dash dot dotty: recap: 2013 closet rockstars

like everyone and their brother at this time of year, i've been thinking a lot about the ups and downs of the last year and strategizing about how to make 2014 my best year yet. while i've got heaps of personal and professional goals for the upcoming year, one of my style-related goals is to be happier with my clothing purchases and the state of my closet.

while i really enjoy having new things to wear, the reality is that almost all of the cheaper clothes i buy don't last very long. if only one in ten turns out to be a well-made, washable, non-stretch-out-able, then really i'm spending ten times the retail price for that one good one. bah! and really, when i clean out my closet and easily fill up a bag with thirty cheap pieces that didn't work out, it makes me feel foolish. i've made feeble attempts to change my habits in the past that included limiting the number of pieces per month and setting an arbitrary budget. the number thing lasted about two months and was problematic because some months i buy very little (like last august), but these months are sandwiched between months where i buy eeeeverything (like last july). setting a budget apparently just encourages me to buy more cheaper things, since i don't want to spend my whole budget on one thing. i need to make a permanent change in how i make my clothing purchases and curate my closet.

anyway, so here's my plan for 2014:

make another purge of my closet and be ruthless with things i've been holding onto for sentimental reasons or the i-might-wear-that-one-day excuse.
box up my fancy office-only professional clothes for that wonderful day in march when i am no longer at a construction site all the time.*
work through into mind's steps to define my signature look.
make very specific lists of things i want to add to my closet.
focus on texture, pattern, and interesting details. (rather than color since let's face the facts, i like me some neutrals.)
save up for some bigger wishlist purchases.
stop buying cheap clothes cold turkey. (this is gonna be difficult, but my closet will thank me eventually.)

*my job lately has pigeon-holed me into a very specific type of workfit that is not jeans, but can be worn with work boots...no dresses, no high-heel-length pants, nothing that i wouldn't want to get paint on, etc. it's total lame sauce, but it's temporary.

i was originally going to just post my top six closet rockstars from 2013, but i got a bit distracted when i was cleaning out my closet this morning. so yeah, here's my favorite pieces from the last year: