50 shades of grey (alright 27 but....)

It feels like a while since I last did an honest to goodness clothes and fashion post. So it that's what you come here for then brilliant because today I'm talking about colour.

Last week I hit 5 months of my extreme capsule wardrobe challenge. 5 months in which I have worn only 27 items of clothing. 5 months of being paranoid every time I put something in the wash, of watching my smart, pristine clothes begin to look shabby & 5 months of being sensible with every single clothing choice I've made.

And here is where sensible has left me. Of the 27 items of clothing I've worn so far 25 are of what I would describe as a neutral colour, by which I mean black, white, grey, blue or a muted green or olive. Colour has all but disappeared from my life.And I look back over photos of myself over the last few years and I realise what a huge change this is, and I miss colour. In fact at the moment I almost mourn it.

me in grey

In the summer when the light was bright and clear everyday, when my daily walks on the marshes were filled with wild flowers showing off with their vibrant colours it was fine to be in neutrals. But now as the nights draw in, and the marshes settle into muddy feilds next to grey sky I feel invisible.

There is no contrast between me and the concrete streets I walk through, and somehow I feel smaller as a result, less vibrant and less alive.

me in grey again

I saw someone at Wednesday's event who was wearing the most amazing poncho in this gorgeous turquoise fabric and immediately headed over to talk to her, her choice of clothes cheered me up - but also gave me the impression that she'd be confident and bright herself (which she was). Do I then look mousy in my fog coloured clothes? Am I less approachable in these muted colours?

and more grey

and (yawns.........)

I know that bright colours make me happy come winter - I'm wearing my mustard cardigan almost everyday, and I know I feel more myself in it. I bumped into an old colleague on the tube a few weeks back, and she commented on the dark colours I was wearing, and how they were the smart choice, but not the kind of clothes she'd associate with me and they aren't the clothes I'd associate with me either. So with 7 months and 8 bits of clothing left I'm going to stop with the sensible (at least in terms of colour - I know I will need warmth). Bring on the fushia, the poppy red, and the turquoise - the noisy stimulating colours that will see me through winter confident and larger than life! 

So I'm going without clothes this year and struggling but parents of disabled children go without much more in order to ensure their children's needs are met, things like heating. The counting the costs report is here and here is where you can donate.