After reading the Getting Dressed feature in ELLE this month it got me thinking about my relationship with clothes and I have to say some of the statistics made me chuckle and nod in agreement. Apparently we haven't worn 13.3% of our wardrobe... I could probably go a lot higher than that. I'm a hoarder. I admit it, and I have tried very hard to let go and to reshape my wardrobe. Especially seeing as we moved house in July and I did get rid of about three black bin bags worth of clothes (honest!) but I still look in the wardrobe sometimes and have the question "why do I have that still?". But guess what? I close the door and go back to getting dressed, that animal print playsuit I wore twice one summer stays in the wardrobe. Why can't I let go?
Maybe it's nostalgia, I can pin point when I wore certain items and it makes me smile about the memories. However I know (I mean I really know) that there is no chance of me wearing it again and I give myself a deadline. In July I said "Vicki, if you do not wear this playsuit over the summer months then come winter it is out, gone, bye bye." And yet, go check the back of the wardrobe now and it's still there. Face palm. I do clear out my wardrobe but I'm not ruthless, an ELLE top tip was "Enlist a good friend who you really trust to help with a wardrobe clear-out". I agree, it's a great idea in theory, but in reality I know my friend would make me get rid of so much, she is literally ruthless and would not understand my (slightly lame) excuses on why I want to keep said top.
I believe my real issue is the "what if" question. You don't know, maybe the animal print playsuit which is a little too tight will come back into my day to day style (yes I know, unlikely). If I had the money I would do a full clear out, cut it down to the basics, rid myself of naff tshirts and ill fitting jeans, I would buy all the classics from Zara that I love, the trend pieces from Topshop and some special pieces from & Other Stories. But until someone kindly hands me over those hundreds of pounds, I can't risk chucking out clothes and being left with nothing. Because if I'm honest I probably have about 10 max good outfits that I would wear regularly, everything else would not be seen out the house.
I can pretend that I laze around my house in cashmere sweats, cute black slips, hair perfectly bouncing away and a fresh face. But in reality it's trackies (or pyjamas if I'm really lazy) and a massive hoody, hair in a bun and the hope that I don't come across a mirror anytime soon. I don't care what I look like when I'm behind the closed doors, cosy inside in a world where no one sees, no one really cares and I can just chill and watch my box sets back to back hour after hour. It's much safer here. But I guess some days, I want that wow reaction. I genuinely feel better about myself when I put in a little effort, get a new pair of jeans that make my bum look good and put on some lippy. Sometimes just one or two wardrobe updates are enough to keep me happy. Other days, I think of the space I'm wasting with crap. I'm sorry little playsuit, you may have to go.
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