Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Reinvent Your Wardrobe

Bridesmaid Dresses London
For the last 10 months I have been on maternity leave, and since then I didn’t have that much time to go shopping, as my baby keeps me really busy. I tried to go shopping in the mall with the baby a couple of times, but honestly, it’s fairly more difficult to do that than it used to be before his birth.

However, I still go out on weekends – visiting my friends, going to parties, going to museums, to picnics, to barbeques, and so on. One of my wardrobe rules is “never ever wear the same shirt in the same place”. My friends don’t really have the chance to see me wearing the same outfit for the second time. After the birth of my son I realized I went shopping less frequently than I used to go before, although online shopping became a good alternative for me now. And what I also realized is that if I wanted to keep my habit to never ever wear the same shirt in the same place, I needed to prove creativity and be inventive.

So, I had a closer look at my wardrobe. I started thinking that it was a good idea to reinvent my wardrobe – to wear and accessorize clothes and outfits I didn’t have the opportunity to wear for a long time. So I started digging, and I realized I had quite a few outfits which I didn’t wear for years, and now it was a good time to wear them again. Two big advantages were on my side. First of all, when I buy a new outfit, I choose a garment which is not a part of a very prominent trend. I make my outfit choices following some more classical styles, and this way I can wear them years long. I avoid buying clothes from very specific trends which would go out of style the next fashion season. Instead, all my clothes are wearable for a long time, which saves me money, time and imagination efforts, when it comes to what I should wear tonight. The other advantage was the very fact that I didn’t show off these older clothes of mine for a long time, so I could wear them with no worries again now. Sometimes new fashion is actually newly discovered old fashion, and an old dress can be just as good as a new one.

My newest experience of this kind was a birthday party I attended recently. I decided to wear a Suzy Shier summer floral dress which I bought 3 years ago. I only wore it two times before for other occasions, and last time it happened that very summer when I bought it. Since then, it just hung in my walking closed. So I decided to wear it again. I was complimented for it, and nobody even realized it was not a new dress.

Another similar experience was with another dress, which is much older – 11 years. I bought it when I still was a university student, but its classical and simple style resisted throughout the years. For me, it’s a vintage dress, and I still enjoy wearing it. I happen to wear it approximately once per year, and last time I took it out when visiting some friends, just a couple of weeks ago. One of my friends, who knows me for many years, told me that he remembered this dress. The story of this dress is a bit more special, as it has a sentimental value for me – I was wearing it when I first met my husband (and some of his friends), and he liked me how I looked in that dress. Shortly after that we started dating. That’s why I kept the dress for so many wears, while I didn’t keep other dresses and garments as old as this one. So it didn’t surprise me when my friend recognized my dress which I also wore 11 years ago.

Another old outfit in my wardrobe which I thought worth to be reinvented is a dark blue little suit from Le Chateau. I bought it 4 years ago, and I wore it about 3 times during that year, but after that I somehow forgot about it and neglected to wear it since then. I rediscovered it in my wardrobe a few months ago and figured I should wear it again, which I most certainly did, to a birthday party, and then to a Christmas party.

I also love to accessorize my old and new outfits alike. Sometimes a piece of jewelry, or a scarf, or another accessory will completely change an outfit, making it look totally different.

9 comments:

  1. Even though I couldn't bring too many clothes when I moved here... just 2 suitcases, I still managed to fit a lot of stuff in them. That is why, every time I go out I wear a different outfit. My mother-in-law seems to appreciate my sense of fashion and always compliments my clothes. I usually get people's attention when we go to family gatherings, thanks to my clothes, shoes or accessories. That makes me feel really good!

    On the other hand, I wish there were more people sharing my passion around here. Women don't seem to be that preoccupied with fashion and that is sad. I need a shopping girlfriend :)

    Another thing that struck me was one of my husband's cousins comment. She asked me where I got my dress and shoes from and I said "Romania". So she asked me: what did you do there? went shopping every day? It was such a stupid remark, but I ignored it. And that day I decided to dress even better, whenever we meet the family :) Just because they don't care about their looks, it doesn't mean that I should wear just jeans and t-shirts and flip-flops like them. I'd rather be dressed too fancy than look like them... as tough as that may sound.

    I myself have clothes from college years and I'm happy that I can still fit in them and they can still look trendy. I miss those times when I had a tailor and she would make awesome clothes. That is a great way to get unique-looking clothes.

    I tried to change some outfits last year, by changing details, like turning into a long-sleeve jacket into a short-sleeve one, adding beads or other accessories to a pair of jeans etc. I need to start doing that again, but I'm gonna need a little sewing machine!

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  2. Thank you for your interesting comment, I really enjoyed reading it. :) I totally understand your disappointment of not having a shopping girlfriend, someone who could share the same passion for fashion with you. Seems to be a remote region from the fashion point of you out there. :) I would love to be your online shopping girlfriend. ;) I'm glad you stop by and leave a comment every time, ant I'd just like us to keep sharing our thoughts and experiences about fashion on our blogs.
    Good night my dear!

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  3. And I was thinking about your husband's cousin's comment. You should have told her: "No, I didn't go SHOPPING every day, I went to WORK every day, just like you. Shopping for me was from time to time, just like for anybody else". :)

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  4. I envy crafty women who can update their classic pieces by changing buttons, adding a ribbon, a flower, etc. Whenever I try to do that, the result is pathetic.
    I had my mom mail me my nice clothes from Romania, only to have the surprise to see they don't fit anymore :((. I declare war on cheesecakes!

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  5. I'm sorry to hear about your clothes from Romania which didn't fit you anymore, you must have been very disappointed... The "war on cheesecakes" comment was very sweet! :)

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  6. I enjoyed reading this, and there are some poignant observations in there.

    If you keep clothes for long enough, they can always be reinvented with new accessories to keep them fresh. Trouble is you then need a HUGE wardrobe.

    I have recently been wearing my 'going away" dress from my wedding day, which was 20 years ago. My clients love it, and have commented on how nice it is to see a vintage dress. I laugh as it tell them when it dates from.

    Good luck on your change of career. When one door closes, another always seems to open.

    Greetings from a designer on the other side of the world, in Melbourne Australia.

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  7. Hi Blue Fruit, thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment.

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  8. Hi Victoria, This is such a great post! We so often think we cannot wear the same thing twice, which is patently NOT TRUE. First, we have neither the time nor the income to shop for a new outfit every day. Secondly, why only wear something that you like once? If it makes you feel beautiful, why not wear it a lot???

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    Replies
    1. Hi Fashionista, I'm so glad that you liked this post. :) I agree, this is definitely not true, that we are not able to wear the same piece twice. Yes, we can wear it twice, and more than twice, but each time in a different way.
      Cheers!

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Thank you for your comments!