053: The Gap in My Wardrobe

A journey towards more versatile outfits

Quick Housekeeping

I made a YouTube video which discusses this article here if you are interested in watching a video rather than reading! If you want to read, keep scrolling :)

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On the ongoing journey of building a wardrobe, gaps can arise when comfort becomes the focus. When we find items that we love, we instinctively buy similar pieces over and over because we find comfort in knowing they will look good. It’s this realisation that led me to embark on my own journey of identifying this gap, and I wanted to share the three-step process that has helped me develop a more varied wardrobe:

1. Developing an Intimate Relationship with Your Wardrobe

2. Understanding Your Desires

3. Bridging the Gap

Developing an Intimate Relationship with Your Wardrobe

The first step in recognising this gap is developing a more intimate relationship with your wardrobe. You need to understand the tools you have at your disposal to get a sense of the foundation you’re working with. You might be someone who has a lot of textures to experiment with, or perhaps you’re someone who always gravitates towards tailoring. With this understanding, you’ll have a better sense of where you can inject more variety to create outfits that feel less uniform. The next step in this relationship is understanding your dressing habits. When we look back at past outfits, we often notice recurring patterns or styling techniques that we default to, which gives us insight into what we feel most comfortable in. This helps us figure out how to introduce new items into the mix.

With this information, I quickly realised my affinity for wide-leg trousers. I wear them almost every day (6.5–7 days a week, leaving room for the occasional smart event). I find comfort in the silhouette, which always provides a reliable baseline, no matter the outfit. However, this led to my outfits feeling monotonous, and I found myself achieving a similar look every day, regardless of my mood. This lack of variation became more apparent over time, like an itch I couldn’t scratch. To address this, I began looking to my inspirations for fresh perspectives, using Pinterest and Instagram to push past the plateau I had reached and to bring a new dimension to my bottoms selection.

Understanding Your Desires

Taking the time to examine your desires is crucial in understanding what you’re naturally drawn to. You can start to recognise patterns and themes across your various sources of inspiration, which can help you identify the items or styling techniques that interest you most. From my Pinterest boards, I concluded that I love skirts, particularly pencil skirts.

Through this realisation, I understood that the defined silhouette of a pencil skirt gives me the same feeling of comfort that a wide-leg trouser does. Many of my dressing habits rely on the clothing doing most of the work for me, minimising the mental effort required. So, having a skirt with a pre-determined silhouette means one less decision to make when getting dressed. I also noticed that I love incorporating high-low styling for added interest in my outfits. This is easily achieved with a pencil skirt, thanks to its smart, corporate, and academic feel, which pairs beautifully with more casual pieces like a leather jacket or an oversized tee. This allows me to seamlessly incorporate the skirt into my wardrobe, while still following my established dressing habits, expanding my style in the process.

Bridging the Gap

With all this information, I felt ready to invest in a pencil skirt from Raye (via Vestiaire, RIP to the brand). I was drawn to the bright white colour, which I saw as a perfect summer piece. The white also brightens up my everyday outfits. The maxi length added a nice touch of drama to otherwise simple fits and helped me avoid sitting on bare underground seats, which I try to avoid at all costs. I paired the skirt with a vintage oversized tee and strappy sandals from Massimo Dutti. As mentioned earlier, I love the juxtaposition of the smart pencil skirt and the casual tee, and the sandals allowed me to show some skin without sacrificing the skirt’s maxi length, which made for a flattering finish. The cropped denim bomber jacket worked perfectly with the skirt, and the added texture contrasted with the skirt’s smartness. The exaggerated pointed toe of my Balenciaga mules cut through the maxi length of the skirt and bridged the gap between casual and smart in a playful way.

Wardrobe gaps are a great opportunity to flex your creativity and experiment with items you haven’t yet had the courage to introduce into your wardrobe. It’s a chance to connect with what you’re drawn to and express your true self through style.

I hope you all have an amazing week! Speak soon :)