Wardrobe Voyage 2023
In December, we presented our Wardrobe Alter Ego-system including the 4 different women's style types. You can call the archetypes as they each describe their own story, values and mindset.
I know our personal style is more complex than that, and there is more to it. It's not easy to put into boxes, but we have tried to make a system. You can be one of the women types more than the other, but you can also be more fluid between two or more of them, which can be seen in your Wardrobe. I believe we all have a core and is more drawn to one specific type of alter ego. This core is where most of your dreams come from.
When it comes to myself, I go between two types emotionally: Playful Elegance and Sensual Classic. However I make choices that apply to a third alter ego, Casual Chic because I have some personal style icons who I look very much up to, who wear this style to perfection. Because of this, many of my choices are affected by the outside world and not how I feel inside. This is where my problem starts. The Casual Chic style won't last long for me, and I want to sew my homemade Wardrobe lasts for years to come. I don't fit into the Casual Chic emotionally; I just like the look of it. Every time I wear my pieces inspired by this style, I feel wrong and uncomfortable, but I have many of these styles in my Wardrobe because I am influenced by the outside world. I need to learn my own lesson.
To illustrate this I have made a diagram to describe these fluid Alter Egos and how we choose from our outside world.
My style is primarily Playful Elegance, but I also have some Sensual Classics. From the Sensual Classic, I love the sensuality and the classic cuts and silhouettes, but to make it feel like me, I need to twist it with Playful Elegance. I look very ladylike if I'm wearing only Sensual Classic, and it makes me look older than I am. So even though I love it, I must confess that it does not suit me. However, my inner emotions call to be fun, playful and experimenting, and that's why I'm a playful Elegance.
The biggest fail I make is that I'm very attracted to the women who master the Casual Chic archetype to perfection. I often sew things that embrace the alter ego, Casual Chic – but the problem is, I don't fit into it. When I wear it, I feel "lazy" and miss all the details that make me feel at home in an outfit.
You need to remember that this Wardrobe alter egos-system depends on our feelings and emotions; what do you want to feel when you get dressed without thinking about what other people might think of you? Ask yourself this, feel your gut and trust it – then you're on the right path.
When we let ourselves think about what other people think of us, we can't see our own alter ego. The picture gets muddy, We can't make decisions, and then we make the wrong ones because we always compare ourselves with others. Your wardrobe is only for yourselves, and if your choices begin to go far away from your core when you are under the influence of others.
Getting dressed and finding your style, core and alter ego can be challenging. You need to be brave! Brave enough to look inward and take decisions for yourself. You should only be getting dressed for yourself and no others! If you do that, you automatically make the world a more beautiful and exciting place to be.
So I'm starting with myself and want to go through my Wardrobe this January. What fits my dream and my alter ego and makes me feel good when wearing it? What suits me? What did I sew for myself, and what did I sew when I was under some influence?
I've decided to do it this way: I want to use as much of my Wardrobe as possible for all of January – also when I'm working from home. I want to try to use those things I never wear, wear them in new ways and see if I can make them fit my alter ego, playful elegance. I can't wear the same outfit twice; I must try new combinations instead. I tend to get stuck with the same outfits and wear them again and again because the outfits are very "playful elegance", but that means I have a lot of clothes I don't wear. I need to use my creativity and find new ways. Every day I take a picture to make it more visual to me what works and what doesn't. Through this process, I need to "kill some darlings", but in the end, I will have a much better overview of my Wardrobe and style, and look at it in a whole new way.
So in the future, I want to stick to my alter ego and only sew things that make me feel at home in my personality, and I want to get rid of the clothes that don't make me feel as me.
You can follow along on Instagram, where I post a picture every day of my outfit. I start the year by going through my Wardrobe like this, but I won't stop here; later, I will analyze my results, and then I would like to make a list of what's missing in my Wardrobe and what I can sew that fits my alter ego. I hope this will inspire you to follow along!
I hope you want to join our Wardrobe Voyage!