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Happy New Year! I took off a couple of weeks to decompress, collect my thoughts, and find inspiration. During those weeks, I spent time with friends, family, and a few new-to-me folks who learned that I am a content creator focusing on fashion and style for grown-ass women. And so many of them asked for a variation of the same thing: what to do if you are starting style from scratch. What basics should go in our closet?
20 Years of Writing About Style
This year marks 20 years of writing here at Wardrobe Oxygen. Before I began Wardrobe Oxygen, I spent several years as a visual merchandiser, window dresser, personal shopper, stylist, and apparel retail trainer. I have helped dress women aged 18 to 80 with a range of clothing sizes and body types.
Wardrobe Oxygen began in 2005 from a list of staples I believed every woman needs in her wardrobe. Fun fact: "What Every Woman Needs in her Wardrobe" was the first name of Wardrobe Oxygen. Writing a blog consumed by hundreds of thousands in over a dozen countries has exposed me to women of different cultures, religions, bodies, lifestyles, abilities, climates, and careers. That exposure taught me there is no perfect formula for every woman's closet.
There is No Perfect Formula for Every Woman's Closet
Wardrobe Oxygen moved on from formulaic lists of must-haves for your wardrobe to content that could help guide one on their personal style journey, wanting just that - style that is personal.
However, People Change and So Should Our Style
Wardrobe Oxygen isn't the same site it was 20 years ago, and I am not the same woman I was in 2005. And my friend, you are not the same person you were back then either. Has your closet grown and changed along with you at the same pace? If not, you may be like the beautiful women in my life looking to start from scratch with a closet fitting who you are now, not struggle with an ill-fitting wardrobe, style, or existence.
Because, let's face it, clothing is emotional. We can try to go minimalistic, basic, and utilitarian, but it's still a wrapping for our bodies, a bookjacket for our novel, a fitted sheet that we don't want creeping up on the corner or causing us night sweats. And our bodies... there's a lot of emotional stuff going on there. What covers, adorns, camouflages, protects, highlights, and comforts us matters in a multitude of ways.
Whatever the reason, if you're starting style from scratch or close to it, this series is for you. My grown-ass woman friend, let's have our closets fit the amazing people we are here and now.
Starting Style from Scratch: A Series
This week, each post will be about starting style from scratch:
- Tuesday: The list of basics for the closet of most women in midlife
- Wednesday: Tools and tips to keep these basics in tip-top shape and lasting for years (the goal is to reduce spending and increase style)
- Thursday: Dressing for everyday situations using these closet basics
- Friday: Answering your questions
Friday means I look forward to your comments, emails, and DMs regarding this series. I know this list and my advice won't work for all, but I hope it will help many of you get the ball rolling. Your feedback will be used for Friday's Q&A and future posts in this Starting Style from Scratch series. Because you know I won't leave you blowing in the breeze with a basic-ass closet for the rest of 2025.
I will have a minimum of one post a month that is part of the Starting Style from Scratch series, helping navigate seasons, adding personality to the closet, knowing when to let go and when to keep clothes you already own, creating more style with fewer things in your closet, and gaining confidence with getting dressed on the daily.
And for those who subscribe to my newsletter, monthly exclusive content will continue this discussion.
I struggled with what to do in the new year with Wardrobe Oxygen, what would be fresh but also useful. Shopping willy-nilly is exhausting, expensive, and terrible for our world. I feel for many, 2025 will be a year of change. Let us embrace change and be armed for the future with the proper attire.
