Perfect Tens

I'm here! I'm here! I haven't been swallowed up by a massive pile of tee shirts! It's been a busy week, but I've been squeezing in some closet clearing when I have a chance.

The last time I blogged, I was getting ready to tackle the towering pile of tee shirts. I began with 71 tees (I found two more after I started) which is a scandalous amount no matter how you look at it. Yes, I wear tees a lot, year round, but surely there was room for improvement.

For some extra help, I turned to yet another book. This time it was I Have Nothing to Wear by Jill Martin and Dana Ravich. I had seen a video clip of them helping a woman to clear the clutter from her closet, and their goal was to cut what was in there by...ready for this...SEVENTY FIVE PER CENT! In fact, here's a link to the video.

The book makes no mention of 75% or even 50% or any percentage of all. What it does is guide you through a process of culling the duds from your wardrobe based on asking yourself if each piece is a "ten." A big part of this is being honest about who you are and defining your style. We all have things in our closets that aren't really who we are. For example, I am not a fan of denim, unless it's a pair of jeans, so out went a denim jacket and a denim shirtdress. I also feel a lot better in clothes with a defined shape, so many of the items I'm culling are the less fitted ones.

And then you try things on. Just as the Practical Princess book advised, try on one category of things at a time. I was working on tees, so I put on a plain black skirt and attacked the pile. The book suggests some questions you can ask yourself when deciding if something is a keeper: Does it flatter your figure? Does it show your personality? Is it in keeping with your style? Does it make you feel confident? Is it in perfect condition? Does it feel comfortable on your skin?

Results? After starting with 71 tees, I got rid of twenty outright. Of the 51 I had left, I moved twelve into another category, leaving me with a total of 39. That's not too bad!

---sound of screeching brakes--- Wait, what is this new category I'm suddenly adding into the mix? Well, this is where I diverge from the book's philosophy. They believe you should never wear a single thing that is less than a perfect ten. I agree with wearing the tens to work or to dinner with friends, but for grocery shopping or hanging out at home, I think a seven or eight is fine. So I picked out the twelve nicest tees from the cull pile and substituted them for the printed and/or oversized and/or worn out tees I had for casual wear. Everything isn't a ten, but it's an improvement over threes and fours! (And now I'm just laughing, because this all sounds like some kind of demented math class!)

So what did I get rid of? Besides issues with condition and fit, anything green or with yellowish undertones was out. Trying things on in rapid succession made it very obvious how terrible I look in those colors. Also, anything that felt too short. Tees are being cut longer now, so some of the older ones looked dated due to the length.

How did I do? I think I get about a B in this category. I could shave things down some more, but space isn't an issue anymore, and I do feel good in all the tees I kept. Hey, if nothing else, it's a start!