Create your own personal look book from your wardrobe (and drawers). Inspire yourself and make the very most of your pieces by snapping them at their best and any way. It’s a fantastic way to have your own personal fashion catalogue at your finger tips! Start now and you have an instant, easy Look Book from your own wardrobe.
Ok, so maybe I’m exagerating a bit. But this is a simple thing that has revolutionized a big part of my life; It even promotes creativity and eurika moments!
A breakthrough timesaver (lifesaver, wardrobesaver, moneysaver, environment saver,….)
You don’t need anything but your mobile phone, you don’t need to put aside time. Just start with a single snap…and a new folder for your Look-book photos (this is essential to have your “catalogue” on hand and not mixed up with photos of your last meal with friends or the spider you found on the wall last night!)
I don’t know if everyone has been doing this and I’m the last to catch on. I’m not, then this post might be useful to someone like me who really needed help and encouragment.
Please leave a quick comment below if this has been useful to you, I’d love to know!
My Personal Look Book!
This is the best idea I’ve had in years and it works so well! My clothes look fab and most of these are years old. I feel more excited about wearing my existing clothes and less inclined to buy more.
To sell…or not, as it turned out
Have you ever heard the saying, if you haven’t worn it in the past year, you’ll never wear it again? Or “if you don’t wear it at least 10 times a year it’s not worth the space in your wardrobe”? Having downsized house, I know there is truth on that. That said, I do sometimes resurrect clothes I’ve kept for 20 years and suddenly love them again for a while.
This can be simply because we have lost interest and moved on to newer, shinier clothes.
Recently, I started trying on some old clothes and taking pics to try to sell them online. I made outfits quickly so the photos of the separates made sense and tried them on with different shoes. The idea was to make them appealing to a new wearer.
In doing so, I managed to resell them to myself.
The problem wasn’t that I didn’t like the clothes, or that I didn’t have anything that would go with them. I realised they just didn’t come to mind any more, I didn’t consider them. I needed to refresh my ideas of them, for example trying them with other separates. My wardrobe has so many cool things under-used and under-valued and I just needed help in remembering.
It’s a little bit like relationships really. You need to work at it and not take them for granted!
Time saver
As someone who is always short on time, snapping a pic every time I try on new combinations – like before going out, or checking something still fits, saves me in the long-term.
A busy life makes us reach for the sure thing in the morning. How often do you have time to try on a few things before going out?
Simple Seasonal Look Book
I live in Italy and when the seasons change it’s time to swap out the wardrobe. It’s quite a chore as there is little overlap with summer and winter attire. This also means I easily forget what has been put away. Now, before tidying away the past season’s clothes, I try them for size and matching separates. I snap photos of every combination I can be bothered to try (music and no kids can make it fun). I even keep pics of some combinations that are not quite right, just to avoid wasting time trying it again in future!
Sort your pics into seasonal clothing so you’re ready for the climate change and remember your favourite combinations.
But they will be sooo last year, I hear you say! Well, here you might have a point. I admit I’m not a dedicated follower of fashion. I avoid fast fashion trends and strange styles I know will not last and probably do no favours. If you have a wardrobe of stuff you know you will change, then the look book you create should be focussed on the timeless pieces. These can be put to work with the next fast fashion items and may help you extend the wear of the older ones.
Snap Habit
Now whenever I try things on, I snap a quick photo, even getting dressed in the morning. If I like it, I snap it – in a few months I might forget this combination and stop wearing something!
If I buy something new, after coming home I try it with as many things I have time to do (doesn’t everybody??), and snap a few pics for the record
Yo-Yo Weight
What about if your weight fluctuates? Sort your pics by different weights! Help yourself to appreciate what you look and feel best in at any given time or weight. Just take that extra moment to snap and move that pic to your look book!
This is revolutionary for those clothes that you hardly ever wear but theoretically love. Snap them in the best combinations you can find and keep them there in a dedicated folder on your phone. It’s consultable from your bed, at breakfast, waiting for a bus and when you’re facing the daunting task of choosing what to pack for a holiday. It’s a time saver and you can absolutely visualise how each idea will be!
Regret a purchase?
If you regret buying something but it’s too late or you cannot return it – put it to work. Find a quiet peaceful time alone to make some finished looks with it, snap them and add them to your look book. Make it part of your catalogue and you will soon be wanting to wear it!
A more professional look-book
If, like me, you have difficulty in snapping without clutter around you, you can use a background eraser app (like Background Eraser) and remove the surrounding areas. It’s much easier if you photograph yourself with a high contrast background compared to your clothes – you’ll have much less manual chopping to do as it can detect your outline easily.
My loo book is far from professional – but who cares?? It’s just for me (don’t tell anyone I posted some here to share, shhhh!). The most positive effect is that I really feel better about what I have to work with and I’ve regained passion for things I thought were drab.
Use existing photos
You can start your look book using cropped photos of you from your phone. Check through your pics and move or save a copy to your look book if you like the outfits.
Extra tips:
My look book helps me plan, feel upbeat about my clothes (without having to buy more), be able to quickly know what to wear – without wreaking havoc in my wardrobe every time.
- Focus on a single item at a time and snap different combinations
- Pull out your forgotten accessories (bags, scarves, hats)
- Try teaming up with separates you haven’t done before to modernize and expand useability
- Try dressing down elegant jackets and snazzy shoes to create more possibilities
- Tag photos with keywords to help you search for specific needs in future (skirt, dress, jeans, elegant, for shopping, for dancing, etc)
The great thing about your growing look book is that you are never going to be looking at models who are different to you. You’re looking at you, in your clothes. Totally real, totally ready!!
