That’s my huge weakness too. I have enough business professional work clothes, and enough sweats and t-shirts.but my medium, go anywhere else clothes are sadly lacking.
Dresses full that gap for me. 
@BunsenBurner - is there a certain brand or style of dresses that you like?
Someone previously mentioned the rule that says if you haven’t worn an article of clothing in a year you must get rid of it. Well, since is the “last” week of summer, I am wearing every thing I haven’t yet worn. Even if it means I have to change a couple of times a day.
Maybe I have too much?
I have a couple of things that need to be dry cleaned…but everything else is machine washble. The dry clean things are a black suit I keep just in case (I also have used it, and really like it), and a velvet dress I wear to holiday events from time to time.
This summer was so hot, I found that dresses were cooler than shorts. So I wore all of my sundresses this summer.
*fill the gap. May autocorrect burn in hell.
For winter, I like DVF wraps. Silk jersey is low maintenance - hand wash cycle in my machine, cold water, hang dry. It does not wrinkle. For summer, I love Tommy Bahama.
I have tons of pretty clothes to go to people’s houses and out to dinner. Super cute things that I really like.
And then I go out to dinner and people have on things I wouldn’t go to Meijer in. Or we go over to someone’s house after doing something or it’s super casual. We eat at our golf club and I wear my golf clothes.
Sigh! I don’t know. Everything is so sloppy casual everywhere I go that I hardly have a chance to wear my really cute going out clothes.
I looked at my clothes today and I have no issue with purging. Actually, it is like a drug to me!
However, if I actually got rid of every item that I do not feel joy wearing I would no doubt have about no items (really) in my closet. Guess I would have my Ralph Lauren Cotton Lawn PJ’s. Just replenished them after many year of searching–down to $29 at Zappos and Macy’s.
I have never liked wearing clothes. I am just uncomfortable. I could seriously consider a nudist lifestyle.
I hate anything around my waist. Have not worn a fitted dress in many years. Or even a normal dress.
I have a bunch of gauzy mumu type gowns but D hates them as they are too sheer.
I mainly wear 3 Lucy pants and 2 title nine pants and one of the 12 black tanks I own.
A few sweaters and a few shirts over the tanks.
I am always always hot. A few pairs of sandels, flats and loads of home flip flops.
Aria clogs in the winter.
But D is home for a month soon and I am determined to find a more modest mumu type item to
wear when she is here. So looking at all of your posts!
Years ago a little girl client asked me why I always wore the same clothes
8-|
I never look bad, look pulled together, it is just that I do not enjoy clothes and never have…it is all so awkward for me.
@deb922 - Yes! I think I am dressier then most of my friends/peers. I seem to like clothes more and care a bit more. Hope that doesn’t sound snotty. I agree that the whole world is “sloppy casual.”
OP, if you purged a lot, would you then end up buying a lot? After a trip, I tend to hate the clothes I took, at least for awhile, so I don’t think I would be happy with a minimalist wardrobe. This is an interest I took up in the last four or five years, ha, ha, ha. For like-minded women, click on over to You Look Fab and we will welcome you there. Many of us are dressier and are more interested in style than those around us. It becomes an expensive hobby, however. . .
I would start by purging clothing that doesn’t fit, is stained, is worn out, or is dated – because that’s the easy stuff. Then, figure out if the clothing for your fantasy life be remixed to be more wearable, like wearing a dressy blouse or blazer (but not both) with jeans. Keep enough fantasy life items to cover all your seasons.
I will keep stuff I haven’t worn in a year because of the vagaries of the weather. We have had an extremely cool (as in record breaking) summer, so I have had little occasion to wear my coolest clothing – which I wore a lot last summer when I had to go inland six days a week all summer.
As to color: Since I let my hair go gray, I’m wanting to wear more neutrals, especially black, white, and gray. If you change hair color, you may need to purge a whole section of your wardrobe – so that’s another problem solved!
