Wardrobe Woes

It's official, my clothes no longer fit in my wardrobe - and no (!) that's not because I have too many clothes, it's just that my "wardrobe" has outgrown my wardrobe and it's getting ridiculous! Every morning I trip over the same shoe and every morning I try to remove the shoe and put it into my shoe drawer (let me take this opportunity to have a moan about the fact that my parents get MASSES of shoe space downstairs and upstairs and complain when I have like ONE pair of shoes downstairs - URG ANNOYANCE!) anyway the shoe doesn't fit in the drawer so I shove it at the bottom of my wardrobe and when I go to put my clothes away it falls out again. And so the vicious cycle continues.

So yeah, all this trouble with clothes has got me thinking about what I would do if I could build my wardrobe from scratch - what would I keep? what would I get rid of? etc. etc. I also got thinking about Gok Wan (LOVE HIM) and how he has this STAPLE wardrobe etc etc. and just about the clothes I have in my wardrobe and all that jazz. I guess I have 2 problems with Gok's approach to improving people's wardrobes:

1) His wardrobe is a bit "old" for teenage girls
2) His "highstreet" is not MY highstreet (aka. Primark)

I think the most important thing when it comes to clothes is to find shapes and styles that flatter your figure rather than simply following a fashion trend. Gladiator sandals for example look awful on people who have short legs or fat ankles, however if you shop around there are some similar looking sandals that don't have as many buckles and have a light strap round the ankle, it's also best to have a lighter, metallic colour as this gives this illusion of longer slimmer legs...anyhoo, these look amazing and are often cheaper. It's also a good idea to invest in some good quality basics, like jeans, trousers, cardigans etc. think of these as the foundations to your look, then head to Primark, H&M or the Miss Selfridge sale for accessories to keep your look up-to date. My wardrobe is a real mixture of styles - I have dresses, skirts, leggings, charity shop cardigans, basketball shirts, keds, flipflops, board shorts...Vogue would be proud. I think?

I'm a MASSIVE fan of Topshop dresses. They seem to be the only place to stock simple dresses in gorgeous fabrics - I LOVE THEM. BUT, I have never, EVER bought one full price, I simple refuse to pay £40 for a dress that I could make for a tenner, howevs when I see it in the sale I put in an extra tenner as a service charge to justify buying them. If you're like me and love Topshop clothes then check out this website: www.missguided.co.uk (or .com, can't remember) anyways, they have loads of dresses that you would find in Topshop for HALF THE PRICE.

LEGGINGS rock. They're better than jeans, they're better than tights - but "jeggings" are sick and should be burnt! Only issue with leggings are the holes that appear around the crotch area, but this is easily fixed with a bit of thread and a needle. PLUS, they're super cheap amd proper comfy.

TUNICS are awesome. They hide a multitude of sins and look SOOOOO cute. Just make sure you don't look pregnant - the yummy mummy look is often frowned upon for girls under the age of 18.

Most of my clothes have been bought in sales or charity shops, I think the most expensive items I own are my jeans (£30) and my prom dress from last year (£160) In my opinion, it's not what you wear, it's HOW you wear it, so whether it's "SO LAST SEASON" or "SO THIS SEASON" or not in ANY season at all you can still look good. I know everyone always goes on and on about confidence, but it's totally true, if you're confident about what you're wearing, if you like what you're wearing, if you think you look good in what you're wearing then you've probably got it right. Of course, there are some exceptions to that rule especially those who think less is more (Jodie Marsh), those who cover up EVERYTHING (some yummy mummys) and those who are just incompetent (Ben Jiggins)

I guess it's difficult to come up with wardrobe staples for teenagers, because if there is ever a time to experiment with clothes and your appearance, you should probably get it out of the way before you reach 18. I think it's important to stay true to yourself and to be comfortable in your clothes I only ask that you wear things that FLATTER YOU. Also, if you're a size 10, stop buying a size 6-8 - it doesn't fit you, it looks awful and no one LOOKS at the tag anyway (unless it's sticking out of your jeans, which is unlikely cos they're clearly too tight!) so yeah, get over the whole size and shape issue. If you have massive boobs, please wear a bra...no seriously PLEASE wear a bra. It's not hard, Trinny and Susannah's are everywhere (I prefer Gok, he's nicer) there are plenty of resources on the web that give you and idea of clothes that will flatter your figure, MEN YOU ARE NOT EXCUSED.

Here are the websites. Don't let me catch you looking bad EVER AGAIN.

MEN:
http://uk.askmen.com/fashion/fashiontip/32_fashion_advice.html
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/male-body-type


WOMEN:
http://www.trinnyandsusannah.com/rules/
http://www.dorothyperkins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=20552&storeId=12552&categoryId=155967&parent_category_rn=119404&langId=-1&top=Y