Beam Me Up, Spotty; and Getting My January Mojo Back: A 30-Year Flashback and Shopping My Closet

I've had a case of the blahs for about a week, following being off for 10 days, and prior to that, having week after week of exciting, sparkly outfits. How to get myself out of this rut? 

Well, first of all, I did wear one outfit this weekend. 

It was a sunny but very cold Saturday morning, and L and I did our weekly walk to town and brunch at Floyd's.

Linking up to Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style! Thanks for the mention of my New Year's Eve outfit in your "Real Life Fashion Show: We Dress Up" round-up, Patti!

• Top - Lord & Taylor; last seen here in October 2016 with grommets and copper
• Skirt - Mackage, thrifted; last worn here in May 2016 with teal
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in November for my final tattoo work
• Coat (below) - Hilary Radley, thrifted 

Notice that I have my Star Trek communicator badge on - I called this outfit, "Beam Me Up, Spotty" - ha! I laugh at my own jokes. 

 A simple mix of neutrals, textures and pattern. Lots of leather, as is my wont. I forgot how much I love this cream leather skirt, although the renegade snaps popped on me a few times.

The top is more structured than a sweater, but just as warm. I have a full vintage slip on underneath for warmth (you can see peeks of it in the top pic).

Outerwear:

L is always dapper - check out his shiny teal shoes!

L is so good to me - he always makes a big pot of coffee for when I get up (I'm a bear in the mornings, rarrr!). I use a straw to keep it from staining my dental work (I have a few fake teeth/parts of teeth in the front) and from messing up my lipstick.

Those are my usual Danier fur toque/scarf, and my thrifted vintage wool long gloves.

The stuff:

Good boots for walking! I shopped for groceries after brunch (they got delivered later in the afternoon), then we came home and watched football all afternoon. Playoffs!

Mixed bling:

Steampunk + Futuristic = my own special mix.

• Poe cuff - Jezebel Charms, gift from L
• Leather cuff - SkinZnHydez
• Star Trek pin - MoPop Gift Shop
• Earrings - thrifted

After watching the playoff game this morning (boo, Miami is out), I thought about what I could do to get myself out of these cold-weather, don't-wanna-get-out-of-bed doldrums. One of the best things I did for myself last year was to take better care of my mental health. For me, that has meant going to bed earlier, and making more time for things that make me feel good.

I really enjoyed doing my nails over the last couple of weeks, so I decided to do something I literally have not done in 3 decades: doing my nails on a Sunday, then planning my whole week's outfits around my manicure.

I used to do this in high school, back in the mid-80s, when I didn't do any kind of manual labour (ha!). Of course, now that we live in the future, we have quick-dry nail polish, so this is actually way easier than it was in the 80s, when I had to do base coat, 2 coats of polish, top coat and a quick-dry setter.

I am pretty sure that L'Oreal Jet-Set Quick Dry is from the late 90s, and I have nail polishes older than that! I never throw them out, I keep them in a box out of the light, although I'm not sure if that actually affects them at all, but two coats of this, followed by one coat of this Sally Hansen Insta-Dri sparkle and I have lovely purple uber-sparkly nails. I figured I would match my hair and make this easy on myself for picking outfits, as that choice nudges me towards neutrals for the week.

I haven't been shopping too frequently over the last month or so, not through any conscious decision - I've just been busy. Usually new clothes spur me into creating fun new outfits, but ya know...I have a LOT of clothes already, so why not shop my closet?

I went through my closet and looked at the hangers to see what's still left to wear this season, and then I considered what I needed to factor in this week. I have an after-work corporate event on Tuesday, and another WW meeting on Thursday followed by a concert that night. I also took a boo at the long-range forecast: more mixed rain/snow and cold but clear days ahead for the week.

Here's what I pulled out. I have a black skirt issue, some might say. These are 3 black wool skirts that I love (they are all different!) and would like to wear. Black is especially good for showing off shoes or a nice jacket or sweater, and it will also work with my built-in main colour block (my hair/matching nails).

I also have many black jackets - this is one I've had for years.

It's velvet with coloured embroidery - I adore it. There's purple in there, so that's a good choice. Maybe not with a black skirt, though - that would be a lot of black.

Then, there are shoes. All of these shoes deserve another wear, and they all go with my polish.

All heels, however. Since Tuesday and Thursday will involve social events that will have walking, standing, and long-time wear, that's something I'll have to take into account. I may have to trade out a pair for a lower heel.

I also want at least one casual-feeling outfit for Casual Friday.

I haven't worn this shiny leopard skirt yet this season, so yeah, that will work.

I like it with this slouchy indigo sweater, which I haven't worn for a while.

Ooh, and look how nice it is with these shoes! That'll work. I can do purple tights with this.

The velvet jacket looks great with these teal shoes...

And I love that lighter teal suede skirt with it - it brings out the blue/greens in the embroidery. I'm also on the fence with this skirt (it rides up and catches on tights, and now has a small stain on it), so it's getting another chance. However, if it doesn't behave, I'm kickin' it to the curb.

This black skirt is shaped like a vintage 50s circle skirt - it needs a fitted top to show off the waist well. This velvet plummy-purple military-cut jacket is perfect. I'll probably belt it.

These boots go well with it, and keep the outfit looking modern. Plus, they are very comfy and walkable. The downside to them is that they aren't easy to take on and off. This outfit might work well for Thursday, when I'll have my shoes on almost all day.

This black skirt is a high-waisted pencil shape with slits at the front and back. It needs something tucked in.

Like this lovely vintage red silk "secretary" blouse with the built-in bow. I've pulled my cream/black dotted shoes, even though it's another heeled shoe - the skirt is long, plus blouse is very full, so I need a heel to help balance that.

I was very taken with how well this silk blouse goes with the magenta shoes.

But no, not that blouse with that fit-and-flare tulip-shaped skirt - those shapes don't quite work together. This blouse needs a bottom with a more defined waist. I will keep the blouse/shoe combo in mind for when the weather warms up.

Ah, there we go - I saw this giraffe-print sweater in one of my "last seen here" links the other day, which reminded me to pull it out to wear again. I like how it looks on me.

The sweater's fitted shape will look amazeballs with that skirt, and then the pop of the magenta shoes? Yes! Happy with this.

And so here we go, now all the tops/bottoms are grouped together in my closet.

With all the shoes lined up with each top/bottom, so I don't forget what goes with what.

I usually do my outfit selection and completion just before bed; I find it very soothing to go through my accessories, soft tops and tights and pick just the right things to complete the look.

We have 4 new people starting at work tomorrow, so lower heels will be good (I give them the tour of the office and run around a lot on Mondays). I also like to have a nice bright, colourful look to kick my week off.

I'll be wearing a green top under the jacket (only a bit of it will be visible), and I've added a skinny purple belt (for my keys and waist definition), and black lace tights where the pattern will echo the embroidery of the jacket. My jewelry is just some shiny coloured bits: two rings and plain stud earrings. I might have to layer a slip under this whole thing, but I'll see how cold it is in the morning, and how well this skirt goes over the tights.

There we go! I feel better already, and now I don't have to stress about what I'm wearing all week. That took less than half an hour to put all those outfits together, and I've taken all the stress out of my wardrobe-planning for the week.