How to Tackle "I Have Nothing to Wear" Days

Four steps to loving your outfit.

We’ve all had those days when we look at our wardrobe full of clothes… and think “I have absolutely nothing to wear”. The days when we feel completely uninspired and simply end up wearing the same thing we had on the day before - and the day before that.

I’m a big advocate of re-wearing outfits but there are days when that just won’t make you feel good, you want to wear something different - or, let’s face it, that outfit’s in the wash. Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of uninspiring days but I’ve refined my approach to tackling them. Here are my four go-to steps for getting out of a style funk.

Step 1: Organise your wardrobe

I moved house recently and when unpacking my various suitcases and boxes, all of my clothes went straight into the wardrobe, with a promise to myself that I’d “sort it out later”. Reader, it took me three months before I set half an hour aside to organise it and what. a. difference. that’s made.

My wardrobe is now categorised into clothing type and colour, making getting dressed in the morning so much easier. I open the doors up, step back, and know exactly what I’m looking at without rifling through each piece. With autumn well and truly in full swing, now’s the perfect time to go through your wardrobe and get it into order - and free up some space by storing away any of your overly summery pieces that won’t be worn for a while.

Step 2: Save your inspo

I’m a big Pinterest user and have boards upon boards of outfits I’ve saved over the years, along with an ‘outfit inspo’ folder on Instagram, full of looks I’ve loved. I also make notes on my phone when I’m out and about if I spot someone’s outfit on the street that I like, or if I’m feeling inspired by something like the way a shop’s mannequin has been dressed.

Step 3: Figure out your capsule wardrobe

You’ve probably heard the term ‘capsule wardrobe’ thrown around a lot. Some stylists or creators will recommend that everyone should have the same kinds of pieces in their capsule wardrobe such as a pair of jeans, a suit, a pair of heels etc. But personally, I don’t think a one-size-fits-all approach is necessarily the best way.

Instead, I recommend thinking about the pieces you already own that you wear the most - the pieces that feel like your foundations. Think of this as your capsule wardrobe, rather than a collection of clothing that’s been assigned by somebody else. Mine looks a little like this…

• Black straight-leg trousers

• Barrel-leg trousers

• Plain T-shirt

• Button-up shirt

• Cashmere jumper

• Oversized jumper

• Worker jacket

• Oversized coat

• Trainers

• Chunky flat Chelsea boots

Step 4: Bring it all together

On the days that I’m feeling uninspired, I know I can take any combination of pieces from my capsule wardrobe and create an outfit that feels like me. Then I’ll look at the inspo I’ve saved and see if there are any colour combinations I like that I haven’t tried, a way of wearing a shirt that I haven’t thought of, or a certain silhouette that’s grabbed my attention. Finally, I’ll go to my (now efficiently organised) wardrobe and see if there are any of those elements I like that I can recreate. Some non-capsule pieces may come into play here too, to switch it up a bit.

Here are 7 looks with my capsule wardrobe in action…

Look 1

Capsule pieces included: Trainers, black straight-leg trousers, plain T-shirt, and a worker jacket. Wearing: Uskees jacket in size S*, COS T-shirt, Margaret Howell trousers (similar), New Balance RC30 trainers

Look 2

Capsule pieces included: Trainers, barrel-leg trousers, and cashmere jumper. Wearing: Rise & Fall navy cashmere jumper in size M*, Beyond Nine ‘Mabel’ trousers in natural linen*, adidas x Wales Bonner trainers

Look 3

Capsule pieces included: Oversized coat, button-up shirt, barrel-leg trousers, and chunky flat Chelsea boots. Wearing: Louisa Charlotte Oates ‘Coat 04’, Uniqlo shirt, COS trousers (similar), Dr Martens Chelsea boots

Look 4

Capsule pieces included: Oversized coat, cashmere jumper, plain T-shirt, black straight-leg trousers, and trainers. Wearing: Nothing Written coat*, Rise & Fall cashmere jumper, Studio Nicholson T-shirt, Margaret Howell trousers (similar), New Balance trainers (similar)

Look 5

Capsule pieces included: Oversized coat, button-up shirt, barrel-leg trousers, and trainers. Wearing: Louisa Charlotte Oates ‘Coat 04’, Muji shirt (similar), Beyond Nine ‘Mabel’ trousers in khaki*, New Balance trainers (similar)

Look 6

Capsule pieces included: Oversized jumper, plain T-shirt, black straight-leg trousers, and trainers. Wearing: Uniqlo men’s ribbed knit jumper in size M, Uniqlo U T-shirt in size M, Margaret Howell trousers (similar), New Balance trainers (similar)

Look 7

Capsule pieces included: Worker jacket, button-up shirt, barrel-leg trousers, and flat chunky Chelsea boots. Wearing: LaneFortyfive NS02 shirt in ‘vines’, ‘Ganish 1’ trousers in brown linen and ‘Swabi 2’ jacket in brown linen*, Dr Martens Chelsea boots

You’ll notice that a lot of the colours in these looks are neutrals, or sit within the same colour family. There’s black, navy, white, grey, camel, brown and green - and that’s what makes each piece easy to wear each other, creating endless combinations so your wardrobe always feels fresh.

Next week: The ultimate ‘base’ for creating multiple different outfits.

Any items marked with * have been kindly gifted by brands. All thoughts, picks and reviews are my own.

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