A Substack Friend™️ reached out the other day asking if I had ever done a post that goes over my whole wardrobe. I was surprised that I, in fact, have not! But what a great idea! I thought I could take it one step further and go over the framework of how I started from scratch two and a half years ago. Because maybe (hopefully!) someone will find it helpful! Or at the very least, this post should be long enough to keep you company through your morning coffee :)
Yes, I keep fake flowers in my closet .. I’m that person.
Let’s get into it! I wrote about it here, but in 2023 I rebuilt my wardrobe completely from scratch after years of renting (the only exceptions are a black Everlane wrap dress feom 2019 and a tweed cropped Theory jacket from 2014). Around the time I decided to focus on figuring out my style and officially exit the Rent the Runway hamster wheel, I came across a tik tok (via Instagram, I am in my late 30’s after all) from the amazing
, AKA Still in Tribeca. Someone had asked for advice on building a wardrobe post-college graduation and the answers she gave really struck a chord with me. When I looked today, I couldn’t find it anywhere on insta, so after all these years I finally caved and downloaded TT so I could link to it. Pigs are flying down the street!Anyways, I thought her advice made a lot of sense, and she is so stylish that I took this as gospel, no questions asked. From the framework she created, I made a checklist in my notes app and used it as a guiding light for purchases and keeping track of where my gaps were. As you’ll see, I still have one gap in my Fall/Winter list! I think for your wardrobe to be fully functional, you have to complete this exercise first, then everything on top of that is gravy. To illustrate how I kept track, here is my Fall/Winer list as an example:
F/W BASICS
Jeans:
Dark wash (CoH Miro)
Light wash (CoH Ayla)
Pants:
Black (Toteme via TRR)
Grey (??)
Tees:
White (COS Long Sleeve)
Black (Everlane Long Sleeve Bodysuit)
Jackets:
Dark (Mango Black Blazer)
Light (Club Monaco Shacket)
Coats:
Dark (COS brown/navy houndstooth)
Light (Reversible cream/light blue)
Button downs:
Denim (GAP Big Shirt)
White (GAP Big Shirt)
Skirts:
Black (J Crew Black Pleated)
Camel (Deveaux Wrap Skirt via TRR)
Dresses:
Dark (Marni Shift via TRR)
Denim (COS Long Sleeve)
ACCESSORIES
Bags:
Clutch (Anthro Lindy in Black)
Everyday Tote (Von Holzhausen Large Shopper in Black)
Shoes:
Black Boot (Matisse Caty)
Light Boot (Matisse Gabbie)
Sneakers (J Crew Field)
SPECIAL
Deveaux Asymmetrical Black Skirt (via TRR)
GAP Green Sweatshirt
Everlane Black Sleeveless Blazer
Baum und Pferdgarten Navy Pinstripe Oversized Blazer (via TRR)
J Crew Camel/Black Striped Lady Jacket
Theory Tweed Cropped Jacket
Pump (Ayede Black)
F/W Basics:
F/W Special Pieces:
Note: special will be different for everyone. I listed a green sweatshirt because IMO, it’s a heart flutterer. I’m officially in my sweatshirt era and loving every second.
The above checklist is where I’ve landed, but let’s back up to go over the “HOW” since that’s literally in the title of this issue.
Number one! I made a style board on Pinterest and pinned my little heart out!! At the same time, I was ruthless with deleting those pins if I felt they didn’t quite land in the days after first liking them enough to pin them. I did the same thing with my screenshot / notes app system you can read about here. This was time consuming, yes, but I think it really paid off! Sometimes, having a response to something is nuanced and it doesn’t mean you should impulse buy whatever is giving you the reaction. P.S. I talk a big game but I’ll be the devil on your shoulder if you ever need someone to tell you to buy something haha.
Screenshot of my pin board:
Alison Bornstein’s three word method helped me a lot. Once I had one or two outfits I really loved, I dug deep to figure out what it was about them that made ME feel like the best version of ME. In the end, my words settled as follows:
•Minimal (my realistic word)
•Comfortable (my aspirational word)
•Cool (my emotional word)
- has a GREAT series on building a foundational wardrobe - I highly recommend getting a subscription so you can take her advice if you are rebuilding too!
