Back to School: Shop Your Closet

When I was younger, I never did “back to school shopping.” It just wasn’t something my parents had adopted so I never really participated in that preparatory consumerism in late summer, early September. But as the years went on, I realized a lot of people participated in that. On one level I was a little jealous because hey - I want cute new stuff too! But at the same time, I realized it wasn’t necessary - I had been going back to school with my old clothes for years and no one noticed or cared and I had everything I needed.

So why, as a society, do we feel the need to go back to school shopping? Is it just marketing magic? Or is there a logical basis behind this type of shopping? Now, I don’t have the answers to these bigger questions, but I do have tips on how to shop your own closet so you don’t have to participate in a shopping frenzy!

Take Inventory

I think the most important thing is to tea inventory of what you have. I do this every time I make a capsule because I design graphics to post on the blog. So, not only do I get a number count, I also end up having a visual of what’s in my closet. Taking inventory is really helpful because it emphasizes the feeling of having enough. When I see I have 9 or 10 tops, I’m like “ Wow that’s plenty because there’s only 7 days in a week and I do laundry every weekend… so I’m good in that department.” By taking inventory in every section, I am able to quantify and I increase my awareness of just how much I truly have.

Mend

There are always items in my wardrobe that could use a little extra love. So while I may have them hanging up, they might be “out of bounds” because I need to sew up a hole or re-attach a button. When i’m wanting a wardrobe refresh, I try to set aside half a day to go through every item and do the required mending, lint rolling, steaming so that they’re ready to go for the next season. Mending helps shine light on pieces that are collecting dust at the back of my wardrobe and gives me the opportunity to get excited about each piece all over again.

Play Dress Up

Try on outfits and be creative in trying new combinations! Sometimes we just need to play around with pieces to create fresh outfits because normally we’re rushing to get dressed and go go go in our fast-paced lifestyles. I encourage you to spend a bit of time to get excited about you clothes and try out combinations that you would never otherwise try. Your tried and true outfits are probably super cute but maybe you’re feeling bored of that - so mix it up with items you already have in your wardrobe.

Peek Into Storage

A great way to feel like you’re “shopping” is to put out of season clothing in a storage box (or bag or suitcase) out of the way, so you can open it back up and feel excited when the time comes. For me personally, I keep my pieces out year-round. I simply shift the out-of-season clothes to one side of my wardrobe so that they don’t get in the way.

I hope you’re enjoying and embracing this back to school season. I know this year things are looking a little bit different, but that being said, we can still make the best of it. I wrote a whole post about making the best of every opportunity: here, if you need any encouragement. I also hope that the tips in this post helps you to feel content about what you have and be creative with your wardrobe so that you can overcome this consumeristic time.