The Lost Art of Getting Dressed
There was a time when getting dressed was never simply another task to tick off before leaving the house.
Women collected fashion magazines with the same enthusiasm that others collected novels. They carefully folded over pages, tore out editorials they loved and filled boxes with inspiration that would stay with them for years. A single photograph could influence an entire season of dressing, not because they wanted to own every garment on the page, but because they were learning to recognise beauty, balance and proportion.
Somewhere along the way, we lost that ritual.
Today we scroll through thousands of images every week. We save outfits to Pinterest, double-tap Instagram reels and click shopping links within seconds. Inspiration has become immediate, yet strangely forgettable. We consume more fashion than ever before, but many women tell me they have never felt less inspired by their own wardrobes.
As a stylist, I don't believe the answer is buying more clothes.
I believe it's learning to see differently.
Fashion Was Never Meant to Be Copied
One of the biggest misconceptions about style is that runway shows and fashion editorials exist to tell us what to buy.
They don't.
They exist to stretch our imagination.
Every season I spend hours studying the collections on Vogue Runway, and I still buy beautifully printed fashion magazines because they slow me down. They encourage me to linger over a page instead of flicking endlessly through an algorithm.
When I look at a Vogue editorial, I'm rarely thinking about the label.
Instead, I'm asking different questions.
Why does this silhouette feel so elegant?
Why do those colours work together?
How has the stylist balanced proportion?
Why does one small accessory change the entire mood of the outfit?
Those are the questions that transform the way you dress.
Inspiration is collected. Not purchased.
One of my favourite evenings looks incredibly ordinary.
I'll make a cup of tea, sit on the sofa with a stack of magazines and slowly work my way through every editorial.
Sometimes I'll spend ten minutes looking at one photograph.
Not because I'm admiring the clothes.
Because I'm studying the decisions.
The styling.
The mood.
The colours.
The storytelling.
I genuinely believe that the most stylish women in the world are also some of the most curious. They don't simply consume fashion - they collect ideas.
That habit has shaped my wardrobe more than any shopping trip ever has.
Vintage Taught Me Something New Clothes Never Could
Perhaps that's why I've always loved vintage.
Vintage asks something different of us.
It asks us to trust our instincts.
There isn't another rail holding twenty identical dresses in different sizes.
There is only one.
Either you feel something...
...or you don't.
Sometimes it's the craftsmanship.
Sometimes it's the hand-finished details.
Sometimes it's a fabric that reminds me of my grandmother.
Sometimes it's a colour that takes me straight back to my childhood.
Sometimes it's Italy.
Sometimes it's someone I once loved.
Those emotional connections cannot be manufactured.
And perhaps that's why vintage wardrobes possess a depth of character that fast fashion can never replicate.
Beautiful Clothes Deserve Beautiful Lives
One of the saddest things I see in wardrobes isn't clutter.
It's beautiful clothes waiting.
The dress that's "too special."
The fabulous skirt waiting for another wedding.
The silk blouse bought for a future holiday.
The statement brooch that never leaves its box.
Somehow we've convinced ourselves that beautiful things should be protected from everyday life.
I believe the opposite.
Beautiful clothes deserve beautiful lives.
A tulle skirt with trainers.
A tuxedo jacket over denim.
A cocktail dress worn to lunch.
A vintage brooch pinned onto a simple white shirt on an ordinary Tuesday morning.
The more we wear the things we love, the richer our lives become.
A Brooch Is More Than Jewellery
At Broochella we often say that a brooch is one of fashion's most underrated styling tools.
That isn't marketing.
It's simply how I dress.
A brooch can alter proportion.
Create shape.
Draw the eye.
Transform an oversized jacket.
Reinvent a dress you've worn for years.
Or become the focal point of an outfit in exactly the same way a stylist uses accessories in an editorial.
Once you begin looking at accessories as tools rather than decoration, your wardrobe becomes infinitely more creative.
- Animalia Collection
- Tropicana Collection
- Flower Brooch Collection
- Vintage Collection
- Brooch Magnets
- Necklace Connectors
Start Collecting Inspiration Again
This week, instead of buying another top, buy a fashion magazine.
Visit a vintage market.
Spend an afternoon in an art gallery.
Watch a runway show.
Collect photographs that make you pause.
Train your eye.
The most stylish women I've ever met don't necessarily own the biggest wardrobes.
They've simply learnt to notice beauty where others keep scrolling.
Perhaps that's the lost art we need to rediscover.
Not shopping.
Not trends.
Not algorithms.
But the quiet pleasure of getting dressed with intention, curiosity and imagination.
Because personal style has never been something we buy.
It's something we slowly collect over a lifetime.
Further Reading
For readers who would like to immerse themselves further in the world of fashion history and editorial inspiration:
