Hello and welcome to the 3rd part of the new series -
Establishing Your Wardrobe.
Make sure you've read part 1 - the why which will give you the first stepping stone to establishing your wardrobe, and part 2 - the inspiration which will show you how to find attainable inspiration for your style going forward.
Step 3 is 'the styling'
Once you've established the 'why' and ascertained your sources of inspiration, or have put a little mood board together, we're going to look at the pieces in your current wardrobe and figure out how they fit into the look you want to achieve.
In this section, we're going over the individual items (rather than the broad concept of style in the 1st part) to see what we can figure out and if the items will stay, be changed slightly, or go. This isn't inherently a process where we start from scratch or want to rapidly get rid of everything (unless you want that, of course), but one where we make considered decisions based on long term goals.
Remember to refer back to your inspo images or what you have in your mind, as we're aiming to keep it attainable and sustainable going forward!
Try everything on and be honest. Take photos if you need to. Go with your gut instinct and don't talk yourself out of your feelings.
Step 1 - Pick out the items you love
First of all, think out the items you know you already love and ones you gravitate towards. What do they say about you? Do they convey the message you're looking to show? What do you like about them specifically? Is it the material, the cut, the colour, how confident it makes you feel? Place them all in a separate section of your wardrobe or on a rail (if you have one) and see what they look like together.
Step 2 - Pick out the items that you don't love
Similarly to the above, what items do you always stay away from? This can be due to cut, colour, fit, material, or just how they feel on your body. Do you dislike them because you've got nothing to wear with them? Or do they have memories attached to them that you'd rather forget? Sometimes we cannot get over the cost per wear and pretend they don't exist in our wardrobes, but not today! Get em out and put them in a separate section to the above. When viewing them all together, do you have any particular thoughts?
Step 3 - Does it fit in with your lifestyle?
Looking at the items you like, do they fit in with your lifestyle? You might like that sparkly top, but are you actually going to wear it more than once or twice in its lifetime? Could you style it differently so it fits in with your every day style? Or are you happy to accept that you won't wear it often?
As Amy (founder of the brand Tibi) says, we have 3 categories: our foundational pieces (the WOFs), the in and outs and the had to haves. Each has a place in our wardrobe, but the foundational and in and out (ie seasonal) pieces make up the bulk of our wardrobe.
Step 4 - Why did you purchase these items to begin with?
This can sometimes be quite an emotional step, as purchases can have a lot of feeling attached to them (positive or negative), but being honest with why you bought that item - in terms of function or occasion - massively helps with not only curating your wardrobe but also curbing future purchases.
Sitting with the gravity of our purchases is important, I think. It helps up not only become more pragmatic, but also with not associating new items with a dopamine hit.
Hopefully using the steps above, you'll be able to establish what pieces in your wardrobe already reflect the style you would love and come to terms with any not so great purchases. It's perfectly ok to feel regret or uneasiness about your wardrobe, as it is an ongoing process, but as someone who used to hoard clothes and never had anything to wear, I promise once you get past the uncomfortable part, it becomes much easier!
Looking back at Step 1 and always asking 'why' throughout should help here too.
. Tomorrow we'll be discussing Step 4: The Clear Out...
