dream wardrobe diaries
My journey to creating a closet full of more color and fun to express my creativity with every outfit.
One big goal I’ve had for a while now is to develop a more dialed in wardrobe. Each and every day I reach for a graphic tee and some sweatpants for another version of the most uninspired outfit ever. Now a lot of that has to do with working from home. I’ve succumbed to the idea that I have no one to impress anymore except my pets and they really don’t care what I wear. But the truth is, I still have myself to impress and this complete apathy to my outfit choices is starting to wear thin.
Another hard truth is that I often struggle with how I look in outfits. I consider myself to have a fairly neutral opinion about my body. But when I put on outfits that pinch in different places or are a little too tight for comfort, it draws attention to my body in negative ways that I really don’t want. Plus when I look into the mirror and don’t love how I look in an outfit, it’s just more negative attention on my body. At least when I’m putting on sweats and a tee, I’m not trying so there are zero expectations when I look into the mirror (if I even do).
Luckily I’ve done a lot to divorce my emotions about the sizing of my clothing. The women’s clothing size system is a fucking JOKE and I refuse to let my emotions be ruled by it. So I’ve measured my whole body and when I shop I’m focused on finding clothing that accommodate those measurements. Clothing should fit my body, not the other way around.
If I did more work to figure out what styles are flattering on my figure, I’d be unstoppable. So this wardrobe journey is the start of that work. I want to play dress up with my closet and start to put together some more outfits so I’m not floundering when it comes time to get dressed. Because I have a ton of really cool pieces. I just need to figure out how to put them together. Now for this journey, I want to have some ground rules for how to tackle it. Or really, how to handle my wardrobe period. I’ve spent most of my life wasting a ton of money on clothing and I’m ready to be more focused and learn from my mistakes.
Rule One: Buy Second Hand
I’m a total sucker for a good second hand find. I think it all started when I was in NYC. The thrift stores there are to DIE for and I still have some pieces in my wardrobe from that time in my life that I cherish. I’d love for my entire wardrobe to be full of those kind of pieces TBH. So my focus for my wardrobe moving forward is to shop second hand almost exclusively. My favorite way to do this is using ThredUP. I’ve spent HOURS scrolling on that app looking for all of the best items and I’ve found a bunch of new favorites due to my efforts. Not to mention the time spent scrolling scratches my shopping itch, even if I end up buying nothing in the end.
I’ve also found some of my favorite wardrobe items on the app and was able to purchase a replacement for a shirt that has a bunch of holes (due to excessive wear by me) and some other colors of my favorite tops. For like….$5 each. You really can’t beat it. Plus they have tons of popular brands like Madewell and Aerie and Everlane and I’ve purchased so many items at a fraction of the original cost. It feels good to give these items a second life and know that I’m doing my part to avoid fast fashion by purchasing these items secondhand.
If this sounds like an advertisement for ThredUP it basically is. This app is one of my favorites on my phone and I actually had to create a schedule to block it so I don’t spend my whole day scrolling on it trying to find something amazing. If you want to check it out, here’s my affiliate link. You’ll get 45% off and free shipping on your first order which is a pretty sweet deal. Let me know if you check out the site because I totally want to hear how your experience goes. Or what exactly you might be looking for because I love a good ThredUP hunt.
Rule Two: Focus on Natural Materials
With my focus on a more sustainable wardrobe, I have to mention my emphasis on natural materials for any pieces I do purchase. After some analysis, I’ve realized that most of the pieces in my wardrobe that piss me off the most are synthetic and problematic in a number of different ways. The biggest being their lack of breathability, something that’s important to a person who sweats like me. Plus I’ve purchased a few linen items and quickly realized they’re my favorite pieces in my wardrobe. So why not search for more like that? The material filter on ThredUP for “Natural Materials” has been a lifesaver so I can filter the options and only be looking at clothing made from materials that I prefer. I’m excited to continue on this natural material journey and find more clothing pieces that will become my new favorites. If you know any good brands that have sustainable clothing made from natural materials please share! I’m on the search for new brands to support.
Rule Three: More Color
It’s no secret I’m a huge lover of color. It’s a part of everything I design and I’m drawn to it like a crow to shiny things (I also like shiny things tbh). So obviously, I’m interested in increasing the color in my wardrobe. However I recently saw some content online discussing how the recent emphasis on beige and monochrome and brown colors (aka the Pantone Color of the Year - Mocha Mousse) is actually associated with our countries recent turn towards fascism. The uniformity of these pale, monochrome color palettes is just another manifestation of our emphasis on whiteness and the stifling of individualism. This is a topic I need to do some more research on (because it’s FASCINATING). But I also want to do my part to bring some color back into this world. Honestly there’s nothing better than wearing a rainbow colored outfit to express yourself and bring a little sunshine to the world. So I’m on the search for the perfect colorful items to add to my wardrobe and making new combinations of colors and patterns that result in outrageously loud and colorful outfits.
