Dress Better in 2025

With age comes wisdom. I have to remind myself of this as I look back at old photos and cringe! Even though I started this blog almost 9 years ago, I have only just become comfortable in my own personal style over the last few years. Of course good style has always been my goal but for some reason what it seemed I was close but not quite there. It’s a work in progress for me but I have come up with a few tips to share to dress better in 2025.

Since this is a topic that cannot be covered adequately in one post, I’m making it a series. In Part One I’ll cover six tips to help you dress better – less clutter and more focus!

Are you like me? I have always loved clothes. In the 80s I lived and died by Seventeen Magazine and when the August issue came out I was done for. I dreamed of having those clothes, the hair, the make up, the life. My young mind believed if I had those clothes, the hair, and the make up that the life would follow. Silly girl!

As I matured it was Clinton & Stacy on What Not to Wear that became my icons. There was nothing better than that show, I could watch it over and over again. I’d dream of having $5,000.00 for a new wardrobe and their expert style advice!

The next step was Pinterest. I fell down that rabbit hole. If only every pin I saved could magically appear in my closet! Of course Pinterest is how I found out about blogs and one thing led to another. Almost 9 years later, here I am. Still.

I share this because we all have our own journey. There are plenty of women I know who have always had their own style, knew what they liked and what they didn’t, knew what worked and what didn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, people have always complimented my outfits. Not necessarily my style but my clothes for sure. I came to the realization that I needed to do a better job of finding my own personal style to quite the noise in my head and clear the clutter. Why did I have a closet full of clothes and yet nothing to wear? It was simple, I needed to dress better. But how does that happen? I believe that in order to dress better we have to have a closet that works for us as well as a sense of our personal style.

Six Simple Tips

Before I dive into the tips, I want to let you know that the photos in this post are just recent outfits that I really liked. They were easy to put together and I felt great in them!

Let me start by saying that this is not for everybody. However, if you feel like you have tried but just can’t seem to get it right or you lack confidence when you get dressed then I hope you find something helpful here. If you feel overwhelmed by your closet, by choices, then I hope I can help. If you feel stressed when you shop online or in person and you are unsure what to buy OR you make too many impulse purchases, than this is for you! These six simple tips are the ones that resonated with me and I hope they speak to you too!

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The first tip is to do a closet purge. I am giving you permission to get rid of things you no longer wear or no longer like – even if they still fit or have tags on them. Donate them. Someone else will be blessed and these clothes deserve to be enjoyed. But don’t just purge, LEARN from the purge. I have learned that certain brands and styles are often in my donate pile so I am making a mental note about that.

The second tip is to dress for your current lifestyle not the one you wish you had or previously had. I find the more you do this the more you accept and appreciate your actual lifestyle! For example, I love a dressed up look – give me the heels, the jackets, the fabulous fabrics – I want them all! But when I buy them they sit in my closet because I have no where to wear them. I work from home and my lifestyle is more casual. I have learned that I can still like and admire those clothes and styles but I don’t need to own them. I have become much more appreciative of a classic, chic, and sporty style. It fits me and my lifestyle so much better.

The third tip is to stop thrifting without a focus. I know, I know, some of you will disagree and you can. It’s okay, really. But I stand behind this. Firmly. Those of us who are overwhelmed by clutter and confusion need to practice this. Walking in to a thrift store – or perusing an online thrift store without a focus can lead to all kinds of impulse buys. It also leads to a closet full of pieces that may not work with everything else or may be hard to style. Sure you can save money by thrifting but you can also spend more money in the end. If you buy something at a thrift store because it’s a good deal and you’re afraid to pass it up it may well sit in your closet unworn. I’m glossing over the ins and outs of this one but if you are thrifting go with a purpose. Make a list of what you are looking for or need and stick to it.

The fourth tip is not buying everything you like. Hear me out, what I mean is you CAN like something, it might fit but it doesn’t mean you have to buy it. Think it through. will you wear it or will you wear it once and then it will take up space in your closet. Those space suckers rob your focus and can make getting dressed harder.

The fifth tip may be the most important one – create a good base wardrobe. This is the part where I tell you what those must have pieces are, right? You know, 1 pair of black pants, a pair of jeans, a blazer – NOT! Here’s why: a good base wardrobe is not a one size fits all. Your good base wardrobe will vary and depend on your lifestyle and your preferences. I’ll address this more in a later post but for now, pay attention to what your ‘outfit formula’ is – that will get you started!

The sixth tip is to buy with intention and focus. Impulsive buying leads to all kinds of trouble and is often linked to some kind of emotional turmoil. I ask you to check in with yourself when you shop. How are feeling? Why are you shopping? Who are you shopping with? There was a time that I shopped for fun. I was bored, I was stressed, I was unhappy, I felt unattractive, etc. I thought new clothes would fix those problems. They did – in the moment but it didn’t last. I still enjoy shopping and I go for fun sometimes but there are plenty of times I come home empty handed. That’s because I no longer need to buy things to fix feelings.

This post turned out to be a lot longer than I imagined. Hopefully I laid the groundwork for future installments and they will be brief. I do think this is a topic we can all relate to – most women reading blogs like this are here for a reason, right? Tell me what you think below!

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Dress Better in 2025 - Part One