Follow these 6 tips to help you understand your style and how to make your wardrobe work for your needs
As summer comes to an end and fall arrives, you may feel like it’s time for a little bit of a change. If you feel like it’s your wardrobe that’s in need of an update, you’ve come to the right place. While it would be nice to just completely start from scratch, that’s not always feasible for a lot of people, and it can be a waste of time if you don’t have a clear idea of what your style even is. Let’s talk about how you can work to understand your style and how you can start to rebuild your wardrobe to reflect your own personal style.
Identify Your Style
Start doing some initial research to see what styles resonate best with you
Before you really take the time to find your style, your wardrobe may feel all over the place and like nothing really works together.
While you may not be completely happy with your wardrobe, you can still gain a lot from taking a look at what you currently wear. Take inventory of what styles you tend to gravitate towards and which pieces in your wardrobe you feel represent yourself best. Consider the pieces in your wardrobe that you don’t like or don’t wear that often and why that’s the case.
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The next step in this process is to start gathering inspiration for your wardrobe. Of course, Pinterest is one of the best places to go for inspiration. Create a mood board on Pinterest of different styles and outfits that you like.
Once you have a good amount of inspiration gathered, look through your board and note places where certain themes, colors, styles, or even specific articles of clothing are repeated throughout.
Narrowing down how you define your style can help you search for pieces that will better align with your wants and needs. While you don’t have to confine yourself to just one style, you may want to pick just one that represents you. Some common style types include:
- Minimalist – A simple style that uses fewer pieces but may add unique shapes or use pieces unexpectedly.
- Boho – A flowy and earthy style with bright colors.
- Edgy – A style influenced by rock and metal styles with heavy use of leather and dark colors.
- Romantic – A delicate and feminine style that’s not too loose or tight.
While this list is not exhaustive in the types of styles you may like, these might point you in the right direction.
Consider Your Lifestyle
Make your wardrobe work for your lifestyle and your needs
Over the past few years, our lifestyles have changed quite a bit. Since the pandemic, we’ve gone from going on lockdown to switching to remote work to getting back to our everyday lives. Plus, your lifestyle is just bound to change from time to time.
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Your wardrobe needs to work for your lifestyle. So, you need to think about your current lifestyle and what you realistically need in your wardrobe for your everyday life. Consider your lifestyle from these perspectives:
- Work – What type of clothes do you need to have for work and how often do you need to wear these clothes?
- Working out – How often do you work out and what clothes do you need to have to work out properly?
- Going out – What do you do for fun and how often do you go out?
- Day-to-day – What types of activities do you do in your day-to-day life and how would you like to dress when doing these?
Consider what you spend the most time doing and what you need in your wardrobe to do it. Many of your wardrobe needs from these categories will overlap, so see where you can find versatile pieces of clothing.
Find Your Colors
Settle on a color palette that compliments your features to create a more cohesive wardrobe
clothes don’t really match that well. Especially if have lots of bold, clashing colors, it might be time to tame your wardrobe down so that you can better mix and match your outfits.
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Finding your color season can help tremendously when it comes to choosing a color palette. Your color season considers the undertones of your features to determine which colors you look best in. For example, if you have all warm undertones, you likely look best in soft, warmer colors whereas if you have all cool undertones, you may look better in crisp, icy colors.
After figuring out which colors look best on you based on your features, you should establish a color palette for your wardrobe. This will help make sure that all of the staple clothes in your wardrobe go well together.
Clear Out Your Closet
Start getting rid of the items of clothing that you no longer like or need
While overhauling your closet, you need to really take the time to go through your closet to weed out anything in your wardrobe that doesn’t serve you.
You should absolutely keep the pieces in your closet that you love and feel you can’t part with. Try to picture the pieces you have in your closet and how they would work with your new style vision.
You can’t start fresh in your closet unless you free up some space for new items. Try your clothes on and get rid of anything that’s damaged, poor quality, or doesn’t fit you well. Even if you feel like you just don’t like something, get rid of it.
For anything that’s still usable from your closet, make sure you donate it or even try to sell some of your clothes.
Also Read: Why Power Dressing is Important at Workplace For Women
List Your Wardrobe Needs
Work on getting your basics in order before you start adding fun pieces
Now that you know your style and have cleared out your closet, you can get a better idea of which basics you need to get for your closet. Let’s talk through some of the basics every wardrobe should have.
Also Read: 5 Ways to Improve Your Wardrobe in 2023
Tops
Get 3-4 solid tees based on your color palette and style that vary in length from tank tops to long sleeves. If you live in a colder climate, add in a few simple, solid sweaters and other warm tops. Add in a few patterned shirts and blouses as accent pieces.
Bottoms
You should have a pair of dark wash and light wash pants as basics in your wardrobe. Add in a couple of simple pairs of shorts and supplement your closet with a few fun pants or skirts that match your other basics.
Outerwear
The outerwear you should have in your closet ultimately depends on where you live and the weather you most commonly experience. In general, though, it’s a good idea to have a light jacket, a heavy coat, and one versatile jacket that you can wear both casually and when you need to be dressier.
Jewelry
How you accessorize can make a big difference in your outfits. You should always have a simple pair of earrings, and you might consider getting a couple of pairs in a few different styles, like studs and hoops. Depending on your skin undertones and your preferences, you will want to have either simple silver or gold rings that you can stack or add onto. To top everything off, have a few simple necklaces that you can layer well together.
Shoes
You should always have a pair of casual, everyday shoes. A lot of people like to have some type of canvas or tennis shoe to have as their everyday pair. Then, you can add in sandals, a pair of neutral heels, and boots or booties.
Start Adding Pieces To Your Wardrobe With Intention
Make your wardrobe last as long as possible by shopping for the right, quality pieces that will withstand the test of time
Once you’re ready to start adding to your wardrobe, try adding new pieces gradually over time. This way, you aren’t breaking the bank, and you can be intentional about the pieces you add.
As you shop, try to opt for more classic pieces of clothing that can last through the test of time over trendy pieces that will go out of style after just a few months. Today, trends and fashion move fast, and you won’t always be able to keep up with every trend. This isn’t to say you can’t add a few trendy pieces from time to time, but make sure the majority of your wardrobe leans more classic.
On a similar note, you should always prioritize quality over quantity. Having a few quality basics that will last more than just a few washes will be a much better investment for you than multiple cheap fast fashion items.
You also may want to consider shopping secondhand before buying new. This is not only friendlier on the wallet, but it’s a much more eco-conscious option when reworking your wardrobe.
Once you feel happy with your wardrobe update, make sure that you continue to update your wardrobe from time to time. This way, you won’t have to overhaul your wardrobe again and you will feel comfortable and confident in the clothes you own.
Shruti Sood
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