If you’ve ever stood in front of an overstuffed closet wondering why you have nothing to wear, I can understand. 

I can’t tell you how many times I used to complain that I had nothing to wear to a certain place, only to hear my husband fire back with “But you have a whole closet full of clothes!” 

Mums, I know you’re with me on this. Having something to wear isn’t as simple as having lots of clothes in your closet. But how do so many of us end up in this situation? I was adamant to put an end to this situation, which I did, and here is what I learnt.

Why we have nothing to wear

Here are the top 6 reasons mums find themselves with nothing to wear and how to solve each one.

1. A change in lifestyle

One of the biggest reasons you might have nothing to wear is because your lifestyle has changed. Did you work in an office with a formal dress code in the past, but now you’re a stay-at-home mum or you work somewhere more casual? Did your weekends used to consist of going to clubs and restaurants and now they’re spent at backyard barbecues chasing toddlers around? Sometimes your clothes just don’t fit with your current lifestyle. 

How to fix it: The bulk of your clothes should be appropriate for the bulk of how you spend your time. Go through your closet and ask yourself where you would wear each item. If it’s not something you do regularly, store it elsewhere or donate it. If it’s something that you absolutely do not do anymore, I’d strongly suggest you donate it. I can’t think of how many times I hung on the something because I felt guilty for giving it away, only to still give it away years after.

2. Clothes that don’t fit well

How many of your clothes actually fit you well? Maybe your weight has fluctuated like many mums, your body has changed despite staying the same weight, or you’ve bought things you just don’t feel that comfortable in any more because of their fit or style. 

How to fix it: Take each item in your closet and ask yourself if you like it on your body right now. I mean today, not six months ago, not when you lose those last 5 kilos, and definitely not five years ago. If you don’t like how it looks on you now, donate it or have it altered if you really can’t part with it.

3. Not enough basics, too many trends

It’s fun to buy trendy items of clothes once in a while, but if you have more trendy pieces than classic staples, you’ll never be able to put together reasonable outfits.

How to fix it: Make sure you have a solid foundation of basics. When you’re shopping, try to think about full outfits rather than focusing on how cute those green trousers are. If you have nothing in your closet that goes with them, they’re just going to end up taking up space. Consider incorporating trends into your accessories, like earrings or scarves, instead of garments.

4. You keep buying the same items

When a particular garment looks nice on me, I’m often tempted to buy several in different colours. But I try to remember that I’ll end up feeling like I’m wearing the same thing over and over if I do that. Just because I love dark denim flares doesn’t mean I need to buy every pair that fits!

How to fix it: Hang all of your like items together in your closet to spot overkill at a glance. When shopping, ask yourself if the item is too similar to something else in your closet. Think about all the interesting pieces you could buy if you don’t spring for your 7th striped shirt. 

5. You don’t plan ahead

Sometimes you have nothing to wear because you just didn’t think ahead. Five minutes before you need to walk out the door is not a good time to decide what to wear in most cases. Maybe you know which skirt you want to wear but all the shirts that match it are in the laundry, or perhaps you had planned to wear skinny jeans to your son’s football match, but you hate the way all of your weather-appropriate tops look with them. All of this can be avoided with simple planning.

How to fix it: Start deciding what you’ll wear each day the night before, taking the weather forecast into account. That way, you won’t have to try on a dozen sweaters before you head out, and you’ll never be scrambling to iron something you need to wear when you should already be in the car.  If you have some big events coming up in the next few months (🤞), list them and find some free time this weekend to consider what you’ll wear, from head to toe, to each one. Write it down or take a photo, and refer to it when the day arrives to avoid dressing drama. 

6. Your closet isn’t well organised

How do you organise your closet? If everything is tossed in there haphazardly, that’s your first mistake. If you have all your dresses in one area, all your shirts in another, and all your skirts hanging at the end, you’re not much better off. That’s because you’ll still have to put outfits together every time you get ready to go somewhere. This is the kind of stress busy mums just don’t need!.

How to fix it: Hang tops and skirts next to one another that you can wear together for some grab-and-go outfits.

7. You’re buying for the wrong reasons

This is a common one. It’s on sale, it’s a bargain, I need retail therapy, it will do. Big, fat, NO. Unless you LOVE an item, do not buy it. The novelty of a new piece of clothing wears off after a while; think about how you will feel a few weeks down the line when you buy an item that you do not love in the first place.

How to fix it: Simple. Don’t buy unless it’s a ‘hell yes!’ This one will make a substantial difference, I promoise!

Love,

Nakita xxx