Make a Wish List: Nothing to Wear, Part 7 of 7
Once you've styled your outfits, something useful happens: you can see exactly what's missing.
Maybe every everyday outfit would be better with a black ankle boot you don't own. Maybe your work looks all need a better belt. Maybe your mood board kept pointing to a long coat, and the one you have doesn't quite do it.
These aren't random wants. They're the pieces that would make the rest of your closet work harder. That's your wish list.
Notice what keeps coming up
As you style, pay attention to the moments when you thought, if only I had...
Write those down. If the same missing piece came up in three or four outfits, it goes to the top of the list.
Keep it short
A wish list isn't a shopping spree. Aim for three to five pieces: the ones that would unlock the most new outfits.
For each item, ask:
How many outfits would this make better?
Does it fit my needs from Part 2?
Does it fit my mood board and my three words?
Do I already own something that could do the same job?
If a piece only works with one outfit, it can probably wait.
Be specific
"A jacket" is hard to shop for. "A cropped black jacket that works over dresses and with wide-leg pants" is easy. The more specific your list, the easier it is to find the right thing and skip the wrong ones.
Shop slowly
Take the list with you, on your phone or in your style book. Check secondhand and vintage first. You'd be surprised how often the exact piece turns up. And give yourself permission to wait for the right one instead of settling for the almost-right one.
Start again next season
That's the whole journey: know what you have, assess your needs, find your mood, overhaul your closet, keep a style book, style your outfits, and make a wish list.
When the season changes, start again with a fresh mood board. Each time, it gets easier, faster, and more fun, and your closet gets more and more like you.
Want a hand with any of it? A Wardrobe Study covers the styling, outfit photos, and a gap list of the pieces worth adding, all in one afternoon.
Schedule a Wardrobe Study →
Once these are live, you can link Part 1 from the home page's Care Label section as "Start here."
for section 3 of 7 I want to add a section like a go the extra mile or extra credit and create the physical photo album for your style, so the first part is all the print outs, cut outs, drawings of things that I like, then I write down the things that inspire me and everything in the "read your board" section, and move onto 4 out of 7 because I have this little hand held photo album, kind of like my style diary, houses my POV, so when I'm trying on and looking at a piece, I can flip through and say how do I want to style this? it's also just a fun little exercise that makes you feel like a teenager or young person
Here's the new section for Part 3. It fits best right before the closing "Next" link, so it reads as a bonus once the main steps are done.
Extra credit: make it a little book
If you want to go the extra mile, turn your mood board into a small physical photo album. I have a little handheld one that works like a style diary. It holds my point of view for the season.
Start with the images. Fill the first pages with printouts, magazine cutouts, photos, and drawings of things you like. Don't overthink the layout. Tape things in crooked, overlap them, and let it get a little messy.
Then write it down. On the next pages, note what inspires you and everything you found when you read your board: your colors, shapes, textures, and the three or four words that sum up your season.
Then bring it with you. When you move on to your closet overhaul, keep the album in your hand. When you're trying on a piece and not sure about it, flip through and ask: how do I want to style this? It turns a yes-or-no decision into a creative one.
It's also just fun. Cutting, gluing, and writing in a little book makes you feel like a teenager again, in the best way.
This album can also become the start of your style book in Part 5.