it work. The top could be a woven or a knit, and I do like peplums. I also have yarn to knit into a cardigan very similar to that one, if I ever finish the Roheline. But with the right layering pieces, this could be very versatile.

I tried to come up with a versatile maxi-dress look, too, since that is something I do like to wear and it would be nice to find some ways to wear them that will transcend summer.

So how did I do? I'm not saying I'd only wear these particular silhouettes, obviously, but it's a starting point. I'm looking forward to seeing what tomorrow's challenge is!