As someone who really enjoys dressing with color (not necessarily super bold color, but tones that aren’t only black/white/caramel), the capsule wardrobe approach just does not vibe with my style these days.
And a huge YES to “your clothes don’t have to be flattering” 🙌 I’ve got a friend who enjoys shopping and asks to see new things I’ve bought, but we have very different styles and she’ll often say things like (gently, because she’s lovely): “I think it would be more flattering if you did XYZ” and it feels too harsh to respond that I definitely don’t want to do that and won’t be doing that since I’m not solving for “flattering” because that feels like kind of a rebuke of her own approach to style. Any advice for better responses than my current, vague: “hmm interesting!” ? (coward me 🫥)
this happens to me all the time!!!! i usually say something along the lines of “yeah no that’s okay!” and deflect to something else but it always makes me feel weird…. sometimes i have told friends “my goal isn’t for my clothes to be flattering!!” but i am still working on this. really appreciate you reading and your thoughtful commentary!
Ahhh, this post really spoke to me personally, because all my life, I've followed no rules and bought mostly secondhand. When I'm browsing, I envision a character in my head and shop for my muse. Last week, I was feeling like I wanted to embody the spirit of a Japanese architect, next week at work, I'm thinking menswear, and the week after that, I might dip my toe into Little House on the Prairie again. A capsule wardrobe would be a brick wall to my creativity. There's always room in my heart & my closet for my vintage 70s Mrs. Roper housecoat. 💗
I LOVE THIS!!!! you perfectly tap into something i think we should all add more of into our life- fun and creativity! what is stopping us from playing characters? imagination never has to end! there are no rules! you are so fun! thank you for reading Debra ❤️
Getting dressed should be empowering for everybody no matter what their style. Beth Jones in L.A. is my spirit animal for playing with clothes: https://www.instagram.com/bjonesstyle/
I’ve never agreed with any fashion advice like I agree with this! Every. Word. I’m 61 and it took me decades to realize this. Now I love what I have. And -yes- I bought a vintage Marni shearling hat that looks straight out of Dr Zhivago and I love it! Buy the hats ladies…
1000% to the capsule wardrobe. They are not universal! I was a victim for so long and ended up with too many things that weren’t useful for me. I like the way you say it should be a uniform. I like to call it ritual dressing :)
I love this, you’re so right! How kind of touched on this, is that can we please discuss how everybody literally looks and dresses the same? Can we blame Instagram for this? All is out there at the minute is brown and Grays and neutrals. I hate browns I hate Gray. I hate neutrals and I just hate it on me. Everybody looks the same when everybody’s wearing the same. How can we break this?.l
i think about this a lot!!! especially with “quiet luxury” bring the trend du jour i find that we are devoid of both color and personality!! thank you for reading ❤️❤️
this is such an amazing piece and thread! thank you for sharing!! it is so hard to be conscious of how we are being influenced but the work of analyzing it is so important- thank you emily!!
100%! I just feel like everyone dresses the same! I also agree about your capsule wardrobe comment - I dont want one and also I wear so much print it just wouldn’t work for me! I saw a comment on Substack earlier this month that said basically we’re all being influenced by -someone else’s - taste! And I thought that was bang on!
I love this!!! Agree with everything. My bad shoping advice is to buy everything you like that is both fairly cheap and second hand. Thrinfting can be such a gamble! I often find my less obvious thrifts are the ones that become favorites. But it can be hard to know that in the store. I look at it as a subscription of sorts: anything that just sits in my closet after a long while I just donate back to goodwill.
I might have to copy some chunks of this down into my journal for future reference. I completely agree with your suggestions - a wardrobe truly is an archive, a self-portrait even, and it doesn't make sense to shop in accordance with preconceived rules at the expense of knowing yourself. I'd love to read that essay on the rejection of "flattering" clothes! 🖤
This is my first piece I’ve ever read on Substack and I’m hooked! Excellent content
This made my day!!!!!!! Thank you so much for reading ❤️❤️
Love all of this 💖💖💖
As someone who really enjoys dressing with color (not necessarily super bold color, but tones that aren’t only black/white/caramel), the capsule wardrobe approach just does not vibe with my style these days.
