How I Rebuilt My Wardrobe

A step-by-step guide (plus a full overview of my closet)

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

Gabriela

, 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.