Fashion Statement

Fashion Statement

We are continually being bombarded with fashion ideas from music, videos, books, and television, as well as political figures and royalty. Movies also have a big impact on what people wear. It goes without saying that musicians and other cultural icons have always influenced our fashion choices too. In fact, when given some thought our daily surrounding probably influence our fashion choices unknowingly all the time.

Fashion is something we deal with every day. It tells a story about the person who wears it. Even people who say they don’t care about what they wear choose clothes every morning that says a lot about them and how they feel that day. Fashion is a means of self-expression. You may find yourself ‘dressing up’ when you are feeling happy, unknowingly choosing brightly coloured clothing to wear that day. When you are feeling sad you may find the opposite, ‘dressing down’ in muted, comfortable, relaxing clothing. I find the same when shopping for clothes, depending on your mood will reflect in the colour and style of what you choose.

With a continual change in fashion and affordability of clothing, this has enabled many of us to fill our wardrobes to maximum capacity. And yet, often we feel we have ‘nothing to wear!’

This may be the perfect time to reassess your clothing selection and create a capsule wardrobe.

A capsule wardrobe is when you have a limited collection of clothes that coordinate well and can be worn in a number of different ways to cater for multiple occasions, whether day, evening, casual or smart wear. 

The items should be made up of separates and include a small selection of seasonal pieces that you can interchange.

The capsule wardrobe idea is nothing new – in the 1970s British boutique owner Susie Faux, used the idea to help women refine their wardrobes to only include high-quality essentials that could be worn interchangeably. Following this, in 1985 designer Donna Karan introduced a capsule collection of workwear items called “Seven Easy Pieces” and so the trend has continued.

Ideally, your capsule wardrobe should include a variety of key pieces this could range from 10 up to as many as 40 pieces. This would vary from person to person; the main idea is to cover all basics with well made, quality items that fit you properly.

For most women, this will involve some combination of the following: a pair of tailored trousers, denim jeans that look good with heels and flats, a neutral shirt, T-shirts for layering, a selection of dresses for women one, of course, a classic a little black dress, women’s trench coat high heels and a pair of boots. 

To start your capsule wardrobe, it is suggested you have a jolly good clear out of your existing wardrobe first. There are probably many items you have not seen for months let alone worn on a regular basis. Therefore say ‘goodbye’ to them, pack them away and donate to a local charity. Keep your well fitting, key pieces and build upon those.

If you are concerned about your wardrobe becoming too cluttered try using a ‘one in, one out’ rule where you remove an item every time you add something new.

Good luck!

Poppy Watt

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