Comments on: Wardrobe Strategy: Fewer Options can be Fab

By: Melanie

Melanie — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:29:09 +0000

Angie I realised this morning how true this is – until recently I had the typical overflowing-wardrobe-full-of-nothing-to-wear but have been assessing and culling and replacing items with more thought. This morning I overslept and was running very late. In the past this would’ve caused a wardrobe meltdown as I rummaged through all my options, but not today. I grabbed a dark denim pencil skirt, white rolled sleeve collared T, nude heels and a leopard print belt – perfect for ‘casual’ Friday in my office. A quick bit of makeup, a tidy ponytail and some basic earrings and I was out the door in no time at all I’m loving my more streamlined wardrobe!

By: Stacy

Stacy — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:13:25 +0000

I love my tiny wardrobe! I’m living out of a hiking backpack and a duffel for the third year running and I’ve meanwhile honed my style through summer thrifting sprees. I love 80% of what’s in my closet, wear 95% regularly, and almost everything goes together.

But I DO stick to an autumnal color palette, wear similar silhouettes a lot, and brazenly repeat outfits. Luckily I love brows and burgundies, adore full skirts with cinched waists, and don’t mind rewearing outfits I looooove And I get lots of compliments on my very distinct style.

It took a quasi-daily outfit photo blog my first year with the backpack-o-clothes for me to find my style, and 4 months (two summers) of weekly thrifting to outfit it. Currently I have maybe 2-3 items from when I was in college… but since 75% of my clothes were thrifted, I don’t feel so bad about that.

By: lasallepal

lasallepal — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:25:24 +0000

I must agree with GG . In fact I copied part of her post and added it to mine. I am in my 50′s and have always had a strong sense of style. Since extra spending money was very dear or non-existent, I was forced to choose wisely. I loved my purchases as I was able to pick designers back in the 70″s (Cacherel and Armani ) for much less than today. I help on to my mother’s leopard skin clutch she picked up in NYC back in the 40′s. I am very attached to these pieces and still wear them, but rotate them so they make fewer appearances. I believe this has helped preserve them. I have added carefully over the decades and still hold on and wear items that I have always loved giving them new life with added accessories and updated styles. I like having choices and find that, –although large is streamlined to my style and color capsules. My scarf collection is amazing and brings up the wow factor to many outfits. I collect items to color themes and strive to create “columns’ of color. I have made some costly errors (Missoni coat that overwhelmed) and do weed out yearly. So, to recapitulate what GG stated in her post, I will add her points that are relevant to me.

1) I love acquiring new things
2) I find it painful to part with my clothes,
3) I love the satisfaction of wearing things to death
4) I love refashioning old clothes and

By: summerbl4ck

summerbl4ck — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:53:41 +0000

Interesting thoughts on both sides. I have a pretty small wardrobe. I’ve always had a preference for black and after struggling to find good colors (and failing), I decided to try to stick to black & white. However, now I am completely tired of wearing the same pieces over and over again! Sigh! There’s no way to win!

By: Struggler

Struggler — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:53:28 +0000

Love this concept; how wonderful it would be to own only a few items, but to ADORE every single one of them. I believe Kristine is right, this is a very French mindset. By US standards, my closet is already very minimal, but I still have plenty of “meh” items and far too many duplicates.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:28:00 +0000

I need help in this are pretty bad I am currently on the More is More bandwagon, but I would really love to make the same transition you had Angie! Bu I love fashion and trying out new things, and get bored easily, so i do not know how to make it all work.

By: Sri

Sri — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:42:05 +0000

I am surprised that more people on this forum did not talk about the software industry, especially in the bay area, where it is mandatory to not be too formal. We once had a candidate (male) come in a suit, and half the post-interview discussion was around whether he would ever fit in.

Other advice about being clean, wearing tailored pieces, etc. apply to us too – but I would not wear a full suit. I would also prefer trousers for the interview, though I have worn skirts and dresses.

I guess every industry is different?

