Fashion Overwhelm

If you’ve ever found yourself half-dressed and shivering in your closet, surrounded by rows of clothes (some with the tag still attached), lamenting about how there’s absolutely nothing to wear, you’ve come to the right place.  

“Fast Fashion” wants you to believe that you have nothing to wear. 

The industry has successfully taken the intention out of getting dressed. As I will continue to preach on this platform, where there is no intention, there is overwhelm. And plenty of it. 

Intentionality begins with questions. 

Ask yourself, “why do I wear clothes?” 

The obvious answer is ‘to avoid being repeatedly arrested for indecent exposure.’ 

The less obvious answer might be ‘I’m seeking comfort,’ which manifests differently in each of us. It could be a spotlight or a cover-up, but either way, it’s a feeling. 

Lack of awareness leads to overwhelm. 

Ask yourself, “do my clothes align with my values?” 

Are you a nature loving, clean living, composting backpacker who volunteers to clean up highways in your spare time? Do you have a closet full of polyesters and pleathers? 

Misaligned values lead to overwhelm. 

Ask yourself, “how much effort am I willing to put into the care of these garments?” 

Do you, like me, wash all your clothes in one cold load – sorting be damned – and hope for the best? Or do you sort by color then separate by dry clean, gentle cycle, hand wash and fairy dust? 

Unmet expectations lead to overwhelm. 

Finally, ask yourself, “what size do I wear at this moment?”

Ok, ladies, I’m talking to you. Sometimes you can’t find anything to wear because what you want to wear doesn’t fit. There is a super simple solution to this and it’s going to blow your mind! 

Are you ready?

Buy. Clothes. In. Your. Size. 

Listen, you wear a size 8 shoe, right? You’re not going to buy a size 5 shoe because that’s the size you would be if you just ate a little less. You’re going to buy what fits at the moment of purchase. It shouldn’t be any different with clothes. Clothes were made to fit your body, not the other way around. 

My clothes range from size 4 to 10. Why? Because women’s sizes are arbitrary. The fit matters; the size doesn’t. 

Should leads to overwhelm. 

Ok, you’ve asked the hard questions and just like that you’ve overcome years of fashion industry brainwashing! I’m proud of you! 

Now what? 

Step 1: Purge! Less is more. You already know this one, but I’ll dive deeper in another post. 

Step 2: Organize! If you can’t see it, it won’t serve you. But that’s another topic for later. 

Step 3: Create! Is that just a black dress? Or is it also a shirt, a slip, and a skirt? 

I experimented with a black dress I’ve owned for eons. 

By adding just one other item of clothing to the dress I created 31 distinct outfits. I wore the same pair of shoes, styled my hair the same way, and used no accessories.

Had I added in those different elements, the number of outfits would have grown exponentially. Mathematically speaking, because I’m forever a nerd, 33 items of clothing could create 25,176 outfits. 

Me? I easily own 200 articles of clothing, excluding shoes. Pretty sure I never need to shop again, but don’t tell MisterE. 

In yet another post I’ll talk about how I shop to maintain a cohesive and low maintenance closet. I don’t know what to tell you; you’ll just have to subscribe to the blog to make sure you don’t miss it 😉

As always, have fun!