Shopping my wardrobe: I curated a clothing rack out of the clothes I already own

“When all of my clothes are shoved in my wardrobe, I literally forget what I have.”

Like many a fashion girlie, I have a lot of clothes. My closet doors seem to spontaneously pop open from the sheer volume, and I never seem to have enough hangers, no matter how many I buy.

And though I do make an effort to clean out my closet quite often, it never feels like there’s enough room, or like I have enough to wear. My little brain was rocked, however, when I recently came across a TikTok video posted by Brisbane-based fashion creator Amber Rose.

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In the video, she describes my exact problem: “When all of my clothes are shoved in my wardrobe, I literally forget what I have. I’m constantly complaining that I have no clothes. Girl we know that’s not true, they’re literally all just shoved in your cupboard.” Talk about relatable.

She then described her plan to try and solve this issue. “So my current logic to stop myself from buying more clothes… is to buy a clothing rack instead, [and] put all of my favourite pieces on the rack, so I see them every day when I wake up.”

She then went on to show the camera all the pieces on her newly constructed clothing rack, the vibe for which she described as ‘rockstar girlfriend’. Think fur coats, grungy tees, leopard print and ’70s flare pants. Even better, most of the rack is thrifted and two of the pieces came straight from her grandma’s closet. 

As soon as I saw Amber’s video, I knew I had to try curating my own clothing rack. My immediate thought was to go for a witchy, moody, ’90s-style rack, so that’s where I started. Well, I actually started by trekking to my local Kmart and buying said rack, but that’s beside the point.

To create the witchy aesthetic I went for lacy tops, long layered skirts, mesh (of course) and dark colours. I then added some leather, blue denim and dark woollens to make everything feel a little more ’90s. I spent the next few days wearing different outfits pulled from the rack. 

Out of all the outfits I created, this was definitely my favourite. It illustrates how I like to dress, which is pulling from a few different aesthetics and making the look my own. 

The jorts are quite a current trend, though they did get their start in the ’80s (these ones are from Worship), the chunky black and metallic belt is very Y2K, and the jumper is vintage and has very ’90s vibes. I went for a dark-brown vampy nail and popped a heap of mixed-metal rings on for good measure. Although each element has character on its own, they work together to create a look that feels uniquely mine.

I’m a little (very) obsessed with layering skirts at the moment. Here I’m wearing a vintage petticoat I picked up from Little Ms Waste-Not Vintage in Adelaide over a brown asymmetrical skirt I found on a recent Savers trip. I’ve paired them with my trusty vegan Dr Martens. I think it’s really interesting to pair something quite feminine like a frill with a structured piece and a boot. It’s the meshing of the different styles that makes this combo a winner for me. 

I found that taking the time to sift through my wardrobe really made me appreciate what was in there. It reinvigorated the way I dress and forced me to be creative with what I already owned. Instead of thinking ‘I really need to buy another piece for this to come together’, I surprised myself with what I could do with what I already had. 

And though I do still buy new clothes quite often (working in a thrift store really tests my self-control), I’ve found that since I’ve started ‘shopping my own wardrobe’ so to speak, I’ve been a lot more intentional with what I’ve decided to purchase, and what I’ve left behind.

Styling my own rack has meant I’ve become a lot more creative with what I’m wearing. I’ve saved money, I’ve gotten a lot of Instagram content out of it (always a bonus) and I can do it over and over again with new and fun aesthetics. I could style around one specific item of clothing, or perhaps based on a fabric or colour (imagine a tartan-inspired rack). The possibilities really are endless.

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