2021.
I am currently 31.5 years old. I didn’t flip out over turning 31 like I did when I turned 30. You turn 30 and then every other year slapped on is a shrug. Until I turn 40, probably. Then I can have another internal crisis.
My point is this: The pandemic really put a damper on my 30th year on earth. I didn’t get to do what I had wanted to (did any of us?). I’m still unable to do what I’d like to this year, so I decided that I’m going to do something else that makes me happy until I can attempt traveling again. This year I decided to revamp my wardrobe.
Why?
I literally still have (and occasionally wear) some clothes from grade 9.
No, I’m not exaggerating.
To be fair, the items of clothing in question are some tank tops and they’re pretty darn neutral.
I also happen to work with a group of fashion enthusiasts who always seem to know when all the big sales are happening. Someone always has a membership card to save a percentage of money. Someone is always finding swanky leggings for cheap at Winners. Someone always has a shred of underground intel about something that may or may not be moving into a vacant location at the mall, etc. I really don’t have to go far to get fashion or beauty advice.
I recently bought a slew of new clothes and didn’t break the bank, because sales are a beautiful high. Like scoring $60 pants for $8, or regular $90 shoes for $7.
I am not a big spender. I never have been. I prefer to spend money on experiences (hence the extensive list of concerts I have attended), but this year I am making an exception.
How revamping my closet is helping my mental health this year:
- It’s allowing me to learn how to part ways with items of clothing I no longer wear in order to make room for new things. Like when I realized how many near duplicates I had of an item. You can really only have so many navy-coloured tops, no?
- I dress up on weekends, because my weekdays are chaotic and dressing nice to chase around a room full of grade 1 students doesn’t seem practical for me. I’m all jeans and runners during the weekdays. My weekends are for my alternative fantasy lifestyle where I’m a trendy writer in New York who dresses the part. It doesn’t matter that I’m not going anywhere, because it’s literally just for me.
- In a bizarre way it’s making me feel like the woman in her thirties that I am. It doesn’t mean that I have to grow up (because that’s for suckers, let’s be honest), it just means that I can feel like myself in my thirty-one-year-old skin.
- Fashion is obviously an artform. One I admittedly know very little about, but I can definitely see the appeal in mixing and matching clothes to create new combinations of art to wear. And I enjoy art and value creativity.
- I find myself more productive when I “dress up” in a new combination outfit. A far cry from when I’d wear my pyjamas all weekend. Part of my motivation for getting out of bed early on weekends is the ritual of choosing an outfit and slathering on lipstick.
- It creates more space and is less to worry about. The older I get, the more I appreciate having less clutter around. I’m not saying that clothes are clutter, I’m just saying that it’s nice not having to tug-of-war with my shirts just to see what I have buried in the very depths of my closet.
I’ve had one round of clearing out my wardrobe. I’d like to go for round two in the near future to see if I can’t be a bit more ruthless. Regardless, I’m glad it was something I chose to do this summer. I hope to keep it as a more routine part of my life from here on out
Have you purged your wardrobe lately?