5 Things Friday - A deep dive into my summer wardrobe

What's worked, what hasn't and, more importantly, what I'm doing about it!

I had various titles in mind for this week’s newsletter, but in the end I settled on something that felt a little more positive than what was actually going through my head.

Some of my original ideas were: I Hate All My Clothes, I’ve Ruined My Wardrobe, and I Want to Throw It All Away and Start Again!

I know, I know... it sounds dramatic, but ever since I came back from holiday, I’ve felt a little out of sync. If I’m honest, it’s not just down to what I’m wearing, there’s been a lot going on, but I genuinely believe that my clothes reflect how I’m feeling, and how I feel is often determined by my outfit. I mean, I rarely have a bad day when I’m loving what I’m wearing! Flip that around, and it pretty much sums up how I’ve been feeling this summer.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been some lovely moments and lots to be grateful for, but, as always, life has thrown in a few bumps over the last six weeks, and honestly, I just haven’t felt 100%. I’m a little annoyed with myself for feeling that way, too. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what it is because, if you know me, you’ll know I’m a pretty positive person. If something is affecting that, I’m usually straight into solution mode. Is it the post-holiday blues? Well, no. We had a brilliant holiday, but we moved around a lot, and by the end I was actually happy to come home. I really missed Teddy, and I was looking forward to getting back into a routine. Then I hurt my leg, which flared up my knee and an old foot injury. Plus, those few pounds I put on during the holiday that I confidently thought would disappear as soon as I got back to the gym? Well... there hasn’t been much gym, and the pounds have decided to stay!

Then there’s the weather. Sorry, but I’m someone who absolutely loves it hot, so you’ll never hear me complaining about that. The downside, though, is that I’ve had very little motivation to wear anything other than shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops. Which is absolutely fine for a while, but I’m starting to feel a bit slobby. The knock-on effect has been endless scrolling, buying the odd thing here and there, only to realise I don’t really love any of it. And that has left me feeling a little deflated with my wardrobe choices.

Here’s the thing, I do feel a certain pressure to get it right when it comes to my wardrobe. It’s what I do, after all. But just like everyone else, I make mistakes. I buy things that aren’t quite right, I make impulse purchases and, sometimes, I simply lose my way a little. I don’t love admitting that, but I also don’t think I’ll ever reach the perfect wardrobe. I do like to hope that I’m close or at least a lot better than I was.

So, with the summer sales shouting, “Buy me!”, and my wardrobe leaving me feeling uninspired, I decided this week that enough was enough. It was time to take some action.

Here’s what I did...

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