It’s a hard truth for so many of us to accept: We wear less than half of our clothes.
But it’s never too late to start over and reinvent your wardrobe—and yourself. There is no better time than the present to get clear on how you show up in the world. Life will throw a curveball like this pandemic and it’s up to you how you bat it back.
If you’re like most people we talk to in our personal styling company, you have the common pain points of not knowing what to wear or how to wear it, and the same vicious cycle of buying clothes you may or may not need. Even worse, you many end up buying clothes online only to make those decisions alone and be stuck with boxes to return.
Read more of Bree Jacoby’s thought leadership.
We often see people buy things they don’t need only to put them in the closet and forget what they bought or how to style them. Sound familiar? If you’re feeling stuck in your own closet, we can help get you unstuck with a simple two-step process.
Literally take everything out of your closet and figure out exactly what you’re missing.
The first thing you should do is edit your closet. Literally take everything out of your closet and figure out exactly what you’re missing. This way, you can be a smarter shopper and only spend money on what you need. After all, we live in a society that is about accumulating and not editing. It can be hard to break that habit, but it’s necessary.
Only after you’ve done step one can you move on to step two and actually start adding. But make sure to repeat the first step twice a year and after every shopping spree.
For the second step, take your wish list of needs and shop for those missing items. Before you start, you have to get clear on exactly what you want your look to say about you. You can check out places like Pinterest to get ideas before you begin the shopping process.
It’s important to be practical and avoid the temptation to buy one-off pieces that do not make sense in your closet. If you need to question whether to buy something or not—you’ve already answered it. Don’t! The chances of you wearing that item are pretty slim, and it’s just going to irritate you to see it in your closet.
We see this happen all the time. People make decisions without the help of an expert stylist and then waste money and time on purchases that take up room in their wardrobe. Rule of thumb: Only buy what makes sense, and you’ll have more money to spend on clothes you like and more space to hang them up.
Learn more about Bree Jacoby’s approach to personal styling.
Last—and maybe the most important rule of all—buy items that give you an invigorating rush. You know the feeling when you put something on and it just lights you up, and no outside advice is necessary.
It’s never too late to reinvent yourself. But you should never again feel like you have nothing to wear.
