By Katryna Starks
No, this has nothing to do with lingerie. It has to do with making every day a perfect wardrobe day. With never looking in your closet and finding things that don’t fit, are out of style, or just make you feel “blah”. It’s about building the perfect wardrobe so that no matter what you pull out of your closet and put on, you look fabulous. It’s about having everything that you wear make you say “Oh, Yes!” when you put it on. Every single outfit. Everyday.
The first step to building the “Oh, Yes!” Wardrobe is the creed:
I will not buy anything that doesn’t make me smile when I try it on.
This is actually pretty simple. How many things do you try on that you have to convince yourself to buy? You have questions. You have options. If it were just a bit more this or that, then it would be perfect. But it isn’t, and it’s easy to end up spending money on clothes that are almost right, but not quite. If you follow the creed, your wardrobe won’t end up perfect, but you will look and feel wonderful in everything you wear.
Of course, you’re probably thinking that it’s really hard to find things that look that good on you, which brings me to the next rule:
Often shop. Rarely buy.
You’re right if you think it’s hard to find amazing clothes that fit perfectly and look good on you. That’s why you need to shop a lot, but you won’t buy much. Now if you’re like me, the “shop a lot” part is easy. Refraining from buying clothing that is less than “Oh, Yes!” is hard. If it helps, in the dressing room, ask yourself the question “is this o-wear?” Did you smile – wide – when you saw yourself in that item? If the answer is no, it’s not the right piece for you.
In order to have a truly “Oh, Yes!” wardrobe, you have to follow a rule that might be difficult to swallow:
I will accept my size and buy clothes that fit properly.
If you’re comfortable in your own skin, this is a no-brainer. However, if you’re trying to lose weight, the temptation is great to buy the next size down as an incentive. “I’ll be there soon enough!”, you think. Oddly enough, that type of thinking – and buying – is detrimental to your fitness efforts. It’s really discouraging when you can’t find anything to wear that makes you feel good because all of your pretty clothes are too small. Also, weight loss, if done properly, is a slow process, so you might feel great from exercising (more energy, increase in strength, etc.) but have not changed clothing sizes. Accept the size you are. As a matter of fact, building an “Oh, Yes!” wardrobe involves being beautiful at the size you are. Revel in that! Shop at discounters like Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, etc. so you aren’t breaking the bank on clothes. That way, when you do drop a size, you haven’t spent too much on clothes you can no longer wear. Also, keep in mind that as you lose weight, clothes that are slightly too large aren’t a problem. Sometimes they even drape better as you move to the smaller size. You can still wear them as long as they look great on you.
So far, I’ve talked about how to buy in order to build the “Oh, Yes!” wardrobe, but there’s another part to it – the clothes you already have.
Throw out your frumpy-frownies.
Once you have a few pieces that you love in your arsenal, it’s time to get rid of some of the things you don’t like. It’s a good general rule to donate an item of clothing for every one you buy. So, go through your closet and try everything on. This time, the question is different. What makes you frown when you try it on? I mean a true, visible, physical frown. If you hate the item – or hate the way it looks on you – it goes in the donation box.
Other things to do are to make note of designers that you like and stores where you find their clothes. You may find some online stores that fit you wonderfully as well.
You won’t get an “Oh, Yes!” wardrobe instantly, but if you follow the rules, you’ll easily have a week’s worth of o-wear in no time. Add a few more items and you can get through a month if you rotate. Once you have two months’ worth of clothing, you have enough to look great all year long!