Paring Down: Case Study #2

top - Deletta/Anthro (eBayed)
cami - Banana Republic (remixed)
trousers - Talbots (remixed)
scarf - Gap (remixed)
Fleur de Lys earrings - ? (gifted--thanks Biscuit!)
boots - LOFT (remixed)

Last week I blogged about some recent efforts to pare down. In doing so, I parted with a skirt I loved to look at but didn't fit my body or my wardrobe and because of that I never wore it and when I did I was horribly uncomfortable and felt terrible. I also complained about the top I wore with that skirt and I how I continue to wear only because I do not have a color to replace it. Not true: I cannot think of an ensemble that requires the too-long and wide cowl-necked cream sweater instead of my recently acquired beige gold cable knit sweater. Thus far I've isolated a few cases in which things might have to go:

1. Not worn
2. Don't like
3. Doesn't fit

Well...there might be one more category (bear with me, I'm a structuralist at heart):

4. Shouldn't wear

Let's unpack what I mean by this. Like LHdM, I do not consider myself a fashionista and I reject the term on ideological and political grounds. I also do not think that our sartorial goals should be that we choose clothing only so that it attempts to conform our body to a long and lean standard. And I think its impractical to make that a daily goal for a short and curvy body.

Yet, this top might clash with my self-fashioning goals. I like this top because it reminds me of a dress I wore when I was 3-4 years old (that was also my mother's when she was a girl and remains in the hope chest). I also wear this top at least twice a month. But it is nearly impossible to wear with a skirt, because it looks frumpy to pair with an a-line skirt and proportions me weirdly in a skirt of any other shape. But its not the most flattering top on me with trousers either:

Do you see what I mean?

No?
And, lastly:

And yes, it's an unflattering photo, but I do turn to the side from time to time during the day! When I see this I definitely think that I don't want to look like that. I generally prefer the silhouette I create when wearing skirts or dresses, but pants don't necessarily always yield these tent lines (compare the same pants worn here and here).

So, Dear Readers, should it go? Should I save it for when I'm expecting? And if you suggest that I should keep and continue to wear it in my current nulliparous state, then what, pray tell, should I pair it with?