Style Resolutions
New year, same you, better wardrobe.
Well, we did it. We made it through another year. Some of us thrived, some of us barely hung on, but, regardless of the quality of your 2023: it’s over! So let’s celebrate that! I have a li’l present for y’all at the end of this post but first, let’s talk about next year.
While I am not one to wait until the new year to act on my goals (I started working on my New Year’s Resolutions in October), I cannot deny the power of a new beginning, especially one with a forced start date.
I assume you’ve already thought about your career and your financial goals. Maybe you’ve decided to eat better or get into a new hobby, as well. But, have you thought about what you’ll be wearing?
Even the best laid wardrobes can be improved in some way, no matter your level of commitment or finance, so, here’s some style resolutions to consider, and some easy entry points to your best, most fashionable year.
Spend Nothing
Understand Your Wardrobe: Most of you have probably decided to “overhaul” your wardrobe for the year, but—and I’ve said this before—the overhaul is pretty much meaningless if you don’t address the habits that lead you to wanting to overhaul in the first place and if you don’t have a clear idea of what your style is and the best ways for you to express it. Taking the time to truly evaluate what you have and what you actually wear, as well as what you need, your shopping habits, and, most importantly, your point of view (aka personal style) will set you up for success far better than just purging your wardrobe.
Create a Capsule Wardrobe: A capsule wardrobe, at its core, is just a collection of items that can be worn repeatedly in multiple ways. That means, if you wear clothes, you probably already have a capsule wardrobe, it just may be enveloped in between a bunch of things you don’t wear.
Cultivate a Signature Look: Having a signature style that truly reflects your personality makes it a million times easier to curate a cohesive wardrobe. If you only wear gold jewelry, or wide-legged pants, or chunky shoes, you’ve saved yourself the trouble of having to navigate other styles that may not resonate with you, and given yourself a baseline that makes all your looks undeniably you.
Learn About Fashion: So, so many people want to get into fashion but have no idea how to start, primarily because they don’t know what they want to get into, or what their goal is. For instance, if your goal is to just be able to recognize designers from a look, you’ll want to look at runway photos—lots of them. If your goal is to understand designers and houses, you’ll want to also read show notes and house codes and history—this is easiest if you pick one well-known designer and read books on them. For fashion history, you can research specific decades to see what you gravitate toward or look for books that cover large chunks of fashion history like The Golden Thread by Kassia St. Clair for a vast history of textiles or The Lost Art of Dress for the way people used to approach getting dressed and how it’s changed over time. If you want to learn about up and coming designers, browse for them on SSense or Farfetch and then check out their social media and press on them. And if you want to learn about the industry, look at trade publications like Women’s Wear Daily, or Business of Fashion or The Fashion Law. It’s not impossible to learn about all of these things at once, but having a focus not only makes it easier, but can help you understand what you actually prioritize in your fashion learning.
Spend a Li’l Bit
Accessorize Better: Even if you’re starting from nothing, this is an easy habit to build that only requires a minimal investment. You could start practically by committing to wear a belt every time you wear pants or a skirt with belt loops (something I recommend, anyway!) or with a nice everyday bag. To start prioritizing jewelry, start by establishing your everyday jewelryscape: your necklace(s), your ring(s), your bracelet(s) or whatever you feel comfortable committing to putting on everyday. To start building a versatile collection, consider doing a No Buy on everything except accessories—just make sure you have a plan!
Start DIYing: You don’t need a sewing machine to start creatively altering your clothing! If you can sew by hand, you can easily switch out buttons on things like blazers or shirts, or even add trim or bows to pieces. For those who can’t (or won’t) hold a needle, try dyeing those pieces with mysterious unremovable stains, or making your own trendy raw-hem tops and jeans by cutting off the bottoms.
Thrift More: No matter your needs, and (almost) no matter your location, most people can buy secondhand. If you’re in the U.S. and prefer to thrift in person, The Thrift Shopper is a directory of over 12,000 stores that you can search by zip code. If you’re in the market for furniture and would prefer to look online, Kaiyo is U.S.-based and has some amazing high quality furniture for great prices (I got my couch for $500 including delivery!). And, no matter where you are, Gem is an app (and website) that searches dozens of sites including eBay and Etsy for secondhand clothing with filters for sizes (including plus sizes), location (I use it to shop for my clients outside of America), and price. Whenever I’m looking for something, I always look secondhand first and I consider it a habit everyone should work on building.
Spend Strategically
Support Local Brands/Designers: Depending on where you are, this can be a little tricky, but, if you’re able, focusing on your nearest major city/locale can make it a lot easier. Look for independent boutiques using a site like Garmentory or local designers/makers by searching Etsy and filtering for your city/state/country. Look for local art fairs and fashion events, as well, and, where possible, pick a walkable part of your area and just, you know, look around.
Upgrade Wardrobe Basics: I’m a huge fan of simply upgrading and replacing well-loved items in your wardrobe rather than trying to reinvent the wheel every time you decide to revamp your wardrobe. The best upgrades are going from old fast fashion to ethical, independent brands that create every garment with care and/or upgrading the quality you can afford by going secondhand. Just make sure you have a plan, first.
Shop Better: It’s so, so important, as our planet heats up, our landfills overflow, and the most exploited populations fight for their rights and dignity, to do our part by consuming more mindfully. In addition to simply shopping less, that means making better decisions for what we do buy. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t really know what “better” means in terms of clothing quality. But I do. So I wrote a book about it! How 2 Shop is a 25-page e-book about everything from fabrics to garment construction to what makes something truly “timeless.” You can buy it, here. Paid subscribers can download it for free(!) below.