FASHION // My New Fashion Rules

These photos were taken before the worldwide pandemic.

It has been so long since I have written a fashion post but to be honest I felt that I had started to repeat myself. The thing is, when it comes to fashion I am finding it hard to dictate how I think you should dress or, in fact, even what you should buy. Sharing new items and how I would wear them is all good but really I want my outfit sharing to be inspiring and about how you can use similar items (hopefully ones you already own) to create similar looks. I felt I was always promoting something, even when I wasn't being paid and as much as I love sharing outfit posts I really had to reflect on me pushing an idea of always having something new, or branded or even, wearing something once for content and it then sitting in my wardrobe.

This is a classic and bad example of how fashion bloggers can work and in a bid to rid myself of this cycle of owning stuff purely to share I have spent the last few months really sorting my wardrobe and actually finding a whole new style that suits me and my everyday needs and the lifestyle I live.

If you hadn’t seen on my social media channels, I now have a Depop sale page and have been selling lots of items on there. Most of the clothes really were being wasted with me so I decided that it was time to sell them to people (at a really fair price) to allow people to access little bits of luxury in a very eco-friendly way. In fairness I give away so many clothes to charity/sisters/friends but I felt that a lot of the things I have purchased (and wasted my money on) needed a bit of compensation. It has been liberating seeing the pile of items leave. Some I had immediate regret about selling but I know that the only way to enjoy dressing better is to really LOVE the items in my wardrobe.

I can’t explain how inspiring it has been to empty my wardrobe a bit. Turns out I really love the simple things and that jeans and a shirt go a long way in my book. I remember a time when I owned one pair of blue skinny jeans. I lived in dresses and as true as that still is (I kept a host of summer favourites) I find that latterly through the winter I have been wearing pretty much the same thing on repeat. I am happy with that, that is not a negative, and actually this wardrobe clean started with the purchase of a pair of boots which I have found I have worn everyday and kind of built my outfits around. It is safe to say that my Grenson boots have been my most used wardrobe item ever and when you find a pair of shoes like that you find that all your outfits are built around complementing that one thing. These boots just became my everyday shoe so jeans and long dresses/ skirts with jumpers became the normal (but stylish) thing to wear with them.

For a long time now I have been running with a notion of spending a bit more money and getting things I actually want. I have fallen into the “buy a cheaper version of a thing that looks like the expensive thing”. This only resulted in me filling my wardrobe with items that were completely dissatisfying and in multiples! I was buying multiple cheap items that were like the expensive one I should have just bought in the first place. Buying my Grenson boots was a big thing, a £300 big thing, but I have worn them on average 6 days a week since October; I class that as a good purchase. Not one similar option on the high street has caught my eye as much as them but I know I could have bought cheaper and not been happy with them.

Heading into spring and since the big clear out I am finding that items I spent the money on are staying firmly in their place and there aren’t any multiples because that one item is exactly what I wanted.

Since starting to think and dress in a way that is using these items I am finding it harder to shop. This is not a bad thing but my point is, when you are happy with what you have other items don’t compare and you begin to realise that you don’t need to be involved in fast fashion as much. I am gonna spurge and I am gonna spend but I can feel within me that something has changed. I don’t want to just be buying to encourage other people to be buying. It is a vicious circle so I am just trying to be happy that even though I may not be wearing something on the front page of ASOS or H&M I am buying items that I know I really want and will wear from season to season.

What's this post about? Learning to make your own fashion rules and truly enjoy buying good clothes that are not just going to pile up.