As winter drags on into February, your winter wardrobe might be feeling tired. Your go-to sweater — which you were thrilled to don at the first hint of sweater weather — now feels overused and uninspiring. Your scarf is crusty, and your neighbors are beginning to wonder if you ever wear anything but jeans and boots.
Catholic YouTuber and mom of three Emily Garbe said that dressing well is challenging during these colder months.
“Around this time of the year, the excitement of the season has kind of worn off,” she said when I spoke to her. “We might now be starting to wear more athleisure clothing and not looking our best, and it is not quite time to pull out the spring and summer wardrobe yet.”
Emily revealed five ways to revamp your winter wardrobe — on a budget.
Unsplash1. Host a clothing swap
Chances are, you’re not the only one feeling uninspired by your pile of sweaters this time of year. Emily suggested hosting a February clothing swap with friends so that your trash can be someone else’s treasure.
“I’ve done this a few times with my girlfriends and we just all bring a pile of clothes we would have otherwise donated to a thrift store,” she said. If anything is left over, give it away — preferably to a charity.
It’s easy! Simply ask your friends to contribute any number of items and pick a place and time. You can make the event fun with music, a charcuterie board, and cocktails or mocktails.
Unsplash2. Look for outfit inspiration
Emily said that when she gets bored with her closet, she often turns to Pinterest for inspiration.
“Look for outfit ideas that you can recreate with items already in your closet,” Emily said.
You can search for “winter outfit ideas” with an aesthetic that matches your personal taste, like “Parisian chic” or “old money.” She also suggests adding items you have to your search, like “winter outfit ideas with a black midi skirt.”
Seeing pictures of outfits with items in your closet may help you style old items in a new way.
Unsplash3. Declutter extensively
If your drawers are so full that they don’t close all the way, you may be forgetting about parts of your wardrobe that you’d otherwise wear. Sometimes the stress of clutter inhibits your ability to be creative about your outfit choices.
“I have found that the fewer items I have in my closet, the easier it is to put together outfits and the more creative I get with my outfits,” Emily said.
When she’s trying to pare down her wardrobe, Emily likes to ask herself how hard she would work to get a wine stain out of a clothing item. If the answer is “not very hard,” she donates it. She also asks herself if she is avoiding wearing the item because it is difficult to wear, or if she is keeping it because she feels obligated to keep it since she spent money on it. If the answer is yes to either question, she donates it. Sometimes donating something can be hard because it means admitting you made a purchasing mistake. Emily said that owning your mistake and donating the item helps you make better choices in the future.
Unsplash4. Develop your winter capsule wardrobe
Once you’ve decluttered, you can focus on developing a set of clothes that Emily calls your "capsule wardrobe."
A capsule wardrobe refers to a small set of clothes that can be worn interchangeably. It can serve as the basis of your winter wardrobe, Emily said, and can streamline the process of choosing an outfit.
“How I define a capsule wardrobe is a few pieces that I love on myself and I love how they all look good together. They are easy to mix and match together. It is kind of like a wardrobe that I could just grab and take with me for a week of vacation and make a lot of outfits with,” she said.
Emily’s winter capsule wardrobe this year includes one pair of jeans, one pair of wide-leg corduroys, two long-sleeved shirts, two turtle necks, one midi-length skirt, three sweaters that look good with the pants and skirt, a denim button-down that can be layered under sweaters or over a long-sleeved, one pair of flats, and one pair of boots. These items are not all she wears — but they serve as the building blocks for nearly all of her outfits. For special occasions and Sunday Mass she might pull out a dress, but most of her dresses are for the warmer months.
When developing your winter capsule wardrobe, Emily said to focus on functionality over fashion. Things that require a safety pin or special bra are likely not good items to include in your capsule wardrobe. Include tried-and-true things that require minimal effort and are in your color palate.
For a step-by-step guide to building a capsule wardrobe, check out Refine’s “how to” article here.
Unsplash5. Intentional thrifting
If your budget allows, thrifting can be an inexpensive way to revamp your winter wardrobe. But to thrift well, Emily says that you need to prepare before you head to the thrift store.
“It is so easy at the thrift store to buy things that you don’t actually need and that you won’t actually wear again. You are likely to discard them if they are pieces that you don’t actually need,” she said.
Emily said that she keeps a list of items she wants to thrift so that she can look for them at the thrift store instead of being overwhelmed by things she doesn't need.
“Don’t overlook basics at the thrift store,” she said. “Basics are essential to forming good outfits.”
Thrifting can be a good way to flesh out your winter capsule wardrobe with staples like jeans, long sleeves, or turtlenecks. For guys, thrift stores can be a great source of blazers and suit coats.
ShutterstockRefine your closet
Ultimately, having a wardrobe of tried-and-true staples and functional pieces allows us to devote less time to picking out our clothes and more time to being present to our families and friends.
“People always say that you should look good to feel good, and while there is some truth to that, it is also that we should make our wardrobes as efficient as possible,” Emily said. “[This allows us to] not only feel good about ourselves, but also feel good that we’re not spending excessive amounts of time getting dressed so that we can serve those around us.”
Want to go deeper? Check out our guide to maximizing your wardrobe without buying anything!