Fashion anxiety: I have three wardrobes of clothes and nothing to wear

“Despite having a keen interest in fashion and working in the industry, I feel like I have no idea which pieces work best together.”

When I wake up in the morning and get ready for the day, my morning routine tends to speed by. I make my bed, have a shower and do my skincare but then I hit a roadblock. I’m stuck peering into my three wardrobes, consumed with the feeling that, despite the amount of clothing I own, I have nothing to wear.

No matter the day, whether it’s work, an event or time spent with friends, choosing an outfit is always a challenge. Even though I have a keen interest in fashion and work in the industry, I feel like I have no idea which pieces work best together and what accessories will complement rather than overwhelm an outfit.

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I usually scroll through my Pinterest and plug in tags like ‘street style’ to see dozens of images pop up on my phone. I scroll and scroll, hoping to find an outfit I can replicate from the masses of clothing I own. But my attempts to replicate these outfits, while also ensuring they’re suitable for the weather and the day’s activities results in a wild, out-of-control mess.

I feel anxiety and stress consume me when I realise I might have to wear an outfit I’ve already worn before (why do so many of us still feel weird about outfit repeating?). I know this doesn’t make sense; how can I have so many clothes and still feel as though I have nothing to wear? So I decided to look into why I was feeling this way and, more importantly, how to remedy it.

The pressure

The definition of clothes is ‘items worn to cover the body’, which is a deceivingly simple way to define something that means so much to so many. Diving deeper, clothing can be seen as a representation of one’s identity. What we wear can send a message about who we are to the people around us, whether intentionally or not.

Working in fashion, there’s immense pressure to always be dressing the part and perhaps this makes it more difficult for me when getting ready for the day. If you’re like me, you might feel pressure from your friends or social media followers because they think of you as someone who’s fashion-forward. But even if you don’t create content around your outfits or have friends that perceive you as the ‘fashion friend’, there are a variety of reasons you might feel like you don’t have anything to wear.

You have too many clothes

They say that too many choices can overwhelm us and lead to poor decision-making. I knew that this was one of the key reasons I was never able to find an outfit, so reorganising and culling my three wardrobes was the first task I had to tackle.

While refining my wardrobe, I realised I had many pieces that just didn’t fit – I was even holding on to pieces I had no hope of wearing again, like a crop top I was given by an aunt in year eight. I also found double or triple of the same item. Why do I have three pairs of skinny-leg jeans? These types of items needed to be donated, and it was a relief to extricate them from my wardrobes.

You’re scared to experiment with atypical outfits

What I’ve learnt is that you don’t have to wear clothing the way it’s designed to be worn. There’s so much inspiration to be found on platforms like TikTok when it comes to wearing your clothing and styling your outfits in unconventional ways. Your Adidas sports shorts don’t always have to be paired with a T-shirt. Instead, why not try them with a Y2K-influenced going-out top for an interesting blend of streetwear and formal wear? Your summer dress doesn’t have to be paired with sandals, but perhaps some heavy boots and knee-high socks.

Experimenting with the pieces you already have in your wardrobe can help grow your confidence when it comes to styling. Broadening your sense of style and the places you’re pulling inspiration from will mean you won’t feel confined to just one aesthetic – instead, you can start to look at your style as something that’s ever-evolving.

Try pulling outfit ideas from old films, art books, editorial shoots and your favourite music videos. When you start referencing more broadly, fashion becomes exciting again. This process will allow you to discover your own sense of style and help you do away with any ideas about what you should be wearing. An outfit that makes you feel good is an outfit well done.

You have problematic shopping habits

Moving forward, a fresh, well-organised wardrobe filled only with pieces that you genuinely love or have practical use for will make the process of selecting an outfit each morning much more streamlined. Curating a wardrobe like this means no impulse buying. As hard as it is, being particular about what you buy and invest in is very important. It will prevent you from wasting money on pieces that make you feel less-than-great and encourage you to only bring pieces into your wardrobe you feel connected to.

Buying high-quality investment pieces – like a classic woollen coat, cotton button-up shirt, well-tailored pair of trousers and a silk slip dress – will also minimise the morning outfit-picking anxiety as you’ll start wearing special pieces every day as the base of your outfits.

The final step is pulled from Jenna Flood, a slow fashion stylist. Jenna suggests implementing a technique called a ‘wardrobe freeze’. Basically, this means when buying a new piece of clothing you must also get rid of one piece. It’s a policy that ensures you’ll never again find yourself with an overstuffed wardrobe and nothing to wear.

For tips on streamlining your wardrobe, head here.