Wardrobe cohesion: real vs. superficial

unfrumped

I've been working on getting more focused on what pieces and outfits work best and why, choosing items ( either new ones or selecting keep/ toss) to fit in with that. Recently I've been thinking I've got too many patterns or even colors or some of the wrong colors.
At times when there seems to be closet chaos it is tempting to think things would be better if all looked more calming , like a gentle sea of neutrals or solids or uniform shapes.
Often that is what the more minimalist photo sets use in their examples because it is easy to envision these all working together. Yet I've seen others that feature bold and
varied items as well though on the surface they may not be as easy to tell how they fit in.
Instead of overreacting and going too minimal or bland , I'm trying to remember it's not whether all looks calm( calm being different from tidy) but whether all the items have a purpose and are being worn. So not to throw the baby out with the bath water where i might achieve superficial cohesion -- that calming sea--but
not a real working wardrobe. As in, I would get the bug to toss some items and then realized I'd actually chosen them pretty carefully for some specific outfits or purposes.
Still, I want to get more focused and so think I'll again use the holding zone concept to remove some items and then decide whether they do or don't belong later. But there are also some things I just know I need to get rid of in order to move ahead.
I have a day off for errands and miscellaneous catching up, including some closet review & edit.

How about you-- do you ever find yourself confusing how things look on the hangers with how they actually function and look on you? Or do you think there is in fact a big connection there?

11 years ago

Inspiration

11 replies

Latest reply was from Lisa

Anonymous

I feel like my closet works for me when I get dressed or try to pick out outfits. However, I do get frustrated and just think my closet is one big uncohesive mess at times. Especially as I'm gaining more freedom with my personal style and more knowledge about my body type. I tend to just see glaring mistakes that don't fit or things that don't completely match my style. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing something from my closet that I need to make a cohesive style for.

I feel like a calming closet for me would be a cohesive style with practical, in budget, and flattering clothes. And I overlook the good pieces in my closet because those are my goals. It's not superficial cohesion if it's really not there.

11 years ago

jayne

Veteran

Oh yes, my closet looks like color and pattern chaos, reds, kelly green, lemon, blue/yellow, blue, hot pink, flowers, osv.... when you just take a peek! But I know that I have real cohesion because I can wear almost all my toppers with all my bottoms (white, navy, silver) even if the colorful and patterned toppers do not go together with each other. Whether I actually wear all toppers with each bottom is another story!

I tried doing the vivienne files method, were you have 2-4 bottoms and toppers in 2 colors, say navy and grey so that all toppers go with all bottoms and also toppers go with each other...but I feel restricted and panicky with such a limited color palette.

11 years ago

Molly L-R

Active Member

My wardrobe is held together by an overarching "autumn" colour palette. There are perhaps two blouses and one dress that don't fit with this colour scheme that I keep because I love, but pretty much everything else fits. It makes getting dressed so much easier. I've dedicated a lot of thinking time over the past year to refining my palette and working out which colours suit me the best and it's paid off in spades. I've even made a list of my best colours, which is replicated here!:

- Burgundy
- Dark orange/ginger
- Saffron yellow
- Mustard
- Moss green
- Rich khaki/olive
- Deep teal/petrol
- Aubergine
- Chocolate brown.

I'd like to do some experimenting this autumn/winter with rust/spice/brick red, but other than that my colour palette is pretty well set.

11 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I keep my colours and neutrals limited within a range. And my patterns minimal. It's how I like to see my closet and how I find it works best for me. But there's still quite a range, even within that limitation.

Perhaps in the fall, I'll do a sort of study of it as I take the new things out. How many patterns per solid? I do know that I find it useful to own at least a couple of patterned shirts, a couple of patterned sweaters (stripes count as pattern), and at least one patterned or very bright topper (blazer).

Then again, in fall, especially, I tend to use scarves to inject a bit of pattern, as well.

There's also texture to consider. You can have a great ton-sur-ton look with textures.

My neutrals are navy, denim, grey (quite a range there from charcoal to silver grey), taupe, white/ off-white, and black.

My colours are blues (almost any blue), teal, raspberry to cranberry reds, and purply-pinks, from orchid to fuchsia.

Colour
Pattern
Texture
Shine
+ at least one classic (probably neutral)

11 years ago

MNsara

Veteran

Yes, and it's not just colors that need cohesion, I have rather a range of differing styles in my closet too. That seems to compound the lack of cohesion for me.

But I've been pondering this lately (probably even more since Claire posted her incredibly cohesive wardrobe) and know my personality has a lot to do with it. I'm pretty agreeable all around, as in not having strong preferences that would easily eliminate options. So that leaves me wide open to lots and lots of choices out there -- whether it's how to spend the afternoon, where to go out to dinner, where to go on vacation, what clothes to buy.

For my own peace of mind (and the health of our checkbook) I'm trying to analyze and develop style filters to stay in line with the preferences I DO have. . ..

