How I Created a Personal Closet Inventory in My Bullet Journal

An organized closet list is perfect for planning outfits and keeping track of thievery! A lot of planning and so many hangers actually came together in what became one of my favorite sections in my journal.

When I moved apartments, I had an excuse to reorganize my closet as well as a collection of collage clippings that featured clothing and runway looks. I harnessed my love of lists, obsessive organization, and fashion to create an itemized list of virtually everything in my closet. I only wish I had come up with this idea before I lived with a thieving roommate who stole about $600 worth of clothing from me, only some of which I recovered.

I always had a feeling that something was missing from my closet, literally, but was never quite sure what until I found dresses, skirts, tops, bandanas, even lingerie in her closet. If I had my inventory back then, I probably would have been able to catch her in the act. And although I will probably never live with a random roommate ever again, I am definitely prepared for any sticky fingered friends or, god forbid, my sisters coming to town.

Since I worked retail for two years, have collected a wide assortment of hand-me-downs, and discovered a penchant for depressed impulse shopping, I have a lot of clothing. I find that inventorying your closet will help you keep track of what you wear most and remind you to create outfits with some of your under-utilized pieces.

Now, in order to organize your closet in The Mo Way, I would recommend dividing your closet into sections. Not only will this make your closet look neater, but it will also make it a lot easier to find things as long as you keep it up. No need to dig through a pile of your clothes on the floor for your black V-neck when you can be sure it is in the casual knits section with the other black tops.

The closet in my building is handily divided into tiers, which makes it easy to put longer items on the taller section. I used this same method when I lived in an apartment with one straight rod and easily separated each section out by hanger color.

I used the page above as a sort of table of contents for all of the sections. I highly doubt anyone will be able to read my hasty scrawl, so I will also list and explain the sections in bullets.

(Reordered for clarity with idiosyncrasies mostly removed)

Hanging:

• Dresses

• Hanging tops: generally encompasses wovens and tops that would be appropriate for work or snappy casual brunches. Basically any top that isn't a T-shirt.

• Hanging knits: any casual top that should be hung for the sake of no wrinkles. These are usually tops that are not fancy but that still could be worn out in public. I place solid color V-necks or crews here.

• Jackets

• Skirts

• Hanging slacks

Folded:

• Pants

• Sleeping tees: folded T-shirts that hang out in a drawer. I do not have a dresser, so all of my foldeds are divided into the drawers of my two Elfa units, both handed down to me by previous roommates. I do not sleep in nice pajamas; I just sleep in oversized shirts and giant tees I stole from exes.

• Folded Sorority (srat) tees: since I am no longer in college, I don't wear these out as much anymore, but generally sorority tees (along with having letters printed on them) are nice enough that you could wear them as an outfit outfit or just casually with leggings to go to class.

• Folded bottoms

• Comfy pants

• Bras: further divided into sports bras, bralettes, and underwire bras. Now that I work at an underwear company and have acquired too many bras, I may need to find a new system, but for now they live in a drawer.

• Panty drawer: another categorized drawer, because I don't want to have to dig through a mush of panties when I could just go straight to the type that will work for whatever pants I have. Sleep/period panties are the type that no other human will ever see, bikinis/briefs are what I call "full butts" and they are the cute ones that still cover your tush, and then thongs get their own section.

Tucked away bins at the top of my closet:

• Leotards: from my dancing days, they hang out in bins at the top of the closet. And while I haven't danced full time in years, I do occasionally take a class.

• Unmentionables

• Swimwear

• Bags: in rotation bags will hang within reach, out of regular rotation bags hang out in the bins.

Accessories

• Shoes live in a shoe rack below the hanging items. But since there are only twelve slots and I have a shoe hoarding problem, they are also lined up wherever they can fit.

• Bandanas: looped around the horizontal bar of a hanger. Since I used to work at Madewell, I have a lot of them.

• Earrings are sorted in a Valentine's Candy heart, with all those little holes for the mystery chocolates. My mom mailed it to me my first year of college and it really helps to see all of the earrings without them sliding around.

• Necklaces are on a necklace rack.

• Belts: hung on thumbtacks on the wall.

I used the following pages to make lists of thrift stores I wanted to visit, with the address and hours and bubbles beneath each. After I visited each store I would fill in the bubbles to remember my personal rating out of five.

