Trying On Every Single Item In My Wardrobe

Trying on all 28 (!!!!) of my coats and jackets...

With autumn on the horizon (September 22nd!!! Put down the cashmere knit), I feel the itch for a major clearout. I attempted it already on Substack live, but it turns out having an audience of people watching who encourage you to keep everything (LOVE YOU GUYS!!), isn’t the most productive way to shed what you don’t need. The best way to do it? TRY. EVERYTHING. ON.

So that’s what I’ll be attempting over the next two weeks. A marathon-like try-on where I change in and out of 200+ items of clothing. It’s a lot. But doing this tells us so much. Of course, we can check how items fit, but more importantly, how they feel - do we like them? Am I actually excited to try it on? And if I can’t be arsed to put something on my body, then that’s telling me something. Everything is data and all that.

So first up, coats and jackets. Can we all agree not to do the maths here? There are 28 items in total, but please bear in mind that clothing = my job and how I put a roof over my family’s head. It’s complicated. I’m aware this will be a huge amount for some and a drop in the ocean for others, but outerwear for me is a spending soft spot. Here are my aims:

• Streamline where possible - I just feel like there’s too much in my wardrobe right now.

• Make sure everything fits, is clean, in working order and ready to wear.

• Ensure I love it. If there’s hesitation, or I’m keeping something just to fill a category that I think is a ‘need’ but never really reach for, it’s gotta go.

There’s a video of my epic try-on if seeing things in motion is your thing. No time for that? Scroll through the pics and the CliffsNotes. Read on for the designer coats I own that I think are fake (HELP!!), the trick to turn your jackets into the must-have shape of the season and the coats and jackets that will be making their way to Vinted very soon…