Wrong Clothes Filling Your Wardrobes? Stick To Styles That Suit YOU

We all have days when we do not have the right thing to wear, either to an event or to cope with the indecisive British weather. Our wardrobes seem to be stuffed full with the wrong clothes and we rummage around getting more frustrated.

I am not going to suggest you get Marie Kondo round to cull your wardrobe and leave you with 10 pieces – that is a bit over-functional for me. I am also not suggesting that we have lots of pieces in our wardrobes that still have the price tags on. No, we have matured beyond that phase or have we?

I am talking about the fact that we buy too many items that are very similar. I mean how many navy jumpers can one have? You cannot wear them all at the same time and chances are you will always wear your favourite. Get rid of them all bar two.

Pale grey leather flatform brogue from Marks & Spencer / wrong clothes
Marks & Spencer – leather flatform brogue shoe £49.50

Do you even know what is in your wardrobe? I can’t always remember the names of my friends so I definitely will be unable to list the contents of my wardrobe. Maybe we should only own what we can remember we have – that would clear out a lot of the wrong clothes. It can’t be that nice if we can’t remember it. Finding an item you have not worn for ages is not like putting on a pair of trousers and finding a £10 note in the pocket. No it will more likely give you a feeling of guilt because, not only had you forgotten you owned it, you probably bought something very similar thinking you had nothing like it.

Blue & White dress from Boden / wrong clothes
Boden – Bella Jersey Dress £80

Grace suggests that we turn the hangers around once we have worn something and so at the end of the season we can see what we have not worn. Good plan until your daughters raid your wardrobe and everything is pulled out, tried on and tossed to one side, usually with some equally tossed aside remark like, “Mum, surely you don’t ever go out in this?”

Your wardrobe should be a series of building blocks and you add and detract without ruining the shape. At our age we know what suits us, or we should do! Let’s not think that the new fashion might suit us – we should be able to look at it and say are these the right or wrong clothes for us with conviction. Maybe occasionally step outside your comfort zone but do not do it too regularly. My experience is that if you are wearing clothes that you feel confident in i.e. that you know suit you you will look good. I would love to do the Bohemian look, long floaty dresses and floppy hats, Greek sandals and woven bags. However much I love that look I don’t feel comfortable in it and the clothes wear me rather than the other way around. I am better in tailored clothing with maybe one of the Bohemian items thrown in but not the whole look.

Me+Em black and white shirt & red long sleeve top / wrong clothes
Me+Em Gingham Track skirt – £159

The real fact is we are pretty well-sorted with clothes and if we never bought another thing we would survive. But what is the fun in that! So having said all of the above I am going to pepper this post with a few items that have grabbed my attention and maybe yours over the past weeks and so far I am resisting as I do not need any of them!

Red linen long sleeve shirt from Marks and Spencer / wrong clothes
Marks & Spencer pure linen shirt available in 8 other colours – £27.50

The Sales have started but beware as realistically they are selling the heavyweight items as they probably over-bought thinking summer would never come. Now that the sun is shining the shops are hanging onto all the high summer gear and may not reduce them until the Autumn winds prevail.

Click on the pics to go through to the relevant websites to purchase.

I have tried to pick items that could be worn for longer than just the summer and could be the right not the wrong clothes and accessories!

For more Fashion posts click HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 0 votes
Article Rating

Leave a Reply

3 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jilly Green
Jilly Green
4 years ago

Oh, how true! I’ve recently done a wardrobe overhaul so I know what I’ve got, grouping styles together (white tops, check shirts, silky tunics, skinny jeans according to colour or fabric, boots by style, purpose, black or brown and so on) this makes it easier to match, wearing similar things within each group (not always the same thing every time!) so I will get the wear from more things.

Also resolved to “wear in” unworn boots so I can actually wear them, start to use things bought on sale and then just put aside until current things have been worn to death, lose an inch so other new things are comfortable, only duplicate the things I love, give away what I really don’t need any more so “less is more” and not seeing piles of unwanted stuff doesn’t have that effect where you buy more because you “haven’t a thing to wear”!

At 62, I know what I like and what suits me, only 5’2″ size 4 and going for practicality, comfort and understated elan, so I don’t really follow fashion (last year, I gave the “cold shoulder” look the cold shoulder and this year I will not be wearing tropical brights).

I like to buy good quality which will last for years (bought on sale if at all possible) and mix them with lower priced basics, a linen shirt from M&S can look just as good as Burberry, after all, even if doesn’t last as long it costs less to replace. A great pair of boots and matching bag, or a luxury scarf, can “lift” the whole look and I’ve recently discovered the joy of hats, fedoras, baker boys, peaked caps (worn with the peak at the front, of course!).

Hope this is helpful, keep up the good work!

Veronica Barrett
4 years ago

I have just discovered the Vivienne Files: http://www.theviviennefiles.com/
This is a quite amazing website on how to start/build/maintain a capsule wardrobe such as I have never seen before! I am now full of enthusiasm for sorting out my ‘stuff’ – my hold-up is that I still have to lose at least half a stone in order to get into most of the really nice clothes I already have but haven’t been able to wear for a couple of years. She has loads of help on wardrobes, regardless of one’s taste and colours.