Wardrobe Full of Clothes But Nothing to Wear
Wardrobe full of clothes but nothing to wear?
Do you ever look in your wardrobe, which is stuffed, full of clothes, and feel like you have nothing to wear?
Perhaps you have stuff that you are hanging onto that no longer fits? Or did it not fit in the first place? You bought it thinking it would be perfect when you'd lost a few pounds...but you never did.
Maybe you hang on to stuff because it has good memories? Or because you just love it even though you don't/can’t wear it and more.
Was it expensive? Do you think it might be worth something if you ever got round to sticking it to eBay? (You know you’re never going to, don’t you?) Is it feasible that it might come back in fashion one day?
WTF - Wardrobe That's Failing
Possibly you’re a repeat buyer? Do you have lots of pairs of black trousers for example? Or 18 black dresses (you know who you are)? Or a penchant for white shirts? Or, like one of my clients, if you really like something buy it in several sizes just in case your weight changes.
Perhaps you love a bargain? Is your wardrobe full of clothes that still have tags on, bought in the sale? Stuff you wouldn't have ever looked at it was full price, but it was such a good bargain you just had to have it.
Maybe you are a charity shop shopper with the "I'll get this because it is only a few quid" mentality but then it goes into the clothing graveyard with all the other stuff that never sees the light of day.
If you’ve found yourself nodding to any of these questions you have WTF syndrome and should read on...
Did you know that most of us wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time?
This is even more likely if you have a floordrobe (or The Chair) as well as a wardrobe. This is when you don't get around to putting clean laundry away and just keep taking the clean clothes from the pile.
Due to COVID I haven’t been able to get hands on with anyone’s wardrobe for a while but in my experience, I can categorise the types that tend to have the larger than average clothes collections. It’s often because they are hanging onto things for emotional reasons, or they enjoy the buzz they get from buying something new. I call this Till Thrill.
In some cases they will buy things with no intention of keeping it just to get the thrill of the purchase. It can sometimes be emotional shopping to fill a void and/or escape from something, boredom, or they are just searching for that ‘Unicorn Item’ that makes them feel a million dollars.
Sometimes people amass large collections of clothing because they are buying clothes for some kind of fantasy life. They buy things that look nice on other people who they aspire to look like. Then when the floaty, layered look dress that looked amazing on the tall, angular model doesn’t quite look the same on their 5’3” curvy frame it joins all the other clothes languishing, unworn, in the wardrobe.
Get your wardrobe ready for the new season
Anyway, whatever your reason for having a wardrobe full of clothes that you aren’t wearing, as spring is in the air it’s a good time to have a sort of and get your wardrobe ready for the new season. That way before you hit the shops again with gusto you will have clarity around what is actually in your wardrobe already. Having a clear out is quite cathartic, you'll feel great once you’ve done it.
If you feel inspired to have a clear out sort your clothes into piles as you sort through. Have a keep pile, sell, and charity and throw away. I call this a mini Wardrobe Weed; you need to plan in some time to do it.
You could even synchronise this with a group of friends which is what we are doing in my Project FAB! Community this weekend. We are going to check in with each other at set times throughout the day with progress updates and to give each other support. It will be more fun than being buried under a clothes mountain alone.
Wardrobe Weeding: The Basic Steps
To start with you should get everything out and sort it into piles
• things you wear regularly and love
• special occasion stuff that you wear once in a blue moon
• things you never wear
Now put the 'wear a lot' and 'blue moon' stuff back in the wardrobe. Put the hangers all the same way, facing outwards. Once you’ve worn something then hang it back the other way, facing inwards. This way you’ll be able to see at a glance what stuff you never wear for next time you have a sorting out session.
Hang things in categories and organise by colour so that you can see at glance what you have. So you have all your black trousers together, then blue trousers etc, white shirts, pink tops etc. You will probably see recurring themes. The first time I did it I noticed that I had a penchant for black and white patterned tunics!
You may also realise where there are gaps. It might be that you realise a striped blazer or navy cardi is just the thing you need to buy as it would go with so many of your other things.
Wear more items from your wardrobe
If you have had your colours analysed and have colours from your palette all your clothes should tone together beautifully. Especially if you have subscribed to the capsule wardrobe concept of buying a range of clothes in a limited palette that will mix and match to create tons of outfits.
If you know which styles suit your body shape the same thing applies - if it doesn't suit you or makes you feel uncomfortable get rid of it - it serves you no purpose and will just make you feel miserable. Stick it the ‘never wear’ pile.
With your 'never wear' pile you should check everything is clean, then decide if it is for selling on eBay, charity. (Please don't send dirty items to the charity shops, as some poor volunteer will need to sort through the bag. I speak from experience here.) Once restrictions are lifted you could even arrange a swishing party with friends where you swap stuff around if you are of similar sizes.
If anything is too embarrassingly tatty to sell on/gift it is still worth taking it to the charity shop as they can weigh it in for rags, or you cut it up and use it for dusters. Pop it in a bag labelled rags so they know they don’t have to sort through it.
It will be worth the effort as you will end up with a more curated selection of clothes to choose from each morning.
If you want help with any of this stuff get in touch for a chat about my packages or check out my reflective guided journalling programme Suss Your Style in 30 Days.
Tagged as: How to...
Share this post: