Well, it's been six months since my last post. I am back with another installment for my capsule wardrobe/minimalist style. Since adopting this style almost a year ago, I had some hiccups along the way. I went shopping when I didn't need to and ended up with clothing I didn't wear. I also recently lost quite a bit of weight and some styles just did not suit me anymore. However, for Fall 2016, I have finally found the method for me.

It all started with a worksheet from minimalist blogger Caroline's website, Un-Fancy. I printed the worksheet out sometime earlier this year and was afraid...very afraid. I didn't want to stick to a certain number. 37 pieces? Are you kidding me? That seemed impossible. And even though I definitely have way over 37 pieces (67 to be exact), I plan on slowly pairing down my wardrobe by turning items backwards in my closet. The point is for me to get sufficient wear out of my clothing without grabbing pieces that won't work.

I did my worksheet by hand since I didn't want to ruin it. Below, you will see part one of a handwritten version of the Capsule Wardrobe Planner that Caroline created. You can find a link to the original worksheet on Caroline's blog. This will be a 7-part series what will conclude with the visual representation of my Fall 2016 Capsule Wardrobe.

LIFESTYLE: So, I live a pretty dull life, haha. I work an 8-hour schedule that requires pretty casual clothing Monday through Friday. My weekends usually consist of running errands like grocery shopping, laundry, prepping blog posts, and other random cleaning chores. Every now and then I do have events that require me dress up a little bit. For example, my best friend has a secret birthday weekend planned that may require a step up from my usual jeans and t-shirt combos.

WORD ASSOCIATION: This section allows me to figure what my style says about me. I have a feeling that this may eventually change over time, but for now, these words describe how I want to feel when I get dressed for any day. I love being a bit edgy, bold, sex, and stylish while still being minimal, classic, and casual. I drew this inspiration from celebrities such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Solange, June Ambrose, and Stacey London, as well as bloggers such as Barbara from The Persian Babe, Patricia Bright, Shirley B. Eniang, Anna of Vivianna Does Makeup, Karla Deras of Karla's Closet, Nadia Aboulhosn, and Kim of The Natural Fashionista.

Because there are 6 pages to this handwritten documents, I will be doing each page individually so that it's not an overload of information.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2! If you're on a minimalism or capsule wardrobe journey, share any advice you have.

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you all soon!

Peace, Love, and Happiness!

Sarah Jane R.

P.S. Follow Me On My Social Media Links At The Top Of The Page :)

Hello...is it me you're looking for?

Cue Lionel Richie song

After being in such a funk, I'm finally back! I'm in a much more positive place and I am finally happy. I've come to terms with the things I cannot change and am working towards the things I can.

To start that off, I've got a new video featuring a look into my closet. As you know, I've been trying to develop a minimalist wardrobe. What I realized is that minimalism does not mean zero color or only wearing certain things at certain times of the year. Minimalism is about loving the basics and having the most important things that matter to you. For me, I finally found the happy medium between the ease of wearing neutrals and the warm feeling I get from wearing bold prints and color. Everything I own finally can coordinate together!

This video is not the best quality (very vlog style) but it's a start right 

Check out the video below!

Post Clean Out

(The Madness!)

I plan on approaching this from a plus size view. I don't know a lot of plus size minimalist bloggers and maybe I can be one of them.

Check back here soon for a look at how I am currently maintaining my minimalist wardrobe without repeating the same outfit.

Thanks for sticking with me through the dark ages. It's only going to get brighter from here!

Peace, Love, and Happiness!

Sarah Jane R.

From the title, you can see that I am done. I've been dealing with a lot of small and big issues in my life and at this point, I don't feel like dealing with them anymore. No, this is not a suicide note (been there done that already a few months ago). This is a complete disconnection from social media. I pretty much abandoned my blog already, but after much consideration, I am officially done with ALL social media. I'll still keep my accounts, but I am taking a hiatus from all of them.

Let's recap what I've been dealing with that has resulted in this decision:

My sister got in a car accident and crashed our family car.

Some of my co-workers have treated me like shit recently.

My daughter thinks I hate her.

My mother is having issues with her health.

My depression and anxiety has sky-rocketed, not to the point of getting committed twice in three months but pretty freaking close.

My finances are starting to look grim.

And to end this lovely list, I offended a new friend of mine without even trying, probably fucking up that connection along with many I've tried to make and have failed at recently.

These may seem like stupid reasons to go offline, but I'd rather not hear your judgement.

I'm at the point where I've been seeing my life crumble before my eyes with no way out. Yet I am always trying to promote positivity and joy. Fuck it!

