How to Create a Cohesive Wardrobe

This post originally appeared last week on my column Vegan Vogue I write for I Eat Grass. If you haven’t stopped by I Eat Grass yet, be sure to do so!

It’s taken me years to finally curate for myself a wardrobe collection that all works together. Technically termed a “capsule” wardrobe, I can now wake up in the morning half asleep, in the dark, and pull anything from my closet and it’ll work together.

Here’s how I did it.

My Tastes Change, So Should My Wardrobe

There are two major fashion seasons of the year, spring and fall. With them comes a flurry of new fashion collections, styles and trends. Because of this, I try to keep my wardrobe fresh by cleaning out what I no longer like or wear twice a year, and then shopping to replace it with new stuff I adore.

Despite the fact I love fashion, I absolutely hate shopping.  Sticking to this twice a year model works great for me, being I knock it all out at once and I’m set for the season.  That way my look always looks current, I’m always excited to get dressed, I have plenty of space in my closet, and I’m not cluttered down with a mess of stuff that was last season that I no longer like.

I Have a Well Curated Basic Collection

Basics are the foundation of your wardrobe. Without them, it’s extremely difficult to style outfits for a variety of needs. Your basics can all be styled dressy or casual, so it’s very important to have a well stocked collection to make your other pieces work for you instead of against you. When getting dressed in the dark, a basic always makes up at least one component of my outfit.

I Only Like Certain Colors and Patterns, So I Stick With Them

Despite my trying, I’ve learned I absolutely hate florals and powder pink. So I no longer buy anything with those colors or design. I have however always loved leopard, stripes, geometric/graphic prints, and red, so I make sure my closet is filled with those options.

I’m also careful to evaluate this season to season in case my tastes change. For example, this past spring and summer I transitioned from loving red to loving neon yellow. I updated my wardrobe accordingly.

Mixing my favorite patterns and colors with my curated basic pieces creates my specific style, and allows me to now get dressed in the dark because everything goes together.

I Only Buy What Looks Amazing on Me, or I Get It Altered

No point to wearing anything if it doesn’t look good on you. It’ll just sit in your closet, or worse you’ll wear it and you won’t look your best. I won’t buy anything that doesn’t make me feel awesome about my current body and the way I look. If it’s close, but not perfect, I get it altered. End of story.

I Only Buy Items I Love

If you don’t absolutely love something to the point you just have to have it, there’s no reason it should be in your wardrobe. This also goes for anything trendy, or what you “think” you should have. If you don’t love it, you won’t wear it. It’ll just sit in the back of your closet as you wear the items you actually do love.

Not only does this take up valuable closet real estate, but it makes it harder to select what to wear because the pieces that work for you are buried among other stuff you’re meh about. By only having garments you love wearing right now, you’ll never run into this problem.

All these tips aside, there are still mornings I wake up when I have absolutely no idea what to wear. My go to look? All black. You can’t ever go wrong with it. It’s very NYC chic, and it always looks incredible and in style.

Does your wardrobe work for you, or against you?

Vegan Vogue is a lifestyle and style column focusing on all things in vogue and vegan. More tips from Corrie Feld can be found at her website Brooklyn Bliss. Follow her on Twitter @CorrieFeld

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Summer Wardrobe Clean Out

Last week I was self-imposed crazy and productive, and it feels amazing!  Not just on the work front, but also at home.

Over the weekend, I totally cleaned out my closet to get ready for fall.  I always do this two times a year, once in February for the spring and summer seasons, and once in August for the fall and winter seasons.  I clean out what I haven’t worn or no longer like, sell what I can or exchange for trade at my favorite second-hand stores, and also find what items either need repair or alterations and get them all together.  Then from there, it’s super easy to shop for what I know I’ll need in the upcoming season, I know everything I have in my closet, plus I save money because I’m only buying what I really need to replace.

Not only did I clean out my closet, but I also immediately took care of the items I cleaned out instead of leaving them in bags all over my apartment for a few weeks until I get around to it.  As a result, I now have over $200 in credits to use at Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading, all for a weekend’s work.  To also aid in me sticking to my wardrobe budget, I had set up a Smarty Pig account back in February that automatically saved money for me over the past few months specifically so I can shop to update my wardrobe.  It then goes on a refillable pre-paid Master Card which I can then take with me shopping.  I know I’ve hit my max when there’s nothing left on the card.

Yay, I’m so excited for next weekend because it’s my big shopping weekend! I usually only do two big shopping trips a year because despite the fact I love clothes and fashion, I absolutely hate going to stores.  So I look forward to these trips to get my wardrobe up to date in minimal time.  Because, you know I’m trying to be productive.

I have a few other goals to accomplish this week now that I’m on a productivity roll…

1. Set up a regular posting schedule here on Brooklyn Bliss.  I’ve never really had one.
2. Get re-engaged in my social media.  My poor friends think I’ve vanished from Facebook and Twitter.
3. Work out 5 times this week.
4. Shop for fall wardrobe items next weekend.
5. Take 3 outfit photos this week.  I’ve been slacking lately and as a result getting sloppy in how I dress since I know it’s not going on the internet.

 

Oh, and did I mention my husband and I are bunny sitting?  We have our friends bunny Snarf visiting us this week while she’s on a quick vacation to visit her family.  So our tiny Brooklyn apartment is currently akin to the Bronx zoo, but totally worth it because I luz animals.  Isn’t she adorbes?

December 30 for 30

So November was pretty much a “nothing” month for me.  I did do much at all, blogging included because I was busy resting to cure my fatigue.  Good news is after what seems to be a gazillion doctors appointments, the source of my fatigue was a simple virus and over the past several weeks I’ve been feeling more and more like myself.  Now that I’m pretty much back up to speed, it’s time to get on with my life again.

I’ve been loving what Kendi and the other bloggers have been doing with the 30 for 30 remix challenge.  In the spirit of not spending anything on myself and instead spending everything on my loved ones for the holidays, I’ve decided I’m going to take on this challenge and remix what I’ve got in my wardrobe for the month of December.  Okay not the entire month only until December 30th, it’s supposed to be a 30 day challenge.  That way I can still live it up for New Years Eve.   

My best friend has also agreed to take this journey with me so it should be interesting.  I’m expecting it to really be a challenge.  I’ve got a smattering of holiday parties, a rescheduled “celebrity” event, as well as 3-5 days of work travel all scheduled into this month.

The rules are pretty simple.  I can choose 30 items out of my closet.  Shoes unfortunately count into the mix.  Luckily, accessories and coats do not.  Using these 30 items I have to come up with 30 outfits and document them along the way. 

Here are the items I’ve chosen. 

Let the remixing begin!