Sartorial Shifts

My boot challenge has caused me to reflect a bit on some changes in my personal style.  I have many boots, but they have been collected over a period of many years.  I don't still have any boots from high school, but I do have boots from college (my cowgirl boots), my early years of graduate school, and boots that I've acquired since I became ABD and started teaching my own classes a few years ago.  Perhaps I will buy another pair when I get my doctorate here in a couple of months (*fingers crossed*). 

I have to admit, though, that I don't wear some of my boots very much because they don't seem to translate particularly well into my evolving personal style.  For example, these are the boots that I wore yesterday for brunch and grading¹:

 1. Shirt - SweaterWorks (Filene's Basement)

Skinny Jeans - Old Navy

Cardi - Target

Boots - ??? (DSW)

Headband - Target

I bought these boots in late 2004.   I'm not even completely sure what brand they are, but I do remember buying them on a shopping trip to Filene's/DSW with a friend.  At the time my personal style involved mainly jeans, sweaters, and heels or long skirts, sweaters, and big boots.  I still love all of these items, but in the past couple of years my style has shifted to incorporate more dresses than jeans, more cardigans than pullovers, more pencil skirts than long skirts, more whimsical accessories than chunky ones.  I don't feel like these boots go as well with that style, which is probably why this was only the second time that I'd worn them in over a year.

Have you undergone a sartorial shift or shifts recently?  What items in your closet seem to be going unworn lately and why?