Wardrobe Audits: Why connducting an annual audit will refine and improve your style.
As the new year approaches and the 'new year, new me' sentiment takes hold, it's common to end up reflecting on our personal styles, wondering how we can bring a sense of newness and/or homogeny to it for the upcoming year. If you find yourself with this mindset, rather than rushing to find new wardrobe additions, I believe it’s crucial, and certainly more cost-effective, to re-evaluate the pieces you already own! So with that, this is how I audit my wardrobe, and why you should do it every year to rejuvenate your outfits and move into new year with confidence and direction.
When seeking to enhance your style, whether you’re embracing a new aesthetic or refining your current style, it's easy to get fixated on the perceived gaps in your wardrobe. The idea of new pieces can seem like a swift solution, enticing us into purchases that often result in more confusion than clarity.
This confusion stems from impulsive shopping without a clear purpose. It involves fixating on individual items without taking into account the overall needs of your wardrobe! And to truly understand what your wardrobe requires, a thorough audit of what you already own is essential starting point.
To do an audit I want you to try on everything you already own, bags, shoes and jewellery too. Through this process, for each item, I want you to answer these 3 questions -
Does this piece align with the overall style I’m aiming for with my wardrobe?
Can I easily mix and match this item with other key existing pieces in my wardrobe?
Is this piece something I genuinely enjoy wearing? or does it feel a little outdated and/or does it feel uncomfortable/unflattering regarding its fit.
Sort your items based on these questions: If it gets 2-3 "No" answers, it's a "No." For 2 "Yes" answers, label it a "Maybe," and if it's a perfect 3 "Yes" responses, it's a clear "Yes”! Obviously keep anything that’s a “Yes”, and get rid of anything that’s a “No”. For the maybes I want you to see if you can style each piece in 3 different outfits when combined with the pieces in the “Yes” pile. If you can’t do this then it becomes a “No”.
Often, we think a bigger wardrobe is better, but in my experience, having a large, unorganised wardrobe leads to decision overwhelm and a lack of style continuity. We end up stressed, sorting through a mix of pieces we like and dislike every time we want to put together an outfit. Often ending in confusion and a lack of confidence despite feeling there’s an abundance of choices.
The purpose of this exercise is to eliminate items that don't fit well or align with our current style preferences. The goal is to enhance clarity not only when choosing your next outfit but also in identifying what is lacking from your wardrobe. I’d also hope as you go through this process that you can re-discover some pieces you love that you haven’t worn in a while, or possibly find a new way to style an older item that you hadn’t previously considered.
The annual audit should act as a compass, guiding you towards more intentional style choices. By focusing on what truly resonates with your desired look and letting go of what doesn't, you're not only making room to add new pieces but also removing the mental burden that comes with keeping pieces that just aren’t you anymore. This simple practice can bring a sense of clarity, enabling you to confidently put together outfits daily using a curated collection of pieces that truly represents you.
