Monday, April 7, 2014

A Closet Full of Clothes but Having Nothing to Wear

I am pretty positive that most of us women have said or felt such "powerful", "true to sense" statement like this at least once (if not more) in our lifetime.


There are secret codes within that statement all of us girls know too damn well. To politically correct it, the statement should be something like this "A closet full of (OLD, BORING, OUTDATED) clothes but nothing (NEW, TRENDY & EXCITING) to wear". Am I right? or Am I right?



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{Teddy bears, sunglasses and bow c/o of a daughter; a necktie c/o of a husband}

Not too long ago I looked at piles of fresh laundry clothes on the floor in my bedroom. Out of all these countless pieces of clothing.  

How many do I "actually" wear?? I asked myself

Although I have significantly scaled down my clothes shopping in the past few years (really??). I am still facing the dilemma of having too many clothes yet not having things to wear. It is ridiculous, right? Too much of something can be overwhelming.

I think most of us (me included) have a habit of wanting "new" things and we know there will always be new clothes / shoes / accessories and etc.  Who can rotate and recycle their clothes 365 days straight without buying anything in reality? That is no fun. I simply buy what I like (but not always  suit or look good on me). So my problem/diagnosis is that I have been buying the wrong kind of clothing!!!!! Here is my wardrobe analysis.

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{I don't have anything to wear, REALLY, SERIOUSLY and HONESTLY.}

Obviously some of my purchases do not suit me/my lifestyle or I don't feel comfortable in them enough to be wearing them often. One obvious example is that I am a pants kind of girl. I wear skirt or dress less than 10 times a year yet 30% of my closet is, you bet, filled with pretty dresses and skirts!!

Hmmm...why???

Weeellllll they were pretty so I bought them.

Some dresses I only wore twice because they are not versatile (or I lack the ability/vision to style it differently,  this sounds more like the true culprit). Then I just LOVE anything lace, ruffles but too much lace and ruffles can make one look like a crown. In conclusion I've come up with some solutions. Here are my areas of improvement:

1) To either wear skirts/dresses more often or cut down on purchasing them in the future (no more than 10%)

2) Clean out my closet. Donate what I don't wear to get rid of clutters so I can easily see all my clothes and hopefully every piece gets some love and wear.

3) I am a casual dresser. My lifestyle is not involved with many fancy events. What type of clothing suit me and make me feel confident? In real life, you know we are not going to be able to rock every look as portrayed by fashion bloggers. It is the matter of experimenting until we find what look good on us.

3) Think versatility: can I style or wear this more than one way?

Have you came across such dilemma of not having anything wear?

10 comments:

  1. This happens to me all the time, lol! more so now that I'm not working. When I was working, there was a set of clothing that I stick by such as suits, slacks, khakis, and blouses. Now that I'm not working, I'm experimenting with everything! I'm cleaning my closet out more often than I used to because of it, yikes. I'm with you when it comes to pants as well, I've stopped buying dresses and skirts now, it's just not me and doesn't fit into my lifestyle. I'm still experimenting just not as much anymore; I'm slowly starting to understand what makes me comfortable and suits my body type and not just simply following some fashion trend that I saw somewhere. I'll probably still have some more closet clean outs before all is said and done but hopefully not as much anymore :)

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  2. I always have this dilemma; I think most women do. In the UK pretty much all schools have a uniform, so pre-18 was never really a problem for me. Then I hit uni and I knew I would suffer every morning staring at a wardrobe full of clothes and not knowing what to wear. So I 'created a uniform' for myself. That's how my Mum explains it anyway. A black top, jeans, colourful jumper if it was cold, and a leather jacket. It's what I would wear every day, I just had piles of jeans, piles of black tops and piles of colourful jumpers to choose out of every morning which was no problem at all. I'm so glad I did that and if I go back to uni I will be doing exactly the same. I am like you, a casual dresser, but my friend can get away with dresses at any occasion! She never wears pants but never looks overdressed, getting an ice cream say, or underdressed at a party. I don't know how she gets away with it. I think some people must just suit the dress/skirt look.

    Your comment on my Snail extract review got me thinking. I might be doing a post soon, and if I do write it, I will be sure to mention you as my inspiration! Rosemary x

    rosemaryofelephants.blogspot.com

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  3. OH all the time!!! I am a sucker for pretty dresses and skirts too but not many occasions to wear them especially now as a mum to a very young baby.

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  4. i agree! i buy things because they are pretty too.. in the last year i've been scaling back.. and put a budget amount that i'm allowed to spend monthly on clothes/accessories ect.. and that really has helped me pick more streamlined "basics" things that i can wear interchangable.. and mix in with my "prettier" items too!!

    www.lisalovescoco.blogspot.com

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  5. this is definitely a dilemma. i've bought clothes thinking that i'll wear it a at a certain time but never have. it was me telling myself that i have to be bolder with some of my choices and it just never panned out!

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  6. You are right! You are right! I don't wear half of the clothes in my wardrobe any more even after carting 2 paper bag full of clothes to family and friends. Those that remain and take up space in my wardrobe are those which I feel I would still wear... but not really.

    I used to always wear pants in my previous company and I don't wear anything that is even of the slightest revealing as I would be teaching kids 1/3 of the time. Now in my current company, I'm wearing a lot more dresses and shorter dresses too. I'm not that tall but my thighs are long and hence many dresses look short on me. Those finally saw the light of day. I was so excited wearing all of them when I noticed that the ladies in my department really have lots of clothes. I'm repeating my clothes within the next week but most of them don't. I'm so amazed that suddenly I feel that I do not have a wardrobe full of clothes. But I still agree that I have nothing to wear.

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  7. I think this happens to all us at some time. I tend to wear a "uniform" of the same things most of the time cause it's easy and works. When I clean out my closet I make a point out of trying to pull out things that I haven't worn in awhile or at all and trying to incorporate them into new outfits. This has worked pretty well for the most part with separates but it's not as easy with dresses.

    Rowena @ rolala loves

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  8. Ohhh, I love that cute pic of the teddy bears couple :)

    I find myself thinking the same as you almost everyday. Especially during the last months because I didn't have enough space in my boyfriend' wardrobe so most of my clothes are still inside a suitcase and I don't really know what I have with and what not. As a result I've been wearing almost the same everyday, a pair of jeans with a loose top and a jumper in winter.
    I really like dresses and usually during summer I wear dresses almost everyday - it is so comfortable! But just like you, I've also made a resolution of not buying clothes which are not practical or do not fit my everyday style, which is rather casual. No need to have my wardrobe packed of clothes I never wear, at least I actually need some for a special occasion :)

    Hope you succeed with your new plan and find new ways to update clothes you don't wear that often :)

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  9. That's like me all the time, I have closet full of clothing but I always ended up with nothing to wear and always need new restock on clothing (: anyway I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog, it's meaningful! x

    http://birdiethgirl.blogspot.com

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  10. Nelah, I've been going through the exact same thing! I buy something, because it looks pretty and then when I see it on me I'm not as in love. HAHAHA I'm getting better, but I had the same habit as you. Which left a lot of clothes in my closet! For the past couple of years, I've been selling some of my stuff on eBay. I remember when you did fashion blogging and you wore some really nice stuff. You may want to sell some of it and get some money for it. That way, you can buy things that work for you. I can't imagine anything not working for you, because I always thought you looked fabulous in everything. HaHaHa I'm finally wearing things for my body type. I know what necklines and lengths work for me. I still have my hiccups when buying something, but I am getting better. Those two teddy bears are killing me! HAHAHAHA I love the heart shaped glasses and tie. This was a great post! Loved it! You really brought up a good point.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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