Making these spreads is super easy. It's essentially a bunch of lists with some fashion scrapbooking.

For each page I chose a magazine clipping I liked the best. I glued that clipping onto a black sheet of paper (that I had colored with a dry erase marker) and cut the whole thing in the shape of the clipping. That way there would be a clean black outline around every piece without having to worry about bleed through. Any text would also get its own black outline.

I glued each piece into place before starting each page and detailed around the pictures with lines and dots. I just made sure to write my lists after so that way they would follow the shape of whatever item I stuck in there.

I used a similar process for the all black spreads at the beginning and end of this project. I glued in columns of text that were white print on a black background (I stuck these in upside down because they were from a series of columns about working mothers from an issue of Modern Luxury Dallas and I treated it more like the background given that I had already read it). I stuck down some clippings of accessories and pretty models. I used the serial killer method of magazine clippings to get the letters for the titles, and voila! You're all finished.

Birds of Prey is the Fun, Feminist Comic Book Movie That I Always Wanted

I really liked Birds of Prey, and anyone who doesn’t agree with me can suck it.

I’ve loved comics since I was a kid. I read The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told and its Joker counterpart anthologies over my breakfast cereal before I was even in the double digits. My dad had a bunch of DC collections, and I quickly learned the Gotham basics, mostly centered on the original Caped Crusader, with a particular fixation on Catwoman. I grew up loving comic books, but over time, that fervor faded. Maybe it was the lack of female led stories or the ever present objectification of female characters or the lack of representation for anyone who wasn’t a buff white man or the fact that the color palettes became too gritty and dark to discern with the human eye, but I steadily stopped paying attention to comic book movies. That is, until Birds of Prey.

Birds of Prey is exactly the story that my younger self was hoping for.

Despite low box office draws, Birds of Prey gives us the female-led super movie we deserve. Gone are several of the tired out comic movie tropes, and in trots a character driven story that not only keeps the viewer always interested and having fun, but that also gives female characters the dignity of being multi-faceted, relational beings.

As a viewing experience, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is, first of all, a very fun movie. It is an LSD colored, sour candy flavored, fast paced whirligig of craziness. The style is wild, the story is fun, and the characters are so, so good. A combination of an excellent script, great direction, and passionate production worked from the top down to create a film that is a joy to watch.

Much of what makes the movie so great is due to its female leadership. This is a new, developing format, one that takes a hodge-podge of past super attempts and makes them better. It’s produced by Margot Robbie, along with Bryan Unkeless (who notably produced I, Tonya as well as the first and last installments of the Hunger Games franchise) and Sue Kroll, herself a veteran film executive. Robbie thought it was very important to have a female director, bringing on Cathy Yan, who was not only the second woman to ever direct a film in the DC Extended Universe (hereafter referred to as "DCEU,” because I refuse to type that all out each time) but also the first Asian woman to direct any U.S. superhero film, not just the DCEU. Christina Hodson wrote its magnificent screenplay and incredible, nuanced characters. Subtract any of these major players from the process and you’d end up with a less interesting movie, I think.

At a very base level, diversity within the leadership and the talent gave us a movie notably unlike so many of its predecessors. Of its five main characters, all of them are women, and three of them are women of color. The core group also includes clear queer representation, presented as a facet within each character, rather than as a punchline or as the only part of their story. It’s something you can easily see on screen, and even from the promotional materials, you can see that ladies make up the core cast, not just eye candy in latex suits.I spent a lot of my early comic book education wondering where the ladies were. It was so refreshing to see these female characters at the front and center for the entirety of the movie (you can guarantee that this movie passes the Bechdel test).

And what characters they were! There’s the pickpocketing Cassandra Cain and the killer-voiced (literally) Black Canary and Renee Montoya, the renegade detective, and the badass Huntress who can’t figure out how to get everyone on board with the correct name for her vengeance-bent alias. And of course, Harley Quinn unites the story with her crazy antics, scattering fun outfits, confetti-shooting guns, and psychological analysis throughout. All five are fun and compelling as hell, and I love them all in different ways (keep your eye out for a future catalogue of all of these reasons).

