I love the idea behind the Raid My Closet Challenge. With an inventory overflowing with far more clothes than I can keep track of and more shoes than a Jimmy Choo store, it makes sense to dig around in the inventory rather than buy something new. We all know that there have been great advances in the technology of clothing design and that there’s a reason some of the clothing moldering in our folders are not seeing the light of day anymore, but among those older clothes and shoes are gems that are just as good as ever.

My dress/jacket/scarf combo is not that old, barely scraping by the qualification of having been purchased before September 30th, but it’s so cozy looking. It’s from Celoe and comes all of a piece. I love its look, but wish that they were separates so I could mix and match the way I used to. With its layered look, it gives the impression of individual styling, but that impression is lost when many people have the same styling. My individuality has to be express otherwise and that’s where the older stuff comes to the fore. The tights are from nova and just one of the 20 or so color sets of panties, camis and tights available. I don’t remember which color I bought first, but I have been back over and over and over adding more colors. These cocoa colored tights are from September 2009, three years ago. The boots are from April of this year and are from G.Field. They come with a HUD for changing the laces and the tops of the shoes.

My hair is from Fashionably Dead, purchased in 2009. I love this hat and while dressing got lost in a mini-fugue of fascination while I clicked away at the hat changing the colors of the hat and the feathers. The jewelry is from Dark Mouse – the fabulous jewelry store from master jeweler Mouse Mimistrobell. She closed her store after the advent of mesh – thinking that mesh displaced the sculpt and prim work of the past – but I love her jewelry and I am not going to quit wearing it. I can only hope she learns mesh and returns because I miss her love of Art Deco and vintage jewelry and the imaginative and wild creations she used to bring.

The skin is from Lelutka from January 2010. This is a skin from a designer already at the top of her game. It’s over two years old, but it is still a great skin and does not look the least dated. I don’t see any reason not to wear older skins if they still look good. My poses are also old – from Reel Expressions, a store that closed this year. With the closing of Reel Expressions and Long Awkward Pose, a third of my poses are no longer available. The things is, though, I love their simplicity and I know them, where they fall in my pose stand and so on. One of these days, I will get around to reorganizing my pose stands, but for now, these are still my go-to poses.

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******
Poses: Reel Expressions (not available)
Skin: [LeLutka]-E/Estellelight-makeup1(D Brows) Jan 2010
Eyes: Poetic Colors Jun 2011
Lashes: Maitreya/Lelutka
Mani/Pedi: Leverocci
Hair: (fd) Fashionably Dead Dorothy’s Day – Burger Clown June 2009
Clothing: coldLogic combo – watson.blue (M) Sept 2011
(nova) cashmere stayups Mar 2009
Shoes: *GF*[Mesh] Long Cuff Boots “Will” Apr 2012
Jewelry: Dark Mouse Dreaming of Camelot (not available)