Project 333: Winter 2018

I confess, I swapped out my fall rotation almost two weeks ago for my winter things, because the weather turned rather suddenly at the beginning of November, and I got sick of being cold all the time.  My fall rotation can handle some pretty large temperature shifts (100+ degrees to about 40 degrees) but the amount of clothing I was wearing to be comfortable at 30 degrees or below just seemed silly when I had all this wool waiting for December 1st to be brought out.

Tartan wool blend skirts (I have two more coming in the post)

Previously, I wrote about my emerging Shetland style for this winter, and I still stand by it.  The one nice thing about pulling my winter things out early was that I used these couple of weeks to live with it, and tweak it a little.  I'm nearly there, in part because I have a few things on needles or in the queue that will round out my rotation nicely.

Knitted neckwear!  I wear something around my neck nearly the whole winter, and I have a nice selection of me-made and ready-to wear options.  Most of these are me-made.

The tartan wool skirts I ordered are amazing--I really can't say enough good things about them.  They are lined and have pockets!  I bought three, and ordered a plain navy one too.  At that price, I cannot make anything even close.  I am totally warm when wearing them (and I really can't say that about anything else in my closet) and so comfortable too.  I have enough sweater options that I think I could just swan about in those skirts all winter and be fine.  I've decided it is okay to have a rotation that is totally different from the others in weight and style, because this is about weather and my personal comfort.  My summer rotations have a similarly distinct feel because of the heat.  Right now, I'm tired of being bone-deep cold all the time.

These aren't really in my winter rotation proper.  They are hanging out in a separate place in case I want some variety or need a black dress for some reason.  I can layer up the dresses with wool sweaters and silk unders but they still aren't warm enough for really cold temperatures.  I don't know what is wrong with my internal thermostat this year--these cotton dresses would have been workhorses of previous winter wardrobes with the right layers over and under.

I think I'm moving in the direction of a more or less three season wardrobe: summer, spring/fall, and winter.  I used to do a distinct spring and fall rotation, in part because the temperatures differ dramatically in those two parts of the year--spring here is often more winter-like and chilly through mid-May, and fall is sometimes a long Indian summer all the way through to Thanksgiving.  But it's pretty variable too--I can remember years where it is arctic in October already, and sometimes spring can start in February.  I also find I like slightly different color palettes during the two seasons, so that was another factor.  I think what I might end up doing is a less rigid three-month rotation, and instead rotate my clothes when the weather shifts a bit, as I did this fall.  I suppose that means I'm not doing Project 333 per se, but the spirit is there, I think.

My winter dresses: unblogged holiday flannel Frankenwashi dress, the denim piny, Spruce knit, and Night Owl flannel Frankenwashi.  I'm not confident that the flannel dresses are going to be very warm (I wore the Night Owl dress last week and with two shirts under and a heavy sweater over and I was still pretty cold and uncomfortable in all the layers), but I wanted a holiday-type dress for Christmas, and I just loved the owl flannel print.  Maybe my in progress Carbeths will work to warm them up.

What I'm trying to get to with spring and fall is a core of clothing that goes with either season, plus a few pieces that are season-specific either for temperature reasons or color palette reasons.  For example, I never want to wear my Hobby Horse skirt in the fall, but I like it in the spring.  I also tend not to want to wear my rust or burgundy clothing in the spring, but I love it in the fall.  I think I can get away with wearing my marigold linen both seasons by wearing it with blue in the spring and olive or evergreen in the fall.  Yellow is a neutral, right??

Sweaters and tops: the bottom layer are all wool blends or heavy cotton, the top is thinner cotton layering shirts

 But for winter, the name of the game is warm, warm, warm.  My winter uniform is shaping up to be: tartan maxi skirt with heavy cotton tights and woolen long socks over top, heavy sweater with an undershirt of some kind, either silk or cotton, and a wool neckwarmer.  Obviously, I have All The Shawls on needles at the moment, in addition to the Carbeths and gift knitting.

Heavy weight cardigans in wool or cotton, plus my garnet L'Enveloppe

My rotations have mostly gotten smaller, which I think is no bad thing.  I appreciated Madeleine's recent post about the "just right" closet, and while hers is more spare than mine, I'm getting a feel for what is just right for my own sartorial needs and laundry cycle.  

Orange wool blend Everyday skirt, denim skirt, Geo flannel skirt.  The denim skirt is a bit thin for super cold weather, but I'm keeping it in just because.

One thing I'm trying to work out is when to retire a garment.  I tend to wear most of my clothes to bits, and it is hard for me to decide when a garment is truly done.  I can mend stockings and sweaters and the stress points on dresses and continue to wear them, but at certain point, things start to look very shabby, and I have a hard time determining that line.  I shave my wool sweaters regularly, which helps keep them looking nice longer, but I have a sweater right now that just went into the "wearing with pajama only" category because it looks tired after two years heavy wearing.  But I keep looking at it and thinking: is it really done for day wear?  Surely another shave will take away the long teeth on the thing?  

Ditto my Geo Flannel skirt.  I think I'm going to retire it, as the flannel is starting to have a halo and the pattern on the skirt isn't so distinct any longer because of it.  I don't love how it fits me right now, I'm not even sure it is worth wearing this season, to be honest.  (Which is probably just as well, as I'm not as warm in it as I would like and the sweater that goes best with it is difficult to layer).  I've had this fabric in my closet for close to five years now, and I think it is okay to retire it after this winter.

So still some things to tweak for winter, but I'm getting there.