What pulls your wardrobe together?

[Goingdooolally]

I feel I have an insane amount of clothes but struggle with outfits.

What pulls your outfits together? Also, I’m in Scotland and feel the cold so I struggle a bit with outerwear/cardigans etc...

What addition to your wardrobe has given you loads more outfits?

Heels.

But these days i can never be arsed.

I feel quite bad writing this. But I have started to see how it was my body shape that pulled my outfits together. I have gained weight over the last year and nothing looks good anymore.

Heels. But these days i can never be arsed.

Heels are torture. I haven't worn heels for about 20 years and have no intention of ever doing so again!

I am in Scotland too. Blazers just really don’t work here past September, it needs to be a coat or a jacket that does up properly.

Spend ALLLLL the budget on the coat. Then next turn to beautiful boots, then to scarf, then to hat. Only then turn to handbag.

I personally favour a large earrings-plus-beret look for periods of really Scottish weather, because anything more subtle can get lost in the drizzle.

Good accessories essentially

Amazing! Thank you all so much. Lots of really helpful tips there.

I do think that I need to spend time thinking about outfits. Whilst I love shopping I am a bit lazy about looking at my wardrobe and putting things together. So I end up buying more because I feel I don’t have anything to wear!

I think some nice cardigans in good colours would enable me to wear more of my wardrobe in the winter. Blazers are more of an autumn or spring wear item here in Scotland. It was chilly today and I had a full-length coat and scarf on!

It’s really interesting to hear people’s views. Where else do people get their knitwear? I have lots of plain fine merino jumpers from Uniqlo but fancy some more chunky v neck cardigans. I can’t wear alpaca or mohair at all which puts Other Stories/Arket out as all their knitwear is very mohairy!

@Goingdooolally - look for classic cut/colour pure cashmere in the sales - John Lewis, Jaeger, Brora and even M&S. The brilliant thing about cashmere is it is so warm. You can wear a heat tech top and a cashmere cardigan and not need a coat unless it is really bitterly cold. It just allows you not to look so bundled up over winter.

lazylinguist makes a good point on thinking about outfits. I currently have far too much time on my hands, and scope to wear what are usually weekend clothes because I am WFH, but still need to be presentable. So, on a Sunday I make a list on my phone of things I would like to wear that week. I pick out clothes the night before and hang them in the bathroom before going to bed, so I don’t need to scrabble about in the morning.

Not relevant to this thread at all, but I have set myself a challenge (again, far too much time on my hands) to not repeat an entire outfit until next year. I hope that will help me wear more clothes rather than pulling out the same things.

Yes I’ve got some beautiful things. I really need to wear them! Work is freezing at the moment (teacher in Scotland ) and I also hate being uncomfortable so I tend to go for what I know is comfortable and cosy in the morning when I’m in a rush. I have so much stuff I can get a bit panicky I think, so just end up wearing the same things...

Oh and 3C this morning here 🥶

For work I do very few colours.

Lipstick. If you get a bright one that suits you everything looks pulled together or deliberate.

@Martinisarebetterdirty how do you keep the lipstick on? Mine always looks awful after about 2 minutes

With difficulty! I use Laura Mercier Velour lovers ones (which may have been discontinued recently as I’ve stocked up whilst they’ve been on sale) and that lasts better than others I’ve tried - I mean it’s all over my coffee cup but somehow also stays on my lips!

Hi OP,

I add to the comments that you need to spend some time on this. Also, what do you like to wear and feel comfy and cosy in? Decide what that outfit is (for me, leggings, top, large sweater, and then either runners (nice day) hiking boots (cold day) wellies (wet day). I pull it together with one addition - a beautiful coat! So, on a mild dry day that is a gilet. On a cold day it is either a puffa coat or a wool coat (puffa for park/school run/sport sidelines) wool coat for work if weather is dry.

On wet days I wear a rain jacket, fully waterproof.

Each coat is beautiful and makes me look together. I noticed over the years that the final layer was what pulled a look together. You could use beautiful cardigans instead of, or in addition to, coats.

When you know what you like to wear, use Pinterest to get ideas as to how to style it - this keeps you from getting into a style rut.

Finally, organise what you will wear for the week, base layer, and mid layer (ie whether it is a shirt / tunic / soft sweater/ sweatshirt / dress / ). Have these laid out the night before.

Then, decide which coat and footwear work best for the weather, and that is your only decision that morning.

martinis I didn't realise those Laura Mercier lipsticks were being discontinued - Fire is one of my favourites. It's still full price on SNK, is it maybe just some shades?

I treated myself to a leather jacket from All Saints last autumn after lusting after it and saving for about a year. God I adore it. There's almost nothing it doesn't look good with and I even tried it with a MN scarf yesterday (Justine Leconte has a good YouTube vid on ways to wear a scarf as I always manage to look like my Nan) and I think I kind of rocked

I know leather jackets are apparently (according to some posters) done to death now I still love wearing it. And it still smells so beautiful.

Actually I can recommend JL's videos generally especially if your trying to buy less and make the most of the clothes you have.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses they might not be - I got boudoir and seduction very cheaply after Easter so just assumed they were. I hope not - I love them.

I have found that only using a narrow colour range has helped- almost everything I own goes with everything else.
My basics are all navy, charcoal grey or black, then a few burgundy items, and a few teal. Greens and browns look lovely on me, but not smart enough for work (I look like a nature spirit, so weekends only!).
Now it doesn't matter what I pull out, it will all coordinate. I got rid of all my footwear, bar 1 pair of boots, 1 pair of work shoes, 1 pair of sandals, and 1 pair of evening sandals, and 1 pair of converse. I haven't used a handbag since schools closed, as I didn't want to work out how to clean suede on a daily basis
It may be boring, but it's just so much easier.

Yes good idea about similar colours. My problem is I am a magpie and love pattern! I’m trying to figure out which colour cardigans to get. A cream and an olive one I think.... and going to check out those lipsticks and watch the Justine Leconte videos. I do have an All Saints biker jacket but I just feel weird in it! I’m not really a rock chick.

I think a new cosy coat is what I need. I wear coats so much. Something chic and super warm. I did start a previous thread on it but I didn’t find one.....

Coat or jacket

@LoveEatYoga coat! 😊

I was recently watching A Perfect Murder with Gwyneth Paltrow. Awesome 90s fashion. She wears this diamond solitaire necklace and looks so chic and expensive, so I got a CZ one to try out and I think it’s upped my game!

@Goingdooolally re keeping your lipstick on, Lipcote paint on stuff is your friend. It's come a long way since it first came out, much better now.