INNER WORK! Maybe this should have been in the number one spot? Especially in my Rule of Five year, I did a lot of work on shifting my thoughts to be more positive, and to feel comfortable believing I am beautiful and worthy of having a wardrobe I love. I elaborate on this more here and in conversation with
here!I made a list of stores I like that have a good assortment of clothing in natural fibers (this newsletter gives a great overview of fabrics to avoid/prioritize - behind a paywall but it’s worth it!). When I am looking for something specific, I intentionally visit these sites/stores, as opposed to just being targeted by random brands and getting sucked into online browsing all the time.
•COS
•GAP
•J Crew
•Toteme (via TRR)
•Theory
•Everlane
•Citizens of Humanity
•Pistola
•Banana Republic
•Buck Mason
•Vince
In 2024, I switched from the SmartCloset app to
, which was a lot of work but definitely worth it. In both apps, I add new items of clothing before I actually buy them to make sure they work with my closet and that they aren’t redundant. This helps a lot!! I always make sure I can make a few outfits when I’m considering purchasing something.Renting jeans. Hear me out! Renting jeans lets you know how they stretch out (and wash. Yes, I’m guilty. I washed my RTR jeans in the washing machine.) I rented the Lexi from Pistola and the Ayla from CoH prior to buying them, and they are the two most worn items in my closet to date. I’m wearing the Lexi as I type this, actually!
Lastly - I walk every single new purchase through this exercise I made for myself.
Now let’s get into how it went -
2023:
I ended the year having made 47 clothing purchases, and today only 29 of those still remain in my closet. Below, they are marked with a “23”. Here is what I learned from the items that did not survive:
•no more acrylic sweaters.
•I don’t like to wear pattern (unless rented for a special event)
•jeans MUST be tried on in person
•size up in shorts
•stick to cotton, silk, and linen wherever possible!
•never put linen tops in the dryer
•take off white shirts when eating spaghetti or pizza. I’m not to be trusted.
•NO MORE RUFFLE SLEEVES, EMILY!
•I will always feel like Steve Jobs in a mockneck sweater and have officially sworn them off.
•button downs are tricky and should also be tried on in person.
Moving on! 2024:
This was the year I slowed down, and did Rule of Five. Everything from this year is marked “24” below. This year was spent reflecting on 2023 and the lessons I learned there, with a lot of time and energy spent figuring out my style. I bought five new things and still love them all, but I did end up selling one of the two secondhand purchases I made because I apparently I needed to re-learn my “no ruffles” lesson from 2023.
2025:
And that brings us (us? Are you still here? If so, congrats and go get another cup of coffee) to the current state of my closet! I can say with confidence I LOVE all my clothes and my closet is my small, but mighty, pride and joy. To date this year, I have bought 28 items of clothing, 4 pairs of shoes, one pair of earrings, one watch, and one belt. And I loveeeee every single thing! If I had to pick a favorite - these pants from COS are really doing it for me.
And finally, if you’re curious, here is an overview of everything in my closet! My Indyx data tells me I have:
40 tops
17 bottoms
3 dresses
6 jackets
3 bags
2 belts
13 pairs of shoes
10 pieces of jewelry
2 watches
(96 items total)
I’m not sure how helpful these screenshots are, but if you have Indyx, you can view my items and outfits in more detail here if you want! I only started logging my outfits in January but it’s quickly become one of my favorite daily rituals. I can assure you, with my closest at its current size/assortment, I am NEVER bored and NEVER feel like I don’t have anything to wear. I feel like I’ve hit a sweet spot where I have fun with my clothes, but I’m not overwhelmed by my closet and I don’t have things that I never feel like wearing.
Note some missing outfits due to my surgery- logging pajamas is one step too far even for me haha.
I was in Florida last week so I got to test drive my new summer wardrobe (read part one and two here) and I LOVED every outfit! I can tell every piece is a banger. I wore the Buck Mason knit tank with jeans on a date with my husband (have to take advantage of grandparent help when we can!!) and I felt like YES THIS IS IT THIS IS HOW I WANT TO LOOK AND FEEL. It is really thrilling to feel like I’ve figured it out - I know it will always be evolving, and I’ll likely hit a personal style snag at some point, but for right now I am so content.
Until next time! Drop any questions in the comments, talking to you all is my favorite part!
-Emily (disco ball forever 🪩) #justforfun
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! Like the voyeuristic person in my was so excited to get to take a peek into your closet. Gonna find you on Indyx and force you to style me lol.
This is so fascinating, I’ve read it 3x. I LOVE how methodical you are as I stare at some sort of Navajo print Christmas caftan peeking out of my own closet. 🙄 I need an intervention.