How to Shop Your Own Wardrobe Before Buying Anything New
It’s easy to feel like your wardrobe is boring when actually you’ve simply forgotten half of what’s in it. Before reaching for the nearest shopping app, it’s worth spending an evening properly going through everything you own. Most people are surprised by how many decent outfit combinations they already have sitting untouched at the back of a drawer or shoved onto a shelf they rarely look at.
Try genuinely new combinations
We tend to fall into fixed pairings, this top always goes with that skirt, that jumper always goes with those trousers. Deliberately mixing pieces you wouldn’t normally put together often turns up combinations that feel fresh without costing a penny. Treat it like a puzzle rather than a chore and it becomes a genuinely enjoyable way to spend an hour, especially with a cup of tea and no particular rush to finish.
Sort by what needs a small refresh
Sometimes an item feels tired not because it’s actually worn out but because it needs a small update, a different way of styling it, a new accessory, or simply washing and ironing properly. Separate what needs replacing from what just needs a bit of attention, and you’ll likely find your shopping list shrinks considerably once you’ve been honest with yourself about what was actually wrong with each piece.
Keep a running list of genuine gaps
Once you’ve gone through everything, you’ll usually notice real gaps rather than imagined ones, perhaps you have nothing smart casual for evenings out, or every jumper you own is the same shade of grey. Shopping with that specific list in hand leads to far more useful purchases than wandering round without a plan and grabbing whatever catches your eye on a whim in the shop window.
Photograph what you find
Taking a quick photo of any new combination you land on, rather than trusting memory alone, means you can actually return to it later on a rushed morning. A simple folder of outfit photos on your phone becomes a genuinely useful reference over time, turning a one off evening of rediscovery into a resource that keeps paying off for months, long after the initial sorting session has been forgotten. Sorting those photos into rough categories, smart, casual, evening, makes them even more useful, since you can flick straight to the right section instead of scrolling through everything when you’re already running late. It also makes packing for a trip away considerably quicker, since a handful of already proven outfit photos removes most of the guesswork about what to bring and what will actually work once you’re there.
Still deciding where to go next? Our guide to PERFUME: HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST FOR YOURSELF might help.
If you enjoyed this, our guide to Dressing for Your Body Shape Without Overthinking It is well worth a read too.