And a huge YES to “your clothes don’t have to be flattering” 🙌 I’ve got a friend who enjoys shopping and asks to see new things I’ve bought, but we have very different styles and she’ll often say things like (gently, because she’s lovely): “I think it would be more flattering if you did XYZ” and it feels too harsh to respond that I definitely don’t want to do that and won’t be doing that since I’m not solving for “flattering” because that feels like kind of a rebuke of her own approach to style. Any advice for better responses than my current, vague: “hmm interesting!” ? (coward me 🫥)
this happens to me all the time!!!! i usually say something along the lines of “yeah no that’s okay!” and deflect to something else but it always makes me feel weird…. sometimes i have told friends “my goal isn’t for my clothes to be flattering!!” but i am still working on this. really appreciate you reading and your thoughtful commentary!
"Maybe, but I like it like this!"
Ahhh, this post really spoke to me personally, because all my life, I've followed no rules and bought mostly secondhand. When I'm browsing, I envision a character in my head and shop for my muse. Last week, I was feeling like I wanted to embody the spirit of a Japanese architect, next week at work, I'm thinking menswear, and the week after that, I might dip my toe into Little House on the Prairie again. A capsule wardrobe would be a brick wall to my creativity. There's always room in my heart & my closet for my vintage 70s Mrs. Roper housecoat. 💗
I LOVE THIS!!!! you perfectly tap into something i think we should all add more of into our life- fun and creativity! what is stopping us from playing characters? imagination never has to end! there are no rules! you are so fun! thank you for reading Debra ❤️
Getting dressed should be empowering for everybody no matter what their style. Beth Jones in L.A. is my spirit animal for playing with clothes: https://www.instagram.com/bjonesstyle/
agreed i LOVE beth!!!
I’ve never agreed with any fashion advice like I agree with this! Every. Word. I’m 61 and it took me decades to realize this. Now I love what I have. And -yes- I bought a vintage Marni shearling hat that looks straight out of Dr Zhivago and I love it! Buy the hats ladies…
Maria! This comment meant so much to me, thank you so much for reading!! This inspired me to buy a shearling hat next time i find the perfect one ❤️
1000% to the capsule wardrobe. They are not universal! I was a victim for so long and ended up with too many things that weren’t useful for me. I like the way you say it should be a uniform. I like to call it ritual dressing :)
RITUAL DRESSING! i love that. so much. WOW. tomorrow i am going to wear a comfortable sweater as part of my monday ritual dressing
yay!!! it makes so much more sense to me and I think it gives me the ability to lean into MY ritual vs what anyone says we should be into
I love this, you’re so right! How kind of touched on this, is that can we please discuss how everybody literally looks and dresses the same? Can we blame Instagram for this? All is out there at the minute is brown and Grays and neutrals. I hate browns I hate Gray. I hate neutrals and I just hate it on me. Everybody looks the same when everybody’s wearing the same. How can we break this?.l
i think about this a lot!!! especially with “quiet luxury” bring the trend du jour i find that we are devoid of both color and personality!! thank you for reading ❤️❤️
I’ve found it! https://open.substack.com/pub/patternrecognitionbytomorrowism/p/is-the-algorithm-making-us-less-stylish?r=4wdvl&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
this is such an amazing piece and thread! thank you for sharing!! it is so hard to be conscious of how we are being influenced but the work of analyzing it is so important- thank you emily!!
100%! I just feel like everyone dresses the same! I also agree about your capsule wardrobe comment - I dont want one and also I wear so much print it just wouldn’t work for me! I saw a comment on Substack earlier this month that said basically we’re all being influenced by -someone else’s - taste! And I thought that was bang on!
Agree, agree, agree! Great newsletter, bursting with energy! 👏🏻
thank you so much for reading Irene !!!!
love this! made me remember this old bestdressed video about trying a capsule wardrobe for 30 days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dzGsnYKOS4&t=1042s
omg HAHA i love this viktoriia!! thank you for sharing
I love this!!! Agree with everything. My bad shoping advice is to buy everything you like that is both fairly cheap and second hand. Thrinfting can be such a gamble! I often find my less obvious thrifts are the ones that become favorites. But it can be hard to know that in the store. I look at it as a subscription of sorts: anything that just sits in my closet after a long while I just donate back to goodwill.
Thank you for reading!! Totally agree, some of my favorite things i have worn to death have been inexpensive thrift things i was on the fence about
I LOVE every word of this!
!!! that means so much thank you for reading 🖤🖤
obsessed w all of this
thank you so much for reading!!!!
I might have to copy some chunks of this down into my journal for future reference. I completely agree with your suggestions - a wardrobe truly is an archive, a self-portrait even, and it doesn't make sense to shop in accordance with preconceived rules at the expense of knowing yourself. I'd love to read that essay on the rejection of "flattering" clothes! 🖤
Holly!!!!!! thank you so much for reading ❤️❤️
i, too, wish you had that fur hat....
it would be so powerful..