5 Reasons Why You Can’t Create Outfits With the Clothes You Have

You have clothes.

Plenty of them, actually.

So why does creating an outfit still feel harder than it should?

Why do you stand in front of a closet full of clothes and end up wearing an outfit you've worn before—or decide you need to buy something new?

The problem isn't always that you need more clothes. Sometimes, the clothes you have simply aren't giving you enough ways to wear them.

A few reasons below explain why. You may be closer to having a wardrobe that works than you think—and by the end of this post, you’ll know where to start.

1. Only Certain Pieces in Your Wardrobe Work Together

You may have plenty of tops and plenty of bottoms, but that doesn't mean you have plenty of combinations.

Maybe one pair of pants only looks right with two of your tops. Your favorite blouse only works with one pair of jeans. That sweater works with your jeans but never quite looks right with your other bottoms.

Before long, your wardrobe starts separating itself into little groups of clothes that only work with certain other pieces.

And that's when you can own a lot of clothes without being able to create a lot of outfits.

2. You're Missing the Pieces That Connect What You Already Own

Sometimes the problem isn't the clothes you have. It's what's missing between them.

You have the pants.

You have the jacket.

You have the shoes.

But you don't have the right top to pull them together.

Or you have several tops and bottoms that work together, but you're missing the layers that would give you another way to wear them.

These pieces may not be the most exciting things to shop for, but they're often the clothes that make the rest of your wardrobe more useful.

3. You Keep Buying More of What You Already Have

We naturally gravitate toward the clothes we like.

So if you love striped tops, another striped top catches your eye.

If you live in jeans, another pair of jeans feels like an easy purchase.

If sweaters are your thing, you probably don't have much trouble finding another sweater you want.

But buying another version of something your wardrobe already does well doesn't necessarily give you more outfits.

You can have 20 tops and still struggle to get dressed if 15 of them serve essentially the same purpose.

4. You Buy Pieces Without Thinking About What They'll Work With

Something can look great on you and still not be a good addition to your wardrobe.

That's the part we don't always consider when we're shopping.

We try something on. It fits. We like the color. We like how it looks.

So we buy it.

Then we get home and have to figure out what to wear with it.

That's backward.

Because now your wardrobe has another piece requiring the rest of your closet to accommodate it.

5. You're Shopping for Clothes Instead of Shopping for Your Wardrobe

There's a difference.

Shopping for clothes starts with:

What do I like?

Shopping for your wardrobe also asks:

What do I need?

That doesn't mean you stop buying clothes you love. It means you become more intentional about which ones you bring home.

Instead of adding another random piece and hoping it works, you start paying attention to the pieces that could make several things you already own easier to wear.

Before You Buy More Clothes

Creating more outfits doesn't start with buying more clothes. It starts with understanding what your wardrobe actually needs. Before you get into wardrobe essentials, the Wardrobe Basics eBook helps you understand the style of clothes you need based on your lifestyle, take a closer look at your wardrobe needs, identify what's missing, and declutter clothes that no longer serve your wardrobe and lifestyle. From there, you'll discover the essential pieces that can fill those gaps and help more of the clothes you already own work together—along with 200+ outfit ideas showing you just how much more you can create with the right pieces.

It’s not about spending more money. Build intentionally, and you’ll find yourself in more outfits than shopping for new pieces can ever do.

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