New year, new me motivation high? Is it time for a new wardrobe? It takes a person 3 seconds to form an impression of you. So what we wear matters. The new year feels like a good time as any to start a Wardrobe Refresh and invest in a whole new wardrobe. Before jumping into the New Year, New You trend, consider if you need a whole new wardrobe or if your style just needs to be tweaked.
It’s a new year, time for a new style and new wardrobe
It’s very tempting to throw out everything and start fresh. A new set of clothes for a new you to start the year feeling good certainly sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Especially if you’ve followed Marie Kondo, done a review and concluded nothing you own sparks any joy anymore.
However done in haste, without all the knowledge to create a long-lasting wardrobe, it could be a costly mistake. You may find yourself in a repetitive loop, doing the same thing every year.
Instead of thinking about buying a new wardrobe, consider honing in on your style. What do you want your look to say? Take some time to nail your style DNA. Know exactly what shapes and colours make you look and feel amazing. Take a look a my article for Ethical Brand Directory ‘Building a Conscious Closet’ for more inspiration!
Building a Sustainable Wardrobe
Building a sustainable wardrobe doesn’t mean rushing out and buying new clothes from sustainable brands. It doesn’t mean only wearing muted colours and wearing lots of beige. It doesn’t mean having to create a minimalist wardrobe of 30 pieces or less either. A sustainable wardrobe is personal to you.
A sustainable wardrobe simply means having a carefully curated wardrobe. Its contents are consciously selected with longevity and your style, lifestyle requirements and values in mind.
Can I buy a sustainable wardrobe?
There is a common misconception that you can buy a sustainable wardrobe. You can’t buy a sustainable wardrobe. A wardrobe’s conscious creation, its long-term use and intention are what make it ‘sustainable’.
You can adapt your shopping habits. You can change where you purchase your clothes from. Rethink how you look after, reinvent and style your clothes. And when you identify key pieces you need, invest in them consciously. “Building a sustainable wardrobe is a journey, not a final destination”
Buying entirely secondhand is better for the planet. Buying exclusively from sustainable brands is better than shopping from fast fashion. BUT it’s not about what you buy or where you buy it from. It’s about how often you use what you buy. How you take care of your items, and how many wears you get from them are key considerations. This is what makes a wardrobe sustainable.
How do I get started with my new wardrobe?
There are so many benefits to creating a new style direction and aligning your wardrobe with your lifestyle. There are many tips, but these are the ones I would encourage you to focus on first.
New Wardrobe Checklist
- Review what you wear and how much you own. It can feel daunting if you own a lot of clothes, so try Auditing your wardrobe with a friend. This will help you identify what you own, duplicates or forgotten items.
- Undertake a life and style analysis – look at your life, and compare that to your wardrobe audit – is it aligned? Or is only 10-15% of doing the heavy lifting?
- Take some time to think about your style – work on your style by creating a mood board. Get some clarity on your style narrative (what you want your clothes to say)
- Understand your unique style DNA – this is what makes you, you.
- Create a list of items you need urgently
- Create a list of items for repair
- Create a list of investment items you are willing to save up for
GET CLARITY ON YOUR SHOPPING HABITS
Unlock the value of your wardrobe and gain insights into your spending and cost per wear. Get the Wardrobe Worksheets and organise your closet and boost your wellbeing!
A well-curated wardrobe will leave you feeling empowered from the moment you wake up and get dressed. This is one of the most obvious benefits. A less relatable positive impact of knowing your style is that its better for the planet!
Nobody teaches us how to dress or shop
The majority of women only wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. So why do we continue to ‘shop’ for more things than we need?
We spend on average £1042 per year on clothes according to the Great British Wardrobe Report. But I would argue it’s more! How many items do you think you buy each year?
So why are we so surprised that our wardrobes are stuffed full of clothes that don’t fit or flatter us?
STYLE MADE EASY
10 simple things you can do to transform your style
It’s estimated that we Brits have over £5.4bn of unworn clothing hiding in our homes. Most of which is likely to be the wrong shape, size or colour or not fit for our current lifestyle.
Knowing your style keeps your wardrobe streamlined. When you know your style you can save up for investment pieces with total confidence.
This year, make your New Year, New Me, New Wardrobe Resolution one that puts creating your signature style first! Get in touch if you’d like to discuss a sustainable style transformation.
This post was first written in 2018, and updated in 2013
