How to Develop a Personal Style Through Forced Resourcefulness
With Mary in Pensacola, Florida
Let me introduce you to Mary, the Seeking Inspirato feature who inspired this story on resourcefulness and how it relates to Clothing Confidence. She has a background in costuming and spent some time modeling. Now, her skills are utilized as the owner of Tempesta Vintage based out of Pensacola, Florida.
Forced Resourcefulness
When we’re operating in a scarcity mindset, we become resourceful.
[Time] Post children, we maximize our limited free time, responding to dozens of emails before naptime is over.
[Money] When we’re on a budget, we forgo the daily Starbucks and learn to make cold brew at home.
When we’re resourceful, we’re creative.
What does this have to do with Clothing Confidence?
I hear all the time from women: “But I don’t know where to start ... How do I begin the journey towards Clothing Confidence?”
Many women think the answer is more clothing. More money. More time to lose weight. More advice from a stylist.
I think the answer is less.
Let’s get you into a position of forced resourcefulness.
What if I told you to strip your entire closet back to 80% basics and 20% funky things? Would you do it if you knew it’d improve your style overnight?
By stripping back your wardrobe and learning the basics, you’ll grow in understanding. You’ll appreciate what you have. You’ll clarify where you want to go next with your wardrobe.
Let me introduce you to Mary, the Seeking Inspirato feature who inspired this story on resourcefulness and how it relates to Clothing Confidence. She has a background in costuming and spent some time modeling. Now, her skills are utilized as the owner of Tempesta Vintage based out of Pensacola, Florida.
Photos courtesy of @TempestaVintage
Scarcity Makes Us Prioritize
“I had barely anything in my closet and that was the best wardrobe I ever had.”
When Mary was living in NYC she was cash and space strapped. As any New Yorker will tell you, the apartments are small and the disposable incomes are smaller, so you have to be selective about what you spend and what you accumulate.
But Mary had to look stylish for her job. She was working as a stylist to the stars at the Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.
So, why did she love her closet?
Because every single piece served a purpose.
Every single piece fit her.
She knew how to connect each piece with the other.
The limited number of pieces made it so that she got more creative. She utilized accessories more frequently to create new outfit combinations.
Shopping was more purposeful and buyer’s remorse evaporated. If she did need a new top, she could easily recall each piece in her wardrobe to evaluate if the new one would work.
Wait, wouldn’t having more pieces mean that you naturally have more outfit combinations?
In theory, yes. But anyone with a huge closet will tell you, they often go back to the same few outfits due to a state psychologists call “decision fatigue.” We’re overloaded with the number of options we have available and go with what’s familiar. When we can see all of our available choices in one view, we’re able to process what we’re seeing and create more novel combinations. A smaller closet is less overwhelming.
Mary’s New York City Wardrobe
We’ve recreated Mary’s New York City closet, below.
First, we’ll start with the staples & basics from her wardrobe.
“H&M and Target are fun and provide fashion that’s right now, but we have to have pieces we don’t throw away every season.”
BASIC: Avocado Green Bell Bottom Pants
Staples don’t have to be neutrals!
BASIC: Suede Moto Jacket
BASIC: Simple Top
BASIC: Simple Top
BASIC: Simple Top
BASIC: Hats
BASIC: Riding Boots / Sneakers
BASIC: Scarves
Transition Pieces
Every month Mary would go to Zara and invest in just one item, something classic that would fit into her current wardrobe.
She’d fool her top-tier Bergdorf Goodman clients into thinking her Zara pieces were top-tier designers.
How To Create Your Own Forced Resourcefulness
Pick 15 basic pieces that fit your current figure comfortably.
RESOURCE: Use Mary’s model above
RESOURCE: How To Create A Fall/Winter Capsule Wardrobe For Less Than $30
Bag up the rest of your closet, and put it somewhere you won’t see it (like the garage). Live in a tiny apartment? No problem. Pack the excess into a vacuum storage bag, shrink it down, and tuck it away.
Buy, borrow, or thrift any basics you may need to round out your wardrobe.
Get familiar with your new closet by mixing and matching basics and swapping accessories.
Try-on (& force if you have to) Clothing Confidence with your own resourcefulness. Try it until you thrive it.
Experiment with this stripped-down closet for a month. Incorporate as many accessories as you want, but don’t add any new pieces except the ones you need to round out your wardrobe.
If You’re Worried to Fully Commit
Does the above process sound a little extreme for you? Try the “first in the laundry, first to be pulled out of rotation” method:
For a week, get rid of the crutches. Pull your yoga pants, or whatever pieces you typically turn to first, out of the rotation. See what happens. You’re more resourceful than you think.
Removing these familiar pieces will awaken the creative part of your brain. We often think creativity means no rules and a wide-open field to explore, but too many options can make us a deer in headlights. Sometimes rules like these coax our inner rebel out into the open.
Psychological Theory Behind Forced Resourcefulness
“Pizza or Chinese?”
When we’re presented with a few options, the decision-making process becomes a lot easier.
You may say “I don’t care, both sound good,” and then your friend goes, “Well, let’s do Chinese.” Suddenly, you want pizza.
It’s much easier to start with a few options than no options.
You may see Mary’s chic basic wardrobe formula and find yourself saying “Well, I don’t like that tank, I’ll substitute it for a different color …” You’ve already begun expressing your personal style.
When we have fewer options, we are more likely to 1) know what we want and 2) work within those options without being overwhelmed.
Beyond the Basics
Here’s what every personal stylist will agree with me on: A wardrobe filled with basics (80%+) is one that is hard to mess up. It’s easy to look stylish in those pieces because they’re classic.
What is a basic? A basic is a simple piece of clothing (typically in both color and cut/structure) that can be worn with a myriad of different outfit combinations. They are the pieces we can use repeatedly because they create the simple structure of a look – they are the *base* layer. Example basics are a simple charcoal t-shirt, white canvas Converse shoes, a black blazer, cigarette jeans, just to name a few.”
Now, the rest of the 20%, that’s on you. That’s where you get to define your flair. But you can get that later.
Get comfortable with the 80%, then the 20% will come naturally.
The other 20% is typically where a personal stylist comes in and guesses. They say “this is trendy, you may like it!” You very well may love it, or you might say, “I like this but I don’t know how to wear it”. The stylist can help you, but you can figure that out yourself and the knowledge gained is worth its weight in gold.
Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you’re going to find yourself itching to branch out beyond this small wardrobe. But after weeks of practicing forced resourcefulness, you’ll be much more adept at choosing pieces that will work in your existing closet.
Seek Inspiration
“You can’t be taught to be stylish.”
Mary believes style isn’t something you can go to school for and that you instead have to be inspired. That true style comes from within.
“You have to be inspired. You have to love it. You have to understand it. Own it and be confident.”
Style is in the context of you.
It’s how you style it and how you arrive in it that makes you Clothing Confident.
“There are no rules, if you love it and you feel confident wearing it, then wear it. That’s my rule for myself.”
How I Met Mary
I was introduced to Mary through her dad who owns A-Tin-Hut Military Surplus in Pensacola, Florida. She features her vintage clothing in a section of his store, and I was blown away by both her merchandising skills and her taste. I ended up buying a few pieces from her store, and her dad gave me her information to contact her. I’m so glad he did :)
Mary owns Tempesta Vintage, based out of Pensacola, Florida
Follow Mary on Instagram @tempestavintage