Episode 3: And this, and this, and this...

"Ship's Log, Stardate 93759.64:

Continuing on my mission, I have begun minimizing my lolita wardrobe.

And minimizing decor and tchotchkes too, though I did buy the Hansa deer I've been wanting...

I started by first removing absolutely everything and setting it all aside, instead of picking and choosing items to remove.

From there, I selected only my favorite main pieces that are "wearable right now".  By that, I mean in season, fits now, doesn't currently need alterations, and can be reasonably coordinated with the secondary pieces I have currently, plus or minus a couple of items.

Everything else went into categories: For Sale, Donate, To Be Altered, Storage, and Unsure. 

These are the Top 10 Main Pieces I will keep:

IW Glitter Seraphim, AP Loyal Rosette, Bodyline L362, IW Gobelin Crest, Yolanda Military Set.

AP Lucky Key, AP Musee du Chocolat, PTMY Midnight Parade, Chantilly Queen Cat, AatP Electric Circus.

Once my main pieces were selected, I gathered all of my secondary items, (anything that is not a main piece, basically) and removed anything that was starting to get worn out, needed alterations, was out of season, or just plain didn't match any of the main pieces I decided to keep in my wardrobe. 

These are the secondary items I decided to keep:

Bodyline, Classical Puppets, Fanplusfriend, Offbrand and Putumayo.

AatP, AP, Atlr Pierrot, BL, BtssB, Chantilly, F+F, Handmade, Miss Lonely Lolita, Muchacha Achachumu, Offbrand, PTMYO, Swimmer.

For now, I plugged all of these items into Sheet 2 of my Outfit Planner, but as you can see...

it's not quite complete:

Click to expand.

There are still a few items I feel it needs to make coordinating easier, like a black blouse or a pair of brown heels.  And, as I look over the chart, I see some items that might not get used frequently, so after collecting some data to confirm, I may donate, store, or sell them.

Once I feel the Capsule Wardrobe section is a little more "final", I will finish filling out the Outfit Planner.  For now, I will practice coordinating with what I have recorded so far, and adjust it as I go.  

Here is one look I put together on the Outfit Planner so far:

Makeup look inspired by Noble of Shadows' Pumpkin Spice tutorial.

After this, I went back and revisited my Unsure pile, placing each item either in my wardrobe,  or in the For Sale, Donate, To Be Altered, or Storage, piles.

~ It was a lot easier to come back and sort those items once the bulk of the decisions had been made and most of the planner was filled out.  I was less stressed, and had a better idea of what items I already had too much or too little of, as well as a clearer idea of the general direction my wardrobe was going. ~

I thought it might be interesting to show the other categories, as well:

The For Sale and Donate piles definitely carried more pink, lavender, and mint than all other piles combined.  I am shifting away from brighter colors and towards a darker palette and more mature cuts, so all sleeves shorter than 3/4 length are now gone as well.

I'm letting go of some brighter, more youthful pieces...

There are quite a few odd ducks in To Be Altered that I plan to have reconstructed to be a bit more otome-ish, and my holy grail dream dress Holy Night Story, plus a few other items with some serious sentimental value, are in Storage.

Normal items are in here as well, but you can see the lolita section here is much more neutral and dark.

I'll see how it goes from here, so in a sense, this is a To Be Continued... Hopefully this re-org helps me in my ultimate goal, which is to wear coordinates more frequently, if not daily. I will continue to record adjustments to the final item count, and then share it once complete, to hopefully give someone else a good framework for a well balanced, compact, lolita wardrobe. 

As always, I will leave this frequency open for response. Lightspeed, all. 

- Bear out!"