Ichi Antiquities cotton poplin pants (sold out)
Entireworld recycled cotton tee
Camel hair cardigan | secondhand via slowre
Dansko clogs
For the shortest month, February sure does seem to last forever. It’s when it rains a lot here, and alternates between very cold and warmer every couple of days of so; I was frozen all weekend, and now am thawed out a bit.
I washed these Ichi Antiquities pants and took them upstairs to slowre HQ to photograph and get ready to sell this week. But I have decided to keep them instead. I am trying to be a lot more thoughtful now about what I get rid of because of my changing body. I can’t say that these spark joy really, but they don’t NOT spark joy, and they have useful pockets along with an accommodating waistband. I’ve always found the very wide legs sort of overwhelming on me and hard to style, but I care less about that right now.
I tend to gravitate towards holding on to things that I find useful, even if they don’t quite “spark joy”. As the famous William Morris quote I have hanging in my office bathroom says:
Have nothing in your houses that you do know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
I don’t think there’s any one way to determine what to keep and what to move on from, I just sometimes know it when I see it.
Items that don’t necessarily spark joy can be “good enough,” which sometimes is…enough. Everything in your closet doesn’t have to be something that makes your heart skip a beat; I don’t think that’s practical. I do think that most items you keep and/or add to your wardrobe SHOULD bring a degree of joy and pleasure to your life, but it is also incredibly satisfying having items that are very good and serve a practical purpose.
It’s all about balance isn’t it? Finding what works for us through trial and error and implementing that to the best of our abilities.
Happy Monday!!
That looks lovely on you! I can’t ever seem to mix camel & gray (maybe because I think both colors look bad on me?) I’ve never been a Kondo follower nor believe my things need to “spark joy”. They need to fill a role & have a purpose in my house & my life, that’s all. I have been better about getting rid of superfluous things. Like, we finish a jigsaw puzzle, take some photos, then pass it on to my MIL. But there are lots of things in my closet that are there because I need them, not because I love them. I hate wearing jackets (blazers) and almost never have to. But once a year or so, I need to be more formal at work. So I have a very nice black blazer in my closet I will grab when I have to. It’s not there because it sparks joy. It’s there because sometimes I have meetings with people who have different work dress codes than I do 😉
I feel if you don’t carefully navigate the space between sparking joy and good enough you find yourself unsatisfied with your choices on a random Tuesday.
I have that same black blazer 😉
I like this color combo on you! Agree about the practicality & spark joy comparison. There are some pieces I acquire to fill a need. While I do try to get one that I like, the item may not get the same reaction of happiness I get from another item or I may understand it is a temporary need.
I have a dress from Ichii, the typewriter dress in black. I’m still on the fence about keeping. I don’t actually like the way it falls on me but it was so expensive. It is also a very light cotton and needs to be ironed (vs. my black crane, elizabeth suzann or miranda bennett that rarely need ironing). I’ve worn it a few times over 6 months vs my other dresses which are worn several times per month.
oh!!!! i was hoping i’d find that dress on sale eventually….i loved the look of it so much!!
what do you not like about it on you?
First, a quote from William Morris About beautiful utility. Then, a (Supreme Court) Justice Potter Stewart quote regarding porn:”I know it when I see it.” 😉
You make a really good point about certain items deserving a place in ones closet even if they don’t spark joy. I find that my basic white and black long-sleeve tees are like that. I won’t wear them on their own, but underneath a sweater, they sure make an outfit. And that DOES bring me joy.
Haha. I did notice that after I wrote “I’ll know it when I see it” but thought I’d leave that comparison alone lol
Leave it to big mouth me to bring it up!