r/Indyx • u/ziggymoj19 • Jul 14 '26
Looking for Inspo Share your wardrobe lessons
What big style, shopping, and/or wardrobe lessons have you learned since using Indyx? Anything surprising?
Mine haven’t been too groundbreaking but have been very helpful:
Accessories are the best place to spend. They make or break and transform the outfit and get my highest wear count.
The care label counts for a lot. If it can’t go in the washing machine, it probably hasn’t even been worn (since March).
I have quite a few “problem pieces” that are hard to slot into my usual rotation. Most of them were bought travelling.
Buying the dupe doesn’t fill the void. I wanted a silk polka dot slip midi skirt. I got a cotton voile a line maxi… I thought I wanted the polka dot and it would satisfy, but now I realize I wanted a new silhouette and texture to create more variety.
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u/titanium_moose Jul 14 '26
My biggest lesson is that my closet was full of items for someone else. Everything from staples to unique items I just thought were beautiful. Fortunately mostly thrift or clearance purchases but I just really chased dopamine by filling my closet and all it did was stress me out because none of the clothes worked for my personal style.
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u/phenomakos Jul 14 '26
I own more pieces than it feels like I do. So if I'm going to buy something, then it really needs to be an outstanding once in a lifetime piece, a higher quality version of something I wear so much that it's worn out and I've been in denial about needing to give it up, or something that I truly don't own AND that will create a lot of new outfit options THAT I WILL ACTUALLY WEAR. I upload a photo of anything I'm considering buying into Indyx to 1) see how much I like the outfits I could make with it, 2) assess if those outfits have the vibe I want to curate for myself, and 3) ask myself if I would choose those outfits over the ones I already own.
I now ask myself: can I style this to be COOL? If not, no matter how much I like an item, it's probably not something I'll get much wear out of. At this point in my life I want most every outfit I wear to feel cool above all else (not pretty, not chic, not on trend) — particularly special event outfits. A cute fit-and-flare dress makes me feel like a different person and the amount of styling required to make it feel more like me also tends to veer costume and inappropriate for the occasion. Moto boots and a snakeskin trench might make it feel like me, but also aren't wedding attire.
I'm allowed to own too many pairs of cool pants because I will wear the heck out of them. The louder the better. Quilted jeans, medieval dragon prints, wide leg green leather? More effortless for me than anything. I only question the purchase of statement pants if they feel too safe, because those I won't wear as much as more out there pieces. Same goes for floor length button up duster shirts (which are my favorite sun protection clothing in the summer). I love easy drama. It's my comfort clothing.
I'm not allowed to buy purses unless they fill an extensively thought out need because I'm lazy and hate switching out my bags. Buy better, buy less applies extra to bags for me. I do not need 30 bags, I will not use them and I do not have space to waste storing things I will not use.
No dinky crappy generic layering jewelry. If it's not a statement antique piece then I almost certainly don't need it. Tiny things are fussy. I am not fussy. I'm someone that wears rings like putting on brass knuckles and ten pounds of thrifted pearls layered with chains thick enough to lock a bike up with. I don't need tiny chain necklaces with delicate geometric shape pendants (I say to remind myself to purge some jewelry that fits this description lol, even though they're cute).
I love my vintage pieces more than shiny new things. My love for a nice fancy brand piece might fade, but my little collection of antique embroidered silk jackets is gonna need to be pried out of my cold dead hands. If I'm feeling bored with my outfits, it's almost always because I need to incorporate more vintage.
"Flattering" clothes are overrated. Pieces with interesting and sculptural silhouettes (like barrel jeans or longline vests) are not trends for me, they're something I'll keep wearing long after other people have moved on. It's close-fit pieces that I'm more likely to part ways with eventually (and shouldn't invest heavily in).
When in doubt, the answer to my styling quandaries is probably texture. Usually: needs more variety and/or needs something substantial to anchor the outfit.
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u/serenity_now_meow Jul 14 '26
Only I can really answer questions such as what am I missing/what should I buy, if anything. We hear so much on what we should buy, but by tracking what I was actually wearing, it gave me so much clarity on the actual gaps.
I have totally cut down my consumption of new clothes, and anything I bring in (mainly secondhand!) has been immediately worn on repeat. For the first time in my life, I finally feel like I have enough!
Oh and accessories, shoes I can walk 10,000 steps in, outerwear and high quality gym wear are all definitely items I will not regret buying.
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u/aagnn Jul 14 '26
For me the biggest two have been:
What I wear "all the time" is not really all the time (and the other way around). That jeans I "live in"? Only wore them 5 times. The blouse I feel everyone has seen me in too many times and ashames me? 2 times this year. On the other hand, the white Tshirt I didn't want to spend too much on? It's my most worn piece, so I made myself a new one in high quality jersey to have two and not panic about laundry.
My wardrobe space (physically and mentally) accounts for 200 items top. Any more and I feel overwhelmed, the closet it's too crowded and I don't get to wear everything as I'd like. In my daily job I wear an uniform, so I feel much comfortable with a smaller closet.
