Day 2 for the dress. What’s my rhythm?  Decide in the morning what to wear or lay things out the night before?? Loaf in jammies until it’s time to get down to business .. then DRESS up? Lot’s to think on.

Being in the Pacific Northwest, we never know what the weather will bring…so we dress in layers. Sometimes LOTS of layers.  And by we… I mean me and the dress, who still has not been named.  Dress of the t’Ubervilles?? Dressie Smith??? Woolamina??   (I am leaning towards the last!)

The Dress — ok Woolamina Merino–  and I hit it off was amazing on her first day — carried me through the inauguration, out for errands and a music class, dinner with my daughter and, ended up at the inaugural ball. We hit it off fast – she and I.  From the first moment — it was comfortable and easy. Tennessee Waltz in 3/4 time.

For those of you who still haven’t heard…I am involved in a 100-Day Challenge, put on by Wool&  —  Same dress.  100 days. Part of my reasons for deciding to do this was to simplify my life, especially with the weekly travels.

Today’s goal:

• figure out a comfortable, but not dumpy look — using my existing clothes.
• Decide if there is a rhythm to this challenge… and what that means in day to day habits.

I may be smitten with her, but she needs her space… so she hangs alone at night.

What’s in store for today:

We have some rain.. and then possibly not.  Then more rain. And another busy day…. more drumming class – Advanced Rhythm (NO snickering from any of my 4 children born between 1980-1986). And I have another trip to Costco (meh), fill up with gas, organizing a bookcase, hanging some pictures,  blogging, knitting, and

my online class for  Applacian Flatfooting and Clogging!

At present, I’m still in Portland, until I head back to the Beach Tomorrow.

I live between two places at the moment – Mostly in my RV at the Beach, and part of the week in Portland Oregon. See more about my lifestyle HERE

That’s about it for the dress, and the rhythm and the rain.  But I do have some other dress related things to share!

“Have you had your colors done???”

That’s what my friend Marie asked me the other day.  It was during a discussion about clothes… and she said that she looks dreadful in orange.  I personally LOVE oranges… pumpkins, butternut squash, cayenne,  all the oranges except maybe traffic cone orange.

So she asked me the question and told me that she was a SUMMER, and summer’s don’t usually do well with orange.  At least, that’s what I think she said.  And then she told me about this book that came out in the ’80s with great information on picking the right colors so you look you best.

Bottom line, I found the book HERE… and am going to do some research on what are the best colors for me and Woolamina!

Thanks for stopping in. –

– tracy

As part of the challenge, I will be posting my daily outfits on blog posts as well as social media with the hashtag #tracywearswool — please follow along — and see all the creative outfits that I can come up with!

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The dress arrived!! Yahoo… and just in the nick of time!  I am so excited to get started with this challenge!!

For those of you who haven’t heard…I have been invited to do a 100-Day Challenge, put on by Wool&  — and I am starting on 1/20/21.  i hope…

Today’s goal:

• become familiar with the dress… and experiment with “dressing” it up and down!!

What’s in store for today:

I have a lot of stuff going on today…. and I wanted to try on a few looks… so here they are:

Did a quick weather check.  Paired the dress with a down plaid pink Land’s End vest.

Really… just wanted to show you what the dress looked like!

Shoes are  Sperry Topsiders and  I picked up some Secret Treasures 80 denier super opaque tights.  I think I am going to order some of their leggings (under $6!)

Getting ready for the inauguration. A pretty exciting time in history… and I live-streamed it on my laptop.   Thought I would pair the dress with a soft wrap….

 Did you catch Lady Gaga singing the National Anthem?

This for the rest of the day: drumming class, getting a trailer hitch installed, and going grocery shopping with my daughter, Number 1. (You can catch her in action in the post about purging…. where she weighed in on my wardrobe — go HERE!)

I am wearing a cropped courdory Levi Jacket and a scarf that I knit … and dyed the wool… a few years back.

This will be super comfortable.

That’s about it for the dress.  But I do have some other dress related things to share!

Check these SUPER COOL converse low tops.  Chuck Taylor’s with a twist.  And they match my sunglasses.  I’ll be sure to wear these !!

Found them at Goodwill.

And super cool leggings. These will put some spunk in my stride.  Whoa….

Found them at Walmart.

This is just the beginning od the dress story.  Just wait until tomorrow… I signed up for an online into  class for  Applacian Flatfooting and Clogging!

