clothes I thought I would wear all the time (and don’t)

So, we’ve all been there. You have something in your cart, it goes on sale and suddenly you have to decide if you really want to buy it or watch it sell out. And what do you do in that moment? You justify to yourself allll the reasons in the world why you need this dress/blouse/bag/watch/whatever. And sometimes, that’s all the push you need to confirm your credit card info and place that order. Trust me, I’ve been there.

But what happens in a couple months when you’ve never actually reached for that dress/blouse/bag/watch/whatever? What did you tell yourself again? You can’t even remember what reasons you had for buying it, you just did. And maybe, just maybe, you can admit to yourself you didn’t get as much use of out whatever you bought as you thought you would.

Well, spoiler alert: this has happened to me a time or two. And so I thought maybe I could save you the pain of going through the same cycle, and save a penny or two, by outlining what I thought I would wear all the time (and don’t).

#1: The Wedding Guest Dress – this is the dress I usually buy before a wedding, thinking I’ll get so much use out of. It’s usually something very specific to the venue/vibe of the night. And I end up never wearing it again because I go out and buy a totally new dress for my next wedding invitation.

#2: The Birthday Dress – the dress I inevitably buy before my birthday, thinking again, wow, I’ll rewear this a ton! And never do because once I wear it on my birthday I don’t want to wear it again for my next birthday. Usually, I tend to buy something a little fancier than I typically wear, because hey, it’s my birthday, but then it makes it impractical to wear any other time.

#3: The Super Sexy Top – the top I buy picturing dancing at the club. Which maybe I would get more use out of, if I actually went out dancing to clubs. Usually too revealing/loud to wear out to the bar, so they tossed to the back of the wardrobe, never to be seen again.

So how do you go about fixing this downward spiral of closet overflow? Over time, I have learned that the key is to buy solid key pieces you can actually wear to multiple occasions. For example, I have this super gorgeous fitted black and white long sleeve dress from Calvin Klein. I’ve worn it to art shows, award ceremonies, engagement parties, you name it, it works. I think because it airs on the side of “business dressy”, I can wear it to anything that is somewhat fancy. And because it’s a very neutral colour (black&white), it’s not overly “flashy”.

When shopping for occasion dresses, I tend to lean towards something more classic looking, and neutral in colour. Nothing overly embellished or fussy. Clean lines. That way, it’s versatile. When shopping for super sexy tops – stop right there. If you’re anything like me, you only need one or two. And you probably already have 4. But actually, if you do need to stock up on a “going out” top – again, pick something classic that won’t age. A low back silky cami, for example. It’s timeless. Go with a deep hue, like navy or black. Steer clear of fire engine red.

If you take the time to really sit back and think to yourself, “can I wear this to more than 2 places/occasions?” then you should be able to reduce the amount of clothing you buy for a specific event. And that way, you get more wear out of the clothes you have!