As we enter our third week in lockdown I've now managed to tick off quite an impressive amount of "things to do around the house". Jobs which have been lingering at the back of my mind and continually pushed back for months have now become a great way to to stay motivated, pass the time and most importantly stay mindful. Along with keeping up with my blog, social media and taking up hobbies I'd had on the back burner, organising my house and clearing out have had the amazing ability at keeping my head clutter free too. Kitchen cabinets have been methodically emptied, cleaned and neatly ordered. The dresser in our dinning room which was unofficially used as a dumping ground for forgotten receipts, discarded letters and the obligatory batteries, nails and miscellaneous wires (which no odd job drawer would be complete without) has been gutted and put to better use as my Top Of The Town workstation. And last but by no means least, I finally got round to clearing out (begrudgingly so) and reordering the black hole which is my wardrobe. A job which I'm ashamed to say to an entire day and then some.

To give myself a small bit of due the room which holds my wardrobe had also become an accidental stock room for Top Of The Town vintage pieces in the waiting and subsequently a hot mess of clothing just hung wherever I could find the space. For someone who I'd say is very much house proud and who has a clear love of clothing, I have no idea why the past year has seen me show such a total disregard towards my own wardrobe, when all things considered it should really be my Holy Grail of household spaces. Needless to say after a solid days work being as brutal as I could muster throwing clothes out (all of which are now ready and waiting to be sent to charity shops, listed on Vestiaire or begrudgingly offered up to my sisters) and trying to create some sort of order, I can confirm that in my case a clear wardrobe actually does mean a clear head. Truth be told the reason clearing out my wardrobe took half as long as it did was because there's something about searching through my clothes which makes me incredibly nostalgic. My wardrobe is made up of pieces I've collected over the last two decades from charity shop finds and vintage treasures, to that Topshop Kate Moss dress I just HAD to have. I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder as such, it's just that I seem to emotionally invest far too heavily in certain items and the idea of letting go of them (even if they haven't been touched in ten years) lays very heavy on my heart... I reckon this is another bad trait of being Piscean, sensitivity and an organised wardrobe clearly don't work well together.

Ok so I know the rule is supposedly that if you haven't worn an item of clothing in twelve months than you should get rid of it but I think this rule was clearly made up by someone who possibly didn't like vintage clothing? Many of the items in my wardrobe I've hunted down through a labour of love and so even if at thirty one years of age they no longer fit quite right or they're way too short, they were a personal victory that I simply want to own for the love of them not just the practicality. That said aside from my blatant inability to part with clothes I obviously care too deeply about, the other thing I realised through clearing out was the amount items or trends which I've been using as a failsafe for years and there was something quite comforting if not a little reassuring in this. Ok so I've grown older but fundamentally, the bare bones of my personal style seems to have stayed virtually the same! There's a real pattern to my wardrobe between clothes I wear the most and those I'd had the longest. Smock dresses, dungarees, Breton tops and army shirts have been long standing members of my wardrobe- worn to death and loved as much now as they were ten/fifteen years ago. Call me boring or just consistent but there are items in my wardrobe which have seen me through the last fifteen or so years of my life that I'm not even close to growing tired of. I now have an new found respect for the term "staple items" and real understanding that this is completely subjective to personal taste.

Staple items doesn't just mean an amazing white tee, the perfect fitting jeans or a versatile black coat (all of which are incredibly useful to own, admittedly), it's actually those hero pieces you own which perfectly encapsulate your personal, which make you feel comfortable and make you feel like you. It's no secret I live in dungarees but I do so because they never make me feel self conscious and they're easy without looking lazy. It's these pieces which show you a real importance in staying true to your own personal taste, avoiding being a slave for trends or trying to imitate other peoples style because these are the piece which will go the distance and are worth the investment. One item I invested in years ago and have only just replaced is an army shirt, as seen in this outfit. A khaki shirt is a great piece for layering and has the wonderful knack of suiting virtually any outfit from a sweet floral dress to a graphic tee and jeans a la Waynes World. I bought an amazing army jacket from And Other Stories about 6 years ago and have worn it to death- literally, it looks like the life as been sucked out of it. It's been styled every way you can think of, layered over outfits in Spring/Summer and under coats in Autumn/Winter, to say I got my moneys worth would be an understatement. 

Whilst I love styling an army jacket as a slouchy outerwear layer for a very grunge inspired, effortless look, I really wanted to try something a little slicker and so I invested in this shiny new khaki shirt also from And Other Stories. Admittedly I have actually already worn this new shirt open, layered over a band tee and accompanied by high tops (why break a habit of a lifetime) but I've also been trying much more dressed up looks like the one in this post. I love the idea of teaming a boyish army jacket with it's complete opposite, in this outfit's case my Reliquia pearl necklace to completely transform it's look. I've always been a fan of a leather short (potentially another staple item) because they make a cool and comfortable bottom half to any dressed up look. In this outfit I've even paid homage to my twenty year old self by teaming my And Other Stories leather short shorts with tights because even in March/April, I'm just not quite ready to bare my legs to the world yet. All in all this is an outfit which is made up of pieces which feel like me and pieces which I guarantee I will probably still love in ten years time... Just styled up differently. Right now it seems like putting the effort into your outfit can feel pointless but we can at least put the effort into our wardrobes. Discover what your staple pieces are and clear out the clutter. 

Sophia x

Photography by Catherine Booty

Outfit Details: Pearl Choker Sofia Necklace- Reliquia, Khaky Army Shirt- And Other Stories, Black Leather Shorts- And Other Stories