The older I get, the more I’ve come to realize that clothes just aren’t my thing. Once I hit a certain age, I started to realize how much money I was spending on clothing alone, and I couldn’t justify keeping up with that lifestyle! It didn’t feel as exciting — or as necessary — as it once did. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy clothes or love expressing myself through them, but they’ve kind of taken a backseat in terms of priorities. After gradually reassessing my lifestyle, I tightened up my budget and slowly started cutting back in different areas of my life. To my surprise, these small shifts have brought me more joy (and savings) than I ever thought they would! When it came down to it, I realized I did three primary things when approaching a wardrobe that felt purposeful, practical, and uniquely mine. Whether you’re just starting out on your own journey toward scaling back, or simply looking for new ideas to refine your closet, I hope this inspires you to build the curated wardrobe of your dreams!
3 Steps to Curating the Wardrobe of Your Dreams
1. Define Your Personal Style
If you don’t have at least a general idea of who you are, the first place to start is by defining your personal style! Pinterest is a great way to gather ideas and see what you gravitate towards the most. Think about which stores get you excited to browse through new arrivals. When you go to their website, they have a clear and concise vibe. Approach your style like this, gathering inspiration as you go, as though you are creating your own personal brand!
How to Define Your Personal Style
1. Create a Mood Board: First order of business is to gravitate towards where aesthetics reign supreme – Pinterest! Pin outfits, color combinations, style influences, and all things that make you want to dream!
Tip: Pinterest has a new collage feature. Creating a collage is a great way to gain a new perspective on your style as a whole. They’re not just fun and inspiring, but are a wonderful way to notice common themes in what you like!
2. Research & Find Your “Keywords”: If you’ve found a certain style you like most, defining your keywords can help you dig a little deeper into it. This will start training your Pinterest algorithm, or whatever social platform you favor, to show you more content like them. This leads to more brands you’ll uncover, inspiration, and thus helping you define and refine even more!
Style examples: Bohemian, Preppy, Classic, Romantic, Street, etc. Keep in mind, you don’t have to settle into a single category. Most of us rarely do!
2. Purge Your Current Wardrobe
As soon as you’ve identified what suits your style and makes you feel good, take out everything (realistically) that doesn’t align with that vision! Start targeting first what you haven’t touched in months. If you haven’t picked it up in a while, it’s unlikely you will outside of dressing for special events. Next, go through anything that may need replaced from wear and tear or with another size. Make a list of basics that need refreshed. For example, tank tops and layering essentials!
3. Start Shopping with Intention
I love a good sale as much as the next person, but in order to curate something that will last, you’re likely going to have to wait for most of it. I realize this can be frustrating, but that’s the beautiful thing about a curated wardrobe—it’s full of pieces collected over time that you love! Each piece becomes something something special that you will want to wear often.
One of my favorite brands to peruse that focuses on intentional shopping is Neuflora. They specialize in building “a cohesive and beautiful wardrobe that builds on itself month by month“, helping you skip the constant rotation and slowly build wardrobe that you can’t live without!
Pieces I’m loving right now:
Gianna Dress – Plum Plaid
Spokane Skirt – Dusty Teal
Sharma Jacket
Banff Blouse
Tips for Shopping Intently
1. Follow your gut. If you’re already on the fence about an item, put it back. Unless you’re looking it over with awe, it will become old news soon enough.
2. Choose shoes and accessories that are interchangeable and go with everything. Focus on brown, black, and neutral colors.
3. Ask yourself “would I be buying this if it wasn’t on sale?” Don’t compromise quality for a low price. You may spend more upfront, but it will save you money in the long haul.
4. Create a running wish list and revisit it often. See which items stay on your mind, and which ones you forget about easily. This can help filter through the impulse buys.
5. Be realistic about your lifestyle. What do you actually do in a weeks time? Are you really going to wear that dress in your closet, or are you keeping it based off an imaginary scenario?
A Rundown of My Curated Wardrobe
Tops: I keep a lot of t-shirts to grab and go in the forefront of my closet. Most of them I’ve gotten over the years from coffee shops and breweries, all in styles I love.
Blouses: I keep a handful of blouses for mixed occasions, like going to a school function for my daughter or something to that degree. I probably have around 4-5 right now that I love, the majority of which are from Lucky Brand.
Tunics: I am obsessed with Free Peoples lace and voile tunics, and all tunics for that matter. I usually keep two or three in my closet at all times. They pair great with my green utility jacket and brown leather booties.
Outerwear: Utility jacket, Jean jacket, and winter Columbia jacket.
Bottoms: 2 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of shorts.
Dresses: 2-4 sundresses or maxi dresses to wear out.
Shoes: 1 pair of black and brown leather strap sandals, slip on sandals, sneakers for exercise, Blowfish slip-on sneaks (a must), rain boots, and leather booties.
Accessories: 1-2 brown and black crossbodies, 1 belt (I’ve been using the same one since high school), and small collection of jewelry. One beanie and 2 scarfs for winter time.
Bras/Underwear/Socks: 1 bra, 1 strapless bra, and 6-10 pairs of underwear, 3-5 pairs of socks.
Floral prints: Throw some flowers on it and I’m obsessed! This is a non-negotiable in my wardrobe.
There you have it! My tips for achieving the curated wardrobe of your dreams. Do you have any tips for shopping intentionally?
