A Small Reset for When Your Wardrobe Feels Meh

A few things I’ve been doing to feel excited about my clothes again

Look, I write about clothes, I work in fashion, I help people build wardrobes that make sense… and still, sometimes I open mine and it just feels meh. Like I want to start over.

I have some amazing pieces. I also have things I’m holding onto “just in case” I feel like wearing them one day. But lately, I’ve been struggling to feel excited about any of it.

I’ve found myself defaulting to very basic outfits (which, if you know me, is not exactly my thing). I do partly blame my new favourite jeans — they look and feel good so I end up defaulting to them on a regular basis.

But now that the days are slowly getting warmer, I want to embrace the new season and somehow I don’t seem to be able to fully commit to it.

I’ve gone back to outfits I liked, tried to recreate them, thinking that would bring something back. But even then, I still found myself simplifying everything. Wanting less. Something easier. Something that just works without too much thought.

Part of it might be the weather — it’s still so unpredictable, I keep getting cold and hot in the same day.

But I think it’s more than that.

I think I’ve just stopped seeing my wardrobe properly.

It feels a bit repetitive, a bit messy, slightly disconnected. There are things I’m not wearing, things I’m not sure about anymore, and everything just blends together in a way that makes it hard to feel inspired.

If you’re going through something similar, let’s go on this journey together and revisit a few ways to enjoy getting dressed again — right now.

Start by actually seeing your wardrobe again

Before anything else, I’ve realised I need to properly see what I have. Not in like a doing a “full wardrobe detox” kind of way but just… a small reset.

Because when everything feels a bit messy, squeezed together, or half-forgotten, it’s very hard to feel inspired.

Sometimes it’s as simple as:

• putting things back properly on hangers

• giving pieces a bit more space

• properly folding everything again

• bringing forward the things you actually want to wear

• moving away what you know you won’t reach for right now

I also think it helps to approach it slightly differently — not by category, but by how things actually feel. What do you enjoy wearing right now? What do you keep reaching for? What feels easy but still like you? Ewelina from On Shopping My Closet recently told me she actually prefers having a bit of a creative mess in her wardrobe, rather than everything being neatly colour-coordinated and organised into categories like I tend to do. And that really stayed with me.

Because it’s not about doing it the “right” way — it’s about finding what works for you. Every wardrobe is different, and how you interact with it matters just as much as what’s in it.

The Styling Shifts I Rely On Every Spring

Go back to the pieces you always wear this time of year

Once things feel a bit clearer, I usually notice the same pattern every year. There are a few pieces I always go back to without really thinking — the same trousers, the same skirt, the same jacket that somehow works every spring. And I think that’s worth paying attention to.

Because instead of asking what you need, it’s often more useful to look at what you already reach for over and over again. Those pieces already work for you. They fit into your life, your routine, your taste — nothing feels forced about them.

Where things start to feel boring is usually in how we wear them. The same combinations, the same shoes, the same formula. And after a while, of course it starts to feel repetitive.

So instead of replacing them, I try to approach them slightly differently. Not in a dramatic way, just enough to shift how they feel. Pairing them with something I wouldn’t normally reach for, changing the proportions slightly, swapping the shoes I always default to, or adding one element that feels a bit unexpected.

It’s usually a small adjustment, but it’s enough to make something familiar feel new again.

---

If your wardrobe has also been feeling meh lately, let’s look at it together.

Not by buying more, but by figuring out what’s actually not working and fixing it.

This is what I do with my clients (paid subscribers get 20% off), and if you want to go a bit deeper into the fashion wormhole, that’s what the paid side of this space is for — I break down my style system and the small shifts that make things click.

---

Look for inspiration — but change how you use it

I think part of feeling stuck is also looking at inspiration in the same way all the time. Scrolling, saving outfits, liking things… and then somehow never actually translating any of it into what you wear.

I still love looking at other people’s style — Pinterest, Instagram, all of it — and there are always a few people whose outfits make me want to get dressed properly again. Not to copy them, but to shift how I see things.

But there are so many other ways to get inspired, and they are all mostly offline!

I’m going back to Feria de Abril this year, which I’m very excited about. The last time I went was in 2017 for my hen — my friends surprised me and we did the whole thing properly: flamenco dresses, horse carriage, rebujitos… the full experience. It was very extra and very us.

