10 Reasons Why You Have Nothing to Wear

When is the last time you opened your closet and said, I have nothing to wear? Well, I think it's a problem all of us struggle with at one point in our lives or another. But I've rounded up 10 reasons why you have nothing to wear. And guess what? We're going to talk about not only the problem, but what to do about it. So let's get into all 10 of them right now. The first one on my list is your clothes don't fit your current season. And this is a really easy trap to fall into, because especially if you're somewhere where the weather is changing. Let's say it's springtime or coming out of winter. You have those days where it mixes. You might have a couple of beautiful spring days. All of a sudden, you start grabbing those spring items. And then before you know it, you've totally you're ignoring all the sweaters that are nearby, all the heavy coats. And you're only grabbing those lighter, airier items. Well, what happens is you're still if you haven't changed out your wardrobe, you're still having the visual clutter of seeing all of those thick, heavy items, cold weather clothes that you're not wearing. It gives you decision fatigue because all you see are all these clothes that you can't wear instead of seeing only the clothes that you can wear. So how to remedy that? You're going to rotate your wardrobe seasonally, and you don't have to do it four times a year. I tend to do this twice a year. I divide my wardrobe into two categories, spring, summer and fall winter. And when I start to see things changing and I'm wanting to grab that those fall winter items or I'm wanting to grab those spring summer items, that's when you're going to want to change your wardrobe over. You might have some transitional pieces that work for most every season. So you'll keep those so that you're only seeing the clothes that you're going to wear for that season. And let's say you don't have a lot of space. What you could do is just rearrange clothes in your closet so that the clothes that are of the current season are front and center. You see them right away when you walk in. You can hone in and you're not having to divide and sift through the mixed together seasons so you can make room in your closet that way, or you can put your clothes in a bin, put it in the attic, the basement, maybe a spare bedroom closet. Find somewhere else that you can keep those items so that you're not having to see them every day. Reason number two, why you have nothing to wear is you're buying too many trends and not enough classics. Now, you might be thinking, but classics are boring. I like to buy trendy things and stay in style. Where this comes in as a problem is those trendy pieces don't always mix together. They go out of style just as fast as they come in. So you get bored of them. And that excitement that got you to buy that trendy piece in the beginning has worn off. But now you're like, oh, I'm sick of this thing. I hate wearing it. I never wear it. So what you want to do is invest in classic pieces that you absolutely love that you're going to wear time and again. It will mix and match with other pieces in your wardrobe and add in only a couple trendy pieces each season just to liven things up. Keep your wardrobe interesting. But you're not getting bogged down by all those trendy pieces that end up giving you a closet full of nothing to wear. Reason number three, why you have nothing to wear is that you buy clothes that don't fit properly. I think we all might have done this at some point or another. We buy something thinking, well, I'm trying to lose weight. I really love this top. It doesn't fit me great. But in a couple of months, it's going to fit me beautifully. Or I really like these pants. They're too long, but I'll get them tailored. And you'd never do. And they end up sitting on the rack for a long time or you've gained weight. Now, those smaller sizes don't fit you anymore. But you're like, well, I'll fit into them again. I don't want to get rid of them. Or maybe you've lost weight and you think, oh, I don't want to get rid of those bigger sizes, because what if I gain the weight back and then I'm going to have all these clothes? And I understand the reasoning behind that. It's very valid, especially for women and us over 50. There might be going through menopause or have gone through menopause. You do tend to experience some weight gain, weight loss. So you tend to hold on to those. Get those pieces out of your closet or put hide them somewhere where you can't see them. Now, I'm not saying ditch them all, because if you do experience weight gain, you might not want to do that. But who wants to open their closet every day and think, oh, I love that, but that doesn't fit me. Oh, that one doesn't fit me either. This one kind of fits. These three don't fit. That's so depressing. Take those items that don't fit you today out of your closet and put them away in storage. And if you happen to change sizes, you can go back and revisit them. But don't keep them in your closet so that you have to have all that visual clutter overwhelming your closet. And then, of course, you're thinking you have nothing to wear because you're seeing all these things that you want to wear, but you can't. So get them out of there. So you don't have that feeling every single day. And if you have pieces that need to be tailored, find a good tailor or seamstress that can take care of those. Have me hands for you or you have any ripped clothes. Get those taken care of. Don't leave them in your closet. In fact, get them out. Like I have an entryway that we put things like that, like things that need to be addressed or go to Goodwill. We have like a section in our front hall where we just say, OK, next time we walk out the door, this is what we're doing. So next time you walk out the door, take them to the tailor. Get them taken care of. And then don't put them