As part of the challenge, I will be posting my daily outfits on blog posts as well as social media with the hashtag #tracywearswool — please follow along — and see all the creative outfits that I can come up with!

CLICK BELOW TO GET NOTICES OF NEW DRESS POSTS!

SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS:

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LET’S TALK SHOES. IT’S A FEW DAYS AND COUNTING DOWN TO #TRACYWEARSWOOL  100 DAY DRESS CHALLENGE.  AND I AM ANXIOUSLY (STILL) WAITING ON THE MAIL… YIKES, CUTTING IT CLOSE.

For those of you who haven’t heard…I have been invited to do a 100-Day Challenge, put on by Wool&  — and I am starting on 1/20/21.  i hope…

Today’s goals:

• take a realistic look at the shoes that I currently have — and decide which will work for the challenge.
•  Get rid of the shoes that I no longer need.

What’s in my closet:

These are the shoes that I think will work for this challenge.  I have more shoes that are in Portland.   I paired them up with leggings because it is in the dead of winter, and a skirt… just to give me an idea about how it would look. And I did not include ALL my shoes.  For instance… I did not include my trusty KEEN hiking boots that have about 800 miles on them, because I just don’t think I will wear them with “the dress”…. or will I???

What’s in my closet:

These are my most favorite Crocs.  I got them at the Croc outlet in California a few years back.  At first, I was not so crazy… because they pinched my toes.  So I put them in a big pot, and poured boiling water into the toes.  Then I put on 2 thick pairs of wool socks, took the shoes out of the water and put them on my feet.  Lo and behold, they stretched out a bit and molded to my feet.  Now I can’t take them off. Super comfortable, and perfect for rainy weather. 

KEEPERS.

I LOVE my KEENS.  These, I got off EBAY — someone bought the wrong size, or got them as a gift, or whatever.  Their loss is my gain.  I wear them with everything from shorts to dresses.  Super comfortable, nice wide toe bed.  And everyone should have a pair of tennis that they love!

KEEPERS

More KEENS. Decidedly more girly, these have been in my closet for about 3 years.  And I love them to death.  I think they would work really well with the dress.  Unfortunately, the elastic on one of the straps is a little stretched out.  But, they would be worth fixing.

REPAIR

These boots are actually one of my favorites.  But to be honest, they have been hiding at the bottom of my shoe storage for most of the year.   And you can tell — definitely in need of polishing and clean up.  But since they are super comfortable, I’ll do a little rehab.  And hopefully, by thinning out my shoe selection, they will not be hidden away.

KEEPERS

It is funny how taking a photo gives you a completely different perspective on something.  Looking at these boots, I can see that they look awful and bunch.  Not at all flattering.  I like them because they have a fleece lining. But that’s about it. Since I have a pair of Hunter wellingtons in Portland… I think these should go. Someone will love them… just not me.

DONATE

These are my substitutes for slippers… well these and some incredibly ratty Uggs that I didn’t photograph — because I will NOT be wearing the uggs with the dress.  But these, I might.  I wear them with socks, or bare — it’s just nice to have something to throw on.  Super comfortable, versatile, easy to wear, and fun. Not terribly fashionable.

KEEPERS

I got these on Amazon a few months back.  And when I saw this photo, I thought  — HORRIBLE.  But, I think they would do much better if NOT those tights and NOT that skirt.  Perhaps they will be fine with the Dress, and with black tights or leggings. Photo was a learning experience. They are super functional for our rainy weather. Great for pulling on and running down to the beach… they hose right off. Ohhh- and they are flece lined – so you don’t need socks! (More HERE) 

Yes.. another pair of KEENs.  My go to for warm weather.  I wore the heck out of these in California.  Had them for at least 3 years.  They go with just about everything I own, are super comfortable, and easy to clean (been to pottery studio and survived!!) I love that they offer toe protection while still being sandals.

KEEPERS

You may be saying to yourself — “Dear Lord, what was she thinking???”  And honestly, that was my first impression when I saw this photo.   My daughter calls them my Nun shoes. BUT…. I bought these for a specific purpose — I had a job that required black shoes, and to stand on my feet for long periods of time on hard surfaces.  And these are the most comfortable for that.  Perhaps… I will try them with black tights…. and maybe polish them up before making a decision.

UNDECIDED

AND CAN’T WAIT UNTIL MY DRESS COMES!!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGE!

