Saturday, September 14, 2013

Closet confessions and starting my fashion series

Hey, guys!

I feel like I'm starting every post out the same way, but seriously - thank you everyone for commenting, subscribing, reading and basically making something I love as it is (meaning, writing) into such an enjoyable and fun part of my day. I love to check out your blogs and read your comments, so, please keep going, because I appreciate it more than you know.

Okay. On to the point. Firstly, I want to cover a little part of the background story regarding my wardrobe and fashion (lack of it, let's be honest, Renate).

I believe there are two kinds of people in this world - ones that look polished and put together no matter what and no matter where you might see them and the ones who can and do sometimes or often look good, but you can definitely run into them on a bad day. Flat out, I'm the latter. I CAN dress up and look put together, but it just doesn't come naturally. Since most of my clothes are pretty basic I don't exactly risk ending up looking like a hot mess, but neither am I always ready to "meet my destiny", if you know what I mean. Maybe 2 days out of 7. The rest - I would probably call and cancel.

Want to know, what I mean? Here, some examples of  me dressing up from day to day.

I can also dress up on occasion.













Not THAT bad, huh? Yes, but I can also go about my day looking like this.



And I mean - unflatteting, illfitting, (pretty immature) and sometimes - male clothes (I'm looking at you, purple sweater). All of these pictures are at least a year old, I'd like to point out and most of the clothes I've since gotten rid of, but - it's in there :) So, you see, my series are not just about having the dream closet. It's about learning how to develop a personal style and about putting effort into my every day appearance without feeling like it's a hard job.


Anyway. I wanted to change something. I wanted good quality clothes I could rely on and look more classy without excessively dressing up everyday. Trust me, I've tried. I've dressed up for a week and then, exhausted, grabbed my sweatshirt, baggy jeans and converses.

Also, I've never had much money. Now, I don't think I had significantly less, than others. I just think I wasn't so good at managing it. I'm by no means better now, but I'm willing to change that. I guess I'm willing to grow up. (Holds back tears)

THEN, I used to prioritize quantity over quality (a big no-no regarding... everything, really) - I wanted to have lots and lots of options - so that I'd be able to get up in the morning and choose a new outfit every day, depending on the mood I'm in. Now, when you don't have a lot of money that means - buying cheap clothes to achieve the quantity factor. Which meant I often ended up with low quality, often ill fitting and semi-tacky clothes, that were accompanied with the occasional splurge of more expensive items.

Now, while all of this makes me sound like a pretty hopeless case... I'm not. At least, that's what I'm telling myself and been told by some very kind people (I love you, mom). I'm not.

I'm just trying to put down in words why during the past... let's say 6 months to a year I've been unhappy with my wardrobe. I felt like I have a different lifestyle now (I'm not going to school every day, I'm looking for a job - why would I need 3 sweatshirts and no pretty cardigans?), like I'm more comfortable with myself (I know my style better and don't feel like trying out different things every other day) and like I'm grown up (meaning I've stopped fluctuating and changing my shape and size for the most part, which means I am able to start investing into more expensive wardrobe staples).

What I did then was - look at every single item in my wardrobe, the good, the bad and the ugly, as they say. I was pleasantly surprised by how many basic peaces I already own (a good blazer, a leather jacket, a navy coat, a trench coat etc.) and noted everything I was lacking or things that were out of place. Things that were still in good condition, but ones I never wore anymore, because I've had them for years, for example.

I cleaned everything out and was left with about haft of what I had. I made a wish list and after that - a priority list. Let's say, even though I was missing a good pair of black flats, a pair of boots came first, because - that's what I needed right this upcoming season. And THEN I started keeping my eye out for good deals. I'm missing a lot of things, which means, there's a lot of work to be done!

Now, what I'm trying to say in this post is that although a lot of bloggers put out the "result" - the good outfits, the put together, thought through wardrobes, the "afters", I'm going to show you my journey towards... any personal wardrobe, to be honest, even if that might be way less glamorous and stylish.

I thought it could be really helpful for me to have this "project" documented and maybe it could be interesting for some of you, if I shared that process here. This is my journey towards discovering my personal style, revamping my wardrobe completely, changing my careless ways (I also don't tend to care for my more expensive items, unfortunately, especially shoes) and hopefully come out as a decent, young lady!

Maybe I'll make a post with what I consider wardrobe essentials to be and then let you guys know, how my updating process is going.

I can also do outfit and styling posts, hauls, wish lists, inspiration boards, tips and tricks (not many DIYs, though as I'm rubbish at it) etc.

Here's a preview of the upcoming shoe collection post - in case you'd like to see that.

Hope you'll enjoy these posts and I'll talk to you soon!

Please leave any feedback you have in the comments below - also if you can think of a good name for the series, I'd love to hear from you.

