It’s the same old story all over again. You have all these cute clothes you got during Christmas break and are excited to wear them on campus but, by the beginning of the second week, you already feel like you have nothing to wear. I’ve been there. As a matter of fact, this is not too far from my reality right now. Seeing as I’ve coined 2024 as the year of good financial decisions, my solution this time around won’t be running out to the nearest store to get a new top. We’ll have to make do with what we have, and this is the method I’ve devised in order to do so:
Look for inspiration
You know how there’s certain clothing items you only know how to combine in about 1 or 2 ways at most? Yeah, well there’s probably more ways you can wear them. Sometimes, when the ideas don’t come to us, we have to seek them out ourselves, so our first step will be to go and search for inspiration. There’s no shortage of fashion content online, with more than enough variety to accommodate everyone’s taste. Now, you might already know this, but if you’re looking to up your fashion game this year, Pinterest is a great place to start. You can be as general as you want, maybe looking up a certain vibe or aesthetic you are interested in or you can get down to the specifics. For example, I often struggle with figuring out what to do with a particular item of clothing, and what I’ve found to be useful is to search that piece on the app (like, “brown skirt outfit ideas”) and you’ll find a ton of outfits, from which you can probably put together at least one.
Another good way of getting cool ideas is to surround yourself with the type of content or styles you want to emulate. For instance, I’ve recently started to follow lots of IG fashion accounts with similar vibes to what I’m going for, and I’ve caught myself more than once going “Hey, I have that in my closet!”.
Plan out your outfits weekly (or at least the night before)
Let’s be honest, we’re not bound to make the best fashion decisions when we only have 10 minutes to get dressed and run out the door. Especially for me, I’ve learned that it’s best to have time by your side and plan ahead. I know some people lay out outfit choices the night before, but some nights I’m just not in the mood. To avoid this, I’ve resorted to taking that one hour or two I have free on the weekend to mix and match any item of clothing I can find in the house (not exempting my own family member’s closets).
It can actually turn out to be a fun activity! I will fix myself a drink and put my favorite playlist in the background. I’ve found that in doing this I place less pressure on myself, and the freedom of it has let me come up with some pretty cool ideas I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. You can also take pictures of the things you put together in order to remember or visualize the outfit better as a whole. This way you can see what could be added or adjusted in order to make it more visually cohesive.
Accessorizing
As obvious as this may sound, sometimes accessories can completely change up your outfit. And I say this because if you’re not planning on adding more things to your collection, the fact that you might have to end up repeating outfits is inevitable. The good news is that accessorizing can be pretty easy. Adding a jacket, changing up your bag or trying a new makeup look… Heck, maybe even wearing your pair of headphones around your neck can add a visually interesting element. It’s also a great challenge to use your clothes in not obvious ways, or at least not in the ways they were “meant” to be worn.
The power of hairstyles
This year I have challenged myself to wear my hair in other ways that aren’t the usual two I tend to do (down or in a ponytail… that’s it). Considering what your hairstyle adds to the dimension of an outfit is also a really good way to keep yourself on your toes. There are a ton of hair inspo ideas on the internet, and it’s honestly a pretty solid skill to learn.
Repurpose items
I bet that somewhere in your closet there’s a clothing item you’ve worn a whopping total of… 1 time. That’s why I’d say that repurposing clothes that just aren’t cutting it anymore, whether that means cropping pants or dresses with awkward lengths or even dyeing old pants, is one of the best ways to get “new items” without actually buying clothes. Extra brownie points here if you know how to sew and can actually do some cool changes to your clothes.
I know it can be difficult to feel excited about wearing the same things after a while, but I think that’s where our creativity comes in. For example, I’ve seen a lot of reels lately where people show different ways to wear “basics,” like long sleeved shirts as halter tops or button downs as dresses and sleeveless blouses. In my opinion, it’s much more impressive doing a lot with a limited amount of resources. Anyway, I hope this guide helps you as you go forward on this new fashion journey. Safe travels!