← Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
260 | When Your Wardrobe Isn’t Working: 5 Fixes to Try Before You Shop Again
00:12:43
If your wardrobe isn’t working, shopping might feel like the obvious solution. But buying more isn’t always the answer, especially if you’re not sure what’s wrong in the first place. In today’s episode, I’m sharing five...
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
Heather Riggs
If your wardrobe isn't working, shopping might feel like the obvious solution. But buying more isn't always the answer, especially if you're not sure what's wrong in the first place. In today's episode, I'm sharing five powerful ways to reset your style, feel better in your clothes, and get more from the pieces you already own. All before you even think about adding anything new to your cart. Welcome to her Style podcast, where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. Confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist, ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started. So you have come to the realization that your closet isn't working. Maybe you're staring at a full wardrobe, but you're still wondering, what in the world do I wear? And I've had this experience many, many times over the years. And whenever that feeling would strike, my first instinct used to always be to go shopping. If what I had wasn't working, I just needed something new. Problem solved. But what I learned after so many years of repeating this cycle is that that feeling would inevitably resurface. Because shopping might put a band aid on the solution, but it doesn't solve the root issues. It's a quick fix, not a permanent solution. And if you don't understand why your wardrobe isn't working, you'll just keep repeating the cycle. More stuff, same struggle. So before you start scrolling your favorite online shops or running to the mall out of frustration, I want to offer you something even more powerful and more sustainable. And today I'm going to give you five things to try before you shop again. These are practical, empowering steps to help you reconnect with your style and find some clarity with what's in your closet and what it's actually going to take to solve it. So the first long term fix is to reframe the problem and figure out what's actually not working. And I have a hunch that we have all, at one point or another looked inside our closets and said, I have nothing to wear. Even if that's not true, even if you have a closet bursting with options, you might be feeling like, I have nothing to wear. And instead of immediately going to that thought, I want you to shift it and ask yourself a question instead, which is, what's making it hard to get dressed right now? That tiny reframe is gonna really help you uncover the answers. Ask yourself, are your clothes uncomfortable? Do they not fit your lifestyle anymore? Are you holding onto pieces that no longer reflect who you are? How you wanna show up? Are you stuck in an outdated style? Whatever it is, take a few minutes to get curious and identify what's not working. Instead of just being frustrated and saying you have nothing to wear, start asking yourself what's making it hard to get dressed right now? Because uncovering the why is so much more valuable than any impulse purchases you could make to try to desperately fill in the gaps. This clarity is gonna set the tone for everything else that we're gonna cover in today's episode. So I would say it's the first step and maybe the most essential fix to try. Before you start shopping, you've gotta figure out what's not working so you can do more of what is. Instead, fix number two is to try remixing what you own, but make it fun. And you might have heard me suggest remix wardrobe before and trying to wear your pieces in new and interesting ways. But this time I want to help you turn it into a fun challenge with some clear prompts. Because mixing up your wardrobe in a new way might sound like a great idea, but you might be wondering, how do I do it, really? So let's bring some creativity and intention into it. I'm going to offer up a few ideas, but feel free to take this and run. Put your own spin on it and have some fun with this. So you could try doing some theme outfits for a few days. So maybe you start implementing monochromatic Monday or statement piece Saturday. Just think of some fun, catchy things that you can integrate into your week and see how it inspires you to put new outfit combinations together. Another thing you could do is try styling one item in three different ways throughout your week. You could also wear a forgotten piece that you haven't touched in the last 30 days and see how you can make it feel like new. Or give yourself a challenge that helps you express your signature style. If you're a dramatic type, maybe you want to build an outfit around one unexpected item, like a printed scarf or a bold shoe. If you love feminine looks, you could challenge yourself to add one pretty accent to each outfit. There's no right or wrong here. Just think about what would stretch your wardrobe a little bit further, help you bring in some pieces you haven't worn in a while, and have some fun while you're trying to mix things in new and fresh ways. When you give yourself many challenges, it's going to help you look at your wardrobe through a fresh perspective. You might fall back in love with something that you've completely forgotten about or find some new outfits that surprise you in the best way. We also post a lot of fun style challenges inside our free Facebook community. So if you want even more ideas or if you want some fresh options coming to you about every other week, then join us over there. You can head to herstylellc.com community and we would love to give you even more ideas to help you remix what you already own. Fix number three is to alter your pieces before you add new ones I think tailoring is one of the most underrated style solutions out there. Sometimes we blame the items that we have when the real issue is the fit of those pieces. If you think about altering a simple hemline, making adjustments to your sleeves, or taking something in at the waist, those little efforts can completely transform the pieces in your wardrobe and make you feel way more confident about wearing them. So here's what I recommend. I think it would be really helpful if you create a small tailor or alterations bag and keep it in your closet. And then when something isn't working for a fit reason