Renate 

26 comments:

  1. This made me smile. I must say though now you have an amazing shoe collection! very jealous!

    x leah symonne x

    itsleli.blogspot.com

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  2. I'm also oogling over those shoes (especially the pink ones at the front!) I don't think putting outfits together comes naturally, I think people make it look natural! I for one might snap some outfit shots in an outfit I really like, but I'm wearing a cosy jumper and leggings most of the time when I get home ha! x

    The Little Things

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    1. Hey, lovely, thank you for commenting! That was really sweet and made me smile :) I know people, that look good in outfits like that also. Lucky ones :)

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  3. Hi Renate,
    I love your personal style and I really enjoyed reading this entry :)
    I love how you rock casual cool down to classy sophisticated formal :)

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    1. Thanks, sweetheart, that's so nice! Looking at them all now, I see a bit of a mess, but hey, at least it's not boring :)

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    1. I'd say inconsistent, so thank you so much for the compliment, that was really sweet :)

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  5. The whole quantity over quality thing never works; I always make the mistake of buying sooo much junk on sale at H&M and ZARA thinking 'ooh look at all these options' but the truth is, splurging on one expensive item that you really, really love will push you to style it in a variety of ways and not just wear it once and toss away :)

    SIDEWALKCATWALKS.com

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    1. Right? Have the same thing. If I sometimes have some money on my account and there's a sale - QUICK - run for your lives, cuz... what if... there's never any clothes for sale again :D

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  6. Great outfits! And I love the shoe pic.

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  7. I loved and enjoyed this post :) I can be the same way, I dress casual and then dress up for an event. You can pull a casual outfit and look great.


    -Vogue&Heels
    www.vogueandheels.com

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    1. Thanks so much, hun :) Would be nice to find a middle way of dressing nicely all the time, even being casual, for some reason I find that very attractive, although it's charming when a person can dress by emotions ;)

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  8. This was all really weird to read because it felt like I was reading everything that goes on in my HEAD! We have the exact same "problem" when it comes to clothing. I mean, Primark, hello?? I'm always in there. It's just so cheap and tempting! I need to keep "quality over quantity" in mind at all times now! I need to go shopping for winter clothes now and I just need to resign myself to the fact that I might not be buying the world, but need to invest in good pieces which look good together and will last me a long time! Yes? YES! haha Great post, lovely! xx

    http://ferdies-place.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Haha, a sweet comment, thanks! :) Ooooh, good thing we don't have Primark here. I think a big part of why my mindset has changed so much is living in Denmark for 4 years now - people in general dress very expensively here, thus the clothes are high quality, simple in design and fits perfectly. I mean, Scandinavian style is famous for being classy, expensive and simple. When I see people around me dressing so put together, it makes me want to throw out all my cheapees and start all over :)

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  9. Wow, this was such a fun post to read. I love your outfit pictures and the fact that you are not trying to be "perfect" (if you know what I mean), I love people who don't take themselves too serious. I would love to read about your style change. Actually, I'm a bit like you. Almost every day I have to stop me from taking the basic and simple pieces out of my closet. My excuse is that I want to save the more dressed and pretty things for "special occasions" (which often come weeks later, haha). But why can't we be pretty every day? That's what my sister taught me. And she's right. I'm still learning though :)
    Good luck and great idea to write about it. I'm sure that it will help you keep motivated.

    Sofie x
    http://littlegreensofie.blogspot.be/

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    1. Hey, Sofie, I love to read longer, more personal comments, it really makes my day, thanks, sweetie :) I'm far from perfect, so - yes, I'm not even trying :D A little part of me does feel like I can improve, though, so I never really give up also :D

      I have the exact same mindset - I have my "precious" clothes, that I save, because what a waste to wear them on a random day, so people see it, before the big event (which never comes :D ) I'm a bit torn between dressing up every day and making that a habit vs taking it easy most days - very casually, very plain almost (hence, the basic, good quality peaces) and then having a few more dressy and noticeable peaces, but so far I'm leaning towards dressing up every day anyway - you know, the whole idea of being open to any opportunities and obviously, if we feel our best, we're more likely to also experience more! :)

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  10. Lovely post! thank you for your sweet comment and follow. I'm following you back. Let's stay in touch :)

    noradulce.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, sunshine :) Looking forward to your posts!

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  11. I like your style.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  12. Love this post! follow each other on gfc?

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    1. Thanks, hun :) I'll definitely check out your blog, thanks for commenting.

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  13. I don't do this for the followers, but I am a bit sensitive towards people, who promote their blogs by copy-paste impersonal comments - someone like me with fewer followers can easily see, you're not "totally following me" :) I hope your blogging goes well, my advice would be to be a bit more genuine ;)

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