How To Reinvent Your Existing Wardrobe

We’re all spending more time in the home this year and finding inventive ways to entertain ourselves during lockdowns. For anyone that’s missing the thrill of trying on new clothes and picking out new outfits, I might just have the answer. 

Shopping in your wardrobe is a great pick me up and a fun way to while away some hours. How many times have you found something you love in your wardrobe that you had forgotten about? It’s a great feeling. Like you’ve found a brand new item whilst shopping. Why not put aside an afternoon this week and commit to reinventing your whole wardrobe? ‘Shop’ for the forgotten pieces and spruce up what you have.

We may be restricted in terms of where we can go and what we can do, but we can still look and feel fabulous!  Here’s how to get started.

Clear Everything Out

This is the messy bit. Throw open the wardrobe doors and take everything out. Pile it all on your bed. Leave no shelf unturned! Take out every bag, dress, shoe, top, scarf and sock. Every rail, drawer and shelf should be startlingly bare.

Organise By Type & Season

The average wardrobe is jammed, which makes outfits hard to find. Clothes are, more often than not, worn, washed, dried and hastily thrown onto a hanger until next time you need them. Let’s get organised so you can always look your best with ease. 

Start by sorting through the pile you’ve made and divide your clothes by type—all the dresses together, all the skirts etc. Once you have that done, sort each category by season. You will have some pieces that are only for winter, some for summer and others that work for a transitional wardrobe. 

Any season-specific clothes should be cleaned, ironed and carefully stored until needed. A handy way to do this is to use vacuum storage bags and stow summer clothes in suitcases that are empty anyway. Store your special occasion clothes in suit bags to keep them dust-free.

Do A Quality Audit

As you sort through your clothes, you will probably notice some that need TLC. With these, decide if you want to repair and wear or recycle them. Keep two shopping bags handy - one to go to your local clothing alteration service and one for the clothes bank.

If Marie Kondo were helping you sort your wardrobe, then she would tell you to ask yourself ‘Does it spark joy?’ This is a wonderful way of helping you let go of clothes that have run their course. Also, things that don’t fit. There’s no point in keeping hold of something too small or too big ‘just in case’. You deserve to feel good, so why remind yourself always that you wish you were slimmer or bigger? You’re great as you are!

Organise Your Essential Pieces

There are wardrobe items that we turn to day after day. The trustworthy classics that go with everything. Every wardrobe should have key essential pieces; these include your:

 Essential clothing accessories and footwear include: 

Organise these so that they are easy to find and close to one another. If there is an essential item you don’t have, get it next time you’re out shopping.

Try On New Looks

Now for the best bit. There are no doubt items in your wardrobe that you have not worn for years - forgotten favourites and things you’ve only worn once. Clear yourself a runway and try on all your outfits. Take a good look in the mirror as you strut around the house in your fanciest clothes. You will soon know which you want to keep and which you should wear more often!

When did you last have time to experiment with your clothes? A lot of us have items that we’ve never worn because we never worked up the nerve or weren’t sure how to style them. Now is the time to embrace your inner teen girl and play dress up with your wardrobe. Play around with looks and try things together that you wouldn’t have done before. 

By the end of your afternoon of wardrobe reinvention, you will feel like you’ve shopped until you dropped. Better still, when you wake up tomorrow, you will feel like you have a brand new wardrobe to keep you looking fab!

Stay stylish,

Marie