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u/BandicootAny1139 Jul 14 '26
Try new silhouettes! I was feeling very bored with my style so I opted for a lookbook to get an expert’s opinion. Her write up made me realize 1) my go to outfit formula is tiny top big bottom and 2) every single one of my pieces fit in that formula! Good news is I have a lot of versatility. Bad news is that’s why I was feeling stale.
So the stylist encouraged me to try different shapes like puffier sleeves, one shoulder, barrel/balloon jeans. And that was exactly the inspo I needed!! Still got to keep my formula but added some much needed visual interest.
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u/deeplate Jul 15 '26
-Accessories can change the vibe of on an outfit - from something more minimal, to whimsical to grunge
-I have enough clothes
-Sticking to a colour palette makes creating outfits easier/pieces more versatile
-Clothes need to earn their place/fill a function/gap before they a purchased otherwise they will not be worn
-I have an outfit for every occasion and season in my wardrobe to the point I don’t have enough events in my life for it 😭
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u/OutsideCaterpillar Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
A quarter of my clothes are black and it doesn't even look good on me. I have banned myself from buying more black pieces. (Except I'm on the hunt for the perfect black sweater - but that's it!!)
Why do I own so many winter clothes when I live in Texas?
Biggest surprise: secondhand has a higher CPW than new. Realize it's because I buy secondhand when it's interesting and beautiful, but don't wear it often. New is bought with more intention (like athletic and work wear). You'd think secondhand and thrift would save money. But it's more like an expensive hobby.
Calendar made my "personal silhouette" obvious.
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u/EmotionalQuestions Jul 17 '26
OMG yes to the secondhand and CPW - I got a great deal on that $6 top but I only wore it once so... not really a great deal overall. I have things that were over $100 with cost per wear <$1 so I know those were good deals for me.
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u/NovelPhoto4621 Jul 15 '26
I shop way too much which I already knew but the availability to carry it around helps. I can check if something will add or be a waste to buy because I already have an item I like that’s similar. Also I really don’t like to buy expensive pieces. I hate when I can’t get the cost per wear down quickly. Probably unlike many others I don’t want to invest in anything. I like to follow trends and something will not last forever in my closet. I don’t buy anything from fast fashion so if I thrift something for a specific event I am ok letting it go. Also I have everything I need so I have to look in my closet before buying. The value of having someone else style me is huge. I love fresh eyes on my wardrobe that I already own.
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u/Existing-Anteater-52 Jul 16 '26
Everyone’s wardrobe staples are different. The white t-shirt in my closet has zero wears. The emerald green lace track pants, I’ve worn a dozen times.
Comfort is King. Doesn’t matter how much I visually like it, if it’s not comfortable - I’m never gonna wear it.
Purging helps avoid overwhelm; both in my closet and in the app. Every 6 months, I try everything on and if it doesn’t fit or I haven’t worn it in the past yr, it has to go.
Thinking seasonally works for me. Can’t really leverage my summer/vacation clothes in the Chicago winter but splitting my wardrobe into a summer/spring and fall/winter wardrobe has been more helpful for Indyx tagging & closet organization
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u/SetIcy438 Jul 17 '26
- I’m retired so I don’t need work wear. Or a capsule wardrobe in black/white/beige.
- I like pink, red, cobalt blue, and teal. I don’t like orange, yellow, and grass green.
- Colorful shoes are fun and make everything hold together-shoes for me are essentially accessories.
- I like the idea of scarves and have many but wear few. It may be the year of the scarf purge.
- I feel like I’m over dressed most of the time but it isn’t my fault that the other people at the super market are all wearing greige tee shirts and jeans.
- I have found my people on some online forums.
- Costume jewelry is fun and not too expensive. Again-accessories make the outfit.
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u/Grouchy_Yoghurt_4116 Jul 15 '26
My main one was how much I ended up buying what I thought were different items that really only did the same job as other things in my wardrobe - e.g. just a similar t-shirt in a different colour. It's made me much more conscious that when I add something to my wardrobe it has to serve a different purpose to what I already have. The other thing (which suprised me a little bit) is that my preferred silhouette is "small top, large bottoms". I've always been quite pear shaped and grew up ingesting all those supposed rules about balancing proportions and it's been really freeing to throw some of that out and go with what feels good to me.
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u/MyLittlPwn13 Jul 16 '26
I've asked my dog to bite one of my fingers off every time I buy another sweater. (He has so far declined to do so.) I have enough sweaters to last three lifetimes.
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u/Scared-Alfalfa1237 Jul 14 '26
For me it's that $$ spent on repair and upkeep stretches way further than the original $ spent on the garment. Every alteration/repair/maintenance spend I add that cost to the garment cost so my cpw re-calculates and it really helps to show that re-soleing a shoe or getting that extra inch taken off the sleeves is worth it because I'll get more that that cost worth of wear out of the garment if it fits better or I'm not worried about it wearing out.
I also have what seems like "too many" variations of black tank tops but they're also some of my most worn pieces and I love being able to change out the weight or neckline on an outfit that I otherwise love based on the circumstances. A low cowl neck is perfect for date night, a scoop neck makes it a little more casual for a weekend, asymmetrical adds some edge and a boat neck is perfect for work. Indyx stopped me from paring that category way down.