Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all these years

Putting my entire wardrobe away every 6 months, to get out an entirely different one from storage, then having to work really damn hard to ‘update’ that wardrobe with the latest trends and fashions now seems like a madcap idea to me.

I have been an advocate of this approach - probably even espoused the benefits to other people and urged them to do it - but no more; I’m starting to think I’ve been doing it wrong for years.

There are a couple of points that I like and some obvious practical points that make sense.

Firstly, winter-weight wool garments are better stored safely in airtight bags throughout the summer to help reduce the chance of moth damage. Secondly, its not much use for me to have shorts on hand in winter, or a massive cashmere scarf in summer, so storing them away ensures that my day-to-day wardrobe visual isn’t cluttered with things I know I’m not going to use. Thirdly, it can give me a bit of fresh perspective on something if I hide it away for a while, and when I ‘rediscover’ it, I often have a fresh take on how to wear it. Lastly, it feels like I’ve gone shopping for ‘free’ when I delve into my stored clothing.

But doing this huge turn around every 6 months of practically everything? Now, that just looks like a wrong-sighted, unnecessary and exhausting task, and its more work than it is gain.

I’m starting to think that I have let myself be totally guided and frankly, hoodwinked, by the constant stream of marketing chatter that has been urging me to keep changing, keep changing, keep changing. Colour palette must change, shapes must change, fabrics must change, sleeves must change, belts must change, heel height must change, necklines must change………but no, they don’t. There are some pretty ‘fixed’ things in my life - the climate where I live, my work, my hobbies, my skin colour, my hair colour, my body shape and weight - and this year, the refinement process has been encouraging me to let my personal aesthetic style be a little more fixed too, and have confidence in that. I of course do, and will evolve, but that happens much more slowly than every 6 months.

I’ve tried a bit of a transeasonal wardrobe this year - pieces that try to be worn throughout the year - but I don’t think that’s necessarily where I’m going either. There are some items I will only wear in certain weather and my personal style is not one that tends towards layering, so think I will continue to store some pieces away in the off-season. I also want to have points of difference throughout the year.

I’m starting to think that my storing and unpacking should be a more natural instinctive flow, with no set schedule.

I almost feel relief at realising this, like a weight has been lifted. I feel relieved of both the stress of trying to keep coming up with a ‘new 6-month me’ and also relieved of the time commitment to dedicate to it.