Your guide to consolidating your wardrobe
Are you ready for a new wardrobe? Well it’s all about fit. First answer these questions:
- Do you have a wardrobe full of clothes that you wear but don’t love?
- Do you have a closet full of worn out damaged clothes?
- Do you love some of your clothes, but many others are just “meh”?
- Do your clothes make you feel gorgeous, confident and express who you really are?
Do you want a wardrobe where you love the clothes and they love you back? The perfect wardrobe for you.
We are all very time poor these days, but it is important to take the time to consolidate your wardrobe for more effective sustainable shopping.
Buy fashion that fits:
Fits Your Body
We often keep clothes because how we felt when we wore them, the emotion they created. But do your clothes fit the body you have today?! Not yesterday, last week, last year or last decade. There is no point holding onto clothes that don’t fit the body you have today in hope that your body will revert-back. We all know our bodies change shape due to hormones and aging. Childbirth can change our waistlines, lovely menopause is also another time that changes where you carry your weight, you may lose it from your hips and thighs and it make move upwards onto your torso - everyone is unique.
The question you should be asking yourself when you try something on is 'does this fit my unique body shape, proportions and variations and flatter them?’ Manufacturers cannot design clothes to fit you exactly, so there are so many fit points in a garment. Don’t expect that you will be able to walk into a store and have everything fit you or anything for that matter. But some garments will fit better than others, so you may likely to need an alteration here and there to create a good fit for your unique body. Tailoring is key in having a wardrobe full of clothes you love. If a garment doesn’t fit well, you’re never going to love it and it certainly isn’t loving you back. It maybe worth the investment paying for that little extra alteration, rather than searching far and wide using energy to find that perfect garment.
Fits Your Lifestyle
How you spend your time will influence the kinds of clothes you need. Many of us keep clothes that no longer fit the life we have today. There have been many a corporate suit in the now wardrobe, of the mum that doesn’t need it. And quite possibly very dated by the time they may or may not go back to work.
Spend some time figuring out what you do in your average week. How do you spend your time? What kinds of clothes do you need to look and feel appropriate?
You may want to break down your clothing needs into level of refinement:
- Formal wear
- Corporate business
- Smart Business
- Smart Casual
- Relaxed Casual
- Sporting or hobby wear
Then you can add percentages of how much time you spend in each category of clothing. This will give you an idea of how much of each type of clothing you need in your wardrobe.
Have a look in your wardrobe, see if you have more than you need of any of the categories above, or nowhere near enough. The percentage of time you wear it should reflect the percentage of clothes you own and wear. There’s no point in having a huge casual wardrobe if you spend the majority of your time in smart casual clothing.
Work out what you really need as far as your current lifestyle, then start working towards having your wardrobe reflect this.
Fits your Personality
Clothes communicate. Do your clothes fit your personality? Or are there just fads that you saw in a magazine on a trending celebrity?
They communicate with their line, colour, detail and design. They also express our personality traits, so think... are you conservative, bold, approachable, rebellious, sophisticated or nurturing and the list goes on…
So consider how you want to be perceived, who you are, what you represent, your ideas, beliefs and your values, your clothes should be telling the world these aspects of who you are. If you’re an inspirational, bold extrovert, but wear head to toe black apparel then you may fade into the crowd and that is not who you are now is it?
If your clothes don’t reflect who you are as a person, you may be sending mixed-messages.
Ask yourself the question - do the clothes in your wardrobe represent you right now?
Who are you today? How do you want to be perceived? Maybe this has changed over time too.
If they don’t fit your current personality and what is important to you – then should you be keeping them? Your clothes should be loving you long term like a great husband - not a bad boyfriend.