“I just don’t have a creative bone in my body when it comes to clothes.” I hear some version of this constantly, usually from women who are clever, capable and creative in every other part of their life. They’ll happily design and plant a gorgeous garden, talk someone through a complicated work problem, or throw…
The Difference Between Wearing Clothes and Wearing Your Clothes Nothing is actually wrong. The fit works, the colours coordinate, and everything is technically doing its job. Yet when you look in the mirror, something feels a little absent. The clothes are there. You aren’t quite there yet. You haven’t done anything wrong. You’ve just done…
Ask most women what counts as “being creative”, and you’ll get the same short list. Painting. Writing. Playing Music. Maybe baking, if we’re being generous. Getting dressed doesn’t make the cut. It sits filed away under admin or as a daily chore, somewhere between unloading the dishwasher and replying to emails you’ve been avoiding. I’d…
Have you ever noticed that there are some pieces in your wardrobe that just feel like you? You put them on, and somehow the outfit falls into place. You feel more comfortable, more confident, more recognisable to yourself. It may not even be dramatic. A favourite jacket shape. A particular colour. A print you keep…
The Real Reason You Keep Buying Clothes You Never Wear Open your wardrobe right now. Somewhere in there is a top you loved in the shop and have worn twice. A jacket that seemed like a great idea and now just takes up hanger space. Maybe a dress with the tags still on, because the…
There’s a dress in most wardrobes that hasn’t been worn in years. It doesn’t fit, or the life it belonged to no longer exists, or both. Letting go of clothes like this should be simple. In practice, it rarely is, and it’s still hanging there, taking up its little rectangle of space, refusing to leave.…
It Was Never the Purchase in the Bag. It Was the Choosing. Here’s a small mystery worth sitting with. You’ve had a rotten day, you’re feeling down. You go shopping, and you feel better. We all know this happens, and most of us are faintly embarrassed by it, because the obvious explanation is a bit…
I have clients with jackets in their wardrobes that seem like they should be good, but they never reach for them. Nothing is wrong with it technically. Yet when they do try it on, it’s off five minutes later, because even though it might be in fashion, it might even “fit” there is something that’s…
When the news came in this morning about the death of the legend and diva Dolly Parton, I was saddened, not because I’m a big country music fan (sorry to those who are; it’s just not my genre), but because I am a big fan of Dolly. She had so many wonderful traits. As someone…
You Bought It for a Woman Who Doesn’t Exist Yet Go and open your wardrobe. Not metaphorically, actually go and look. Somewhere in there, I’d put money on it, is a garment with the tags still on or never worn. Something a size down from where you are. Something for the gallery opening you don’t…
You have seen the graphic. Five dresses in a row, a tidy little caption underneath, and a confident promise that vertical stripes will make you look taller and horizontal stripes will make you look wider. It gets shared thousands of times. It looks authoritative. It is also, in the most important way, wrong. Not wrong…
The Sale Price Is a Comparison, Not a Saving Here is a sentence that has cost women more money than almost any other: “but it was reduced from $120.” We say it to ourselves in the shop. We say it to our partners at home. We say it, a little defensively, when someone admires the…
How to Express a Style That Is Functional, Genuine and Unique A lovely reader emailed me: how do I express a style that is functional, genuine and unique? It’s a great question, and it has a slightly annoying answer. You have to go back to the beginning. Not to the shops, not to your wardrobe,…
In This Video 0:10 My “challenge” is to refrain from thrifting or buying new clothes! I know what works for me so I edit items that aren’t suitable and don’t fit my criteria or I avoid buying these things in the first place. I am retired now so I don’t need anything fancy or…
“I’ve Retired, But My Casual Clothes Are Still Boring” A reader recently asked me a question I hear all the time from women who’ve just left the working world behind: after years of dressing for business, how do I actually express my personal style now that “casual” is all I need? You don’t even need…
You Didn’t Fall in Love With That Dress. Your Nucleus Accumbens Did There’s a moment in a shop that we all treat as sacred. You’re walking past a rail, not really looking, and something stops you. You reach out. You hold it up. And you get that small internal lift, the one that says Oh.…
Why Do I Look Frumpy? The Real Culprits (And How to Fix Them) “Why do I look so frumpy today?” A reader wrote and told me that that’s how she feels in many of her outfits. If you’ve ever caught your reflection and thought exactly that, I want you to know it isn’t a mystery.…
If You’re a Shopaholic With “Nothing to Wear.” Here’s What’s Actually Going On. “I’m a shopaholic, yet I feel like I have nothing to wear, and it gives me anxiety because I have too much stuff.” This was emailed to me by one of my lovely readers. If that sentence made you wince a little…
Why You Packed a Hat and Never Wore It (And What To Do Differently Next Trip) A reader recently wrote to me with a confession I suspect a lot of you share. She’d packed a hat for her trip, a good one, chosen specifically for sun protection. It came home unworn. Why? Because nobody else…
You’re Not Buying the Bag. You’re Buying a Holiday from Yourself. Here’s a question worth sitting with before you tap “confirm purchase” next time: are you buying something because you want it, or because you want a feeling to go away? It sounds confronting. But understanding the difference is one of the most useful things…
What are the key wardrobe basics I need? Type this question into Google and you’ll get the same answer fifty times over: a white shirt, dark jeans, a trench coat, a little black dress, nude heels. Pin it, buy it, you’re sorted. Except you’re not, because that list was written for nobody in particular. It…
