How to Make Your Wardrobe Feel New Without Buying More

You don't necessarily need a new wardrobe. You might just need to fall in love with the one you already have again.

Take a little inspiration from Marie Kondo and start with the things that bring you joy, it works. To fall in love with your wardrobe again it needs to be empty of pieces you pick up and your heart sinks. Put on some music, make yourself a nice drink and give yourself some time to enjoy it. Go right to the back of the cupboard and pull everything out. The things you wear all the time, the things you've forgotten about and the things you've been moving from one side of the rail to the other for years. Pick things up. Try them on. Look at them properly. Don't start by thinking about what goes with what, whether something is practical or whether you've worn it enough to justify keeping it. Just notice how you feel when you see it again. If you love it, keep it. If something makes your heart sink a little when you pick it up, ask yourself why it's still there. It might be a perfectly nice dress that never feels quite like you, a pair of trousers that are uncomfortable or a jumper you've kept because you think you ought to like it. You don't have to make a case for getting rid of something. If you don't like wearing it, that's enough.

There will also be things you love but don't actually wear. An old festival T shirt, perhaps, or something you wore on a brilliant holiday. Keep them if the memories make you happy, but give them a different home. Your everyday wardrobe should be filled with clothes you want to get dressed in, not a museum of every version of yourself you've ever been. Once you've finished, put everything back somewhere you can actually see it. The things you love shouldn't be hidden behind a wall of clothes you never wear.

Then there's the category of clothes you love but never quite wear. Maybe they don't fit properly. Maybe the sleeves are too long, the waist sits strangely or a dress you've always thought was beautiful has never quite felt right on you. Before getting rid of them, see what can be done. Take them to a tailor. Get something repaired. Have an old coat properly cleaned. Ask what they think. It's amazing what can be changed, and a good tailor will often have ideas you hadn't considered. A dress that feels too long might become the perfect length. A jacket that doesn't quite sit right could be altered. A pair of trousers you adore might simply need the waist taking in. The same goes for cleaning. A proper clean can make an old coat look completely different. A good polish can bring leather shoes back to life. Sometimes something hasn't lost its magic at all. It just needs a little attention. And if it still doesn't work, let it go. Not everything has to be rescued.

Once you've worked out what you really love, wear it. Don't save your favourite jewellery for a special dinner. Wear it shopping. Don't keep the beautiful silk blouse waiting for a garden party that may never come. Wear it with jeans on a Tuesday. The nicest things in your wardrobe should be part of your everyday life. There's pleasure in wearing something beautiful for no reason at all. Your favourite perfume doesn't need an evening reservation. Your best earrings don't need a black tie invitation. The good handbag can come to the supermarket. If you love it, enjoy it.

Getting ready to leave the house is quite enough without having to invent an outfit from scratch every morning. It's very easy to fall back on the same things because you know they work. You have somewhere to be, you need to find your keys, you're trying to remember where you parked and suddenly you're wearing the same trousers you've worn three times that week. The answer isn't necessarily more clothes. It's having a few outfits already worked out. Think about the pieces you really want to become staples but never seem to wear. Take them out and work out the whole outfit. What goes with them from top to toe? Which shoes? Which bag? Which jewellery? Which coat?

A dress you love but always end up taking off because it's too low cut might work with a T shirt underneath. Something that feels too dressy for a casual day might be completely different with chunky boots. A pretty skirt might suddenly feel like something you'd wear all the time with a big jumper and trainers. Have a plan for the things you want to become staples. Then play around with them. Try combinations you wouldn't normally think of. Look at clothes outside their usual season. A summer dress with fleecy tights and boots is suddenly a winter dress. A shirt can be tucked in, left loose or worn open over a vest. A jumper can sit neatly at the waist or be thrown over a dress. A belt can completely change the shape of something. Change the proportions. Change the shoes. Try something slightly unexpected. And because you're not doing this at 8.30am when you need to leave in ten minutes, give yourself permission to get it wrong. Try something ridiculous. Put it back. Try something else. When you find combinations you love, take a photograph or make a note. I have a spreadsheet of my work outfits, right down to the shoes and jewellery, and it takes so much of the stress out of getting dressed. When I'm in a rush, I already know what works. You could have a little album on your phone for outfits you love, too. A wardrobe of your wardrobe, if you like.

Accessories can completely change an outfit. A piece of jewellery you haven't worn for years might make an old dress feel completely different. So can a belt, a bag, a scarf, a great coat or a pair of boots. Try your hair up. Then down. Add a different lipstick. Change your earrings. Wear ballet flats instead of boots or trainers instead of heels. Sometimes the clothes haven't become boring. You've just been wearing them the same way. Think about the whole look rather than just the clothes. You might discover that the dress you've been avoiding actually feels fantastic with your hair up and a big pair of earrings. Or that a jacket you've stopped wearing suddenly works with jeans and a silk camisole rather than the trousers you've always paired it with. Even makeup can become part of the formula. If you find a particular combination that makes an outfit feel especially good, remember it.

There are probably things in there you've forgotten about. The blouse hiding behind your jumpers. The coat you haven't worn since last winter. The dress you bought years ago and never quite figured out. The bag you've been saving for something special. Bring them back. Look at things from a different angle. Try the dress with a completely different pair of shoes. Wear the shirt underneath something instead of on its own. Put the cardigan you always wear with jeans over a dress. And look beyond the season you've bought something for. Clothes don't have to stay in their assigned category. Summer dresses can work in winter. Linen trousers can look beautiful with a chunky knit. A lightweight skirt can be transformed with tights, boots and a big coat. Once you start looking at your wardrobe this way, it becomes much more interesting.

The point isn't to have the smallest possible wardrobe. It isn't to make every piece earn its place by being practical, versatile or sensible. Not everything needs to go with everything else. Some things can simply be beautiful. Some things can make you smile. Some things can remind you of a person, a place or a particularly brilliant night. You liking it is enough. A new wardrobe can be your old wardrobe. The things you already love can feel fresh again. Clothes that weren't quite right can be tailored, repaired or cleaned. Forgotten pieces can find their way back into rotation. A new combination can make something you've worn for years feel completely different. And perhaps the best part is that you don't have to wait for a reason to enjoy any of it. Wear the dress. Put on the earrings. Take the good bag to the supermarket. A new wardrobe can be your old one your loved items can be made fresh and your old rotation can be expanded with just a bit of creativity and care.