Adding to the Wardrobe

 

It surprises most people who know me, but I actually have a relatively compact wardrobe. Particularly my parents, who are well aware that my wardrobe at home contains all the clothes I own which don't reside in my Dundee wardrobe. I wouldn't call it a small or capsule collection, with some pieces included that need specific styling, but it's certainly not at the proportions of other fashion bloggers, goths or even friends.

I'm quite proud of this; a lifelong hoarder, over the past five or so years I've made a conscious effort to cut down on the amount of items I have - both pruning excess items I no longer wear and cutting down on buying. The result is the wardrobe I have today. This works out nicely for me, as I don't usually have problems getting dressed (well, I do - but that's not my wardrobe's fault) and what I have works well together. I don't feel like there's items that aren't worn, and I don't get Nothing To Wear Syndrome all that regularly, because there's very little excess fat.

Recently, however, something has been up; I've been spending increasingly long in front of the mirror, already late for my class but completely unable to pick. I feel like all my outfits are tired and look the same. The majority of my clothes need repaired. I've not been inspired by my usual sources. Insidiously, angst has crept into my feelings about what I wear. I have Nothing To Wear Syndrome.

Change is a necessary phenomenon. All these are symptoms of a disruption of the balance in my wardrobe, but it was only when my partner agreed with me and said that yes, Houston, there is a problem that I actually realised that despite supposedly doing everything right, my wardrobe was giving me grief. Whilst I still have a lot of clothes and being thrifty is commendable, my student efforts to avoid buying anything has left what I am wearing boring to me and leads to frustration. With the exception of two charity shop purchases, I hadn't bought any clothes since December, and I was stagnating.

Most spring clean guides and wardrobe advice focus on cutting down, but what to do when that's not the problem? Solution - buy things.

Well, yes and no. I still have a lot of wardrobe upkeep to do - dresses need mending, shorts need re-dying, and jewellery chains need fixed. I'm also planning on doing lots of DIY accessories and clothing to give myself more variety. But it's spring, I'm not feeling particularly poor, I've identified some holes in my wardrobe that need filled and the rush of a shopping spree is a joy in and of itself. It's a luxury, yes, but not one to deny oneself - whilst an obsession with variety and novelty can cause problems of its own, it's something I need more of in my life.





Fee