Picture this: You’re getting ready for a night out with your best friends. You have Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” playing in the background, you’re drinking a glass of your favorite bubbly, and your hair looks like it was just professionally blown out. Things are going so well… until it’s time to get dressed. You stand staring into the abyss of your closet, only to sigh in defeat. The dreaded phrase escapes from your mouth: “I have nothing to wear.” While this phrase is rarely the truth, that doesn’t mean that it can’t feel like reality sometimes. If you’re finding yourself throwing clothes around your room in a panic, trying on outfit after outfit, only to give up and stay in bed in your pajamas instead, it’s safe to say you’re making some wardrobe mistakes. The good news? They’re easily fixable.
If you’re having a fashion fiasco day after day, these are the things you can do so you never feel like you have nothing to wear again.
1. You’re buying into trends rather than timeless pieces
How easy (and oh-so-fun) it is to jump in on a trend. Tie-dye sweatsuits, graphic T-shirts with random words, incredibly oversized sherpa jackets—unfortunately, the trendy pieces we’ve fallen victim to over the past couple years go on and on. And while these items were great at first, after a month or two, it’s easy to feel like they’re no longer “in style.” And what are we left with? Clothing items that we don’t love, let alone really like.
How to avoid having a closet full of pieces you won’t get a lot of wear out of? Follow this golden rule: If you can’t see yourself wearing it in six months, skip it. By thinking ahead and pausing before impulse purchasing trends, you’ll have a closet full of things you want to wear a whole lot more.
2. You’re buying low-quality items
We’ve all experienced it time and time again: You buy a cheaper item, then when you go to wear it, it doesn’t fit right, it’s uncomfortable, and just looks blah. While you don’t need to invest in every single item you add to your closet, for things you have a shot at wearing for years (like a leather jacket or good pair of jeans), it’s worth spending a little more time and thought picking out.
Try investing in higher-quality pieces, even if that means it takes you twice as long to build your dream wardrobe. Not only will they look nicer and fit better, but they’ll also have a space in your closet for longer, and will get the cost per wear more than a lower-quality item would. Make a more conscious effort to assess the quality of the material of the clothes you’re considering buying before you actually purchase them.
3. You don’t have enough basics
Here at The Everygirl, it’s not news that we’re all about a capsule wardrobe. There really is something to be said for having a wardrobe of staple pieces you can turn to time and time again. Truth be told, you can buy as many trendy items as you want, but if you don’t have a pair of jeans that fit you like a glove, or if you don’t have a classic jacket to throw on top, you’re going to run out of options… and fast.
An easy fix? Try investing in more staple garments. Think of items you can wear multiple days in a row, but in a not-so-obvious way. A good white T-shirt can be worn with a leather jacket one day, and a blazer the next. If you have a solid foundation of base pieces for outfits, you’re good as gold.
4. You’re holding onto clothes you no longer wear
It’s easy to want to hold onto things for sentimental reasons. (“But I wore this shirt on the first day of my first job!”). But when you just aren’t wearing something, it’s taking up space and making it harder to see the things you do wear.
Try asking yourself, “Have I worn this in the past year?” and if the answer is no, ask why not. From experience, number two is crucial. If you have something, like that head-to-toe green sequin dress that you’re absolutely obsessed with, but just haven’t had the right occasion to wear it to, that’s perfectly fine! (This may or may not have been a real-life scenario for me). However, if you’re just holding onto it for the sake of holding onto it, maybe it’s time to re-assess, or enlist the help of a friend for a Sex and the City-style purge.
5. You’re buying things for the future
The absolute biggest shopping mistake you can make? Buying something that doesn’t fit right, but that you hope will in the future. Getting something that’s too big or too tight with plans to fit into it in the future is a road you should never go down.
How can you avoid this? When shopping, gently remind yourself: Clothes are supposed to be worn. If you can’t wear it and feel confident in it tomorrow, it isn’t worth getting. Your clothes should make you feel confident and you should look forward to putting them on—and that means that they need to be in the right size.
