How to Invest in Your Wardrobe
Last weekend in New York City, braving the Friday wind coming through the sky scrapers, custom tailors, designers, fabric houses, and manufacturers from around the world gathered to show their new offerings. Thankfully we saw a move away from streetwear and into elevated casual wear.
Fabric House: Gladson
Silk bled fabrics for a light feel and casual look, great for a Summer layering piece.
In the rooms with my colleagues it makes sense that someone would invest in premium knitwear, but then I snap back to reality that many consumers still think of their wardrobe in this binary Dress vs Casual manner.
One of the products I sell are custom shirts, and first instinct are usually, “well I don’t wear ties anymore so I don’t need dress shirts”. My counterpoint: since you’re no longer wearing a jacket or a tie, your shirt is now your first line of defense. Simply removing your jacket from the equation does not give you a hall pass to look like a bum. For example, a good friend of mine is a realtor. We selected several flannel shirts because she needs to look put together but also needs to go into dingy attics from time to time.
Womens Flannel
Made with snap buttons to allow layering flexibility and comfort.
Think about your wardrobe on a spectrum; stay at home goblin mode sweats on one end and Sunday best at the other. Our days are no longer “charcoal suit or pencil skirt to the office, then chage and make dinner”. Our daily wardrobe has become much more fluid, we often have to dress things up rather than dress them down. Shift the importance off of the individual item, and on-too the environment. Stop thinking of jeans as casual, or dress shirts as just a thing, and start seeing them as a “suit replacement”. If that is what people are seeing you in most often, that becomes your new dress ceiling. Invest in pieces that elevate your look, that will last, that will serve you, and will tell your story.
Suggestions:
Start shopping at local stores regularly so the staff can learn and enhance your style.
Make a pinterest board of what you like so you can actually see it infront of you. Think of it as goal setting, a goal in your mind is different on paper.
Keep a list in your phone of essential items you need to purchase/upgrade
Slow down, you don’t need a shopping spree, just a gradual shift in the right direction
If you like someones outfit, ask yourself why, and don’t believe the voice in your head that says “they can wear that, but I can’t”. They have the same voice in their head.
Shift your mindset from “why me” to “why not me”.