@CCsiteObsessed - I popped into You Look Fab late last night and will spend more time there today. Looks great!
I do not color my hair. It is dark with some Arctic blondes, primarily clustered naturally in a stripe near my face.
I’ve decided to contend with my “fantasy” life (there’s something a little disturbing about how that reads!) by allowing myself a “special occasion” capsule, which is a concept I saw on a blog. Most of my dressy items are dresses, not separates.
I also have a lot of “fantasy clothes” in my closet, but we do go on a cruise 1 or 2 times a year, and that’s when I get to wear them. I have a silver plunge-neck minidress that is completely covered in sequins. The only place and time I can wear it is disco night on the cruise. I figure it’s got at least 2 more cruises in it before I goodwill it or turn it into a pillow. It makes me smile every time I see it sparkling in the closet.
I have a clear bin in the closet that I use for goodwill clothes-if I put something on and it just looks too beat up or too out of date or just doesn’t fit well anymore, it goes in the bin. I used to just hang it back up if it made me unhappy (for whatever reason), and my closet was pretty cluttered. Now that bin is full about 1x every 2 months. More now that I finally got H (a notorious packrat) to start ditching his stuff in there too. He’s got t shirts from the 1990s that just need to go. I don’t touch his stuff, but once I let him know the bin was there he’s actually tossing shirts.
My daughters raid my closet a lot, too, so some things I keep even though it’s unlikely I’ll need to wear them, like some business professional shirts and pants. D17 finally bit the bullet and now has her own business formal/professional outfit from Express. She looks so good in that I’m now tempted to raid her closet if I ever need to dress like that again ;).
I think maxi dresses or skirts fill the bill between dressy and casual when going out. I also wear lightweight skinny white jeans with some sort of gladiator sandal and top. I can change the look with those jeans from feminine to edgy. I think Athleta has nice dresses, but not all and I only buy on sale. I do need more of the in-between clothes though. Seems I have more for fall and winter than summer. I’m enjoying reading the posts.
OP, here’s one way to get started:
When DH & I downsized, our new bedroom had 1 small closet. The kind they built in the 30s and 40s. So he got the closet, I got an IKEA wardrobe for all my stuff.
Even though I purged a lot, there was still plenty, and too much for that one wardrobe. So I split my stuff into warm weather clothes/winter clothes. The stored clothes went into IKEA containers I put on top of the wardrobe. So twice a year, as the seasons change, I go through my stored stuff. Somehow, once I see the clothes all folded, it’s easier for me to say – “Meh. I really don’t like this that much.” And off to the donation-bag it goes.
In other words, it’s a gradual process - and I don’t feel guilty replacing the things I donate. I just try to keep the numbers down so that the storage-above-the-wardrobe system is sufficient.
I say, it’s OK to keep the stuff you love. We only live once. And minimalism is only a trend anyway 
After my last post, I just ordered this for that in between look …Cayenne pepper color. Wearing it to San Diego next month.
I wish I had the figure to wear that dress, @conmama. Envious
That dress is cute, but I would put it in the super casual category and not the in-between category (for me).
^Ditto.
An example of in-between category for me:
http://www.tommybahama.com/en/Eyelet-Love-You-Dress/p/TW614378-5850
^ yes
For me in-between means it’s appropriate to wear to the farmers market or out to a fancy restaurant for dinner, depending on what shoes, bags, jewelry you use to accessorize.
eta: okay, I’m reconsidering. The red dress would work with metallic heels and a fancy clutch, so that could get pretty dressy.
I am planning on wearing that dress out to dinner with nude high heeled gladiator sandals and statement necklace. I guess my definition is dinner or our first cocktails or summer party. It would be casual with flats. The blue dress could go to work, a wedding or out to dinner so it is a nice in between, but I think leans towards more dressy. All is subjective…that is just where I would wear it. I wouldn’t wear it to a girls night out function