No matter how hard I try to have joy or think everything is going right, I fuck it up. So, to avoid causing anymore casualties along the way, I'm avoiding everyone I know so that maybe I can just become a forgotten entity instead of a hated enemy.

So adios social media buddies. Until next time (who knows when that will be)

Sarah Jane R.

Hey loves! Hope everyone is having a fantastic day/night (depending on when you read this). As I mentioned yesterday, I will be sharing my Summer Work Capsule Wardrobe. My off-duty wardrobe is still a work in progress. Hopefully I will have that finished soon. In the meantime, here's my Summer Work Capsule Wardrobe!

Jackets and Dresses

Summer Capsule Work Wardrobe: Jackets & Dresses by sarahjaner featuring a collar jacket

Tops

Summer Capsule Work Wardrobe: Tops by sarahjaner featuring a red blouse

Bottoms

Summer Capsule Work Wardrobe: Bottoms by sarahjaner featuring a brown pencil skirt

Shoes and Bags

Summer Capsule Work Wardrobe: Shoes and Bags by sarahjaner featuring flat shoes

Here are some changes I made from my Spring Work Capsule to my Summer Work Capsule:

1) I got rid of navy. I realized throughout the capsule that I really prefer black to navy. The level of heat I feel in both is the same, plus black is an all-year color. So, I have ditched my navy suiting. Along with the ditching of the navy suiting will be my navy shoes and bag.

2) I eliminated heels. I work on my feet all day long. As much as I would love to strut around like my co-workers through the store, I can't. My feet will start crying bunions and corns if I do it. So, I only included flats.

3) I had some items that are no longer wearable. My mint skirt ripped at the back zipper in two different places. What's funny is it was the one time I paid full price AND purchased an expensive top to go with it for Spring/Summer. So, with that said, I have ditched the skirt. I know I could potentially get it fixed, but I feel like there was a reason for it not to work. So, I am letting it go. I will keep the top though.

4) Other items just didn't fit right anymore. I've gained weight (I'm addressing the elephant in the room named Sarah's fat rolls) so some items I picked out for my capsule did not fit properly. My yellow ASOS suit, navy ankle pants, khaki ankle pants, white ASOS leather skirt, and beige Calvin Klein suit set were all placed in respective donate or sell piles.

5) No cardigans (what?!). I know I live in Florida and wearing a blazer everyday seems ridiculous. But honestly, cardigans look horrible on me. So, I have decided to eliminate them from my wardrobe (well, except my boyfriend ones. But those are for fall/winter). Being that I am bigger, I find tailored pieces with clean lines look better on me.

I will try to keep you updated on the looks I wear throughout the week. I plan on doing a weekly review (fingers crossed).

If you're living this capsule wardrobe lifestyle, what are some of your essential pieces for this summer? Leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading and until next time...

Peace, Love, and Happiness

Sarah Jane R.

Hey loves! So, as you know, I have been working on living a minimalist lifestyle. I am starting with my wardrobe selections. I have officially completed my Spring Capsule wardrobe and would like to share what I've learned from this capsule.

1) I do not need suits in every neutral available. This only gave an excuse to shop more than I needed to. So, for the next three capsules, I will only be using two suit sets: black and grey.

2) I rarely ever wore heels the entire time. I only attempted heels once which ended badly (my feet hurt like hell!). So, I am working on reducing my heel collection to pairs for multiple occasions (i.e. special events, vacations, and date night shoes).

3) I rarely ever wore my handbags. Because I work in retail, I have to wear a clear bag all the time. I spend 5/7 days a week at work so my nice designer handbags rarely get worn.

4) I only wore a few jewelry/accessory pieces. I wore 5 necklaces, three watches, and 5 pairs of earrings during all of spring. I feel as though I keep all of this jewelry but wear the same things.

5) I rarely wore any of my off-duty outfits. I have been in a funk and haven't gone out much. Therefore, my off-duty outfits rarely ever got worn. Meaning only a few items were worn.

I have picked out my work capsule wardrobe for summer already. I will be posting that tomorrow. I am currently putting outfits together from it so that it makes getting dressed easier.

Here's a few photos of outfits from my Spring capsule. I rarely have time to do photo shoots myself anymore so the easiest way to keep track of my fashion posts is through Instagram. Follow me there if you choose (thank you in advance). 

Here's to successfully utilizing my capsule wardrobe! Let's see what this season's capsule will bring.

I will be having a sale of some of my designer pieces online so be on the lookout for that.

Peace, Love, and Happiness!

Sarah Jane R.