The antagonist, Black Mask, played frightfully well by Ewan McGregor (is there anything that man can’t do) has a long list of grievances against Harley (see them all catalogued here). Roman Sionis, (a.k.a. the black sheep of the Sionis crime family, a.k.a. the Black Mask, a.k.a. Romie, but only to Harley) is a megalomaniac who is narcissistic and obsessed with skinning the faces of his enemies and also, strangely, acupuncture. His right hand man, Victor Zsasz (played by Chris Messina both in the movie and my subsequent nightmares) is the one who does the actual skinning, a serial killer in his own right who carves tally marks into his body to reference his number of victims. Chilling. And also gross.

(Fun Easter egg: Sionis lost out on the inheritance of the Janus Corporation, a name which shows up multiple times in the background with the “J” crossed out to read… “Anus.” And, in terms of etymology, Janus originally indicates the god with two faces, which is possibly a reference to Sionis as both himself and the Black Mask.) (I went overboard with the research and you’re gonna have to hear about it!)

The movie’s structure makes it just really fun to watch. Harley Quinn has her own cutaway narrations, backstory asides, and scribbled explanations of characters. There’s a particularly funny gag where each time a new person arrives to take revenge on her, she lists who they are as well as their personal grievance with her. There’s tongue in cheek humor, extreme stunts in action sequences with slow motion flips, and a colorful showdown that aptly takes place in a fun house.

Birds of Prey does the opposite of many of its DC ancestors, and this creative freedom gives it its own particular charm. Christopher Nolan’s installments were known for being particularly dark and gritty, embracing reality and requiring you to turn your screen brightness all the way up. And while these did win awards and nominations for cinematography (an Academy Award nom for The Dark Knight Rises), acting (Heath Ledger’s posthumous sweep of best actor awards for The Dark Knight), sound editing (Academy Award for TDN, again), direction, the first actual Oscars win for any superhero movie ever, etc. etc… after a while, the parade of dark, moody films can feel pretty depressing and numbing in contrast to the steady stream of Marvel movies.

BoP is, instead, fun, zany, wild. It succeeded where Suicide Squad could not (for the record, I enjoyed it as a movie, but as everyone, including my therapist, has brought to my attention, its plot leaves a lot to be desired, given that there really isn’t one). Finally, DC and Warner Brothers really succeed in a superhero movie that is actually fun.

I’ve been so tired of behaving well lately, so Harley and her later ramshackle gang of misfits proved to be the perfect escape I needed. It’s less than two hours (109 minutes) of high octane antics that’s easy to follow without being too simplistic. I think Birds of Prey is important just in showing girls that they are allowed to be the main characters. And as a bonus, it happens to be an energetic, incendiary movie with plenty of gratuitous violence and enough strings of cuss words to sate any comic lover.

You can tell this movie was written and directed by women. It’s not played for the male gaze like so many other super flicks. There’s not a moment when there is a booty zoom in or a cleavage shot. While all the ladies all look incredible, it’s not done for the male gaze. They aren’t coated in leather and latex so that we can see every crack and crevice of their bodies. Their looks point to their personalities, like Harley’s love of bright colors and fun shoes versus Montoya’s preference of function over form. It didn’t feel like an hour of objectification with slinky costumes. It felt related to the characters while still playing up the ante to read on film. Robbie in particular has said that she wanted this addition to be “less male gaze-y.” Her costumes are female- and comfort-friendly, while still given reference to the original and newer versions of the character (Harley has old versions of her looks stored away in the Booby Trap—the “Daddy’s Little Monster” tee from Suicide Squad that she points out as being a nostalgic piece, and a Harlequin corset that turns out to save Montoya’s life by stopping a bullet).

There are perfectly girly moments that make this movie feel more woman-friendly, like when Harley offers Canary a hair tie so she can fight with a ponytail or another when one of the ladies asks, “how did she have time for a shoe change?” as Harley suddenly appears wearing roller skates. When the gang is chatting over food the next day, Huntress even says to Black Canary, “I like how you kicked real high in those tight pants” (I paraphrase here). It acknowledges the way women live a little differently simply due to the requirements of fashion, and I think it cheekily points out how male directors will require things of their actresses that aren’t always reasonable for daily life, like fighting crime in a bralette or jumping off a roof in heels.

