You walk into your closet. It’s full. Full of clothes, shoes, and purses but you scream out ” I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!”
We’ve all been there at some point in our lives, you feel like you can’t get dressed because your closet is full of things that bore you, or you hate. Today I have solutions for you!
For me: ” When I look good I feel good.
Today I am sharing 11 reasons why you may have “nothing to wear” and how to fix it, so you will never feel like that again.
1.You buy pieces instead of outfits
When you go shopping you buy pieces, meaning you buy a shirt and then don’t buy a bottom. You buy a skirt, but you do not buy a top to go with it. This is especially true when you buy a trendy color or a color that you do not typically wear or it’s not already in your closet. So, when you go shopping make sure you are buying whole outfits.
Try this: When you and your girlfriends go shopping, or, if you are an online shopper when you see a piece that you love, look for something to go with it, don’t just buy the top.
Which brings me to my next reason.
2. You don’t follow the RULE of 3
Let’s say you’re in a store and you find a top that you love, its beautiful, you can imagine your self-wearing it. You try it on and bam! That has sealed it, the top must come home with you. But before you buy this beautiful top, as you are standing in the dressing room, I want you to think to yourself, what does this go with in my closet. If you cannot think of 3 outfits to make with this top, then you should leave it in the store.
Reason being, it will sit in your closet.
Now if you are going to abide by the first rule, then find something in that same store or another one of your favorite stores to complete the outfit.
3. You do not have staples in your closet
Staples can be defined as something classic, that never goes out of style and helps to build the foundation of a wardrobe. For example, a pair of jeans, a pair of black boots, a neutral color trench coat, a black coat, and pair of black heels, or a pair of chinos. Staples actually can make up a whole outfit and they are the basics or building blocks to a trendy outfit.
For example, puff sleeve tops are trendy because puff sleeves are really in right now, in a couple of seasons a bare shoulder might be in, but this trendy top can be paired with a pencil skirt. Pencil skirts are staples, they are classic and never go out style. Down below I paired a classic with this trendy puff sleeve top, a sheath dress.
Tip: Recently when I wore this top below, I paired it with a white pencil skirt, not a bright pink or a red pencil skirt,even though that would bring the colors out in the top. Reason being, number 1 I don’t own a red pencil skirt, and number 2 a white pencil skirt is more classic than a pink or red pencil skirt, it will go with many other tops as well.
There is nothing wrong with a red or pink pencil skirt, but they are not staples or basics.
Which leads me to my next reason, of why you have nothing to wear.
4. You have all trendy clothing
If you are buying clothing every season, or if you have to buy something every time you go out for a special occasion then you have a trendy closet.
For example, right now neon colors and pastel colors are really in right now, next season they might not be, which makes them trends, they come and go.
Another great example is Bermuda short suits, very in right now, next summer, they might not be. So next summer you will have last years summer trends, and you will have to go out and buy more clothes.
Tip: Save on trendy, splurge on classic. For example I have a Cheetah print jacket from Zara that costs $99, whereas, my Club Monaco classic trench coat was $350. While animal print especially cheetah is a neutral for me, it might not always be “in” so had the jacket been more than $99 I probably wouldn’t have bought it. The Club Monaco trench coat is a classic, its a staple in any closet and it’s quality made. I will not have to go out anytime soon and buy another tench coat.
Zara coat
Club Monaco Tench
5. You don’t have any accessories
I have fallen off on this as well, but accessories can make an outfit look quite different.
So, I would buy your everyday necklace, something simple and understated and then buy a statement necklace for special occasions or for when you just feel like wearing it. This rule would also go for earrings. Myself, I love a good statement necklace or earring and I have many.
Other accessories, scarves, belts, and hats, can up your look as well. I don’t too much care for hats, but in the fall and winter I wear a lot of scarves.
Tip: If you want to start trying accessories which all of my tips lead back to tip 1 and 2, try it at a lower price point, and even go as far as picking out an accessory when you are shopping to complete an outfit. If you do this 50% of the time when you go shopping, you will notice your accessories collection has grown.
6. You don’t have any prints in your closet
Do you wear all solids? That may be why you feel like you have nothing to wear. I am guilty of this, a majority, up until recently, of my closet is black.