So there you have it.  These are pretty much the shoes I wear the most.  Doing an inventory and photographing them has helped me decide what to keep, what to donate, and what needs a little attention.  I would like to get rid of what I am able to keep.I also found another pair of KEENS that I am ordering to round out my footware. (SEE HERE)

As part of the challenge, I will be posting my daily outfits on blog posts as well as social media with the hashtag #tracywearswool — please follow along — and see all the creative outfits that I can come up with!

SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS:

JOIN ME ON TWITTER!

4 DAYS AND COUNTING DOWN TO #TRACYWEARSWOOL  100 DAY DRESS CHALLENGE:  GETTING READY  BY  CLOTHES PURGING — CLEARING OUT THE EXCESS CLOTHES IN MY CURRENT WARDROBE!

For those of you who haven’t heard…I have been invited to do a 100-Day Challenge, put on by Wool&  — and I am starting on 1/20/21.

Today’s goal:

• COMPLETE inventory of what clothes I have now.
•  Clothes purging: get rid of the excess to make way for new wardrobe choices

(And to see more of RAINEY… she has her own page & story HERE!)

I started with t-shirts.

This is what I had left… after I got rid of 7 shirts.  I felt bad… like I hadn’t accomplished much.  So I tossed out (rather put in the donation bag) 17 undershirts.  I don’t even know when I last wore one… I kept 2… just because it seemed right.

Next up… pants

This is actually the before photo of the pants.  I ended up tossing out 3 pairs of capris, and 2 long pants.  And I set aside 4 pairs of long pants that are too small — if they are still too small by March 1st… they will be donated.  Oh… and I kept the skirts and shorts.

Moving on to sweaters and sweatshirts.

There are actually more sweaters in the close — but this was just from my bags.  And this is a before photo — I ended up keeping 6 of the heavy sweaters, 4 sweatshirts, and 5 of the lighter weight sweaters. 

And now the real fun begins… I got my daughter to help via zoom, as I went through part of my closet…..

I FEEL PRETTY GOOD… LIKE I MADE SOME REAL PROGRESS.

AND I ORDERED THESE AWESOME PACKING CUBES SO THAT I CAN ORGANIZE MY CLOTHES BETTER FOR WEEKLY TRAVEL. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!

As part of the challenge, I will be posting my daily outfits on blog posts as well as social media with the hashtag #tracywearswool — please follow along — and see all the creative outfits that I can come up with!

SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS:

JOIN ME ON TWITTER!

5 DAY COUNT DOWN TO #TRACYWEARSWOOL  100 DAY DRESS CHALLENGE:  DO I REALLY NEED ALL THESE CLOTHES?

For those of you who haven’t heard…I have been invited to do a 100-Day Challenge, put on by Wool&  — and I am starting on 1/20/21.

Today’s goal:

• Recognize what I need and don’t need in my closet — great because I am limited on space!

So I am starting small… realizing that indeed.. I have a problem with clothes hoarding.  I just hate to get rid of anything.

Top reasons I “can’t” get rid of something:

• Sentimental value. Doesn’t matter what it is– but it is tied to an event or evokes a strong feeling.  Old concert t-shirts, sandals from that amazing summer trip, oversized sweatshirt that was stolen from an ex…
• Comfort clothes.  That 30 year old flannel shirt, sweatpants from the 80s, boxy cashmere sweater with mothholes…
• Cost.  Either it was super expensive… or I got a screamin’ good deal at a thriftstore.  Doesn’t matter if it fits or looks good…
• Size.  Yep… that’s a big one.  I have to keep these Lucky jeans for when I lose those 20 lbs that are keeping me from being able to get that button close to the buttonhole.

Mostly my clothes fall into a couple of categories.    So I have come up with a plan to help me pare down my wardrobe… 

 OK… HERE IS THE SCARY PART!

Not too bad… but I live in a 24′ rv!

(And… I have still more clothes in Portland.. and Santa Barbara.)

So today…. I have identified the problem and come up with a plan…

Tomorrow… I will enlist the help of my oldest and wisest daughter — because she has great fashion sensibility and practically no social filters.  She will be blunt and honest in her job as my “declutter coach.”

As part of the challenge, I will be posting my daily outfits on blog posts as well as social media with the hashtag #tracywearswool — please follow along — and see all the creative outfits that I can come up with!

SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS:

JOIN ME ON TWITTER!