Photos were awful but you get the vibe!

This time it’s different. No flamenco dresses, but that almost makes it more interesting — because now I actually need to think about what to wear every day, and this is the time to PLAY! The theme is simple: bold, slightly over the top, a bit extra. Polka dots, big flowers, fringe, colour — anything that leans into flamenco without actually having to wear a flamenco dress.

So that’s partly what pushed me into sewing this weekend. I decided to recreate a top I’d fallen in love with but couldn’t justify buying (also its sold out!) I thought it would be straightforward… it wasn’t, but I’ll share it properly soon because it deserves its own moment ( I still can’t believe I made it to be fair!)

Knowing how to sew has always shaped the way I see clothes, but spending time on it again this weekend really brought that back into focus, now I can’t stop thinking about what to do next.

Etsy gold earrings / Mango polka dot dress / Rixo floral dress / Staud dress / Rodarte mini dress / Mango jumpsuit / Toteme red shoes

Sewing is an amazing skill to learn because it makes you pay attention to things we usually overlook — the construction, the fabrics, how something is put together, how it actually sits on the body. It gives you a much deeper appreciation for clothes and the amazing artists behind it.

But more than that, it changes how you see what you already own.

Instead of just thinking “what do I wear this with?”, you start asking “how could this be different?”

That mindset is actually really useful when you feel stuck.

Because instead of seeing a piece as fixed, you start seeing it as something you can adjust, rework, or approach differently — even in small ways.

Sometimes it’s very simple:

• turning old trousers into bermuda shorts

• removing or softening a puff sleeve (often it’s just removing the elastic)

• cutting sleeves off something you never wear as a long sleeve

• taking in something that feels too oversized

• shortening a hem so it works better with your shoes

• recreating a piece you love in a different fabric

• adding feathers, fringe, or small embellishments to something that feels too safe

And if you’re not into sewing, this is exactly the kind of thing a local tailor or seamstress can help with. Small changes can make something feel completely different.

Pieces that I've made and love wearing.

Give yourself a reason to get dressed differently

I also think it helps to make this a bit more intentional.

Instead of trying to build the perfect outfit, give yourself a starting point — something simple, slightly random, but enough to get you out of autopilot.

It could be as easy as deciding everything has to work with one pair of shoes, or that the outfit needs a different colour every day of the week. Or something more abstract, like dressing like a Bad Bunny ( Rachel Hey Mrs. Solomon on Style actually did this once and nailed it!. She has themes every week and it’s so fun and inspirational, something to try for sure! It gives you direction without overcomplicating it, and while having fun, which is the whole thing about fashion really!

How to actually make it feel different

The important part is not just putting outfits together — it’s changing something about how you usually do it.

Because most of the time, when outfits feel boring, it’s not that they’re wrong. It’s that everything makes too much sense.

So this is where to push it slightly:

• belt something you normally wouldn’t

• add a contrast shoe instead of the obvious one

• swap one of your basics for something with a bit more interest (a printed tee, embellished denim, something with texture)

• wear your “fancier” pieces with your most casual ones

• wear a dress over trousers

• swap one piece for something that feels slightly unexpected

Nothing drastic — just one small shift that breaks the pattern.

I am a pro at mixing fancy and casual in one outfit

The challenge

So here’s something to try this week, you and me both!

Pick a few pieces you already own — ideally the ones you always go back to this time of year — and build three outfits around them.

Approach them differently, find inspiration to wear them, go for something you’ve never tried before even if in your head it does quite work.

If it helps, give yourself a theme to guide you. It makes the whole process easier and fun and also stops you defaulting to the same combinations.

I’m leaning into this idea of feeling a bit more extra again, especially with Feria de Abril coming up — so I am thinking of outfits I can wear now that still push me in that direction.

You can take that, or come up with your own. But actually try it!

Put the outfits together, take your time with them, change things, sit with them for a bit, take pictures, have fun!

And if you do, tell me how it goes. What worked, what didn’t, what felt different, what surprised you. You can reply to this, share it, or just send me your thoughts — I’d genuinely love to see.

Love,

Noelia x