“I know my wardrobe needs a little upgrade, but I just can’t find the time from my busy schedule to start a wardrobe building!”
Does this sound familiar to you?
Building a wardrobe that works for you is a long process and definitely not something that can be completed in a few days. But what if you can’t wait that long or don’t have the time right now to initiate the process? You need a quick-fix solution.
In this post I’ll show you three practical steps you can do to improve your wardrobe right now while on a busy schedule. The objective of these 3 steps is not to help you create a masterpiece outfit. But it focuses on the essential actions that will improve the structure of your wardrobe, which you can complete in an hour plus a shopping trip. To help you get started, I created this free cheatsheet that you can download and print.
1. Identify What Works
Everyone has a different lifestyle and they are often represented by an outfit category. In each of these outfit categories, there is a general look or feel of what you would be wearing in these scenarios. Here are some examples:
- Sportswear: sports activity, gym.
- Work wear: office, meetings.
- Leisure home: day-at-home.
- Casual wear: market, day-to-day errands, travel.
- Smart casual wear: date night, social gatherings.
- Formal wear: dinners, formal functions.
For the benefit of illustration, I will be using an example of “Building a wardrobe for travel wear for a period of 7 days”.
TAKE ACTION
♥ The first step is to determine an outfit category group you wish to work on.
♥ Pick at least 5 items that you regularly wear / your favourite outfits.
♥Make a note what you particularly like about them.
2. Build A Structure
Once you have identified the pieces you can comfortably find yourself wearing, you need to translate these into a basic structure of item categories. Next, based on the assumption of “no-repeat” wear in this period of 7 days, it would mean you would need 7 outfit looks.
Now, see how much of your structure you can fill in with the ‘good items’ of your current wardrobe (the ones that you picked out in step one). Be prepared to switch up your structure a little during this step.
TAKE ACTION
♥ Translate your chosen pieces into item categories.
♥ Fill slots with items you already own.
3. Fill The Gap
Now, I know I said this post is not about creating a masterpiece and building a wardrobe that is perfectly aligned with your aesthetic ideals. However in this last step, you do have the chance to up your wardrobe’s style points and tailor it a little more to your personal style.
Which items could fill the missing slots in your structure? Which elements (i.e. colours, styles, details) that already exist in your wardrobe do you want to reinforce? And which new elements do you want to introduce? Do a quick brainstorm and then write a list of any specific elements and items you could consider adding to your wardrobe.
Tip: Do not stress about details!
If you can’t think of any other specifics, simply decide on a colour for each missing slot and move on. Choose at least a neutral colour that goes well with everything in every outfit.
At the end, write a final shopping list and aim to implement your list as soon as possible. If you are missing a lot of items and do not have the budget to buy them all at once, prioritize your list. See if you can find any items in your current wardrobe that could fill some of the missing slots for now, even if they are not ideal.
TAKE ACTION
♥ Choose new elements to introduce into your wardrobe.
♥ Create a list to shop for to fill the gap.
Summary
Once you have completed all three steps and filled the gaps in your wardrobe structure, you should be left with a simple mix-and-match wardrobe. This quick-fix will give you more to wear at least until you have the time for a complete revamp. Or, perhaps a little bit of structure was all your wardrobe needed!
I love hearing from you, if you have any feedback, opinions or questions please comment below. And If you enjoyed this post and know someone who could do with this information, please share it with them by clicking on the share button below.
If you would like to breakthrough from your wardrobe frustration, drop me a chat (jeann@stylebyjeann.com) or simply download my FREE resource “Look Stylish for Less”.