Curating the Perfect Wardrobe & How To Sell Your Clothes | AD

*This post is a paid collaboration in partnership with Enviroclothes*

I’ve always been into fashion, however, it wasn’t until pretty recently I’ve started REALLY looking at my wardrobe as a collective thing rather than individual pieces, that I’ve been more aware of what I’m buying. If I can’t find a way to style an item with pieces that I already have, then I’ll probably refrain from buying it. Just because I like a dress, doesn’t mean I *have* to own it. I’m being a lot stricter with myself and gutting my wardrobe. I realise that there a lot of colours that don’t really suit me in my wardrobe, and instead of wearing them I’m opting for hues that are a little more complimentary. As well as this,  my style has just changed and I’m wanting to refine my wardrobe a little more. 

This means that I had a LOT of clothes that no longer have the need to sit within my precious wardrobe space. I’m sorry to see some sentimental items go however I’m strict with my general rule of ‘if I haven’t worn it in over a year, it goes’ – which of course doesn’t apply to speciality items like occasion dresses, coats and blazers.

Enviroclothes invited me along to try out their service and share with you all what I thought about the process, they are an environmentally friendly way to get rid of any unwanted clothes, and a way to make some money from it too! Did you know, in the UK we throw away 350,000 tonnes of clothes each year? Enviroclothes reuse the clothes you sell to them and ensure they don’t end up in a landfill. 

Firstly, just clear out your wardrobes. Good quality adult and children’s clothing, clean shoes, bras and swimwear, accessories, baby clothing and stuffed toys are all accepted. It’s important that everything is in good quality though, as it is going to be re-worn.

When arriving at Enviroclothes, I was greeted by the clerk there (she was super lovely & friendly!) and she explained to me that the clothes are quality control checked, just to make sure that they can be worn again and they’re not damaged. All of my clothes were then weighed and the price was calculated. It was an incredibly easy process that didn’t take long at all. From start to finish it took around 5 minutes, obviously this does depend on how many items of clothing you bring, but I was impressed at how speedy it was!

Enviroclothes support the local charity ‘North East Hearts With Goals’, where you can choose to donate some or all of your money towards creating awareness of CPR and delivering defibrillators. They are a fantastic North East based charity and I decided to donate the money from my clothes to support them. I think it’s such a lovely touch that you’re able to do this and it’s a wonderful charity to support. 

The kiosks are based in Cramlington (NE23 6UY), Durham (DH1 5GB) and Gateshead (NE11 0BD) and are open 7 days a week. 9am-5pm Monday – Friday and 10am-4pm Sundays. 

If you can’t make it down to one of the kiosks, you can always use Enviroclothes‘ completely free and convenient home collection service. If you live in postcode areas NE, DH, or SR, their friendly team will collect your items from your doorstep (Monday to Saturday between 8 am – 5 pm) and weigh and pay on the spot. You can book your own collection slot online here.

Enviroclothes pay £0.40 per kilo, however, with the code ‘KATIE50’ you can get an extra 10p per kilo – it all adds up.

Once I’ve managed to declutter all of my unwanted clothes, to curate my wardrobe better, I decided to invest in some better quality staple items. Now, I’m still not there with my perfect wardrobe and it’s not a Pinterest-perfect capsule closet, however, one thing I did lack were good quality everyday items. I’m a petite gal at 5″2, so I find it hard to find trousers that fit me. Investing in a few different pairs of jeans was important to me, as I can build a lot of my wardrobe around that. As well as jeans, I intend on investing in better quality cotton t-shirts, underwear, blouses and shoes. No more £1 thongs from Primark. They’re just not good for you. Focus on the fabric of what you are buying, and how it will wash. You want to purchase something that will last a long time. Buying a £2 white t-shirt that will only last a few washes isn’t actually cheaper than investing £20 into a white tee that will stay fresh and nice quality for many years. I know it’s easy to throw into your basket and I’m well aware that not everyone can afford to invest, but if you are able to then it is definitely something to think about.

Finding the perfect leather jacket is also a must-have for me. I throw mine on with almost every outfit I put together and I feel more like myself. I picked mine up from Zara and so far it’s lasted me almost two years. This goes for all of my outerwear, it is probably the pieces I spend the most money on, and that last me the longest.

I’ve gone many years buying sale items because they were cheap and pretty, but never wearing them and totally wasting my money. Not only am I throwing my money away, but I’m also adding to the landfill issue. It’s important for me to be more mindful of what I wear. Fast fashion is, of course, a huge problem, but it’s not possible for everyone to shop designer and high quality all (or any) of the time. For me, investing £100+ into something means I need to give it some serious thought and factor it into my budget. Footwear is another aspect that I’d like to invest more money into, however, it’s something that I expect will take a few years of really focusing on creating a curated closet and not something I can just achieve all in one go.

The last point I want to make about curating the perfect wardrobe is about colours. We all have our preferred colour palettes, and if you can’t already tell, mine is neutrals. You’ll see from the photographs of the clothes I gave away that the majority of them are patterned or brightly coloured. This just doesn’t go with my daily outfit choices and I had no way of styling them. I tend to stick to black, white, camel and the odd pop of colour that I can style with others. 

I love to keep all of my outfit inspiration saved on Pinterest and Instagram, so when I am shopping I can refer back to outfits I love and try to re-create their pieces. That way, I’m not tempted to buy anything that won’t fit into my style and I can source out items I maybe wouldn’t have thought of purchasing, It’s really lovely looking into your wardrobe and seeing at least 5/6 outfits straight away. Not having to worry about what goes with what. Decluttering your wardrobe is so good for not only your space but your head too! 

A huge thank you to Enviroclothes for collaborating with me on this blog post! They are a great brand with some amazing ethics and I think you’ll all find it super useful for selling your clothes in the North East area.