Content from Ayesha Charles at Charms of a Dandizette
This weekend I spent three and a half hours sorting through my wardrobe, rearranging, colour coding, trying on and deciding what stays and what goes. It wasn’t so much of an ‘out with the old and in with the new’ type of activity. It was more of a preparation and organisation activity, for my new life – a better life.
You see, I have a new job! Not just any old job. For me it’s a life changing job, a game changer – it’s my dream job. After spending ten years reading, writing, studying and blogging about fashion and living alongside my fiance and his fashion family, I will finally be working in fashion, an industry I have concerned and surrounded myself with for years.
So, although I am getting married in six months, my new life really starts with my new job, my first day just a week and a half away. In an ideal world I would have started my new job at least a stone and a half lighter, but what can you do? Rome was not built in a day. I am, however, starting healthier, happier and better organised!
Going through my wardrobe has helped me to identify exactly what new items I need to purchase for my new refreshed wardrobe. My purchases need to be sensible and well thought out, because the money I once used to shop every month is now paying for the wedding. I am also hoping that my healthier life will be a much lighter life, meaning I’ll be able to fit into some of the much loved clothes that hang in my wardrobe, reminding me of how young and skinny I used to be. It’s ironic how attractive old clothes become when you no longer have the option to wear them.
However, I need to be cut throat and realistic. No matter the memories made or the emotional attachment I may have – which there are many memories attached to the garments from my younger and skinnier years – any garment that’s a size 8 or hasn’t been worn in the last two years GOES. I have not been able to fit into a size eight in three years – it’s over!
The items I believe WILL fit me again, with my refreshed lifestyle, and that I would still wear today if they did fit, have been put into a box at the bottom of my wardrobe. I’ll try them on each month just to see how close I am getting to my goal. These are my favourite pair of black jeans, three patterned shirts and two tops, all from Zara. These items were the staple of my work wardrobe when I first started the job I am about to leave. Indeed, change can be bitter sweet, which is why it’s nice to hold onto what you can, even though you must move forward to stay relevant.
I suppose, the sweetest moment of those three hours spent in my wardrobe was realising that many of the clothes I had been scared to try on from fear they no longer fit, actually did! I have been hiding away in black jeans the past month, trying to convince myself I am working the whole minimal chic look, because I have been dreading trying on the skirts, the dresses, the trousers and the shorts I used to wear in the winter to AVOID wearing jeans. Admittedly, a lot of them don’t fit like they did when I first bought them, but they are nowhere as far off as I thought they’d be.
Where am I going with all of this wardrobe talk? Well, I suppose my state of mind about my current wardrobe is a reflection of how I am feeling about my current approach to fashion. Fashion is not just about the clothes, it’s about communication via our exterior and presenting to the world our best selves – before we’ve even muttered a word. Our actual bodies and body types are a communicating factor also – be it model slim Mirander Kerr, sexually curvaceous Kim Kardashian or strong and powerful Naomi Campbell – these women are all thirty plus and are fashioning their physiques, so to speak.
My concern is that I am not fashioning my physique. Although I wouldn’t be as dramatic as to say I have let myself go – I have lost a little control and it’s evident, because although I love fashion as much as I always have, I don’t enjoy dressing the way I once used to. Not currently feeling my best self, not at my fittest or my healthiest, makes my approach to style and fashion merely a cover up or a disguise and selecting fashion items this way, as I have been doing of lately, just doesn’t feel like nearly as much fun as it used to.
So, I am on the #hitrefresh mode, for my lifestyle and my health, of which my wardrobe shall benefit! At thirty, taking pride in my appearance comes with a little more effort than draping my body in the clothes I like. If I want to continue to enjoy the clothes I wear and continue to enjoy my appearance, I need to #hitrefresh on my entire lifestyle and start from within. Truth be told, buying new clothes doesn’t seem to be as rewarding or as enjoyable when I am doing it because I have gained weight anyhow.
So, my approach to fashion now, will be my reward for taking care of myself and making the necessary compromises and not simply dressing to disguise all that I should be doing, but am not, which involves sleeping and working out more, eating healthier and drinking less alcohol. This new refreshed mentality comes at a time when I need to be my best self to focus on my new job and I need to look my best for my wedding. These should both be enough to drive me and help me maintain my new-fashioned life!
What’s sweeter still, in those three hours spent in my wardrobe trying on, I styled three new skirt ensembles to debut at the new job and I didn’t need to spend a penny or even leave my wardrobe! Good-bye black skinny jeans.
Who knew a sort through an old wardrobe could be so inspiring!
My eBay Items
Shop these Zara skirts on my eBay
New Recipes I’ve Tried…
Chicken breast with sliced nectarines, wrapped in prosciutto with butterhead lettuce and feta cheese salad
Lentil Stew, made with Jamie Oliver’s Lovely Lentils. I added some chorizo, chicken, tomato paste and a chicken stock cube and some courgette slices for some greens. Best healthy meal yet!
#Breakfasttoast, found on Buzzfeed, with seven seed bread toasted, avocado, halloumi and pommegranate
What I am Coveting
The New Job…!!
Be Charmed, Stay Inspired!x
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