back in your closet until they are hemmed or tailored to fit you properly. So reason number four, why you have nothing to wear is that you're unclear of your personal style. And you're like, how do I know if I'm unclear about my personal style? Real give on this is if your wardrobe is a mishmash of all different styles, then most likely you're going to struggle to put outfits together because you're like on on one day, you're preppy. And then the next day, you're bohemian. And the next day, you're sophisticated businesswoman. And it's all over the place. The key is to spend some time defining your personal style. In fact, I have a whole video on personal style and choosing your style words, because even if you don't know, oh, I'm I like classic or I like the coastal grandmother style, if you don't feel that way, then what you want to do, you want to figure out your style words. This is a great technique. What it's going to do is allow you to choose three words that will help you define your style. So go to check out that video. There's also a free printable you can download. You can circle. I have like 100 words on there. It will help you describe your style. And once you know your personal style, it makes going shopping so easy because you have to make sure that your clothes fit your current lifestyle and fit your style word. Like you want to be able to put on clothes and say, oh, my gosh, yes, this. These are my three style words that this fits the bill. Yes, I will buy this and it will work in with other clothes. And the more you stick with those style words when you're buying, the more your closet will be able to mix and match to a wide variety of options. You'll have tons of outfit ideas that you can put together. Reason number five, you have nothing to wear. You're holding on to the past. I know as a woman over 50, I have lots of past to think about. I've lots of events, things that have happened from dresses, wedding dress. There's you know, you can go on and on. Bridesmaid's dresses, all of these events. Or maybe you went to a special occasion and that garment just has a lot of meaning to you because of the memories that you have from it. And we end up holding on to a closet full of clothes just because they have sentimental reasons, but they might not be serving us at all anymore. So the key to remedy this is take those clothes that you only hold on to for sentimental reasons and get them out of your closet. Put them in storage. Put them away so that you aren't seeing that every time you get in your closet. Your closet has a very important purpose. It's to house the clothes that you currently wear. So anything that is not current should go out of your closet and pare down on what's in your closet so that you're not filling it with memories instead of your current life. Reason number six, you have nothing to wear. You're only buying outfits. Now, this might not seem like a problem because it's like, what's wrong with that, Nancy? A whole head to toe look. Boom, I'm done. But if you're only buying outfits like, oh, you see it on a mannequin or in a catalog or online, they'll put together outfits and you buy that outfit and you think, well, that's what I wear. I wear that outfit. Imagine how many outfits you would have to have to have just a month's worth of clothing as opposed to buying separates that you're thinking. Well, if I buy this shirt, I can mix it with these five other pairs of pants. Or if I buy these pants, I can mix it with five other shirts that I already have in my closet instead of having one outfit. Now you have 10 outfits that are head to toe. Well, because you're maximizing the ability to mix and match your wardrobe. Let's say what I see outfits, they put them together so well online or in a magazine or in a store. And you want to be able to wear them like that. Before you buy that full outfit, think to yourself, how many other ways can I wear these pieces that are in this outfit? Can you wear the shoes with other items? If it's a top and a pair of pants, can you wear those with other things? How can you maximize them in your wardrobe so that they are working for you on the long term? Reason number seven, you have nothing to wear is you make a lot of impulse buys. And we've all done it. So don't beat yourself up over it. But the problem with that is you end up buying these items on impulse. Oh, maybe you were shopping with a friend and she bought one. So you thought you'd buy one, too, or you were with other people and they kind of pushed you into buying it. Or maybe the sales person said, oh, you should get that. You know, or we're having a special deal. Definitely get that. Or there's a sale going on. Definitely get that. Those are very enticing reasons. We all fall into the trap of making impulse buys. But then you get them home. You never wear them. And I find when I do this, I'm either tired or hungry, and I've decided to go out and do a little retail therapy shopping. And if you've done that, put that in the comments below. Because 90 percent of the time, those items that I buy when I'm tired or hungry and just or had a bad day and just want to go shop. That's when I make all of my buying mistakes. So to avoid that problem, instead of waiting till you're tired or hungry, if you get to the mall and you're out shopping or it's late at night, you're online shopping, save it. Just say, you know what? I'm going to think about this tomorrow. I'm not going to hit the buy button. You're doing some late night shopping. I'm not going to hit the buy button or just give it some time to mall. I'll come back for that item tomorrow. Don't buy it right away. The other way to avoid this problem. Think of it like going to the grocery store when you go shopping. You're not going to go shopping without a list of grocery items, let alone being tired and hungry, because you're going to end up with half the store, probably all sugar