This can be a bit of a challenge for me because I desperately need colors to match perfectly (I blame my foundations classes in college for this habit). But I’m determined to push myself out of my comfort zone and find some outfits that are joyful and colorful and unexpected. I’ve done a lot of work already to curate a playfully colorful wardrobe. Now is the time to find some good ways to combine pieces to make outfits that I love wearing.
Rule Four: Alter Existing Pieces
Now this is an extension of my above comment that I’ve divorced myself from any type of sizing structure and simply identify my body by the measurement of different body parts. Since I’ve worked to let go of any expectations about size, I’ve realized just how ill fitting a lot of clothing is. The problem isn’t my wider hips, it’s the fact that no matter what pair of pants I purchase either the hips are too small or the waist is too large. So now my focus is on accommodating the largest measurement and spending the time to alter my clothing to better fit the measurements the clothing item doesn’t quite hit. This seems like a logical concept but it’s taken me 30 years to get to this point.
While I plan on finding a good local place for alterations, I also plan on learning some of the process myself. I have a new sewing machine in my possession due to Christmas (thanks mom!) and I’m pretty excited to do all kinds of sewing to help improve my wardrobe. Including making my own clothing to my measurements (more to come on that later). I’m excited to go down this path and come up with some clothing that actually fits my body for once.
But with alterations in mind, I have some other fun ideas for my wardrobe. For one, I’ve been going in and cutting clothing to give them new life. I have so many tees that have weird features or would fit way better as a crop, so I’ve started to give them those alterations. Since I’ve started, I have a few shirts that have been worn ten times more since they’ve been changed up and it has me thinking about how I can do this for all of the stagnant items in my wardrobe. I highly recommend this process for your own closet! Just a few moments thinking about the clothing you don’t wear and what would make them better can help you breathe new life into pieces you already own. It’s like a whole new wardrobe for free!
Another project I have on the horizon is to purchase some dye and change up the colors of some of my clothing. I have so many pieces that are kinda boring and I never reach for them. So I figured a little adjustment with some dye would give them new life! I also have way too many white t-shirts for someone who NEVER wears white. So I’m determined to change things up so I can bring new life to my closet. Not to mention the best way to get more color into your wardrobe is to literally add that color yourself. I’m excited to analyze the holes in my closet and see what colors I need more of to make certain outfits. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t think of it before now because I’m so excited to brew up some colorful potions and make magic with my wardrobe.
Wardrobe Organization Made Easy
Now all of this wardrobe effort is 100% easier to accomplish with the help of technology. So I’ve been using the app Whering to record my wardrobe and come up with outfits. I went through a few different apps to figure out the best option for my lifestyle and currently this one is the winner. It takes some effort to get all of your clothing into the app, but once it’s set up it’s fairly easy to keep up with. I just get a picture of each new piece I purchase and add it to the app as I go. Then I spend some time putting together outfits and I usually have a ton of ideas before the clothing even makes it to my house! Plus sometimes I use the app to help me decide if I should purchase a piece. If I can’t make an outfit or 10 using it, it probably isn’t a good fit for my wardrobe. It’s made it a lot easier to track and process everything I own and it’s helped curb my shopping because it helps me know all of the clothing I have in my closet so I can better utilize them. Sometimes when I’m bored I’ll just sit there and create outfits like it’s a game.
When it’s time to get dressed, the app makes it easy to pick out something to wear. From the outfit randomizer to the collections I’ve created there’s a number of different ways to find an outfit. Plus if you select an item you want to wear, you can see all of the outfits created using it to help narrow down your choices.
If you use all of the available data inputs for each piece of clothing, you can track the cost of your wardrobe, the cost per wear of an item, the colors in your wardrobe as well as a ton of other breakdowns. If you love data, this app has so many different features to track in your wardrobe. I’ve been a little lazy with entering my information but I’ve been keeping up with the data for each new piece I add to my wardrobe so I can start to track some of these details.
As made obvious by the incredibly long post about this process, I’m super excited to keep working on my wardrobe! Clothing is such an extension of who you are and I want to more accurately express myself as a create and an artist. I consider all of these different pieces of myself to be important to my life journey as a creative and I can’t wait to explore more. Hopefully I’ll have some more outfits and developments to share soon! In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you! What’s your favorite piece in your wardrobe? Let me know! I love seeing the clothing that makes people feel their best.