Other interesting moments point to a female-led production, like the subversion of rape culture when Harley’s hyena is shown eating the limbs of an exotic animal salesman who sexually harassed her. Harley also has a plotline with an egg sandwich that is more compelling than half of all existing romantic comedies, where she uses the last of her money to buy the perfect sandwich, describing it in orgasmic detail until Montoya knocks it out of her hand (don’t worry, Harley will later get the sandwich she deserves). Harley cheers on Huntress as she fights, shrieking “you are so cool” with uncontrolled glee.

This is a movie that I am bound to watch over and over and over again, and not just for its many Easter eggs. It’s characters a multi-faceted, interesting, realistic people. The cinematography is beautifully captured (Matty Libatique, by the way, way bowled over by Winstead and the stuntman during filming and they used that in the final cut). Animation, scribbles, and classic comic book style are combined as Harley tells her backstory. Each character is interesting in their own way, be they an antiheroine, like Harley Quinn, or even a straight up villain like Black Mask.

At its core, this movie is about the things that women can achieve when they stick together. Not only is this perfectly illustrated in the plot, but it’s shown through the success of the production’s own female leadership. Birds of Prey shows that ladies can kick ass at the head of a superhero flick, both on the screen and behind the scenes. And given the positive buzz that has already been generated, I’m hoping it will pave the way for more ladies to follow (super) suit. If you haven’t yet seen Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), order your tickets for this weekend. It’s definitely worth it.

Red Carpet Looks from the 2020 Oscars I Plan on Stealing

The most anticipated event of the season was beautifully styled.

I did not watch the Academy Awards this year because 1) I haven't had the time or the money to watch an actual movie in a theater in a year and a half so it felt hollow to watch the awards show and 2) I was in the middle of a mental breakdown so I suppose it was just low on my priorities list. I'm catching up and seeing all of the looks now. So far I have only seen the Red Carpet photos that Cosmopolitan posted on their Instagram, so I have a lot of couture to consume. Maybe one day I'll own couture, but until then I'm gonna fantasize about stealing expensive gowns from celebrities...

I went overboard because this is a personal blog and no one is supervising me, so below see my favorite 37 (and change) looks from the 2020 Academy Awards!

Sandra Oh in Elie Saab with jewelry by Pomellato

I'm obsessed with this look, and no wonder, it's designed by Eli Saab. I've said for a long time that I want my wedding dress to be Elie Saab and this only strengthens my resolve. She looks like a confection, like a cloud sent from heaven, like a third thing that's also sparkly... It takes a strong woman to really pull off those big tulle sleeves, and like Tyra always says, she is wearing the dress, the dress is not wearing her. And the little belt! I can't.

Natalie Portman in Dior Haute Couture and Cartier

All anyone is talking about (read: Cosmopolitan magazine, my fashion Bible) is Natalie Portman's red carpet look with the names of snubbed female directors embroidered along the cape, and of course they are. How could they not? She looks incredible. Major props to her stylist, Ryan Hastings, for some incredible work. I love a good cape, and it's even better with some subtle activism thrown in for good measure.

Margot Robbie in Chanel

This is the dress I wear to pick up the life insurance check after successfully getting away with murdering my husband. I don't really know how life insurance works. I just like the more demure silhouette juxtaposed with a dark color palette and sweeping sleeves. Must have been real difficult to try to use the facilities with those long tails, but I'll pretend that's not a problem.

Anthony Ramos in Dolce & Gabbana

Finally, a man who brought it on the red carpet! The white jacket is perfectly tailored and it draws the eye to that royalty worthy necklace and his shoes look like they could kill a man with one swift kick. The subtle chain! The collar styling! The dark cuffs peeking out from underneath the pale jacket! I'm dead on the spot.

Sibley Scoles in Mac Duggal with Alexis Bittar earrings

She looks like a silver killer robot in the best possible way. I would gladly let the machines take over humanity if they had this whole vibe. How is it possible that a human woman even looks like that?

Florence Pugh in Louis Vuitton

I love the pop of color! It's so bold and vibrant and this was her very first Oscars appearance and she's so cute. Look at all the ruffles and the perfectly paired strappy heel and the subtle jewelry!!! Apparently her stylist, Rebecca Corbin-Murray, wanted to focus on "exuberant colors" throughout the awards season this year, which coincidentally is a set of words that I often use in copy.

