Wardrobe Rebuild 001 | Intro

to my Wardrobe Rebuild project

Over the last two years, I’ve decluttered a bunch of old stuff from my closet but haven’t really added much (especially not anything intended for wearing outside the house). At some point, the math of style stops checking out and it gets a bit harder to put together interesting and balanced outfits consistently. So, it’s time to shop — with intention. 

When you google “wardrobe rebuild”, a lot of results mention lists of essentials — for example, two jackets, three bottoms, five tops, and two pairs of shoes… capsule wardrobes essentially. Although I’m definitely on Team Minimal and aim to maintain a highly mix-and-matchable wardrobe, I don’t necessarily want to set quotas for a particular set of items — it just feels too rigid for something so fluid like getting dressed. Instead, my approach is to keep a running list of things I need/want and then add items slowly and with discipline.

My current considerations for a good clothing buy are:

• design (the aesthetic speaks to me and is flattering)

• quality (the material doesn’t feel flimsy or uncomfortable and is also not too high maintenance)

• value (the price feels worth it to me, defined loosely)

• fit (petite-friendly! It’s taken me a while to learn to make no compromises here; separately, I’ve also been contemplating being more open to getting things tailored…)

It’s pretty tough to check all of these boxes at once but I think being disciplined about it has in fact kept me from buying a few things I came pretty close to buying this year. Update: no regrets.

Another framework I’d like to try out for this intentional shopping journey is something I’m calling the Wardrobe Rebuild Matrix. As I was saying re: capsule wardrobes, I don’t want to get too prescriptive about the exact kinds of items I’m going to buy but I do want to understand what’s generally happening with my clothes shopping. So I came up with this matrix to help me evaluate what I’m adding to my closet.

The two axes of the matrix are: “Staple vs. Experimental” and “Save vs. Splurge”. Since a big goal right now is to fill gaps in my wardrobe, I’m expecting my upcoming buys to fall more on the staple side.

A new staple — Before buying the white A&F cropped tank (right), the only other lighter-colored tank I had was the very old grey one on the left. I don’t hate it with this combo but the white option is just a completely different, much crisper vibe. Actually, I would have wanted a lighter-colored shirt (maybe in yellow or peach) for this ’fit but alas…another task for the wardrobe rebuild.

And indeed, the only clothing item I bought so far this year (that aren’t these great waffle joggers from Aerie) is an A&F cropped tank top in white. It ticks off something that’s been on my list for a while: a neutral tank that’s not too long and good for layering. This one is cropped right above the belly button (good for wearing with high-waisted bottoms) and I also find square necks flattering. It has plenty of good reviews and was on sale. Boom, purchased. 

This is an example of one of those not particularly thrilling buys that will make a big difference when it comes to actually getting dressed. Aka, a good staple. 

Going forward, I’ll add Wardrobe Rebuild updates as they happen. Stay tuned ~

— Jenny