thoughts on style: a color palette

I find exercises in minimalism and thoughtful consumption fascinating, but it's not really something I need to do in this season in my life. Much as I may love capsule wardrobes, I'm a broke college student with less than 50 items of clothing, not counting dancewear or shoes or things like that. If I "cull my closet" much more, I won't make it through my 2 week laundry cycle. And who has time to do laundry every week?

No, my problem is more that as my life shifts from being a college girl to a full-time teacher, I need my closet to also shift from "neatly dressed student" to "professional-looking adult." But basically what the Wardrobe Architect series and 30x30 remixes and capsule wardrobes try to achieve is a thoughtful analysis of what you have in your closet and what you use and how, and that's something anyone can use, especially to plan what comes next. I'm a college student - analysis is what I do, and planning out this next wardrobe shift sounds like a better idea than making/buying willy-nilly.

I tried out the color palette exercise in the Wardrobe Architect and this is what I came up with. The last four colors are ones I have in my wardrobe for one reason or another and really like in theory but don't always love in practice (actually this sweater and this sweater are what I'm thinking of). I really like the top two rows of colors though, especially those neutrals and dusty blue, which is kind of a neutral. Sometimes, I just want to have a closet of neutrals, a lot like Caroline from Unfancy. And then I remember dark reds. It's always the dark reds that get me.

My goal is to sew and knit and, if I have to, buy clothes within an intentional color scheme. That way things will go together nicely

Do you ever get analytical about what you wear and your closet? What are your thoughts on those minimalist experiments?