The mysterious art of wardrobe management

[OublietteBravo]

Has anyone perfected the mysterious art of wardrobe management? Because I certainly haven’t, and I’m looking for tips.

Currently I swap from summer clothes to winter clothes around October, and then from winter clothes to summer clothes around April. I manage to motivate myself to iron about once every 18 months . I mostly ignore anything that needs to be dry cleaned as that’s just too much effort. Oh, and I’m really bad at getting rid of clothes and shoes. Even though I’m really good at buying new clothes and shoes.

I’d like to get more on top of my wardrobe. But how?

I have a one in and one out policy because I don’t wear most of my wardrobe as it is. I have a fantasy element in my wardrobe for a lifestyle that is no my reality . Parties where u get dressed up so I have an outfit I thought I would wear to the Theatre just sitting there . A silk trenchcoat heels all just lying there waiting for my glamorous life to start 😆I sold off the swimsuits bikinis for the holiday that never happens as in poolside infinity pool the reality is hiking shorts and seaside So i sell or donate and now try and buy only what I suit and love forget the trends. Value per wear so say a raincoat u can spend more here or jeans as per wear they are a bargain but what tends to happen is we splash out on some fantasy item that is expensive but may never have the occasion to wear. So my advice is stick to a colour palate find your colours and work around a practical functional wardrobe that u get the wear out of its contents. Even if they feel boring jazz it up with accessories that have metallic or colour that are more trend driven . Shoes go for comfort with style again forget trends .

I love threads like these! They remind me of the good old 'how to look expensive' threads.

Capsule wardrobes aren't for me either. I think they're great for people who aren't actually very interested in fashion, but still want to look good. I feel like if she wasn't famous, maybe the Duchess of Cambridge would have a capsule wardrobe.

One of the best things for me has been having a wardrobe without doors (it's actually a shelf with a rail under it...it's nicer than it sounds!) I also organise by colour which I think works really well. I have far too many clothes but I'm lucky to have plenty of storage so put them away when it's the wrong season etc. I only tend to get rid of things which are really faded or worn out.

I just don't get why ironing is so unfashionable these days. Very few of my friends iron anything. It's very strange to me that people will spend such a long time on other aspects of style, hair, make up etc but won't simply iron their clothes. It makes such a difference!

My biggest challenge is buying clothes that don't go with anything else. I'm always doing it. I just love pretty patterns and forget to buy the plain white t shirt to go with it so that it actually makes an outfit.

Oh and I love the macro/micro trends theory! It's never occurred to me before but it's so true.

I reckon this season's macro trend is white trainers. And a micro trend would be puff sleeves - they'll go the same way as cold shoulder tops in a year or two.

What about mom jeans, midi skirts and floaty floral dresses though 🤔 Macro or micro?

Cold shoulder tops seemed to be popular with plumper women around here. Not a good look.

Puff sleeves - nice but they add width so not for me.

Statement sleeves - hmm got one top. Looked nice but flappy sleeves were annoying.

All micro trends IMO.

Mom jeans? Not sure if they'll stick around because they aren't that flattering for most.

The wide cropped jeans. Again not sure.

Midi is here to stay for a while.

I hope white trainers or indeed trainers in general are here to stay, comfy footwear to be on trend is a godsend!

Also I think it was @Floisme mentioned clothes worth keeping for the future, always difficult to predict but in any event there is always a subltle change in the style/detail which then makes the kept item still a little dated. Maybe with the demise of fast fashion this will change. I am regretting getting rid of a pair of clogs several years ago as they seem to be making a comeback.

@ChiefInspectorParker

I think mom jeans and midis are macro. I’m a dedicated midi wearer, though.

Agree about puff sleeves. They don’t suit many women. Nor do cold shoulder tops!

Noooo mom jeans fit and suit me well high waisted jeans to we are never allowed to go back to low waisted shudders 😱

@blueskyemily

Oh and I love the macro/micro trends theory! It's never occurred to me before but it's so true.

I reckon this season's macro trend is white trainers. And a micro trend would be puff sleeves - they'll go the same way as cold shoulder tops in a year or two.

What about mom jeans, midi skirts and floaty floral dresses though 🤔 Macro or micro?

The other thing that works for me in terms of “investment dressing” (some items in my work wardrobe are 20+ years old!) are to buy things that are already classic designs. I have a 1930s-esque black dress and a Dior New Look-esque black skirt suit - both bought in the early 2000s, but which will still look 30s-style in another 10 years time. Ditto my cream trench coat, and a tuxedo-style black blazer.

Work trousers I find the styles change a bit too much to keep things for more than say 10 years. But then I wear trousers much more than skirts, so I need to replace them more often.

(I have never heard of Stylebook, so have just purchased it - thanks!)

I don't think that heels will ever come back massively I have noticed that most young women are wearing flats out and about although interestingly my Manchester based colleagues still seem die hard heel fans so maybe we'll have a bit of North South Division.

The micro/macro trends theory is interesting. I totally see it with jeans. I think we’re probably right at the end of the skinny Jean trend. It must’ve been around for a good 15 years. I expect the looser mom/boyfriend style is a macro trend and is here to stay. It’s all very well to say that they aren’t flattering for most people. I’m sure I remember exactly the same thing being said about skinny jeans in 2007. I do miss low rise jeans though. I have a short torso and high waisted jeans practically touch my bra strap.