and carbs. And you're going to come home with nothing really healthy to eat. So you're going to think same way about your closet and buying your clothes. Think, OK, it's time you're getting dressed. Where's the hole? Like, what are you missing? Every time you go to get dressed, think, oh, I only had a black top that would go with all these cute pants or white top. Write that down so that you have a little list and you can keep it on your phone or you can have a little notebook in your closet. Write it down so that next time you're out shopping, you have a go to list of items that will fit the need of your closet and you'll be pulling in the right pieces that you're not buying on impulse. It will help you avoid those impulse buys. Reason number eight, you have nothing to wear. Everything in your closet feels outdated. It's an easy problem to fall into because fashion seems to move faster than ever. You're looking at Instagram one day. It's in the next day. It's how puff sleeves are in. Now they're out. The change is so fast that it's easy. If you're not on the ball all the time, you could feel outdated. And the way to avoid that is to focus on more classic cuts that are going to transcend time instead of the newest, latest trend that is the big puffy sleeves. Or know that when you're buying that puffy sleeve shirt, I'm just using it as an example that guess what? That's not going to be a trend in two years or five years. That thing's you're going to wear it a season or two, and then that trend is going to be over. Enjoy it while it lasts. But no, this is not a long term piece that you're buying. But if you buy more classic cuts like traditional button down, you can wear it multiple ways and you're going to have that piece for a very long time, especially if you're buying good quality pieces. Reason number nine, you have nothing to wear is your lifestyles changed. This is a big problem that a lot of us can have, especially if you're over 50, because you're going through another big phase of life. You may be retiring. You may be an empty nester. You may be having grandkids. You may be downsizing all of these big life changes that we're going through at this age. We don't take the time to think, OK, are the clothes that are currently in my closet matching the lifestyle that I have today? If you recently retired, for example, the clothes that you wore to your job, you might not need again. In fact, I recently had my sister on a video where we were in her closet talking about this very topic. You can check out that video right here. And one of the things that came up is she had all these skirts, like 10 to 12 skirts that were hanging in her closet. And I said, when is the last time you wore these? And she said she doesn't wear them anymore. She has not worn them in two years. So the plan is to get them out of the closet so that they're not picking up visual clutter and will give her more space for the clothes that fit her current lifestyle. And she'll be able to see them and wear them on a daily basis. So if you're suffering with that problem, your lifestyle has changed. What I recommend doing is assess your day, write down all the things you do in a day and then go through them and think, OK, what do I wear to those occasions? And then go back to your closet and line it up and think, OK, what's hanging in here that does not fit that lifestyle that I just described on paper? And it's a great way to really easily clean up your closet and make room for the things that will fit your lifestyle. The 10th reason why you have nothing to wear is that you're overwhelmed by clutter, believe it or not. Having too many choices can often be worse than having not many choices at all because you have and I keep saying visual clutter, but seeing all of those items that you might not even wear anymore just because you've never you haven't cleaned out your closet and they might be 20, 30 years old. They might not be your size there. It's just a lot of overwhelm every time you walk in your closet and you think I can't find anything. I have nothing to wear. I just don't know where to start with it. So what you want to do to remedy this problem is you want to do a major closet declutter. And I recommend doing it. My goal is always to do it twice a year. But if you're new to this, do it at least once a year. And I like to stick by the rule. If I have not worn the item in a year, it's time for it to go. If you haven't worn it in at least two years, it's hands down an item that needs to get out of your closet. So anything a year, two years old, take it out of your closet. Pareto's principle is an 80-20 rule. And when you apply that to your closet, it means you actually only wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. So that 80% of your wardrobe is taking up space that you don't that doesn't even need to be there. And you you think right now, oh, what am I going to do without that? I guarantee in a year, six months, you're not even going to miss it. And if you're having a hard time doing that, what I recommend is take all of those items that you don't wear, but you feel like you're going to miss and put them in storage. Get them out of your closet so you can't see them again. I actually box them up, tape up the box, and I don't look at it again. And then I put it in my garage and I go back in six months or a year and I open it up. I'm like, I don't I don't miss any of these items. And I take them and donate them. And it's a great step. If you have a hard time parting with things, it's a great step before just ditching it all together. It gives you that breathing room to be able to say, OK, I can I can do this test to see if I can't live without it. And you'll find that you don't miss those items at all. Do you have any closet pitfalls that I missed making it hard to find something to wear? Let me know in the comments below, and I will see you in the next video.