Simple steps to fall back in love with your wardrobe.
Why you don't love your wardrobe, the solution, & three simple actions you can take today to fall back in love with what's already in your closet.
Do you ever feel like you’re never truly satisfied with your wardrobe? Like you have a billion items of clothing but still no outfits to wear? And forget packing for a trip, worst day ever.
Does this sound like you? This was me for as long as I can remember. I consistently fell to the waving trends that came each season, telling myself “This will be something I’ll wear all the time,” to eventually be forgotten in the back of my closet. Not to say there weren’t a few hard-hitting pieces, but overall, I noticed a lot of clothes coming in and not getting the time and attention they deserve (or thought I would give them).
I always dreamt of a closet, and sometimes a life, where I was satisfied with all the things in my life; where I could pull out to wear anything that day and be happy. And I mean that not in the sense of getting all the things I want, but being content with my personal style, the way things were arranged, and not be left with the feeling of wanting more.
I used to think that day would come when I got my big-girl job out of school, making a real income, I would be able to “get” all those things. News flash, personal style can’t be bought.
I was constantly looking to what was popular, what was the cheapest, what influencers were reviewing; no wonder I wasn’t happy with any of my purchases and constantly buying more. I was buying things I didn’t need because it was being conditioned to think I should get them; not to mention they left me dissatisfied, and didn’t align with nor bring me value… so what was the point?
Here’s the thing… the truth is you’re not happy with your wardrobe not because you don’t have enough, but because you’re not buying in alignment with your personal style and buying from brands that have no intention of you loving them long-term. They’re trying to benefit off your mindless consumption of the latest trends and your constant dissatisfaction.
Stop falling for it; it’s a marketing tactic meant to waste your time and money.
It might sound hard, but the solution is simple.
Fall in love with your personal style and stop being afraid to invest in pieces that make you look and feel your best. You’ll spend less money, never feel like you have nothing to wear, and free up some extra time and space in your life.
Building a wardrobe of your dreams takes time; it doesn’t happen over-night and it shouldn’t. To fall in love with your personal style means to know your personal style. Before you can invest in long-term pieces to create a capsule wardrobe, the best thing to do is fall in love with what’s already in your closet.
Here are my three best tips to fall back in love with your wardrobe:
#1. Start by stopping. Stop consuming, stop being influenced, stop scrolling, stop shopping. Open up your closet doors, bring out your favorite and least favorite items, see what goes with what, what maybe doesn’t go with what, and wear it all. See what’s comfortable, find things you maybe forgot about and bring them back to life, and confirm the items that you’re ready to find a new home for.
Once you’re able to focus on what you already have, you’ll start to find you have more than you realize. It’s not about how much you have; it’s about how much you do with what you have.
#2. Time to organize. Now that you’ve had time to assess what you currently have, it’s time to get organized. My best way of doing this is to dedicate a day and pull out all of your clothes and pour them into the center of the room. (Chaotic and stressful, yet effective.) Organize them into the following, keep, donate, sell.
As you make your way through the items, be sure to make sure they are all clean and hung & folded accordingly. When hanging items back into your closet, hang the hanger the opposite way. When arranging everything back into your drawers and closet, be sure to rearrange some details to create new patterns and change the flow of your dressing routine.
#3. Once steps 1&2 are complete, don’t buy new clothing for three months. During those three months, keep the clothes organized (to the best of your ability) and consider the clothes you’re regularly pulling from your closet. As the days go on, how many hangers are left unturned? How many drawers were left unopened? Were you able to stay organized?
Near the end of the three months, begin to clear out the things that no longer serve you or went untouched. Are there any items you love but need mending? Amongst the items that no longer serve you, also identify what items you grabbed for the most.
At the end of this practice, you’ll begin to realize it’s not about the number of clothes but how you utilize them and have a better sense of your personal style, which are the fundamentals needed to build a capsule wardrobe of your dreams. Interested in building a capsule wardrobe? Stay tuned for more tips on how to get started and recommended brands.