having a sustainable wardrobe no.3

the how to guides

Photo credit. Adrienne Leonard Unsplash

aim for clarity and simplicity

Rather than rush out and buy a new whatever, have you already got one, or something similar at the back of your wardrobe? At the risk of repeating myself, the mantra that “if you don’t know what you have, how can you know what you need”, this is where clarity comes in.

If your current collection of clothes is a jumble, and it takes you ages to find the thing you want to wear, then perhaps now is the time to sort it out? This jumble doesn’t need to be an unruly mess. Clothes can disappear at the back of seemingly tidy drawers, shoes hidden in boxes, items that have been double hung in an orderly wardrobe, or things may have been stored in a bag in the attic for next season, but then forgotten about.

Take time just to look at the things you have. Whether this is the result of a meaningful declutter or just shifting your seasonal clothes around. If you can gradually reduce the amount of stuff you don’t wear, then you will automatically be left with a wardrobe of items you do wear.

When you know what you have, and can find it, you will be able to wear more of the things you already own and resist the temptation to buy something new just for the sake of it. Having fewer things means that you will probably end up wearing each item more. If something needs to be replaced, you can make an informed decision rather than buying something on the spur of the moment in a hope that it will work well with your other clothes.

Curating your style and your colour choices adds another level to your clarity. Building a collection of clothes around a few simple ideas means that you stand a far better chance of getting real value from the items you own and dressing in a sustainable way.

This will be a personal experience so don’t be swayed by what others think or do. If you wear dresses all the time, then create a series of capsules around these. If you only wear jeans then this should obviously be your focus, however fashionable dresses might appear. Perhaps you have decided that having a wardrobe of navy items makes sense to you, or you might like bright vibrant colour-ways. Whatever works best for you, keeping your collection simple will mean you get the most value from your clothes.

Continues in No.4…

All rights reserved. Milly Churchill asserts the right to be identified as the author of this work.