What Happens When you Suddenly Hate all Your Clothes?
By Florenne Earle Ledger published 03/11/2024
Girlhood is many things, but a common experience among my friends is developing a sudden discontent with your entire wardrobe– for no reason.
Often without any explanation, I’ll start to feel off about all my clothes and struggle to find outfits that make me feel good about myself.
Social media and targeted ads would have us believe that buying something new is the answer. In fact, as I was planning this article I got sidetracked looking for a jumper I’ve been wanting for ages on Depop.
Our natural reflex when we feel at odds with our current wardrobe is to buy something new. New clothes promise us a chance at an upgrade, a better version of ourselves, but quite often, the answer is already in our closet.
It’s not realistic to buy excess amounts of new clothing every time we’re in a fashion funk, especially not for our bank account (not to mention the planet), so what do you do when you start to hate all your clothes?
I started to wonder why I felt like this. I realised it was largely because of everything but my clothes themselves. If I am feeling down generally, it’s easy to connect that feeling to your image, because it’s something you can control. Even if the clothes hanging in my wardrobe haven’t changed, something shifts in my head and it feels as though none of it connects to my identity anymore.
I know I’m not alone in this, it’s a common shared experience (for people in my life at least) due to online social pressures. Here’s how I get out of it:
Remember outfits I love
Step one is remembering what you like about your personal style and the outfits and items that make you feel content with yourself. Thinking about your wardrobe as a whole might make you feel like you don’t like anything you own, but picking out specific pieces may trigger some thoughts about what you do like about your style.
Take some time to choose your outfit
I often compare myself to others and don’t like how I’m dressed or how I do my hair. Then I realise, it took me five minutes to get dressed, and about 30 seconds to do my hair. I don’t take the time to put an outfit together and think about how something is going to look, I just throw on what I feel like wearing in that moment.
I also never spend time doing my hair, so, obviously, I am not going to look as polished as someone who actually thought about their outfit and spent time doing their make-up. Taking a bit of time to think about what would make a good outfit, and what you would feel confident wearing is something that some of us need reminding to do. We deserve to take time for ourselves to feel our best.
I planned a batch of outfits I love on Whering and added them to a lookbook. I find this the best way to decide what to wear in the morning when I want to wear an outfit I love but don’t have the time to think about what would look good. I can browse my Lookbooks and take it from there.
Packing made easy
Packing made easy
Take a break from social media
After doom-scrolling, I sometimes find myself feeling inadequate and wanting “more” of something– but I can never put my finger on what. I can’t quite define what elements of people’s style I actually like, and what the items are that I’m left wanting to buy, there is just a general feeling of “needing something extra”.
Staying off social media apps for a few days has reminded me that some of the discontent just comes from seeing unrealistic inspiration that doesn’t reflect my style at all. It looks great on someone else, but it’s not actually how I want to look.
Style something in a new way
Take some time to style something in a new way. Discovering new outfit combinations from your existing wardrobe can be a great way to feel better about your style, without impulsively buying something you don’t actually love.
Whering is here to help! Use our Clueless-inspired wardrobe shuffle, Dress Me, to find new outfit ideas from your current wardrobe. Pin an item to Dress Me to get item-specific suggestions.
Whering Dress Me
Packing made easy
Packing made easy
The rush of excitement after booking a holiday can often feel dampened by the thought of packing. But what if there was a way to make packing your suitcase easier?
Whering is the wardrobe app making your packing experience lighter. There’s a reason Condé Nast Traveller named us a must-have travel app– we take the stress out of deciding what to wear on holiday and feeling like you’ve forgotten something.
See our ultimate packing guide to take you from choosing outfits to packing your suitcase. You’ll never dread prepping for a trip again.
Packing made easy
Don’t worry about repeating
Sometimes I feel like I need to wear something different each time I see a group of people– like I can’t wear the same thing two times in a row with the same friends. I know my friends couldn’t care less if I wear something again and again, so I don’t know where this rule has come from. They also know I work in sustainable fashion, so they’d expect it if anything. I’ve found when I’m feeling disconnected from my style, reaching for the same items and wearing outfits I know I love, (rather than something different just for the sake of it) always makes me feel better.
Check-in with yourself
If you’ve done the work of restyling items and embracing pieces that make you feel like the best version of yourself, and you can’t shake the feeling, the next thing to do is to think about whether you actually need new clothes, and why. If you are going to make an investment, spend time thinking about whether it’s the right thing or not.
Again, that’s where Whering comes in! Add times to your Whering Wishlist to mull them over before clicking buy. You can also create folders for different aesthetics and ideas. With Whering Social, you can share Wishlists with friends and have a look through theirs if you’re still stuck for inspiration.
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