My Wardrobe, Myself

In my last post, I wrote about ten wardrobe items that I recently purged from my closet. I showed photos of these pieces and outlined my reasons for letting them go. As I looked back on what I wrote, I noticed some key themes that were repeated multiple times. In today’s essay, I highlight eight lessons that I learned from my recent closet castoffs.

Summarizing the lessons in one place will hopefully help me to better internalize and apply what I’ve learned. I hope doing so will also give you some “aha moments” about your clothes. I want to avoid repeating the same types of sartorial mistakes. Although not all of our mistakes can be avoided, if we take some time to review why wardrobe items didn’t work well for us, we can usually improve our purchase track record. This has definitely been the case for me, which is why I like to do these types of posts at least once in a while.

A Reminder of the Ten Purged Items

As a reminder, below are the ten items that I wrote about in last week’s post. I will be referencing many of them throughout this post as I encapsulate my lessons learned, but the lessons are much more important than the individual garments and shoes. My hope is that I’ll recall all eight lessons when shopping in the future, and I hope you’ll remember the lessons that apply to your wardrobe and purchases.

Lesson One: Don’t fall in love with one or two details of a garment.

While it’s great to like the color, pattern, or silhouette of an item, that’s not enough. We must be happy with a piece in total or else we won’t end up wanting to wear it regularly. I love stripes and patterned pants, but I should have returned both the fussy tee and the stiff cropped pants that were too short. As it was, I only wore the tee a few times because it wouldn’t stay in place well. And the pants weren’t worn at all! Not only were they too short and too stiff, but they also became ill-fitting after I lost weight in recent months. While I have opted to tailor some of my pants to fit my current shape, there’s no use altering a garment that was already a mistake purchase. It’s much better to cut our losses and move on.

Lesson Two: Be careful with buying pieces at the end of a season.

I thought the black midi skirt was a great find on sale last year, but once the temperatures were right for me to wear it, the skirt no longer fit me well. We never really know when our bodies or lifestyles might change, so it’s best to buy things for the current season, when we can wear and enjoy them regularly. It can sometimes be a good idea to take advantage of end-of-season sales to purchase wardrobe basics and tried-and-true items, but there’s always a risk that today’s staples may become tomorrow’s “benchwarmers,” so buyer beware.

Lesson Three: Don’t settle when it comes to important details.

This is a lesson I keep having to re-learn, as I continue to make the same mistake! Sleeves and pants need to be long enough, full stop. I wore the black marled cardigan only a handful of times because the sleeves were too short (and weren’t easy to push up). I didn’t wear the black pants with the white side stripes much, either, as the inseam really needed to be two to three inches longer. Something always felt “off” about both garments, so I eventually purged them from my closet.

Yes, it’s a bummer that not enough garments are offered in tall sizes, but settling only makes me feel “less than” when I wear the clothes. I know that petite women also struggle with the length of sleeves and hemlines, but garments can usually be shortened but not lengthened. I know this can be costly and inconvenient, but at least it’s a viable option.

I feel that more size options should be available to all of us, and it seems like the situation is improving, at least with some retailers. Not all the details we settle on have to do with size, though. It may be a neckline, collar style, ruffles, or other embellishments. When something bothers us about an item, we should walk – or click – away, as that feature will likely always bother us.

Lesson Four: Be careful of “splitting your wears.”

When we’re already “covered” in a certain wardrobe area, it usually isn’t a good idea to purchase additional similar items. This great lesson from wardrobe stylist Bridgette Raes is timeless. When I bought the black wedge sandals shown above, I already owned several other pairs of black summer sandals that served the same purpose. As a result, I rarely wore the new pair.

Of course, there are times when splitting our wears does make sense, such as my owning multiple pairs of black and other dark-colored lounge pants. Since that’s what I wear most days when I’m at home, having a decent number of them helps me to avoid laundry bottlenecks.  Bridgette provides other examples of when it’s okay to split wears in a great post from earlier this year. It sometimes makes good sense to have more than one of a particular item, but the potential to split your wears is always something to consider when shopping.

Lesson Five: If you love something, wear it – and often!

Sometimes our wardrobe items become damaged or fall apart, as was the case with my metallic flat sandals. Your favorite sweater that you “save for good” might get eaten by moths, or your size might change such that you no longer fit into a beloved dress that you only wore once or twice a year. Most of us have some pieces that we only have a need for very occasionally, such as formal wear. However, in most instances, we can – and should – be wearing our favorites more regularly. Enjoy them while you can because you never know what might happen to your wardrobe items – or in your life.

Lesson Six: Beware of “sales goggles”!

