Ladies, what if someone said you could look good and feel stylish with minimum fuss every day AND this was achievable with a smaller wardrobe?
I’m delighted to be the bearer of good news…YOU CAN! And I have some great pointers to get you on a path towards achieving an effortlessly chic wardrobe, with less.
But first, here’s some context and a bit about me…
In my younger years I consumed fashion in excess of my needs. I’ve always enjoyed fashion as a way to express myself, and I feel more confident and ready to tackle the day ahead when I wear an outfit I love.
After being blessed with motherhood, I felt I had so many competing priorities, and I wasn’t one of them. Anyone relate? The first three years of motherhood were particularly challenging. The usual juggle of being a first time mum (loving, caring, feeding, nursing, playing, teaching, disciplining…), a wife, managing the household, fulfilling work commitments and maintaining social connections kept me busy. My mother was also terminally ill, my father was her full time carer, my husband spiralled into a dark place, and before I knew it my beautiful family of three and marriage was hanging in the balance. Thankfully, life’s back on track!
Over this difficult period of time, needless to say, my wardrobe was just one of many areas of my life that fell by the wayside. I didn’t have the time, headspace, disposable income, energy or desire to keep pace with fashion trends. I even felt like I lost my unique sense of style, which I loved about myself. It may seem materialistic to some, but at the end of the day, it negatively impacted on my outlook and intentions for the day ahead, and most importantly how I felt about myself.
I was on a mission to get my style mojo back as quickly and simply as possible. As I had already been inspired by The Minimalists in other areas of my life, I wanted to minimise the size and maximise the style of my wardrobe. I knew I didn’t want or need a large wardrobe; I just needed the right combination of stuff!
Here are my top five tips if you’re dreaming of creating an effortlessly stylish wardrobe, and always having the perfect outfit to pull together on a whim!
Keep it 80/20
Many of us have (or have had) large wardrobes, yet only wear about 20% of our clothes and accessories on a regular basis. It’s time to switch things up for greater ease and functionality. Instead, aim for a wardrobe whereby you wear 80% of your wardrobe items 80% of the time, with the extra 20% for additional colour, fun and statement pieces.
Declutter
In order to achieve an 80/20 wardrobe most people need to undertake a ruthless wardrobe edit. The Minimalists recommend applying a timeframe. For example, I removed all items that I had not worn in the last 90 days, and that I couldn’t see myself wearing in the next 90 days. I found this to be extremely effective, but if it’s too ruthless for you, adapt the timeframe to suit. How to simplify provides a full step by step process to support you.
Define your colour palette
Aim for approximately three neutral colours and up to three statement colours for your Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter wardrobe. Establishing a simple colour palette, based on what you already own, is absolutely key to ensuring maximum flexibility and ease!! Everything works together so you can mix and match until your hearts content, giving you so many options to achieve different looks and styles, with less.
Never fail style staples
It’s all about getting the right balance of good quality, timeless, interchangeable staples in your Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter wardrobe. Notice how I keep referring to only two seasons each year! The fashion industry imposes at least six seasons and up to 52 micro seasons on us each year! Yes, that’s a new ‘must have’ every single week, feeding consumers desire for more, more, more. The key here is to invest in pieces that are going to last in terms of quality and never fail style. Access the free downloadable Essentials Wardrobe Checklist to take the effort out of creating your own effortlessly stylish wardrobe. By using the checklist you will be able to identify and prioritise any gaps, and purchase mindfully.
Style Tips
Get to know your body shape and what you look and feel good in. Whether you’re tall or short, a pear or rectangle, have small or big boobs…play to your strengths! Accentuate the features you love and disguise those you like least. One of my favourite styling tips that absolutely anyone can apply is a clever mix of luxurious textures to add depth, interest and wow factor to your outfit. Read up on some more general style rules of thumb.
With these tips under your belt you will enjoy the many benefits of consuming less fashion. Say goodbye to stressing over what you’re going to wear, wasting time and money aimlessly shopping, jam packed wardrobes, huge washing and ironing piles…. Not to mention the positive environmental impact of consuming less fast fashion! All these benefits, whilst always feeling on point.
Buy less | Choose quality | Go ethical | Feel good | Exude confidence EVERYDAY.
I would love to hear from you if you have any successes, questions or frustrations with downsizing your wardrobe and achieving your very own 80/20 wardrobe. Clare x
Our guest blogger Clare Hession-Johnson is the founder and owner of The Eighty Twenty Collection. The Eighty Twenty Collection is an online marketplace helping women achieve a good quality, simple, versatile and effortlessly stylish wardrobe.
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