Most people have too many clothes they don’t wear. The solution isn’t to get rid of everything or add more! Instead, make the most out of what you have, rework garments and do get rid of what doesn’t work/fit/suit you.
You may not feel creative enough or that you have the confidence to carry some looks off. But, it isn’t about becoming someone you’re not, it’s learning tips to adapt what you have to make them work for you.
Organise your wardrobe appropriately
Does your wardrobe work for you? All my clothes are in one wardrobe and I don’t swap or separate summer and winter clothes. This allows me to wear a ‘summer’ dress with thick tights and boots, or layer my vests and t-shirts with jumpers in the colder months to get more £s per wear.
Be aware if you split your clothes into working and non working, your ‘rules’ can restrict your range of outfit choices. My wardrobe is organised by clothing type and colour. Tops are on a rail above my bottoms and dresses in a long hanging section. Vests and T-shirts are folded on shelves to maximise space and clothes are organised by colour groups allowing me to visually see and create outfits from matching tops to bottoms.
These trousers are old but not worn in ages as I’d earmarked them for going out. They still fit, love the colour and the style and fit is relaxed and uncluttered. Looking for a way to wear them, I realised I could pick four tops from what I already had. One of the benefits of a colour coordinated wardrobe and knowing your colours!
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- Studded jumper
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- Fluffy jumper
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- Animal print blouse
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- animal print sweater
Assess the contents
Being able to objectively assess what you have against how you spend your time can help identify why your wardrobe isn’t working. For example, if you spend 40% of your time working and only 20% of your clothes are for work; you don’t have enough work clothes.
Wardrobe charts document
Equally, having 20% party wear when you only go out 5% of the time means you don’t need any new going out gear!
Without this match, you’ll constantly feel like you’ve got nothing to wear. The reality is that the clothes you have aren’t appropriate for the occasion you’re dressing for. Focus on rebalancing the contents in your wardrobe.
These charts will help you. Download them here.
Then, revisit your clothes to try and wear them a different way or for a different occasion.
Identify and fill the gaps
The charts above help you identify the gaps based upon how you spend your time. You may not have enough ‘weekend’ jumpers, work tops or lack a lightweight jacket. Put these items on your shopping list. Buying another navy jacket or pair of jeans when you already have enough won’t solve the problem or gaps you identified!
Use the new season as an opportunity to check the latest trends and work out what you can add to your wardrobe to create some new looks. Whilst the latest trend might not be for you and, if it doesn’t ‘go’ with what you have, or you don’t have an occasion to wear it then it will stay hung up in your wardrobe with the tags still on!
The latest trends
Trends do come and go so, if something appeals, check your wardrobe first! It’s not what you buy but what you do with it and knowing what suits you. One benefit of knowing what colours suit me, how to dress my shape and style personality means I make very few shopping mistakes and my wardrobe is more coordinated.
You can learn about the latest colours and trends, where to find them and how to make them work through my seasonal updates. These are updated twice every year to coincide with Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. The colour and style update guide is updated from 1st April and 1st October. Watch my pre-recorded video and seasonal presentation of the colour and style trends which you can watch in your own time. Or, you can join the live group workshop which takes place online on the first Saturdays of April and October. They’re a great opportunity to stay up to date with the latest colours and trends as I do the hard work for you in pulling it together! Sign up for updates and join the wait list here.
Avoid temptation
Ask yourself if you have three things you can wear it with. Especially if it’s not on your list. Or, can you think of three occasions when you’ll be able to wear it?
When it’s not on your list and you can’t think of three things then it’s likely to become another thing unworn in your wardrobe.