Do you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time? Do you have a wardrobe of clothes but still utter the words “I’ve nothing to wear!”? You’re not alone!
Making the most of your existing wardrobe of clothes, rather than buying new, makes a lot of sense. You probably have lots of outfits just waiting to be discovered that won’t cost you a penny.
It also makes a lot of sense from an environmental perspective too. Scarily, as reported by the Geneva Environment Network, “the clothing industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams. 85% of textiles make their way to the dump each year and washing some types of clothes sends a significant amount of microplastics into the ocean”.
So, how can you make the most of the clothes you already own?
The answer is to develop a capsule wardrobe approach. Here are my 3 top tips:-
When you buy something new, or pre-loved, make sure that you can create multiple outfits with it, rather than buying something that literally only goes with one thing. I usually suggest only buying something if 3 potential outfits come to mind.
Invest in layering basics. These are often the ‘hero pieces’ in your wardrobe as they enable you to create so many outfits – I’m talking about the camisole tops, the t-shirts, the long sleeve t-shirts, the polo necks – those items that go under your blouses/shirts, jumpers, cardigans or jackets that tie everything together. If you like a co-ordinated look and often wear jeans for example, having a navy camisole/t-shirt/long sleeve t-shirt/roll neck will enable you to create many different looks. Here’s a recent example of some outfits I put together in just this way for a client. The last image also shows how you can easily recreate the same outfit with a different coloured jeans and layering top, in this case grey.
Think about accessories – jewellery, shoes/boots, scarves, belts and bags. A bit like the layering pieces, they can literally change an outfit and make it look quite different.
In the first of these outfits, the green jumper is simply paired with jeans and the navy long sleeved t-shirt. However, a completely different outfit is created simply by swapping the layering top for a tan one and then adding a tan belt and boots.
This is how to get your clothes to work harder and truly earn their place in your wardrobe.
If you’d like any help making the most of the clothes you already have in your wardrobe, I’d honestly love to help you! Simply book a Wardrobe Edit consultation and you can look forward to discovering the many new outfits hiding in your wardrobe!