“I have a closet full of clothes and I wear the same ten things.” I have heard this or something similar from so many women over the years. If a woman said that to me during a closet edit, my first reaction wouldn’t be to start yanking things off hangers. It would be “Tell me more.” I’d want to change the question from “Why do I keep wearing the same things?”, to “Why do I keep CHOOSING these things?”
We spend a lot of time thinking about what we aren’t wearing and the feelings around those items. The frustrations and disappointments around having purchased items that never really get worn. Judging ourselves for all the reasons we have for not pulling them out and wearing them.
But what if instead of spending all that time looking at what you DON’T wear, you took a good look at what you DO?
What do they have in common? Is it the neckline and how it flatters you? Do the pants fit without tugging and twisting on your body? Is the color one that lights you up when you wear it? What is it about those pieces that feels right? Do they work easily with other things you own? Do you spend less time thinking about getting dressed when you wear them? And most importantly, how are those pieces fitting in with the life you’re living? They are what you reach for because they reflect the life you are currently living.
And THAT is the woman you should be dressing.
Before you start thinking about it, let me say this: repeating isn’t automatically a problem. If those ten items make you feel good, suit your life and give you what you want from your clothes, great!
What you choose to wear should add to your glow, rather than dim it.
In my own life, I wear denim on repeat, a LOT! But I am not wearing the same outfit day after day. One day I am wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, and blue Adidas. That suits what I am doing that day. Another day I can add a blazer, switch loafers for the sneakers, and be ready for a totally different event. Later in the week I can keep the blazer, switch into a fancier top, switch the loafers for heels and I can be ready for a date night.
A repeat formula isn’t necessarily a repeat outfit.
If the clothes you keep choosing are telling you something, the clothes you keep passing over probably are too. Why DON’T you reach for those? Wrong fabric? Wrong fit? Do they require special underwear? Do you not have anything that goes with it? Do those pieces not work for your current life? Do they no longer feel like you?
The things you wear most often are giving you clues for building a wardrobe that works. If you love certain shapes, fabrics, colors, lengths or levels of ease, that’s useful information for you the next time you’re deciding what belongs in your wardrobe. On the flip side, the things you never choose give you useful information as well.
Maybe those pieces you choose on repeat aren’t proof that your wardrobe isn’t working after all. Perhaps they’re the parts that work best!
The next time you look at a closet full of clothes and decide something is wrong because you keep wearing the same things, stop! Look at those items and ask yourself why.
They may know more about your personal style than you think.
Now I am curious. What are the pieces you find yourself wearing on repeat?