What Really Happens During an MM Wardrobe Restyle?
If you open your wardrobe every morning and think, “I have loads of clothes, but I still don’t know what to wear,” you are definitely not alone.
In fact, this is exactly where we started with our lovely client Rakhi.
Rakhi already had a wardrobe full of beautiful pieces. She didn't necessarily need us to arrive and replace everything she owned. What she needed was the confidence to know what worked with what, how to style the pieces she already had and where the genuine gaps were in her wardrobe.
And that is exactly what a Wardrobe Restyle is designed to do.
It isn't about throwing everything away and starting again. We start with what you already own, work out what is serving you and your real life, and then teach you how to make those clothes work much harder for you.
So, what actually happens when we come into your wardrobe?
1. We start with you, not your clothes
Before we start pulling things off hangers, we need to understand the person we're dressing.
What does your normal week actually look like? Where are you going? What do you need to get dressed for? What do you feel good wearing? And where do you find getting dressed difficult?
Rakhi, for example, works as a nutritional therapist. Much of her work is online, but she also has face-to-face consultations and corporate talks, which can mean travelling around London.
So there would be very little point in us creating a wardrobe full of outfits that only work with an uncomfortable pair of heels.
The clothes have to work for her real life, not her fantasy life.
This is one of the most important parts of a Wardrobe Restyle because there is no such thing as the perfect wardrobe. There is only a wardrobe that works brilliantly for you.
2. We understand your bodyshape
Next, we look at your proportions and start teaching you how to dress for your individual shape using our Hourglass Balancing Method®.
This isn't about changing your body or telling you that certain parts need to be hidden.
It's about balance.
We look at where we might want to create structure, where clothes need to skim, the lengths that work particularly well on your proportions and how different shapes of jackets, trousers, tops and dresses work together.
Rakhi talked to us about the areas of her body she sometimes feels conscious of, including her stomach and arms. Our job wasn't to make those areas the focus of the day. Quite the opposite.
We wanted to create balanced outfits that made her feel so good that she wasn't thinking about those areas at all.
That's the difference between simply putting clothes on and understanding how to style them.
3. We work out what you actually wear
Then it's time to open the wardrobe and we want to see everything.
The pieces you wear constantly. The things you love but never quite know how to style. The expensive purchase that still has the label attached. The trousers that need the right shoes. And yes, even that dress you've been keeping for years because you're convinced you'll wear it again one day.
We're looking for patterns.
Do you have lots of statement pieces but not enough basics to put underneath them? Have you bought the same thing five times? Are you buying more clothes because you can't see how to use what you already own?
With Rakhi, we could see very quickly that she already owned lots of lovely clothes. The ingredients were there. What was missing was some of the basics to help put them together.
And that's a very different wardrobe problem from simply not having enough clothes.
4. We decide what stays
A Wardrobe Restyle isn't about us marching into your bedroom with bin bags!
You are always in control of what leaves your wardrobe.
Instead, we start separating things into categories.
There will be the definite yes pieces... clothes that fit, work for your lifestyle and deserve a place in your everyday wardrobe.
There may be pieces that no longer work for you and you're completely happy to let go of.
And then there are the pieces you're simply not ready to part with. They may be sentimental, the wrong season or something you want to revisit in the future.
You don't have to get rid of them.
What we don't want is those pieces taking up prime space in your everyday wardrobe and making it harder to see the clothes you actually wear.
The aim is that when you eventually open your wardrobe, you're looking at clothes that genuinely work for you.
5. We start creating outfits
This is where the magic really starts to happen.
Rather than looking at every item individually, we start putting outfits together.
One of the questions we often ask is:
“Show me something you love but don't know how to wear.”
That gives us a brilliant starting point.
We can then look at proportion, length, layering, footwear and accessories and show you why something hasn't quite been working, and often the answer is much smaller than you think.
A trouser may simply need altering.
A blouse may be making an outfit harder to put together than a plain base layer would.
The jacket may need a little more structure.
The shoes may be stopping the proportions from working.
Or the outfit may simply need finishing.
This is why buying another top isn't always the answer.
Sometimes you already own everything you need.
6. We identify the genuine wardrobe gaps
Only once we've properly understood your existing wardrobe can we see what is actually missing.
This is a really important distinction.
We don't want you buying clothes simply because you don't know how to style the clothes you've already got. That just creates more wardrobe confusion.
Instead, we identify the pieces that would unlock multiple outfits.
Perhaps you need better plain basics to work underneath your jackets.
Maybe you're missing comfortable footwear that still makes an outfit feel polished.
Perhaps one great waterproof coat would make a huge difference to your working week.
The question isn't simply, “Do you need this?”
It's:
“How many outfits will this help you create?”
That's how we make your wardrobe work harder without endlessly adding more clothes.
7. We make the wardrobe easier to use
Finally, we put everything back in a way that makes sense.
Because there is absolutely no point having the perfect pair of boots if you've forgotten you own them.
And yes — this happened with Rakhi!
Her footwear had been beautifully stored away in boxes, but because she couldn't see everything, she'd forgotten about some of the pieces she already owned.
A functional wardrobe should make getting dressed easier.
The clothes you're wearing regularly need to be accessible. Seasonal pieces can be moved elsewhere. Shoes need to be visible where possible. And the pieces we've styled together need to feel easy to recreate once we've left.
Because the goal isn't for you to need a stylist standing next to you every morning.
The goal is for you to understand why the outfits work so you can recreate that balance yourself.
It's not really about having more clothes
This is probably the biggest lesson from Rakhi's wardrobe.
She didn't need an entirely new style or a completely new wardrobe.
She had some fantastic pieces already.
What she needed was someone to join the dots.
To show her which shapes worked together. To get the proportions right. To help her understand footwear and lengths. To identify where a simple basic would make existing pieces more versatile. And, most importantly, to give her confidence in the wardrobe she already owned.
That's what a Wardrobe Restyle is really about.
We're not trying to turn you into somebody else.
We're helping you understand how to dress for your shape, your lifestyle and the woman you are now.
If you want to view Rakhi's full video you need to be a youtube member, watch the video here:
Need Personal Styling Help?
If you're struggling to know what works for your body shape, we'd love to help.
Whether it's an online styling consultation, a personalised shopping list or a complete wardrobe edit, we'll teach you how to dress using our Hourglass Balancing Method® so you can enjoy getting dressed again.
After all, style should be simple.
Comments