September wardrobe & styling challenges
By Florenne Earle Ledger published 01/09/2024
Second-hand September is here! Whilst we love encouraging people to shop preloved, we believe the most sustainable garments are those already in your wardrobe. That’s why we’re sharing some simple challenges you can complete throughout the month to build a solid foundation for a sustainable relationship with fashion, all year round.
Follow us on Instagram or TikTok to get weekly reminders to complete the challenges and get the most out of your current clothes⚡
The challenges are grouped into four themes, one for each weekend of the month. Starting with the basics:
Not your average audit
Reverse audit
Rather than thinking about what you don’t like in your wardrobe, why not do the opposite? Pick 5 items you love and use them as a benchmark to review everything else you own and decide what is worth keeping. Reminding yourself what you love about these pieces helps hold the rest of your wardrobe to a higher standard.
Get styling
For items you forgot you owned or rarely wear, take some time to try them on with other things to see if they’re worth keeping. Don’t get sucked into the excitement of rediscovering something and deciding to keep it (guilty!). Use Dress Me to style it on your phone with the pin tool.
Know what you love
Use Whering to track your outfits to get real-time data on what you wear the most. Try doing it every day for a week to start with, and go for longer if you can. The data doesn’t lie, so this is the perfect challenge to find out the truth about your style and make tough decisions easy.
Style something old
Try styling an outfit using items you rarely reach for to see how it makes you feel. If you’re not feeling confident or comfortable it’s a sign these pieces may have had their time in your wardrobe and it’s time to show them a new home.
Try a new combination
A wardrobe audit reminds you of everything you own, including items you might have forgotten about. So, if you have a fun day planned or a big event coming up, why not put together an entirely new outfit combination that you’ve never worn before, to discover the potential of your wardrobe? Open Whering and use Dress Me or W Pick if you’re short on time!
If you’re craving something more adventurous, see our previous article for radical fashion exercises to reconnect with your closet.
Digital audit
Our Design Director has all the tips on how to digitally audit your wardrobe to keep it clean and organised. Whether you’re on the bus or chilling at home, if you have a spare couple of mins, use your time to tidy up your digital wardrobe in the following ways:
Create a new Lookbook
If you’ve been tracking your outfits on Whering you probably know your most worn items and outfits– so why not add them to an everyday Lookbook to make it easier to choose an outfit every morning?
It doesn’t have to be for everyday outfits, it could be for any theme you like. If you haven’t used Lookbooks a lot, now is the perfect time to give yourself a theme and create folders of outfits you love.
Clean up item tags
Accurate item tags make it easy to find items when you want them, fast! Tags are personal, so our auto-generated tagging tech might not know what your skirt means to you. That's why it’s helpful to take the time to review your items and check they’re tagged how you would describe them, to make sure your digital wardrobe is an accurate reflection of your personal style.
We’ve also added location and status tags, so if you have multiple wardrobes (or maybe you’re just forgetful) you can keep tabs on everything you own, no matter where you left it. Filter to view your wardrobe to any location (including custom ones) to be sure you’re planning an outfit with clothes you can access that day!
What to do with the clothes you’re not keeping
Donate with caution
When it comes to clothing donations the ‘out of sight out of mind’ approach applies. Sadly, lots of what we donate to charity shops doesn’t actually get sold and sometimes ends up in landfill. If you’re getting rid of clothes this year, consider ways you can keep fashion circular without dumping a huge bag at a charity shop.
Host a clothes swap
Invite friends over, maybe even make dinner and serve drinks and encourage everyone to bring old clothes they don’t wear anymore and get swapping. Just because you don’t love something, doesn’t mean one of your besties won’t!
If hosting an in-person clothes swap doesn’t appeal to you, try uploading items to your close friends story to see if anyone wants anything. It’s quick way to ensure your clothes find a good home.
Reuse old fabric
Watching The Great British Sewing Bee has opened our eyes to what can be done with clothing scraps. There are lots of DIY projects you could get involved with, using unwanted clothes as material to make something new.
Sustainable fashion journalist, Sophie Benson, has written a whole book of upcycling challenges to breathe new life into old clothes.
TLC
Get that repair
This might be the hardest challenge of all– getting an item repaired. It’s so easy to put off getting something repaired but is the best way to get more from the clothes already in your wardrobe. Normalise spending the money you would on buying new clothes to keep your current ones in good condition.
Show your clothes some love
If you don’t have anything that needs repairing or altering, consider other ways you can care for your clothes. For example, take something to the dry cleaners to freshen it up or moisturise your leather jackets/shoes to keep them looking brand new. If you’re on a budget, it could be as simple as buying some Crep Protect spray for your shoes and giving them all an even coating before autumn and winter come into effect. It keeps your shoes clean for longer, waterproof, and safe from stains.
No buy month
Honour your current wardrobe and pledge not to buy anything (second-hand or new) for the whole month. It might sound daunting, but it’s a good place to start appreciating your current wardrobe without buying new pieces for a serotonin hit or confidence boost.
Those are all the challenges we’re sharing for second-hand September. Don’t forget to follow us on socials to keep up with our journey throughout the month and see how we’re getting along. Good luck!
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