Building your perfect wardrobe takes time, effort and understanding; much like creating a lovely garden.
When planning a garden you need to assess how and when you will use it, what the basic structure will be and what sort of overall look or mood you want to create. You need to get the hard and soft landscaping in place as well as harmonious colour schemes to provide year-round interest.
The same is true of your wardrobe. It should be practical and beautiful, so you need to consider what occasions you need to dress for, what styles suit your body architecture and style personality and the colours that will work best for you.
In your garden, trees and shrubs will likely form the backbone of your planting and more showy perennials and colourful annuals will provide impact and seasonal interest. In your wardrobe, it’s useful to have a core set of staples in fairly neutral tones which you will wear for years to come (your trees and shrubs) mid range items in block colours (your perennials) which will last several years and some relatively inexpensive fun/fashion items in current season prints/colours (your annuals) which will provide pops of colour and interest but will need replacing fairly regularly.
Like a garden, your wardrobe is never truly finished; it requires regular maintenance. Here are some tips on how to develop and maintain a wardrobe you’ll love and that will make you feel happy and confident.
Organise
The first step is to organise your wardrobe so that you can see what you have. There is no single “right” way; you just need to find what works best for you. Personally, I organise my wardrobe by item type (skirts/trousers/dresses etc) and then, within that item type, by colour. I also like to get everything I can onto hangers. When it comes to knits and tees, I use the Mari Kondo method of folding so that they are stacked like books on a shelf in my drawers. In this way, I can see what I have at a glance.
It’s also a good idea just to have garments you will be wearing this season in your wardrobe. So, if you haven’t already packed away all your skimpy, light-weight Summer clothes, start there. Likewise, only give wardrobe space to clothes that fit. By all means keep any you have a realistic chance of slimming back into, but keep them separately from your main wardrobe until you’ve lost weight.
Review
Keep a check on what you actually wear. An easy way to do this is to have all the hangers facing the same way and, as you wear a garment , put it back with the hanger facing the opposite way. In this way, you will have a quick visual of what you’ve worn and what you haven’t. If you find there are key pieces you’re not wearing, try to determine why not. There could be any number of reasons:
- Not right for your lifestyle
- Not right for your style personality
- Not the right colour and/or style for you
- Uncomfortable/not a good fit
- Random! They just don’t work with anything else in your wardrobe.
Just as importantly, try to determine what it is about the pieces you wear endlessly that you particularly love. This will help you make good buying decisions in the future. Also, check whether the balance of your wardrobe is right for you. Do you have the right amount of r wardrobe staples versus fashion items? Work versus casual clothes?
Weed!
Just as you weed your garden, you need to weed your wardrobe – otherwise things can get out of hand. If something has languished there for several months and there have been occasions you could have worn it but have chosen to wear something else instead, just get rid of it. Someone else out there will love it. There are any number of ways to dispose of your clothes. If you want to make some money, try sites like Vinted, Depop, eBayFacebook Marketplace or Kettlewell Buy and Sell. Quite a few brands will take back your old stuff in return for vouchers/rewards/money off new purchases – eg Boden, Marks & Spencer, Baukjen . Or why not donate to your local charity shop?
To buy or not to buy…
It’s good to update your wardrobe from time to time to keep it looking current but make sure it doesn’t become too cluttered or you won’t be able to see the wood for the trees. When deciding whether to buy new something new, I recommend using the “one in, one out” rule. Quite simply, ask yourself, if I add this to my wardrobe, what am I prepared to get rid of to make space for it? This really is the acid test and has saved me so much money and wardrobe space over the years!
Think too about cost per wear (CPW) ie the cost of the item/the number of times you anticipate wearing it. Only you will know what an appropriate CPW is for you, but I would suggest that anything you wear less than 30 times is unlikely to give a good CPW.
Get help
While just about everyone would love to have a beautiful garden, not everyone has the skills, time or motivation required to create and maintain one. That’s where gardeners come in! Likewise, if you’re struggling to build a wardrobe that makes you feel stylish and confident and works for your lifestyle, it could be time to call on the services of a personal stylist to help.