11 years ago

nancylee

Veteran

This is good food for thought, UF. I often feel my closet is a bit scattered still, even after almost 2 1/2 years on YLF.....and it's a little frustrating. And, like you, I long for a completely cohesive closet where everything works together seamlessly and nothing is wasted. Yet, a stripped-down minimalist wardrobe won't work for me either.

I think you maybe have your finger on something when you say some of the colors in your closet might not be right. Developing a focused color palette (like Molly and Suz explained) might be worth doing if you haven't already. (Molly, you colors sounds exactly like mine, btw!) I do think it helps to limit your colors if you're aiming for cohesion.

I'm not sure if you have this issue to contend with, but I often feel that many items in my closet were bought for one specific purpose and aren't that versatile overall. For example, I seem to have numerous layering pieces that work only with specific toppers and not with others. It would be so much easier if everything worked together.

Not sure if I've helped at all....but I'm just saying that I struggle with some of the same issues. And you've given me some good things to think about going forward..so thanks!

11 years ago

froggiebecky

Veteran

I moved overseas to go back to school, which forced me into a minimalist wardrobe. When I'm done, I don't think I'll maintain it--It's just not for me. I've got, if anything, too much cohesion right now--I'm getting through winter on 3 tops, 3 cardigans, 2 pairs of jeans, one skirt and one dress. It's "enough", but it isn't--I'm finding that I'm not warm enough, I'm doing a lot of laundry, and everything is working *too* hard--two of my cardigans won't make it through this season. This isn't a good thing for me because I'm moving again in November, going from the southern hemisphere to the northern--I've halfway through one winter, and I've got another one left to go.

Right now, I'm having to replace most of what I brought (I lost a lot of weight and nothing fits), so I'm feeling my wardrobe holes very acutely. For instance, I've been looking for an additional sweater. I wasn't willing to settle for "just okay", and I was cold every day until I found what I wanted. Also, I feel like it takes some of the fun out of shopping when every piece has to be as flexible as an acrobat in Cirque du Soleil.

When I packed, I went for cohesive, and went with some blend of the sea of neutrals and Molly's approach of hanging around one palette (with a couple outliers). It was mostly solids, selected for washability and durability. I became bored very quickly. The things I'm purchasing now have more colour and more pattern. A plain jane wardrobe just makes me feel Plain.

11 years ago

Elly

Veteran

I will agree with previous posters . . . I'm in the situation of having both a very minimal wardrobe (almost too minimal) but also having a whole bunch of stored clothing that doesn't go with anything.

The clothes I wear on a regular basis are highly cohesive, mostly dark neutrals that also mix and match with a largely dark neutral buisness/more formal wardrobe. For the most part I am happy with these things and mixing and matching, but I too find myself a bit short on options, having items wear out too fast, and having to do way too much laundry.

On the other hand, I have a bunch of clothes hanging or stored that I don't wear. They were one-off impluse buys that I never figured out how to wear, or are orphans from 4-7 years ago and all the clothing that I used to wear with them has since gone to clothing heaven. However, because of how minimal my actual wearable capsules are, something in my subconcious feels that I'm gonna end up naked without these clothes, which has been proven a time or two.

If I could build up my regularly worn capsules by a few more pieces each, I think I could easily get rid of my orphans and have a more minimal closet.

11 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Oh yes. I make a lot of snap judgements about things on the hanger, and you never really know until you get something on. I'm trying to get over that so I can find cool things, but it's not easy. It's very automatic. I'm only to the point of noticing that I did that... a few hours later. Lol.

When I moved, to a much smaller space, I set out a subset of clothing that I took with me and the rest went in storage. Chose a limited colour palette and then got on with it. It was really interesting to me, to see what I went and got out of storage. I took with lavenders, navies, cognacs, and greys. I went and got greens and reds.

11 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

Ella I'm not minimal but I think I hear you on the safety blanket. Today I was editing and trying on things and " discovered" a few new combinations and also re- identified some favorites. That is the kind of thing that helps me finally let go of a few things. Then I had purchased some new things this season that let me compare this, or that, and it's easier to see what I don't need. It sounds like you would really enjoy getting those few extra items that help cut the ties to the orphaned stuff .

11 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Interesting thoughts here. I originally had a closet that was a huge mismatched mess, lots of colors and very few wardrobe workhorses. Over time I eventually went the other way, a somewhat smaller closet and far less colors. And now I am bored and recently started adding colors and prints back into my closet. Apparently I like colors so I just need to find a balance between how many and how often I am wearing my clothes. My eye opening moment was when I cut my wardrobe down to half it's original size and realized I still don't wear many items more than twice a month. That helped me realize I can have plenty of colors but I must keep them in smaller quantities if I want to wear items more often than twice a month. I adore the look of a minimal closet where everything mixes and matches perfectly but I am trying to translate that into a closet with enough colors to make me happy.

11 years ago

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