I covered this lesson in my last post of this type (from March), but it bears repeating since it’s such a frequent issue for me – and perhaps for some of you, too. It doesn’t matter how inexpensive something is if we won’t love and wear it! We’re more likely to “settle” when a piece is on sale or low-priced, as I did with the cardigan with the too-short sleeves.

The cardigan only cost $24, but that’s $24 that I virtually wasted on a garment that didn’t fit me the way it should have. The same was true for the black pants with the white side stripes that were too short. I don’t remember how much those pants cost, but I know it wasn’t a lot. But since I don’t like feeling like I’m too tall for my clothing, these two “good buys” ended up going bye-bye in short order.

Instead of purchasing multiple low-priced items that are sub-standard, we’re better off buying just one piece that ticks all or most of our boxes. We’ll actually end up ahead of the game by doing so, as all of those ill-advised sale purchases can really add up! I’ve done the math and it’s not pretty…

Lesson Seven: When in doubt, return!

I should have returned several of the items covered in last week’s post rather than holding on to them. Of course, it’s better not to buy something in the first place, but when we’re shopping online, it’s difficult to know how a garment or pair of shoes will look, feel, or fit based upon a description and a few photos. Even when we’re shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, though, we can’t always know for sure if a prospective purchase will work.

Store lighting and mirrors are often quite different from what we have at home, plus we’re usually trying things on without the proper accompanying pieces. Therefore, it’s always advisable to try new items on again at home as soon as possible – and create outfits around them, too. Sometimes a top or pair of pants will look great on their own, but if we don’t have the proper pairing pieces for them, they can become wardrobe “orphans.” In such instances, we need to decide if we want to take on the “project” of buying more items in order to create a cohesive ensemble. Sometimes that can be more trouble than it’s worth!

If you find yourself trying to talk yourself into keeping something, you should probably return it instead, even if you’ll incur charges to do so. It’s better to have to pay a nominal return fee than to keep an item that you’ll rarely or never wear (fortunately, many retailers offer free returns). I wish I would have returned the cardigan, black sandals, both tops, and both pairs of cropped pants when I had a chance to do so.

Lesson Eight: Review your wardrobe regularly.

I’m closing with this lesson even though it’s one that I’ve known about and practiced for years. Far too many other people don’t review their wardrobes, though. They may look at their closet pieces on hangers and assume that they’re “perfectly fine,” but that’s often not really the case. Our bodies or style aesthetics may have changed such that previous favorites (like my two pairs of Metro Slouch pants) no longer hold our favor. We might also assume that something doesn’t fit us when it actually does – or vice versa.

We could either be wearing items that are just hanging there – or we could pass on the “dead weight” and free up both physical and mental space. However, we must give everything the once-over and try things on in order to have a better idea of our closet situation. Yes, this can be time-consuming, but you can also just go through one small section at a time and gradually work through it all. I think you’ll be glad you did!

I’ve never regretted doing a closet audit. In fact, I’ve often wished I’d done it sooner. Going through my wardrobe has led to my finding “diamonds in the rough” that I’d lost sight of and was happy to start wearing again. Other great outcomes of taking the time to review your wardrobe include:

• Gaining a better understanding of what you have and what you need.
• Freeing up space in what was previously a packed closet.
• Seeing only things that you’re excited to wear when you open your closet.

Conclusion

I hope at least some of my lessons learned resonated with you. As I mentioned previously, sometimes we need to re-learn the same lessons multiple times until they’re fully ingrained in our psyches. The “sales goggles” issue is something that has come up a lot for me, as has “settling” regarding important details.

I don’t plan to stop shopping sales entirely, but I do need to remember that no matter how low a price may be, it’s still a waste of money if I don’t get good use out of the item in question. And even if I must keep searching for an elusive wardrobe item for an extended period of time, that’s better than buying something that doesn’t check the important boxes.

The good news is that my purchase track record continues to improve over time, so at least some of the lessons from my buying mistakes are sticking with me. I don’t think any of us will ever get to a hundred percent success rate, as we are still human after all (and it’s not always easy to discern quality, wearability, and longevity at first sight).  But I would be happy with continuous improvement and being able to classify the majority of my purchases as “winners.” I think most of you would agree…

Your Thoughts?

Now it’s time for you to weigh in on the topics discussed in today’s post. I’d especially love to read about the lessons you’ve learned from your own wardrobe castoffs.

• Have your lessons been similar to mine?
• Are there others I didn’t mention that have been meaningful to you?

My next post will focus on my “holding zone,” what’s currently in there, and how I’ve changed my approach to this important area of my wardrobe. Stay tuned for that one next week…  Have a wonderful weekend and if you’re shopping, please do so mindfully – and beware those sales goggles!