‘Less’ is the new ‘more’
Less is the new more for 2025. I was inspired to write this piece as I was clearing out my own excessive purchases from the festive season. All too often we can fall down the rabbit hole of wanting rather than needing. I am not talking about ‘collecting’ beautiful things (I am not giving up the sequin collection just yet!), but the hasty fast fashion items which can leave behind a guilty sense of greed and our wardrobes ends up bulging with the tat. There is a feel good hit when you press ‘buy now’ button but unfortunately this is short lived.
So why do we get sucked into purchasing cheap one hit wonders when we know it will end up in landfill as fast as you can say Bridget Bardot. The answer to this is a personal one but on the whole, the allure is online marketing, showing us too good to be true products at low prices. The Temu App has a marketing tag line of ‘shop like a billionaire’. As soon as you have made your first purchase you can get hooked. The only solution: delete the app otherwise endless ‘not quite right’ garments will end up on your doorstep. Ebay and Vinted are wonderful if used wisely but your sneaking dopamine friend can still get activated and within days you are on first name terms with the postman. We don’t need lots of ‘things’ to be happy. Happiness is fleeting but contentment is deep rooted and often those green shoots can come from self care and being present with yourself.
So as we welcome in 2025 this blog is reminder to me and hopefully some guidance for you on the importance of a ‘less is more’ approach to your everyday basic well being and style. This awareness and focus can be an energetic game changer, creating a positive ripple effect throughout your life. Experience has taught me that when you start looking after yourself and taking care of your appearance consciously (not obsessively), then all the other areas of our lives are positively impacted. It was understanding the link between how I look and feel and my mental health which inspired me to set up this business twelve years ago. When I speak of how ‘we’ look, I talk of embracing the body we are given, making good choices to keep us in good health and exploring colour and style to embrace our identity to becoming our authentic self. So, with a ‘less is more’ approach and a holistic nod to the self, where to begin?
Take a good look in the mirror and get comfortable with you
From a very basic point of view, are you happy with the skin you are in? If not, are there any ways you could plan to move, hydrate and nourish your body in way which will help your future self? The purchases we often make are just plasters to give an instant fix of feel good and distract us from the harder, slower but more rewarding work of looking after ourselves mentally, physically and spiritually. I have to work at this every day and when I am on a roll its part my life. To tell the truth, its hard getting started at the moment so I am with you all this this one. My role in helping others keeps me accountable and I have certainly lost my way many times.
Uncomplicate your wardrobe
The festive season is often an exciting opportunity to express our style personality but by January, I see many clients who are clouded by the sparkle of December and want to start again. Look at January as an exciting reset to look which basic colours suit you and which clothing styles suit your body shape. Then look at your wardrobe and set aside the question mark pieces. It’s time to nail the everyday capsule wardrobe. The pieces which fit, are comfortable and are in the colours which suit you. You know how you spend your time in the day, so plan your January wardrobe with trust hardy staples. This fuss free formula dressing will clear a lot of head and closet space.
Clear up to get clear
Being organised is a work in progress for me. Many of you who know me personally will chuckle at me giving advice on organisation but in the clothing department, I know that staying organised and on track significantly benefits other areas of my life. Start at the basics, underwear and socks. Take some time to put aside the pieces which have seen better days and start pairing up socks. Letting go of the odd socks which never find their significant other is bewilderingly cathartic. Trust me. And throw out that grey underwear. It’s never a good look.
Put a hold on spending unless its for vital pieces
For many people spending in the January sales is an easy way to fix post-Christmas blues and the message of having to purchase in the sales is somewhat ingrained into us. 2025 is the year of ‘choosing well and making it last’. If an investment has to be made to pull together a basic wardrobe then choose quality over quantity. When you look after yourself and the possessions you own, this state of consideration will slowly spread into other areas of your life. Slow down and make it count. The people around you will start doing the same, As a single mum of two boys growing up in the world today, this is a lesson I want them to learn. I have started with them cleaning their football boots. Hopefully they will cotton on quicker as their rooms look like we have been burgled.
Share and contribute
As you take stock of your current wardrobe, consider which items you won’t be bringing into 2025 and think about passing on to friends, family or a local charity. The simple act of helping others whilst uncluttering our minds and houses puts us in a positive energetic space. Slowly this feeling will impact other areas of our life and those around us. By consciously making physical space for a new chapter through the uncluttering of our closet we in turn allow space for our minds to rest, reset and rebalance.
Back to you
The steps above are very much actions. There is a lot of doing involved to get untangled, clear and balanced. A lighter wardrobe and a knowledge of what works on a daily basis means that the beginning of this year can start without fuss and friction from a clothing and style perspective. You have a fresh slate.
This brings us back to ‘you’ and the mirror we spoke about in point one. Its time to stop the quick fixes, focus on the wholesome and begin to embrace new long term ways of being which are basic but have a significant impact on us physically and mentally. We often overlook ourselves towards the end of the year and so January could be about a visit to the hairdresser, the beautician, the nail bar, the yoga studio or most importantly spending as much time as we can spending time in nature to blow away some cobwebs. Spend time with with people who are radiators and not drain pipes. Any people pleasers out there, you know what I am talking about. Learning to set boundaries and being able to say ‘no’ is work in progress for me. Be it a dinner date or a new pair of jeans.
Being out of mess and overwhelm which excess can bring, you now have the headspace to be more conscious about your choices moving forward. Clients come to be because they want help with change. Change to their appearance through the tools of Colour Analysis and understanding which clothes suit their body shape. I have learnt these tools and so my role is passing on this knowledge so they can use them when they are ready start their process. This blog is not meant to be a piece which says ‘come and have a Colour Analysis’ and your problems are solved. It will help, yes, and the good thing about the Colour Analysis is that you can use clothes you already have and it can be an instant lift to start the other wheels in motion.
However much I can help clients start their process of renewal, the true change comes from within. Putting a step through my doors is just the beginning. I help people get sorted with their appearance knowing that soon enough the use of these tools doesn’t just work on the surface level. There is a magical shift which occurs in all areas in our life when we become conscious, keep it simple and make space for new beginnings.
I wish you all the best. We are all in this together!
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