We will never say it enough, in a Western world, we have to buy less clothing. And that doesn’t mean we have to feel helpless, stop loving fashion. I learned early on that fashion is foremost about style and not about how many garments you have piling up in your wardrobe. Style is something of creativity, self-expression, and how you make it your own. Style is not related to brands or trends, and you don’t improve your style by buying more but by learning more, exposing yourself to and feeding your soul with exceptional references. And a bit of introspection. The way you wear your clothes is an utterance of who you are, feel, want or not want to be. For me, that is what makes some people stand out more than others. So when you feel you are hitting a wall with your wardrobe, it is not necessarily because you need more clothes but more that you need new ideas and challenge your imagination. And from there, it comes back to the wardrobe and to style your closet.
Going deeper into personal style to style your closet
Despite being French, born in the self-proclaimed land of Fashion, my biggest influence is coming from the States. I watched Sex and the City over and over, and Carrie’s vision—Patrica Field's trully, way of doing fashion struck me forever. The mix of high-end and affordable, thrifted pieces, colours, and materials that all together make you stand out of the crowd without caring about trends. My other influences are definitively cultural, the eternal Yves Saint Laurent, its perfect smoking; Balenciaga, Spain, bright colours; Italy’s classic chic garments; Impressionism art. Then Garance Dore’s blog, featuring inspiring people like Emmanuelle Alt, stripping away the fuss to keep the essentials. Later on, came the importance of quality material, good stitching and cutting, and how it makes all the difference. Polyester will never look and feel as good as wool or cotton. The truth is, despite my love for Fashion, I seriously paid attention to second-hand only a couple of years ago, going away from fast fashion and its unsustainable business model and from fashion over-consumption.
As I did for the last “Style your closed”, I picked garments that are easy to find in your personal wardrobe to style outfits, like boots, oversized coats, jeans and sweaters. This time around, I preferred to associate pieces of neutral tones with occasional colourful or bright garments for a touch of brightness. Winter is the season of early night and cold, and I feel in need of a bright energy vibe to balance the low light. It also digs into more creativity,
7 simple but stylish winter outfits with 10 garments from my closet
Most of the garments in this Style your closet winter feature are second-hand unless stated otherwise.
Monday
To start the week, I simply picked one of my favourite outfits. I like this combination, grey woollen trousers from Acne Studios, a Kowtow sweater, black leather boots covered by the pants and a dark green and oversised Kowtow coat in Merino for when venturing outside. It’s elegant, looks put together, with personality, while being warm with light colours.
Tuesday
On Tuesdays, I want to create a presence that is still somewhat cool and careless all at once. I switched the garments, reusing my all-season Maggie Marilyn Merino black dress, which was a gift from Benoit, layered with one of my favourite knitted sweater from Aniela Parys, a gift to myself, and my also season-free Acne boots that go with everything. The overall is topped with a camel coat.
Wednesday
Mid-week, I prefer to feel relaxed, as regularly, this day is also building site visit day involving long driving. My outfit has to have the ability to put me at ease. I am wearing my Redone blue jeans, bought a few years ago on sale, always with my vintage belt, my bright yellow sweater, a statement in itself, and my Timberland shoes, keeping my feet warm all day. It is topped with my Kowtow coat. I like that this outfit tests and tries the “wrong shoe” theory and that, through its colour palette, brings contrast with the low radiance of winter days.
Thursday
For Thursday, I went for an uncomplicated silhouette, yet classic in black and good quality pieces—my favourite black jeans from ethical brand Outland Denim (yes, the same ones that Meghan Markle wore in Australia in 2018, but I got mine before she did!) and a Wynn Hamlyn high neck sweater that I got on sale a few years ago, and it is so warm and comfortable. I bring a touch of neutral colour with the Acne boots and the camel coat.
Friday
It is the end of the traditional working week, so I quickly picked up what I had around. I simply wear my blue jeans (always with a belt for texture) with my Aniela Parys sweater and its cool vibe and my warm Timberland boots. I topped it all with the Kowtow coat for good insulation.
Saturday
I often socialise a bit more on weekends, particularly Saturdays. For going out without compromising with being cold, I like something chic and funky, pairing the Acne grey pants with the yellow sweater for that pop of colour, the black boots for warm high heels and the elegant green coat.
Sunday
For the last day of the week, it is totally laid back. I want to feel super comfortable, so I wear the Merino dress, the Kowtow sweater and the super warm Timberland boots (only if I go out of the house, though!). And for these potential excursions, I wrap myself in the camel coat. Cosy.
Tips for styling your closet
Using a handful of garments, we put together 7 winter outfits. To keep warm, we had two different coats, a dark green and a camel, a black dress, and four sweaters, a black high neck, a cropped bi-colour black and beige, a white knitted and another cropped but yellow. For the bottom, we had some black jeans plus a classic dark blue pair, and also some grey woollen trousers. To withstand the cold, I selected three types of shoes, the forever camel suede boots, some Timberland boots and vintage black high boots. For accessories, I am always using sunglasses for those rare sunny days or bright white light grey days. Not pictured but often worn on those single-digit temperature days, beanies and scarves are a must. I enjoyed playing with these different thick fabrics, proportions, textures and colours.
If I want to switch pieces, opening up the boundaries of the 10 garments, I can swap the dress with a wonderful vintage wool skirt from Aotearoa, New Zealand label Thornton Hall. I also have another sweater from Wynn Hamlyn that is red and will replace the yellow knit I wore for this article. Any jeans can swap any jeans. And some chunky sneakers or Converse will replace boots easily. In addition, if, like me, you do not handle any temperature below 15 degrees without feeling frost, layering is your go-to. I always wear a Merino Icebreaker top under everything. It also prevents my skin from touching the hand-wash-only wool sweaters, therefore helping the garment last longer between washing. And the truth is, wool garments air out very well too.
Being based on seasons, there will be another "Style your closet: 7 outfits with 10 garments" piece for Spring, still based on the New Zealand calendar, as it is where we live. I am looking forward to longer daylights, less cold and more bright colours. Let us know what you think and if this piece was helpful to you!
Trace shot this series on Kodak Portra 160 and UltraMax 400 films. Scanned and developed by Splendid Photo, socials @thefilmlab.nz