Sales shopping

So fortuitously, the sales are on just as the weather has hotted up, meaning that I can buy all my summer clothes at a bargain price. Or, you know, more summer clothes. I might, just might, have got a bit carried away back in February when I somehow felt that if I bought some sandals and breezy linen trousers, then Spring would surely follow.
Still, a mere five months later, the sandals and trousers are just perfect:)
The truth is, I'm never averse to a spot of shopping. I like to think it's my gathering instinct, honed over many thousands of years. My trouble is working out what to buy and what not to, because I have a multiple personality when it comes to clothes. Dungarees and clogs? Love 'em. Skinny jeans and leather jacket? Totally. DVF wrap dress with power heels? Fabulous!
I mean, sure, everyone has a slight split personality when it comes to clothes - usually divided down the lines of work clothes, home clothes and going out clothes. But I seriously envy people who have a look and stick to it. And I also know that when it comes to the workplace, these things matter.
Corporate brands don't waver between different looks and feels. Successful brands are utterly clear in the minds of everyone who comes into contact with them: what they look like, feel like, what they represent. It makes decisions easy, because new directions/opportunities are only considered if they fit the brand values.
And, stretching a rather tenuous analogy, the same is kind of true when it comes to getting dressed. If all your clothes fit the same 'brand' (I'm not talking clothing designers/shops here. I'm talking look and feel), then they will probably all work together and provide zillions of outfits. Whereas if items are all bought individually, according to a whim, then, well, they probably won't.
More to the point, if you have a look, people know who you are. Your manager, clients, the teams you manage. And that's a good thing at work. Too much wavering in the wardrobe department suggests a lack of confidence. Too much chopping and changing suggests a mind that is not entirely focused on work.
Which is why I have decided to take action. To decide who I am, or, perhaps more realistically, what I would like to project. Do I want to feel like Fiona Bruce (classic) when I'm walking down the street? Audrey Hepburn (ingenue)? Tilda Swinton (avant garde)? Emmanuelle Alt (editor of French Vogue, and rocks a skinny jean better than anyone on the planet. With blazers and heels so very work-friendly. I think she'll have to go in as rock chick)?
Big, important questions which I shall obviously spend hours deliberating on:)
In the short term, however, I'm getting my colours done. No, not my hair. I'm being analysed by a colour specialist to determine which colours suit me and which I should avoid like the plague. WHich will at least, hopefully, explain partly why some clothes purchases sit in my wardrobe and never get worn because they never feel quite right.
I shall report back...