If you don’t know where to start with prints, go for classic prints like polka dots, stripes, and hounds tooth. Also, if you are just starting out with prints, keep it classic, like black and white, remember we want to make sure it fits with your closet.
7. You don’t play dress up
Spend time playing in your closet, play dress up, take the time to actually try pieces with new pieces and color combinations (for example, I learned learned 3 weeks ago that mint and camel look good together.)
I know we are all busy and playing dress up may seems silly and meaningless, but I challenge you to pick up 3 pieces in your wardrobe, try them on, make sure they fit, and then try to piece together 3 outfits. Try new color combinations, play with prints, mix textures.
If you are struggling to find something to put together with that piece you picked out, then consider throwing it out or donating it.
Pro style tip: When you are doing this if you find an outfit you really love, take a picture, you’d be surprised how quickly you forget what you put together.
8. DON’T SETTLE
Do you love what you are wearing? Does it fit? Are you fidgeting when you wear it?
If you don’t love a piece in your closet, then chances are you are not going to wear it. Every single piece of clothing in your closet should at the very least make you feel good. If not throw it away. Why? It is taking up prime real estate in your closet.
For example I am obsessed with these two dresses in my closet, I wear them any chance I get.
And Other Stories 
Banana Republic
We’ve all had the scenario where we’ve just been invited to a party or have somewhere to go and we can’t find anything to wear. So what do we do? We rush to the mall and find an outfit that’s okay, we settle. We settle on something that looks okay, or something that makes us feel okay. DON’T do that.
Try this instead: go to the mall during a time when you are not rushed and don’t have pressure on you to show up somewhere dressed to the nines. You know that dress that you love but you have no clue as to where you will wear it or when. BUY it! That way when you get that last minute phone call, you will have something to wear.
My other point to this tip is sizing, naturally as women our weight fluctuates from time to time. If you walk into your closet and everything literally does not fit, then subconsciously you will already feel defeated when it comes to getting dressed.
If you must keep the clothing and you think it is motivating you to lose weight, store them. They are taking up room in your closet, buy a storage bin and store the clothing for when you lose the weight or for when you are ready to get rid of them.
9. Your clothes and accessories are hidden
Out of sight out of mind, closet organization, and this reads so true.
I recently just did this one, your clothes and accessories are hiding. Take your jewelry and display it. The reason I say that, we all like to believe that our memory is great, but the truth is we forget, especially since our closet has so many items in it.
I am in the process of changing my office into a cloffice (shut-out to Monroe Steele). My clothes, jewelry, shoes, and bags will all be on display so I can see everything and know what I have.
Also another tip, rearrange your closet, my closet is color coordinated , so every now and again I will change up the way I display the colors, it will give you a new outlook in your closet, you may even see something hanging next to each other that you hadn’t noticed before.
10. DO NOT go shopping just to go shopping
Don’t buy it just because it is on sale, shop with a purpose.
We have all done this and we have all regretted it once we got home to find that we no longer like the pieces we bought or it doesn’t fit well with anything in our closet.
Try this: shop with a purpose, make a list, kind of like when you go grocery shopping. If you know in the summer you love to wear white shorts and paper bag pants, then take inventory of your closet and see what color or wash of jean is missing from your summer wardrobe and put that on the list.
11. You’ve leveled up, bossed up, glow up
You have simply outgrown your wardrobe, it doesn’t speak you anymore, it doesn’t inspire you. If you are continuously waking up and dreading going into your closet to get dressed, then chances are you’ve out grown your wardrobe.
For instance, the last two summers I have not reached for a pink and white Calvin Klein dress in my closet, so during my next closet purge I will be donating it.
Chances are you are bored with your closet.
Try this: get on Pinterest or Instagram and look for some style inspiration, start looking at ways to incorporate what you like about those style inspiration photos into your closet. Focus on one thing at a time, for instance, if you find that all your inspiration photos have dramatic tops in them, start looking and browsing the internet for tops that are similar and build from there.
Below is the video, if you are a visual person.
There you go ladies, 11 reasons why you have nothing to wear and how to fix them!
Places I love to shop for staples:
with class and grace,
Mya- Karren