Developing a Style.

As of late, I've been really Anti-Fashion and very Pro-Style. 
Fashion hasn't really been doing much for me, and I'm not quite sure why.
If you look back at my past posts, you'll be able to see my penchant for developing a strong and well cultivated personal style. You can also read about my journey to minimalism and my personal influences.

Anyway, if some of you would care to join me on a style-strengthening journey, feel free to read on!

For what felt like an age, I stood before my own culmination of items and felt completely immobilised by the sheer volume of mis-matched fabrics staring at me. I knew that the only way that would work for me would be to start being firm on myself. Here are the steps that I took. Feel free to follow them.

1. Make three piles: keep, maybe, bin/charity/sell.
2. Once these piles are established and your wardrobe is bare, rifle through the 'maybe' pile and try and divide it between the 'stay' and 'go' piles.
3. Focusing on your 'go' pile, divide this between 'bin' 'charity' and 'sell'. Unwearable items fit under 'bin' and wearable items fit under 'charity'. Any items that have only been once or twice, or  are a moneymaking opportunity fit under 'sell'. Put this money towards trips or clothes that fit well or that fit in with your new style. Alternatively, you could do what I did and spend it on coffee, gigs, books and wine.
4. Now, look at your 'keep' pile. Divide this up into 's/s' and 'a/w'. For example, as it is autumn now, you can bag up your 's/s keep' clothes, and put them out of sight. I found that it was useful to list the contents of this bag, and cello tape the list to the bag, so that I knew what was in there, for future reference.
5. By now, all you should be left with are your 'a/w keep' clothes. This is where the fun begins.
6. This step is optional, but you could take this time to pay your final collection of items some attention. This means paying a visit to the washer or dry cleaners, or giving them a brush down, comb, press or iron. Generally, well cared for clothes look so much more luxurious and of a higher quality.
7. Presentation and organisation are qualities that you may not necessarily value until you give them a try. Organise things by colour, or wearability, or length, or texture- get creative and make sure that it works for you.
8. Lastly, repeat these steps, but substitute clothes for shoes and accessories. 

Carefully folded clothes can be stowed away in drawers,  accented by lavender bags and tissue paper to hold the shape.

How to decide?

Wearability isn't all about comfort- here are some questions that you may want to ask yourself:

• How often will I reach for it?
• Will somebody else wear it more than I do? (family, friends, charity.)
• Does it fit in with my other clothes?
• Is it timeless?
• Does it fit with the season/ weather? (if not, how about putting it in your 's/s keep' bag?)
• Do i have room for it?
• Does it have sentimental value?

Where to go from there?

So, let's say that you've had your clear out, and your wardrobe looks satisfactory, but not yet sumptuous and full of the sort of items that you're lusting after. What next?

• Consider making a list. This way, you'll know what you need to make the wardrobe your own.
• Think about interchangeability. Do you have to basics? If you bought one staple item, would it unlock the door to countless interchangeable outfits? A white tee, a shirt, jeans, a simple blazer? staples are called staples for a reason.
• Less is more. Quality not quantity. Uniform Dressing.  - keep these statements in mind.

A small portion of my collection of 'staple blazers'
Left to Right: Bespoke (made for me), Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss and Vintage. 

How to keep it this way?

Let's take it that you've got the items that you needed, and your wardrobe is now making your feel happy and fulfilled. How do you keep up the good work, and stop it from slipping?

• Keep a wish-list. Quit impulse buying. Never buy anything that you haven't dwelled on for more than a month. This way, if you're still lusting after an item for 4 weeks, you know that you're serious about it.
• Quite chain store shopping. All of those trips into town do nothing for your bank balance and everything can seem too tempting. Look online, look at boutique and vintage stores. This way, you're kept away from commercial temptation.
• Look for quality. Remember that one item of great quality is worth 10 poorly made items.
• Know that uniform dressing is cool. There will be a post on this topic soon.

I hope that this was of some interest to some of you.

Ciao for now,

Ronnie x