'The Wardrobe Edit': Wrapped
Tying up 2024 with a big ol' neat bow...
I saw Teresa’s post, ‘Tea House Wrapped 2024’ and thought it was such a nice way to tie up things at the end of the year, so here’s my take on it. Thanks for the inspo Teresa!
2024 has been my first full year on Substack and genuinely one of my favourite years professionally that I’ve had in a long time. I feel like Grace Atwood speaks on this far more eloquently than me, but as someone who has been making content online for 15 years, making Substack part of my business has felt like the shake-up that I needed - both in my work life and my personal one, too. It’s a full-circle moment back to my Blogspot days (I started my blog ‘Vivianna Does Makeup’ in my University bedroom in March 2010), with an engaged community and a network of fellow creators that all cheer each other on. I love it. I’ve made no secret that it’s my favourite platform to create for - after all, it’s taking me back to my OG blogging roots! But it’s also where I visit in my downtime to take a big ol’ glug of styling juice daily, even in the holidays when I delete all other forms of social media off my phone.
After doing this bizarre but extremely fortunate job for so long, I can pivot things around - ultimately, I do my best work when I’m doing something I enjoy. So, a big part of my plan this year (and next!) was to bring Substack to the top of my priority list and see what happened. I began the year with 7,500 subscribers, and now there are over 34,000 of you. Numbers far beyond where I ever could have imagined to be in just a year. So THANK YOU for that! ‘The Wardrobe Edit’ is a Top 10 Fashion & Beauty Substack, and I’m really proud of that. Want more numbers? LET’S GO…
THE POSTS
This year, I published 179 posts, and here are the most-read ones:
…you chose well, as I reckon these are three of my favourites, too (I’m already trying to book another NYC trip for next year!). In terms of what you liked the most, these two were miles ahead…
‘The Wardrobe Edit’ chat has just gone wild this year. I started to try to count them all, but there are over 1000+ messages in that thread. Every single day, it’s updated with new threads and helpful replies, but Sherri’s post is still our most engaged chat - all about white T-shirts. I gave some reader recommendations a go in this extensive white T-shirt testing post…
THE NETWORK
And in terms of you - well, there are ‘The Wardrobe Edit’ readers worldwide in 153 countries (shoutout to my one subscriber in Zimbabwe!). It’s an interesting platform for me regarding demographics as my audience here skews majorly to the U.S. (around 45%) over the U.K (around 20%). In contrast, my YouTube and Instagram audiences are the other way around. I’m very jealous of you U.S. lot not needing to pay imports on DONNI!
One of the coolest - for lack of a better word - tools on Substack is the recommendation network. Most writers have a recommended section on their main homepages (if you go to my homepage, you’ll find my list on the bottom right-hand side in desktop view), and over a third of my overall Subscriber base has come from recommendations - 13,000 subscribers. Isn’t that amazing!? Big love to Ellie-Jean from Style Scholars, Lucy Williams from Remotely, and Mathilde at Libra et Caetera for being my biggest referrers. In return, 17,511 of you have subscribed to people that I’ve recommended. I love that.
THE CLOTHES
In terms of what you’ve been clicking on, I’m sure the following will come as no surprise…
You - like me - LOVE jeans. The AGOLDE Low-Slung Jeans in White* and ARKET Snow Jeans*were among two of the most purchased products of 2024.
But we also like our comfort! The DONNI Baby Rib Scallop Pants* and the Negative Underwear Boy Shorts* were up there too!
Of course, the Toteme Everyday Flats in Leopard Print* made an appearance on this list - they were the most worn item in my wardrobe this year, with 46 wears.
It’s all about the details, too. It made sense to see the St Agni Woven Leather Bag* and the Déhanche Tetra Belt* on this list as well.
I was going to put together a little collage for each season, but whilst I was editing them, I realised that there was one outfit for each that felt like it encapsulated my style at that period in time and almost formed a base for what I wore for the rest of the quarter. So here are my favourite outfits from 2024…
THE PLAN
I haven’t sat down and done my fully formed plan yet for 2025, but manoeuvring my working week and other commitments to allow for more time for me to pour into Substack is my top priority, in all honesty. I want my working week to be focused on what I enjoy the most, and that’s creating content right here. I can’t see my paid subscriber offering changing anytime soon, so you’ll still get:
A Weekly Wishlist every Friday that’s basically a big ol’ collation of all things style I’ve seen that week, plus there’s usually some kind of styling video tucked in there, too. I’ve unlocked one of my recent posts, so if you’re a free sub you can see what you get.
A Wardrobe Diary - ‘Everything I Wore This Week’ - usually posted on a Sunday evening or early doors Monday to give you lots of outfit ideas and formulas for the week ahead. They also act as a bit of a general diary of what I’ve been up to, recipes I’ve tried, books I’m reading, so there are extra tit-bits in there too. Again, I’ve unlocked a recent post so you can take a peek.
Access to the ‘The Wardrobe Edit’ chat - honestly, I feel like this is the best perk. There are tonnes of savvy shoppers in there who can help with sizing advice, sourcing and help when it comes to styling stubborn pieces that you can’t get your head around. They are a great bunch!
I’ll answer your queries in a Monthly Style Clinic. At the beginning of the month, I put live a Q&A post where you comment underneath, and I drop in with my best advice (as do other readers, so it’s SUPER helpful).
And, of course, you can see every single one of the 200+ posts that I’ve written over the past 15 months, along with full access to all future posts. Want to be nosy and see me rate every single piece of clothing I purchased in 2024?
I hope next year I can find more ways to add value to this - perhaps some more Notion-style stuff? Packing lists? PDF’s - that kind of thing? I’m always looking for ways to expand the offering, so if there’s anything else you’d like to see then please do let me know.
All that’s left me to say is a huge, huge thank you. Thank you for making this year, well, just incredibly enjoyable on ‘The Wardrobe Edit’. You’ve been a DREAM!
Until next time,
Anna x
Packing lists, notion lists, indyx wardrobe are all great ideas! I'm going abroad in 2025 for the first time in YEARS! and, although a frequent traveller in the past (pre-kids) I've forgotten how to pack for a foreign holiday 🥴. Thanks Anna - love reading your substack 🥰😎
Joined this platform because of you Anna and no regrets. Thanks for a fulfilling year X