Mahershala Ali in Ermenegildo Zegna XXX, David Yurman jewelry with Amatus Sami-Karim, also in Ermenegildo Zegna XXX

One of the cutest couples. Mahershala's look is a subtle departure from the classic menswear looks on the red carpet, but he looks dapper. And his wife, Amatus Sami-Karim looks stunning in this structural, soft lilac gown. What a daring pairing!

Beanie Feldstein in Miu Miu

I love the florals in the black and white color palette. It's a springtime floral with a chic spin. This look is actually groundbreaking. I also love this neckline and gracefully coiffed curls.

Mindy Kaling in Dolce & Gabbana with Chopard jewelry

Sunshine! Yellow! The regal necklace! This one shoulder silhouette! I'm dead.

Sandy Powell dressed by Ian Frazer Wallace in Aganovich

Powell designed the costumes for the Irishman this year, for which she was Oscar-nominated, and her red carpet look is even more special. She's been getting dozens of celebrities to sign the cream suit and plans to auction it off to charity in support of The Art Fund Initiative, to save Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage. Jarman was an LGBTQ+activist and filmmaker who mentored Powell in here early career, buying the house in Dungeness, England before passing away in 1994 from AIDS. If this standout styling wasn't enough, it comes with its own philanthropic cause. You can always expect stylists and designers to have really bomb looks on the red carpet, and Sandy killed it.

Krysty Wilson-Cairns in Alberta Ferretti

A diaphanous gown in a delicate champagne shade. Just lovely. Her stylist, Krishan Parmar, really let the dress do the talking and didn't over-accessorize, which I certainly appreciate. Also her mom was her date.

Sunrise Coigney in Valentino (and Mark Ruffalo in Christian Louboutin)

Whatever Mark Ruffalo looks very handsome but he's wearing the same outfit that every man wears to every awards show ever and I care more about Sunrise standing next to him in this delicious pink confection of a dress. Remember last year when so many people wore pink on the red carpet? It's a bold move, considering the color clashing, but she pulled it off beautifully just in time for Valentine's Day.

Janelle Monáe in Ralph Lauren and Forevermark jewelry

The woman emanates light. I know that her dress isn't actually emitting light on it's own, but I've decided it is. The crystal-studded gown apparently took 600 hours to make, and I really want to know if she was able to comfortably sit in it.

Joanne Tucker in vintage Oscar de la Renta

I'm a big fan of Joanne's look here, but can I talk for a moment about how she was referred to on the red carpet? I've been using Vogue World for a lot of the research on this and the caption under this photo (by the Getty, not by a Vogue in house photographer) is "Adam Driver in Burberry and Joanne Tucker." First of all. That's what she said. Second. Not only does Joanne look incredible, she is also wearing a vintage gown, which many attendees did out of a commitment to sustainability. Sure, her husband may have been nominated, but for me she is stealing the show. Florals! For spring!!!

Yousra in Zuhair Murad Couture

She's queenly! Regal! Divine! She's also in Zuhair Murad, another designer who creates gowns that I would sell my sell in order to wear.

Stephanie Allain

I love the feminine twist on a menswear classic. I love the bejeweled bustier that's barely poking out from under the suit jacket. That sculptural effect paired with a more open neckline... Jaw dropping. Oh, and she also co-produced the event. No big deal or anything.

Chrissy Metz in Christian Siriano

It's a bold move to wear red to a red carpet event, but damn she really does it! I'd love to have a chat with her whole team because the nails and the perfectly matched lipstick and the rings and the gentle, cascading waves are really all working together here for just the perfect look.

Ted Serrandos

I know that one day, the standoff between Netflix and all of the other major entertainment conglomerates will lead to the decline of streaming services as we know them, but for now I just think that he looks very nice. I like navy on the red carpet. It's subtle, but still special. A cursory search will not tell me who designed his suit, but I'm just going to ignore that sneaking sexism for now.

Sigourney Weaver in Dior Haute Couture

A legend. She looks so good in green. I'm in love with how chic the long sleeve looks with the draped neckline. And I love the subtle pairing of textures with the rope belt and the pleated skirt.

