Shopping your own wardrobe has been the trend since lockdown began and today I took out a Coccinelle cross body bag that I bought last year but have never worn; mainly because it's got a suede body and we did have a lot of rain! 

As I was wearing my soft shell pink mohair mix cardigan, from Part Two, I thought I would complement it with a stronger shade of pink and suddenly remembered I had it still in the packaging! I teamed it with my new Hush Boyfriend jeans, Veja Esplar leather trainers, old, All Saints T-shirt, old and The White Company pattern scarf which I bought from Willow & Eve, the consignment boutique I work in, which I'm missing so much since we had to close! The scarf adds some print and I'm also wearing a Massimo Dutti black leather belt and Gucci sunglasses, both old. 

So although I was only going to the shop for essential food items my new/old bag made me smile; especially on this Monday morning, with the children beginning homeschooling!! See my outfit builder below, inspired by todays look, with a Coccinelle belt; a category I've always thought they should do, so I'm really excited that they now have a range to offer!

​Click on the links to shop, stay home, keep safe and thanks for stopping by.

I hope you had as 'good as you could' Easter, with many of us experiencing a different type of break than usual. We've been lucky enough to enjoy the sunshine in our garden and dog walks on the beach, without flouting any lockdown rules, and for that I've been very grateful.

Today I'm looking at Steps 4 and 5 of my Lockdown style tips, to help you optimise your current wardrobe. See all the steps here and visit my previous two posts for a recap.

Step 1) Identify your daily uniform
Step 2) Curate your current wardrobe
Step 3) Outfit build
Step 4) Buy the best you can afford and/or buy what you love
Step 5) Create a shopping list

As you curate your wardrobe you will have hopefully compiled a shopping list, step number 5; items that are worn and need replacing, more of what you actually wear and versions of, updates for the season that are more trend led, or items that create complete outfits for your existing clothes. Try not to add something when you have a similar item already in your wardrobe that does the same job. You'll usually default to the original item and wear that instead of the new. Also clients generally have way more tops than bottoms so try and keep that in check too.

Armed with your list you can now go shopping....well at the moment it's online only, and apparently Next are reopening their online offer soon. I recommend John Lewis as they have a lot of my 'go to' brands and I always find great updates at Massimo Dutti. I've also learnt that spending on quality items, that last longer, means I have to buy less in the longer term, which leads me to step number 4, buy the best you can afford and/or buy what you love.

Several items in my wardrobe seemed expensive at the time, for example a Tanvi Kedia silk dress from Anthropolgie which was £158, but that was in 2016, click to see my original post, and I've worn it this week! So with 4 summers wear it doesn't seem so pricey and I still love it.  

​Also an ivory Iris & Ink crepe dress that was about £140 comes out for most occasions and as I couldn't wear ivory to my sisters wedding, and was struggling to find something appropriate, that suited my body shape, I bought a navy version too!! See below.

My Iris & Ink crepe dresses; investment occasion dresses!

With the warmer weather I've been looking at my summer wardrobe and purchasing some key items from  my shopping list. I've been trying for a while to get a boyfriend jean fit I love as much as my CK ones. I've thought of repairing them but the fabric is now so thin that they easily rip. I bought these Hush boyfriend jeans from John Lewis prior to lockdown, in size 12 and 14 and stuck with the 12.

I always buy white linen t-shirts or tanks for summer and needed a long sleeve version as well as an update for my blue cotton shirt. I found this Jigsaw linen pocket version and this easy AND/OR Ikat blouse, both from John Lewis. I also bought this John Lewis & Partners swimsuit in anticipation of a future holiday; I love the low back and flattering neckline as well as the print! I've worn all items since purchasing them, even sunbathing in my swimsuit, so I know they're all keepers. 

As well as fashion I often do the 5 steps for my beauty haul too; so I have a minimal make-up bag and don't have toiletries going to waste. I've been looking, or smelling, at perfumes since Christmas, to replace my everyday scent, that is light and not overpowering. That's when I discovered Le Labo at Liberty, however it was so busy around the counter that I wasn't able to decide on one scent.

Luckily Net a Porter do a discovery set, which I bought, and fell in love with the Rose 31 Eau de Parfum. I can understand why the Santal 33 has gained cult status but it wasn't for me. I was pleasantly surprised that John Lewis sold the Le Labo range and as I was purchasing other items popped it in the basket too!

So as we're still in lockdown for the foreseeable future I hope you've found my steps useful and also see I definitely practise what I preach. Just a reminder too that all content is unbiased and authentic! Sometimes you may find affiliate links to products but there are none in this post.

Stay home, keep safe and thanks ,as always, for stopping by,

Outfit building from archive mumsweardaily posts 

​When I do a Wardrobe Wand session, and pull out a redundant item, clients often lament “I didn’t know what to put with it”. My mind flits back and forth for a minute or two while I scan the rest of their wardrobe before I ask them what they had in mind when they purchased the garment. What was the 'outfit'? What look were they trying to achieve? When or where were they going to wear it? What image is in their mind right now……
 
Often the answers will vary from “I saw a celebrity wear something similar” to “I thought it would go with a top I have but it doesn’t look right”. Most redundant items will still have a price tag attached, often something bought in the sale!
 
So this leads me to Step 2 and 3 of my Lockdown style tips; Curate your current wardrobe and outfit build.
Before committing to a new purchase in store imagine 3 different outfits you will be able to make with items in your existing wardrobe. If you can't do that put it back.

I also believe that if you buy something but don’t wear it after two weeks then you should take it back regardless. I’m not talking evening wear or special occasion outfits here, I’m talking about your everyday uniform; the building blocks of your wardrobe that you’ll wear on rotation. 

I needed to replace my much loved boyfriend CK  jeans, left and Matt Bernson tan gladiator sandals, shown right.

Sorting out your existing wardrobe is indeed the most time consuming of the steps so I would ​set aside a full day; or 2 afternoons at least. By now you'll have a clear idea of your daily uniform so start by keeping regularly worn items in your wardrobe. Take out all the rest and put in the following categories; Outerwear, Dresses, Separate bottoms, Separate Tops, Footwear, Accessories.

Go through each item and be ruthless. If you haven't worn something try and figure out why, so that you don't repeat the same buying mistakes. If something is worn out you'll need to replace it, so start your shopping list. Have a pile for recycling; for textiles that are marked, snagged or misshapen; a pile for charity; items that are still in good condition but may be the wrong size or you no longer consider the item part of your daily uniform and a pile for consignment/or resale; items that still have tags on, in excellent condition and recently bought, as you may be able to make money from your mistakes!

I'll leave you with those steps for now, and as always thanks for stopping by! Stay home, keep well.