The Sartorial Edit: Shopping from my own closet & “no buy” April

How I’m planning to find inspiration again in my own clothes & resist purchasing new items in April.

This post is slightly too long for emails! You can read the entire post here.

This Sartorial Edit includes:

• A PSA on my “no-buy” April

• A fashion app I’m currently obsessed with

• Pieces I don’t reach for enough (but should)

Free subscribers will be able to preview most of the post. Paid subscribers will see the entire edit which includes:

• How I’m styling my vintage red Prada heels

• Shopping digest: my current wish list updates

Paid subscribers will also receive all the other paid content on Coffees With Angel like expanded articles, packing lists & premium travel guides, and all my more private thoughts & musings on life. A subscription comes out to $1.86 per week (less than a cup of coffee!) on the monthly plan.

I’d like to say that what inspired this “no-buy” month is pure discipline. The truth is it’s born from necessity. I am planning to move to Europe by the end of the year and it makes no sense to continue purchasing clothes. Moving my current wardrobe will be a Herculean task on its own.

My vestigial shopping habit, although controlled, comes in waves. Months will go buy where I don’t purchase a single new thing. Then suddenly my brain locks onto several key pieces that feel like they’re missing from my wardrobe and wham-bam-thank-you-mam—the wish list decreases and my closet size increases.

Beyond catering to practicality and doing this so that future me has less to move, I’ve also been seeing the phrase “shopping your own wardrobe” floating around. I introduced the idea of “browsing or shopping your wish list” in my last Sartorial Edit but this idea of creating a renewed sense of inspiration from your own clothes really resonated.

As a lover of clothes and someone who does occasionally get gifting from brands, I’m actually pretty happy with the current state of my wardrobe (right now). Even so, on the day-to-day, I only reach for 10% (maybe 15%) of the clothes I own. I’m a die-hard “jeans and a t-shirt” woman which is both a blessing and detriment depending on how you look at it.

So I’m officially declaring here, publicly, for the entire world to see (or at least my small community that actually read the words I write, I love you, thank you), that April is officially my “no buy”, shop my own closet month.

This month I’m focusing on

• showing love to the pieces I don’t reach for enough

• not purchasing anything new (duh)

• finding new ways to wear pieces I’ve owned for a long time

• tracking every outfit I wear in my Style Diaries series

Whether you also have a move in the horizon or you just want to challenge yourself (and save some money), it’s worth implementing a no-buy or low-buy challenge for yourself every now and again. Restriction fosters creativity and sometimes limiting ourselves to what we already own can actually push us to discover new ways of putting together outfits that we never considered before.

February + March wardrobe update

In February I had one of those rare itches to treat myself to some items on my wish list so after much debate and combing through sales I picked up 3 sweaters, 2 zip ups, 3 pairs of jeans, and 2 shirt. Like I said—wham-bam-thank-you-mam.

I’ve also been going through another closet purge and selling items I no longer wear on depop. Both for the “moving” reason but also because my closet was giving me that dreary, uninspired feeling again.

This past month, I also discovered Indyx through Anna’s Substack, The Wardrobe Edit. If you like a clean, classic, and casual style, I’d highly recommend checking her out. I’ve been inhaling her content since I found her. Indyx is a wardrobe catalogue app that allows you to track every piece you have in your closet, create and plan outfits, and record what you wear throughout the month.

Tracking my outfits in Indyx

The way that I’m addicted to this app now is crazy. It’s saving me a lot of time and headache when it comes to planning outfits, although I did spend an entire weekend cataloging my wardrobe and I’m still not done. How Indyx works is you enter each piece of clothing you own and add a photo. The app recommends that you just snap a flat-lay shot of the item but I went through the extra trouble to find a photo of each piece online. Neither method is easier, in my opinion. Just depends on what you prefer.

Once your items are in, you can create outfit photos using the items and then assign those outfits to the calendar so you can see what you’ve been (or will be) wearing each day of the month.

Besides just being a type-A’s dream, Indyx has also given me clarity into what pieces I tend to reach for the most and other wardrobe trends I didn’t realize before. The paid version gives you a ton of charts that show data like utilization (% of your wardrobe you actually wear), most/least worn items, spend by month, colors you wear the most, and (way) more. It also allows you track how much you spent on the item and it’ll calculate the cost-per-use for you. Pretty nifty stuff.

Besides just being a great habit to keep for my peace of mind, here’s why I love purging and cataloging my wardrobe:

• Seeing the gaps in your wardrobe - Cataloging gives me an easy and visual way to see what outfits I like to wear and what items are being worn the most. As I’m putting together these outfits, often I’ll start noticing that there are certain key pieces that I wished I’d had. Purging often also shows me what items I am happy to let go of and makes me ask “why”. Is it the fit? Color? Size? Style? This gives me perspective on things that I may need to upgrade or replace.

• Keeping your wardrobe fresh - There will always come a time where you clothes start to feel a little stale and demotivating. At least it happens to me. By keeping my closet clean up habits consistent, I feel a lot more connected with my clothes and I start to appreciate pieces a lot more.

• Finding items you love but never wear - There are certain pieces I absolutely love but never wear for one reason or another. By combing through my pieces often, it ensures that I know exactly what pieces I should be reaching for more and pushes me to plan outfits around those pieces often.

• Makes room for something new! - A few years back, I created a general rule of thumb that I’m only allowed to have as many pieces as my current hanger inventory allows. Meaning no purchasing more hangers just so I can hang up new pieces. If I have no more hangers to use then I must purge an item in order to make room for a new one.

Indyx definitely has re-inspired a lot of my excitement for the clothes I have. I don’t know about you but spending time trying out outfits can often feel a bit boring so being able to easily lay out outfits in the app has felt like gamifying the experience. If you’ve also been feeling a little crappy about your current wardrobe, the outfit planning and wardrobe cataloging features are totally free to use so I’d highly recommend checking it out if you want to get organized with your wardrobe.

☕️ tip: if you like to plan your outfits for trips like I do, Indyx is perfect for that as well.

Pieces I don’t reach for enough

According to Indyx as well as what I’ve noticed while cataloging my wardrobe, here are the pieces I don’t wear enough.

Vintage white diesel cargos. I honestly love these pants and my excuse for not wearing them enough is because I bought them at the tail end of last summer and just haven’t had the chance to wear them. Well, no more excuses. It’s officially warming up which means it’s time to pull them out of retirement.

Navy Nilby P peacoat. I’ve owned this coat for well over a year now and have only really worn it once. I’ve tried reaching for it a few times but I’m learning that I just don’t reach for navy pieces that much. So it’s going to consignment!

Brown and pink Adidas SL 72. Got gifted these earlier this year but haven’t reached for them. But I think for spring, they’ll be a staple.

Maison Kitsune x New Balance jacket. I love this piece but just never reach for it. Another piece that’s going to consignment!

Low Classic grey trousers. Got these the first time I visited Milan! Definitely a favorite but more of a spring piece so I’m excited to wear these again this year!

Curated silk and wool blazer. This was actually the only jacket I brought with me to Europe but since I got back I haven’t worn it. Will see if I reach for it again this Spring/Summer before I make a decision about it.

Vintage Fendi sweater. I honestly should’ve worn this more this winter. It’s a cute layering piece that gives warmth but also provides a cute collar. Will try to wear it more this spring!

Boulet cowboy boot. I hunted for a cow boy boot for so long but ended up barely wearing these. I wish they were a little taller in the shaft but let’s see if I can make them worth it this spring/summer!

Vintage Diesel leather jacket. Still one of the coolest jackets I won. It’s the perfect jacket to spice up a tee + jeans combo. Definitely a keep!

How I’m styling red heels for spring

I am determined to get as much wear out of these vintage Prada heels as I can this spring. They’re so comfortable, the square toe is so flattering, and I think it’ll be a nice pop of colour in my otherwise neutral wardrobe. As you can probably tell from my Style Diaries series and Instagram, I usually keep my outfit formulas pretty simple so having some stand out accessories, bags, or shoes is how I typically spice up an outfit.

• where I got my favorite vintage red prada heels

• 6 outfit formulas for little red heels

• Shopping digest: my current wish list updates