In my attempt to be a more considered shopper, I have been thinking about what makes a wardrobe work. It is common to make fun of women who ‘have nothing to wear’, as this sentiment is interpreted as clear evidence of shallowness, vanity and lack of brain power. I think instead of laughing, it merits soma analysis, as the phenomenon certainly exists. If you don’t buy the theory that women are by default hare-brained and their problems are stupid – which I emphatically don’t -, there must be a reason why many women often feel this way.*

I’ve spent about 25 years following fashion and thinking about style and I believe there are several causes for that state of mind. The scenario most closely in line with the joke is when a woman has a wardrobe full of perfectly serviceable clothes, but just doesn’t feel like wearing any of them. I don’t think this deserves any derision, at least in most cases. People, especially creative, fast-moving people do get tired of things. Their tastes change, their eyes crave newness. Obviously, our consumerist environment makes things worse, as it very much encourages constant change and suggests buying new stuff as the answer to everything. Contempt and self-loathing will not help anyone in this situation.

If you are this type of a person – I certainly am – and want to tackle the issue, you need to acknowledge who you are and work with your strengths. You are likely to be a good stylist and open to wearing interesting combinations, so set yourself a challenge to create something fresh with things you already have. Make sure you are aware of everything you own, as some of your older pieces might suddenly feel relevant again. Do not be tempted to edit your wardrobe too ruthlessly, as this will mean you’ll need to buy new stuff when you feel constrained by your severely curated arsenal. If these measures do not work, think of sustainable strategies for updating your stash – vintage is great as is stealing things from your boyfriend or swapping with friends.

A similar but, to my mind, different situation is when you have lots of clothes that you would quite happily wear, but nothing that would suit the specific occasion. Again, this is a scenario often ridiculed – just wear some clean clothes and stop fussing! But it’s not like women are born displaying obsessive attention to detail when it comes to clothing. It is a classic case of creating insane (simultaneously strict and obscure) rules that women need to follow, punishing them if they fail to do so while scolding them for caring about the rules in the first place. We are conditioned to care about clothes, because we are judged based on how we look and it is disingenious to pretend it doesn’t matter. If you are a strong-minded woman, you can of course decide that how you look doesn’t matter to you personally, but you would also be aware that it might have costs.

Of course, it’s not only women who are judged based on the outside (although it tends to be harsher and much more complex with us): we are inclined to think that dressing appropriately signals a certain basic competence, an ability to function successfully in the society. And maybe that’s fair enough. Anyway, for this specific kind of ‘I have nothing to wear’ I suggest in fact taking a leaf out of men’s book and have one or two outfits that work for almost any occasion (a la the classic man’s suit). The jeans and blazer look takes you from casual to almost formal (if worn with nice heels); a well-cut knee-length dress works for everything from the office to the opera.

Sometimes, however, we have nothing to wear because we are literally missing something. One sub-category of this is that while we have clothes, they are either dirty or lack buttons or maybe they are the wrong size. This can be especially bad when you have lots of things that require dry cleaning. Or if you have the bad habit not to throw your laddered tights away the moment you take them off. Fortunately, this one is pretty easy to solve: you just need to get your act together and make sure that whatever you have in your wardrobe is ready to go. And that most of your stuff is in fact in your wardrobe. I have historically been very bad at this, but I’ve improved considerably (but note, also, that I have help).
And finally, it may be that while you do have clothes, you don’t have all the elements required to make an outfit. I have mentioned this problem before, when I talked about enablers – the right tights, the belt, the suitable underwear. Some these cases are very straightforward: I only have one nude bra that actually works for me and it’s falling apart. If I do not buy a new one, I will not be able to wear any of my light tops or dresses.

Other times it’s more complex and might require a bigger investment or just shopping differently in general. As you know, I’m not a fan of the ‘buy nothing unless it goes with at least three things in your wardrobe’ rule. That said, you do need to make sure it goes with SOMETHING. It’s no use buying amazing but isolated pieces that you love, but simply cannot wear. Sometimes, the issue is purely practical, like with chunky knits that don’t fit under any of your coats. This also applies the other way round: you may have most pieces of a great outfit already, just missing this one thing that would pull it together – I would prioritise these missing links over other purchases, even if they are boring basics, because otherwise you will also not use your other pieces properly. For example, if I want to wear my silk shirts in winter, I need a knit I can layer on top, otherwise it’ll be too cold to walk to the office and all my 5-6 shirts will remain unworn. Or if you have a nice cluster of beautiful pastel-coloured clothes, but all your bags are black. Spotting these gaps and being more focused and strategic when buying things is my goal this year (and it’s going well!).

Yes, I know, I can get rather carried away with discussing what one might say are the very fine points of dressing. But why not? Please chime in, if you want to agree or argue or add.

*I’m not claiming all women or even a majority of them do, but I personally definitely have felt this way and I know I’m not alone.