By: Elbe

Elbe — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:51:39 +0000

Hmmm, I am contemplating converting a spare bedroom to a closet/dressing room. One issue I have is my shoes. I want to see them – all of them – at once. I would so love to have a wall of shelves for my shoes, which is not possible in my current closet. I also don’t have a place for a full length mirror which is currently in another room. I could keep my steamer readily available. I could have a comfy chair or loveseat to sit and contemplate my choices and a cabinet with a flat surface for folding items. I think it is easier to edit, determine what you don’t need and what is missing from your closet when you can actually see everything at once. I also have both career and casual wear needs and live in an area that has 4 distinct seasons. This tends to increase the volume of anyone’s wardrobe.

By: lyrebirdgully

lyrebirdgully — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 01:21:14 +0000

My wardobe strategy is running exactly counter to what you’re doing, Angie. I’m doing More is More, Cheap is More, Bring on the Mistakes and Don’t Throw It Out Just Yet.
Here’s how it’s working for me:

My wardrobe has quadrupled in size since I started being more adventurous in my clothing choices (thanks to the encouragement of fashion blogs such as this one! onya Angie) and because I now have the income to spend on myself, that I did not have for nearly 25 years. I am now making up for lost time!
Yes, storage space is an issue for me now, but I absolutely do not regret having the joy of being able to wear an outfit combination that I have never worn before, every weekend, when for so long I had no choice but to wear the same old clothes. It’s also a pleasure not to HAVE to buy in secondhand shops (though I still do, as years of necessity has made me a very cluey secondhand shopper and bargain finder).

As for making mistakes: I no longer stress about this the way I used to. I have come to accept that if I am to develop my fashion self, mistakes are part of the growth process; in fact, they are inevitable and will continue to occur for as long as I buy things! this is because I still have so much to learn, even though I know so much more than I did, say, a year ago. While it would be nice to believe that I will make fewer mistakes the more I learn, letting go of the need to be the perfect shopper making perfect choices – which I think is tied up with guilt about “wasting good money on fashion” – has been very liberating for me.
I find I need to actually wear clothes, not just try them on, before I understand how well they will work for me in practice, so that means buying them. This is an in depth and fast learning curve strategy, which I justify financially by buying clothes which are mostly very cheap. Then if an item doesn’t work out over time, I don’t feel too bad. I have allocated a significant part of my budget (what I save by buying low cost clothes) to retailoring, which has salvaged many of the “mistakes”! Low cost plus retailoring gives me the confidence to experiment with styles I have never worn before. I no longer have to tell myself that every garment I buy HAS to “go” style-wise with an outfit I already own. (This thinking was keeping my style choices all within the same narrow and predictable field.)

On throwing out old clothes: I still have vivid recall of clothes I threw out years ago which, if I knew then what I know now, I could be wearing now, with the help of some inspired outfit combining, and perhaps a little retailoring. Yesterday I came across a sunfrock that had somehow survived my throwouts, which I had bought 21 years ago and had not worn any year since. I had long felt that its dropped-waist cut didn’t really suit me, and was ready to give it the heave-ho; but then I decided to try it on and see if I could salvage it with some retailoring. I was very pleased to find that I could change the silhouette with a petticoat, a belt and a jacket, so as to create several outfits I could wear now, without any sewing needed!
you see, with what I’ve learnt about fashion so far, I now love an outfit challenge. I don’t throw out anything in my “not wearing” drawer until I get time to put it through its “outfit challenge” paces.

I rather suspect that in 10 years time I’ll be doing things differently… but right now I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for raising this topic and encouraging us all to think about what we do and why we do it!

By: Vix

Vix — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:18:24 +0000

I’d also love to hear how you choose what goes out when something new comes in!

Like many other members, I feel better with a smaller, efficient wardrobe but am also having to build that creature item by item.

I pretty much started from scratch in my mid-30s after an old friend did a semi-serious clothing intervention on me…5 years on I’ve gone from “black, baggy and covered in cat hair” to being very picky about fit, flattery, and color issues. So much so that I kid her that she created a monster!

However, with relatively limited storage and budget, I force myself to pull an Elaine-from-Seinfeld move when I shop…but instead of “is this guy sponge-worthy” I think, “is this item closet-worthy?”

I still have too many dark solids, though…they’re definitely my comfort zone clothes. That’s why I love to see all the patterns here and other places: they help me inch into more exciting pieces. Baby steps!