Dear Aimee,
It’s time for a spring wardrobe overhaul. Any tips for closet must-haves this season?
I would love to pretend that I am the authority on clothing trends, but my season switch consists of changing out darker colored track suits for brighter colored tees and cropped sweatpants. I do enjoy keeping up with what’s going on in the fashion world, but in this case it would be “do as I say” instead of “do as I do”.
I can pass along some tips, ideas, and resources that I think are brilliant and practical. The first is of the former and comes from an interview with the fashion icon Carolina Herrera. The View ladies asked the designer of feminine elegance what every woman should have in her closet, and her reply spoke to my frivolous and artistic mind.
She said, “I believe every woman should have a beautiful gown in her closet, even if it’s never worn, but simply hangs to inspire her.”
Don’t you love that? I have two prom dresses from the nineties and a couple of full length bridesmaid dresses, but somehow they aren’t quite the source of inspiration I think Ms. Herrera was speaking of. She may be on to something though. One of my most memorable days was walking with a friend through the über expensive couture gowns at Bergdorf-Goodman’s in NYC; touching each dress, and letting the fabric run through my fingers while dreaming of the event such an exquisite gown would attend. So I have decided to keep my eyes open to the clearance racks and the nearly new shops to find something that makes me feel beautiful simply by being in its presence.
The last bit of advice is more practical. There is a blog called The Tiny Twig. The creator Hayley has a section called Less Fuss where she gives real life tips about every aspect of a woman’s life including a wardrobe and beauty section. It’s a great place to browse and get ideas for sprucing up your wardrobe whether it’s through fun new colors or bold and edgy accessories. She has also written a book called The No Brainer Wardrobe that is invaluable for transforming your closet from a storage room of the clothes you never wear to a wardrobe of pieces you love. So before you hit the spring sales, visit www.thetinytwig.com and set a little dress money aside for that dreamy work of art that doesn’t hang on your wall but in your closet.
The Plain Wife column appears in the following Oklahoma papers: The Cordell Beacon, The Daily Elk Citian, The Tuttle Times, The Mustang Times, The Choctaw Times, and The Minco-Union City Times.
Aimee Jones is a small town columnist, blogger, and aspiring novelist writing about surviving and thriving on the Great Plains of middle America. You can receive The Plain Wife posts by mail. Simply click the follow button at the bottom of the page. Thank you and Happy Reading!
The Plain Wife by Aimee Jones 
awsome aimee
Aimee, I shall hold on to this justification. I have more than one dress in my closet that I’ll never wear, and the bittersweet memories of dresses past, removed from my closet because I knew I’d never wear them. Sniff. Had I not removed them, I wouldn’t have room for the dresses I’ll never wear that hang there now.
And then there are the dresses that I might someday wear, if I can shed 12 pounds from my keister before they go too long out of style. But that’s the good thing about gowns. As long as it wasn’t made in the 80s, the gown will have a fairly long shelf life.
Speaking of style, I like yours, Aimee.
Thanks so much Sherry! You are so right about the clothes that fit 10-15lbs ago…sigh. Maybe someday. Thanks for reading!