I made myself a dress the other day, not much odd in that you might think. After all I do run a sewing shop and teach all stuff sewing too. I do have to confess to not actually making many things for myself at the moment, but when I do it is usually one of a couple of things.
Either a Helena dress of which I now have 6 or the new soon to be released pocket top of which I also have 6. You might notice a theme here?
In fact I went through the front half of my wardrobe which is basically all of the clothes I have worn over the last 6 months and to be honest nearly 90% of the outfits I wear consist of one or both of these items.
I have been thinking a lot about this. What you wear speaks volumes about you. It screams what ‘tribe’ you belong to, what age bracket you’ve decided to fit into, your cultural background, what part of the country you’re from, all sorts of subtle and not so subtle signals sent out to let the world know who you are.
So why am I wearing the same clothes?
Coming from a ‘fashion background’ and as cliched as it might sound, everyone wore black. It was our uniform. Black went with everything, everything matched and accessorised easily. More crucially it required little thought!
So am I more like Mark Zuckerberg? In this article in the Independent he explains why he wears the exact same T shirt and jeans everyday. EVERY DAY! His point is that he cannot waste headspace debating what to wear each day when he should be thinking about more important issues. So he has a ‘uniform’ of sorts.
Do I have my own ‘uniform’? I must admit that having so many Helena dresses makes it dead easy to get dressed in the morning.
Helena + skinny jeans + long sleeved T + boots + scarf = Job done!
I have enough white long sleeved T shirts to sink a battleship and everything goes with jeans.
But for self confessed creative type, am I being a bit boring? Am I copping out of the creative decision making that identifies me to the rest of the world?
Am I in a STYLE RUT?
Have you made tonnes of the same thing? Do you wear similar clothes all the time? Maybe 2017 is the year to quit the rut.
I want to create and sew a range of different items of clothing that I feel comfortable wearing and that reflect who I am and my own personal style. Rather than randomly making what I want, I feel there needs to be some plan, some cohesion here too, so I am focussing my time and energy in making things I know I will wear and love.
There are numerous tools out there to help you but I really enjoyed reading the Wardrobe Architect that Sarai Mitnick from Colette patterns brought out a couple of years ago. So I will be loosely following that as I plan out what to wear and make in 2017.
If you’d like to join me on my journey try following the worksheet Colette have produced to help you in Week one – Making Style More Personal and I’ll share some of my responses too.
Jules
My style has changed for financial reasons at some times in my life but it’s usually related to pattern and colour. The more pattern and colour, the better. I probably have been seen out and about in allsorts of ‘clashy’ outfits but they have filled me with happiness and that’s what I want from clothes. I’m not a fashion follower by any means. I want them to make me feel good, not to impress others.
My current style is fine as it’s where I am now. I’m not in a rut. I love colourful tunics and leggings because I live in the U.K basically. My wardrobe would be quite different in a hot country for example. I find the idea of a uniform quite dull to say the least. Mark could afford to have a different outfit for every day of the year, so where’s the stress in that? It shows the different personalities though doesn’t it? I love colour and pattern, so I see choosing what to wear as quite important to me and who I am and what I tell the world. He tells the world different things in different ways. Neither of us are wrong, just different. That’s great!
I have to admit to feeling stressed by the idea of planning what to wear for the rest of the year. I’ll watch your progress and see what happens with interest.
Having read over what I just typed, it makes it sound as if I disagree with you and that’s not correct. I do need to be braver as I get older. I used to be much louder than I am now with my colours. Stepping up my game with that would be on any plan I was to consider.
Thanks for the food for thought Jules.
I am definitely stuck in a rut. Can’t remember the last time I wore a skirt! Only have one dress. Jeans and tops are my staple. I need to branch out.
Have checked out the blanket coat (is there a pattern?) and your lovely woolens after our long “conversation” regarding ruts via IG. Your rut is infinitely nicer than mine! haha Need to check out the Wardrobe Architect again, maybe I’ll follow along and get this rut busted!
I am definitely in a black trousers rut! Not sure if there is any way out…Help!