Kelly Marie Tran in Schiaparelli Haute Couture

I can't believe she's making me love a low drop-waisted gown, but she is. I love the subtle dark nails, too.

Brie Larson in Celine with Bulgari jewelry

I wear this gown to tell my estranged husband that I know nothing about his missing diamond fortune. He knows I am lying, but he doesn't know how to prove it. All he knows it that I look exquisite.

America Ferrera in Alberta Ferretti

How is it that this woman looks like a goddess and she's several months pregnant? And how is it possible that she was so convincing as "Ugly Betty" for so many years? (I never watched the show in full, but perhaps it is because the underlying message was about inner beauty? Let me get back to you on that.) How is it possible that she's flawlessly pulling off that massive sleeve?

Lucy Boynton in Chanel

What's black and white with a red lip? Lucy Boynton's Oscars look.

Christine Lahti in Romona Keveža, Lark & Berry and Hearts On Fire jewelry

That! Neckline! Looks! Incredible! That's all I have to say.

Zazie Beetz in Thom Browne with Bulgari jewelry

It's rare that you'll see anything other than floor length gowns on the red carpet, but Beetz' midi is stunning, no extra length required. I love the straight neckline and that luxurious necklace.

Liliana Vasquez in Rami Kadi

She's essentially wearing a dress encrusted with various sparkles and yet it doesn't overpower her. I love the dewey makeup and that understated hair; they really complete the look.

Margaret Qualley in Chanel

This is the gown I wear as my desire for artistic perfection and suppressed emotions begin to trigger a transformation into a murderous swan maiden the night before my premiere performance in a new Swan Lake choreographed by a predatory artistic director where I will originate the principal role and eventually die...

Fatma Al Remaihi

Purple is the color of royalty and not enough people wear it nowadays! Probably because most monarchal governments are now defunct and the association has since lost its heft given the easy accessibility of clothing dyes, but anyway, Remaihi looks regal and I'm super into it. Just look at that sleeve detailing and the matching velvet turban! Swooning, be right back.

Idina Menzel in J. Mendel with Harry Winston diamonds

Pink! Pink! Pink!

Have I mentioned recently that pink is my favorite color? Because it IS! And Idina looks so gorgeous with this drapery and that oversized bow and the graceful hair tendrils... I'm dying.

Lilly Singh in Adeam

POWER SUIT! POWER SUIT! POWER SUIT!

Chelsea Winstanley in Kiri Nathan gown with vintage jewelry from Cannonball and Tilly

I love this jewel tone with the deep plunge and all the detailing at the neckline. I love the hidden pockets in the skirt. Plus, I love how her stylist really used that V as a canvas for all of the sparkles.

Michael Strahan in M by Michael Strahan

Yup, you read that right. The man is wearing designs from HIS OWN COLLECTION and he looks KILLER! He's truly looking dapper in this textured blue with that notched collar.

Kaitlyn Dever in Louis Vuitton

I know now that Kaitlyn is only a few months younger than me and that will probably do a number on my self esteem in a few hours, but also she looks incredible and she's really sparkling.

Erin Lim in Kim Kassas

Just look at that bodice and the high slit in the skirt... Hell yeah.

Billy Porter in custom Giles Deacon Couture with Swarovski jewelry

This list could not be complete without Billy Porter, who is turning fashion upside down with each passing day. The world of couture, especially menswear, needs a good shaking, and I'm so excited to see what he wear to each show. I love this magnificently feathered neckline juxtaposed with the voluminous skirt. The patterning of the train is designed to evoke the Kensington Palace and the platform gladiator shoes really anchor the look.

Molly Sims in Zuhair Murad Couture and Christian Louboutin

Ah yes, two of my favorite designers in one look, all done up in swaths of pink with delicate beadwork... There is nothing more that I want in this world. This is the ultimate look that I will be stealing. Watch out Miss Molly, I'm pilfering through your closet as we speak.

I'm obsessed with couture and high fashion. I love to see the ways in which clothiers both inspire and imitate culture. We're entering into a new era of fashion, and I'm excited to watch it play out. A toast to the designers and stylists who truly outdid themselves this awards season.

A final note: All opinions presented above are my own. The photos above are from the Getty, used for editorial purposes and commentary. I promise I will not actually be stealing couture from celebrities. That would be very wrong.