A Tale of Two Wardrobes

Two wardrobes aren't required of those living in year-round resort-like surroundings. My family and friends in California may even be said not to have a wardrobe as flip-flops and shorts hardly count. However, in my midwest home, the change of seasons provides a welcome opportunity to mix up the color palette, clean out the closet, and look forward to cool evenings in front of a fire.

Saying goodbye to summer dresses and short hemlines, leaves room for a bit of soul searching, in determining which items should be packed away in cedar-top bins, and which should be given away, because they probably never fit right anyhow. It's a time to say goodbye to carefree weather and plan ahead by making sure an umbrella, spare jacket and ice scraper are stashed in the car.

That pile on the bed is all the proof I need that less is more. Each item, while pretty or memorable in its own way, has passed its season, no longer fits or just doesn't match the image I hope to portray, aging gracefully, but still attempting to maintain a sporty natural image. Surely my mother is laughing out loud about now.

The end result of this twice annual ritual is a neatly organized closet, clothes sorted by color, and a feeling that I've just come back from an all expenses paid shopping spree, sans debt. The slacks in plastic are those that I love and am hoping hoping hoping I can squeeze into again before Spring.

Extra room on the closet rod is provided by those awesome "Huggable Hangers" that I got during my QVC/HSN passtime one Winter. At least those were a good buy. And now that the Spring / Summer items have been neatly packed, I'm settling into the tweeds, knits and woolens gratefully awaiting the first snow.