that you can pinpoint but you otherwise like it, maybe it's a beautiful color, you really love the print or the fabric. Add it into that bag with a little sticky note about what's feeling off. Maybe it's the hem, the overall shape, the neckline, the sleeve length. Just the size isn't as ideal for you anymore. Then schedule a fitting maybe once a month or once a season. Whatever works for you, how often this comes up. And if you're feeling a little bolder, you could also try restyling or restructuring some of those pieces all together so you could crop it, layer it, remove or replace the buttons. You could add a belt to it. You could wear it backwards and try that. Yes, I have seen that work, especially with cardigans and sweaters. There are some great ways that you can just wear your pieces in new ways. I've also had a lot of success wearing dresses as skirts. Even one small change, alteration or reconstructing of an item in your closet can make it feel like a completely different item that you're more excited to wear. All right. Fix number four is to shop for inspiration instead of shopping for more items. Pinterest is gold, you know, I'm obsessed. But it's easy to pin looks that don't match your reality or work for you as a copy paste outfit from head to toe. So instead I encourage you to take inspiration and then adapt it to work better for your wardrobe. Your color preferences, your body, all of those little details to make it truly feel like your outfit. So you can search for outfit ideas using pieces that you haven't worn in a maybe you have an old houndstooth jacket or some Bermuda shorts that are suddenly back in style again. Look up different outfit ideas for some of those pieces that you're not really utilizing, and then save any looks that you like to your style mood board on Pinterest. You can also add little notes about how it could work better for you. So maybe it's like I would swap these heels for a pair of sneakers instead, or I have a similar cardigan. I can style this with jeans instead of trousers. So just start to look for some ideas, especially with the pieces that you're not wearing or feeling as excited to wear, and see what inspiration you can find Again, the idea is not to copy, but to recreate that outfit inspiration in ways that work for you and with what you already have in your closet. So I do suggest that you shop for some inspiration before you shop for new items. And number five is to fill up your wish list, not your cart. I know shopping is fun. Believe me, it's one of my favorite things. But when your wardrobe doesn't work, buying another outfit isn't the solution, it's the distraction. It doesn't cost anything to make a wish list instead. So start brainstorming a list of all the items that would make it easier or more exciting for you to get dressed. You can take this right back to fix number one where you talked about what is the actual problem, what is making it difficult for you to get dressed in the morning? Take those ideas and then start writing out your list of things that will work to make it a lot easier for you. Think about what's on your calendar, what goes with what in your wardrobe, which things are feeling a little disjointed and struggling to integrate into your day to day outfits and look at what's missing from your current collection. Then you can go back and refine. You can cross things off the list. You can continue adding to it, reorganize and prioritize what you want to strategically shop for first. If it helps, you can also use the three Outfit rule before you add anything new to your list. I usually wait and try to do that when I'm shopping for new pieces, but you could also as you're building the list, ask could I style this ideal piece in three complete outfits using other items I already own? If the answer is no, it might not be the right piece to buy Right now, you might want to fill some foundational gaps first, but keep it on the list and it might just bump down to the lower end of your priorities. Inside Her Style Collective, we have a complete budget template that we use to map out and budget for our shopping priorities every single season. But you could also just keep a shopping list in the notes app, on your phone or in a shared Google Doc so you always know what you're looking for, not just what you're drawn to emotionally in the moment. So to recap, running out and buying random new things will not help you out of a wardrobe rut. Instead, try one or more of these five permanent fixes. The first is to reframe the problem and figure out what's not working. The second is to remix what you own, but make it fun. Give yourself some little challenges to keep your closet feeling fresh. Number three, alter your pieces before you add new ones. What do you need to have adjusted? Or what do you need to think about styling in a new way? Number four, shop for inspiration. Instead of shopping for more items, look at what you already have and find some great ways to wear them that you hadn't thought of before. And number five, fill up your wish list, not your cart. Think strategically about what's going to move the needle in your wardrobe instead of randomly running out and buying things just to make you feel a little bit better in the moment. If you want help putting all of this into action, this is exactly the kind of work that we do inside Her Style Collective, my signature group program where I help you buy less, shop smarter, and build a wardrobe you love. From identifying your style to styling what you own in better ways. We eliminate what doesn't work without the guilt and shop strategically for what you need. And we will cover all of this and more inside the collective. So I would love to support you in there and you can find all the details and join us@herstylellc.com collective and you can grab that link in the show notes as well. No matter what the next step is for you, I encourage you to try one or maybe even all five of these five fixes next time you feel frustrated with your wardrobe and see what shifts for you, you might find that everything you need is already right there within your closet. You just needed a fresh perspective on how you're putting it together. All right, I will see you back here next week with another episode to help you simplify your style and build a wardrobe you love. Bye for now, friend. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram eatherrigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service. Until next time.