Isn’t there a theory that skirt length correlates with the state of the economy? I suppose that probably makes it a macro trend too. I noticed last winter that I was actively avoiding my shorter skirts. I’ll be interested to see if I’m still drawn to midi length this winter.

I’m not sure about trainers. I’m pretty sure that they aren’t going away, but that’s like saying jeans aren’t going away. The particular style will inevitably change.

I’m not convinced the trainers-as-office-wear trend will last. In fact I think there might be a revival of high heels and a more dressed up look once the pandemic ends. I expect people will be very, very keen to get dressed up, and athleisure wear won’t be worn out and about nearly as much as it is at the moment.

There’s definitely a white trainers and dresses trend in my office atm and I can’t see that lasting more than a couple of years although I am loving it while I can.

Also used to love low rise jeans but done with those now that I have a C section scar, I can’t bear any clothing being near that even though it was over ten years ago

Great thread!

I've been trying to get on it this last year:

• ditching clothes that don't spark joy
• makes it more of a pleasure to fold & store those that do

-trying to keep on top of ironing & repairs. (Ironing less of a chore now I find joy in my clothes)

• wardrobe app- trying to get cost per wear down on my expensive clothes. Also to plan & rate the outfits so I can recreate successful combos

Now musing on micro/macro trends.

Also researching steamers!

The wardrobe app has also allowed me to spot patterns in my purchasing successes and mistakes.

Next step is to learn from the above

It's interesting to think about the idea of clothes that spark joy. For me the problem is the clothes that I really love just aren't ones that suit my lifestyle. So I end up with a wardrobe of stuff I love but don't wear, and a wardrobe of stuff I wear and don't love. And I think that makes it harder to organize and make sensible purchases.

In fact I think there might be a revival of high heels and a more dressed up look once the pandemic ends. I expect people will be very, very keen to get dressed up, and athleisure wear won’t be worn out and about nearly as much as it is at the moment.

Yes as I was typing my post I was thinking actually are you being a naive there and the opposite is about to happen!

One thing I definitely need to do is de-bobble all my jumpers before autumn/winter. But never found an effective way.

Bolding fail there!

@Sooverthemill

Woollen obviously

I thought you meant the coffin! 😂😂

I was a funeral director and I once conducted a funeral for a sheep farmer obviously he had to have a woollen coffin. I thought it was a great tribute.

Anyway back to clothes shoes polishing is another thing that has slid down the list since my life got busier although I'm not that busy at the moment as I'm still in PJs posting on MN!

@StyleDesperation

It's interesting to think about the idea of clothes that spark joy. For me the problem is the clothes that I really love just aren't ones that suit my lifestyle. So I end up with a wardrobe of stuff I love but don't wear, and a wardrobe of stuff I wear and don't love. And I think that makes it harder to organize and make sensible purchases.

Totally agree with this. If I had my way, my wardrobe would suit rather than 5ft2 dumpy me. And I'm a cold creature so I layer. I need to have at least 10 plain tshirts of varying sleeve length and shade of white to go under dresses, jumpers, shirts. Then in winter I need thin merino to go under between the t-shirt and whatever is on top! not even counting the vests which are an entirely separate category.

I am currently living with less than half my clothing (house renovation had left my wardrobe inaccessible so I only had what was in the laundry baskets!) and it will be interesting to see what I miss.

I wouldn't have a capsule wardrobe, I'd find it a bit boring, and I love style and fashion! As I've got older I've got a better idea of what suits me, so make fewer mistakes. I regularly clear out clothes - if it hasn't been worn in a while, I just consider it a waste of space. I haven't regretted getting rid of anything. I do a lot of ironing though! I like things to look neat and finished.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe

This is the thread for me. I have a serious clothes problem. I can't find the clothes I want to wear because I have so many that 'will do' and I find those first.

It has to change, it just has to!

For this issue I recommend taking it day by day. So today's outfit, do you like the individual pieces? Do they fit properly? Are they basically trashed? If the answers to those questions are wrong, put into one of two piles: recycling or donation. When the donation pile gets big enough, wash it by itself and take it somewhere to donate as soon as it's dry. Take the recycling pile out every time you're going past the recycling place.

So this thread inspired me to have a bit of a wardrobe clear out last night. Now have two bags full of clothes to donate. All with plenty of wear left in them, but I never get round to wearing them because something about them just isn't right - colour, fit, length etc.

Interestingly they were almost all sale purchases. I think there is a lesson in that!

I've just bought an extra chest of drawers to accomodate my clothes. I have a small built in wardrobe, and two chests of drawers now. This means I won't need to relegate seasonal clothes to the loft which I find a real pain.....particularly with our weather. I went from sweltering at work a few weeks ago to then wearing what I would class as a more wintry dress the following week, not with boots as I do in winter but a pair of more spring/summer ochre flats.

I love my clothes, they bring me joy and I like to be able to easily see what I have. I think once my drawers are full (not stuffed!) I'll be at the one in one out stage.