I don’t know about you but I’m not keen on New Years resolutions. Because I’ve always felt like resolutions can come across as negative. Like something you’ve done wrong in the past or something you must change.
And then the resolutions will be judged at the end of the year to see if you were successful (or not). It's no surprise that 92 percent of people dont achieve their resolutions each year.
So, how can you be in the other 8%?
For me instead of resolutions, I prefer to create intentions. To me, intentions feel more positive & open-ended. And they come more from a place of growth – and less from a place of judgement.
But, whether you’re setting intentions or 'resolutions' – nothing’s going to happen unless you put some actual strategies behind them.
You know what I mean, right? You may intend to eat more salads – but unless you buy the ingredients & prepare & pack your lunches, it’s not going to happen.
And the same goes for your style. So, here we go…
INTENTION 1: Wear more of what I own
STYLE STRATEGY: Deliberately rotate through what’s in my wardrobe
Are you stuck in wearing the same few things over & over? If so, you’re not alone. The good thing is that it’s not that hard to break the habit. Here are a few strategies to make sure you wear more than just 2 pairs of jeans & a few sweaters for the next couple of months.
When you wear an item & put it back in your wardrobe, turn the hanger backwards. And then don’t grab that item again until you wear the items on the unturned hangers.
A similar strategy is to place an empty hanger at the back of your wardrobe – and once you wear something, put it behind the hanger. And only wear things that are in front of the hanger for the next month.
And here’s a super simple one for your folded clothes – put the clean laundry at the bottom of the pile. So the unworn styles literally rise to the top.
And one final strategy – set aside an hour or two on your calendar every month to deal with dry cleaning, alterations, etc. So that you stop saying, “I can’t wear those trousers – they need to be dry cleaned/shortened first.”
INTENTION 2: Think of new ways to wear what I already have
STYLE STRATEGY: Set aside time to play & experiment
You might feel like you rotate through your clothes pretty well. But you keep wearing the same outfits – you always wear your floral-print blouse with black trousers, ballet flats & a cardigan. And while you like your floral blouse/black trousers/cardigan outfit, you know there must be another way to wear at least one (if not all) of these pieces.
But here’s the deal – you’re never going to come up with new ideas if you only contemplate your outfits for 5 minutes every morning. If you feel like you just need a little more time – pick out your outfits the night before. If that doesn’t feel like enough – schedule some playtime on the weekend to try on different ideas, dress up your casual pieces & casual-ize (yes, I made that up) your dressier pieces. And just experiment with different outfit combinations.
And if you’re thinking, “I wouldn’t even know where to start” – give yourself time to find inspiration. Start following people on social media, take a deep dive into Pinterest or anywhere you can find visual examples of outfits & ideas you’d like to try. And before you get stuck on just finding complete outfits to copy, check out this Instagram post on the best way to find inspiration.
INTENTION 3: Feel better in my clothes on a regular basis
STYLE STRATEGY: Focus on what you wear everyday
You often hear “I just want to feel better in my clothes.” It’s actually music to my ears (because I love helping people feel better in clothes!). And I want you to feel better the majority of the time – not just when you’re dressed up.
So, instead of putting so much energy into what you’ll wear to your cousin’s wedding – think about what you wear for your everyday, going to work, taking the kids to sports practice, meeting friends for lunch. And put some real time & effort behind it.
Look at the pieces you wear most & what’s on the heaviest rotation in your wardrobe – because this indicates what makes sense for your daily life. And then look for gaps – what’s missing that’s keeping you from feeling better in clothes. You might need to shop for actual pieces (like cute trainers that aren’t workout trainers). Or you might benefit from elevating your everyday style (by trading out leggings for comfortable casual trousers).
Then you can prioritise your shopping trips accordingly, look for opportunities to crank it up a notch & invest more in what you wear more.
INTENTION 4: Embrace a capsule wardrobe
STYLE STRATEGY: Choose a limited colour palette and key pieces
A capsule wardrobe is all about creating a versatile collection of clothing that can be mixed and matched to create a variety of outfits. By focusing on a limited number of colours and key pieces, you can reduce decision fatigue and create a more streamlined and stylish look.
Start by choosing a colour palette of 3-5 colours that you love and that look good on you. Then, select a few key pieces in those colours, such as a pair of well-fitting jeans, a few versatile tops, a classic blazer, and a comfortable dress.
From there, you can gradually add more pieces to your capsule wardrobe, always keeping your colour palette and key pieces in mind.
INTENTION 5: Wear more _____ (colour, print, dresses, non-jeans trousers)
STYLE STRATEGY: Pick a day to do it
First, you need to define what you want to wear more of. Do you want to wear more colour? or more prints? or more dresses? or just get out of your blue jeans rut?
Second, you need to see if you already have these things in your wardrobe.
And while that might sound silly – here’s a quick story. I have a client whom I’ve worked with for years. And she told me that she loved an article I wrote about colour combinations (I think it was this one) & that we needed to go shopping for more colour. But I told her that she already had enough colour – which she did. So, I created a bunch of outfits combining her existing pieces in different ways.
If you don’t have these things in your wardrobe, then they’re a priority on your shopping list. And if you do (or once you get them), you’re going to use my ‘dress Thursdays’ strategy.
This strategy evolved from multiple clients who told me they wanted to wear more dresses. So, I told them to just pick a day of the week & commit to wearing a dress that day (aka ‘ Red dress Thursdays’).
For you, it might be ‘blazer Tuesdays’. Or ‘no blue jeans Wednesdays’. Or ‘colourful Fridays’. But whichever it is, do it for a month – and then give yourself feedback to see how it’s going.
So, which of these intentions & strategies will you focus on this year? Leave a comment to let me know (or ask any questions, too!).