How To Make An Outfit From Your Closet

Why It’s Hard To Make Outfits

One of the biggest things I hear from women when they’re having a hard time with their wardrobe is that they don’t know how to make an outfit. In this post, I’m going to give you 12 reasons why you don’t know how to make an outfit from your closet.

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With so much information on what you “should” have in your wardrobe, it’s easy to lose sight of what actually reflects your personal style. The first reason is that you’re buying pieces you’ve been told are the exact capsule wardrobe staples you need, but they don’t align with your style.

While I value capsule wardrobes and use them with my personal styling clients, my approach isn’t about prescribing identical items for everyone. Instead, it’s about ensuring you have enough variety to suit different seasons and occasions while reflecting your unique style. Understanding what works for your personal style helps you choose pieces that are versatile and easy to mix and match, ultimately making it easier to create outfits you’ll love.

2. How To Make An Outfit Is Hard If You Don’t Know What’s Missing

The next reason it’s hard to put together outfits is that you are missing key pieces. We all need foundational items that work for our style, body, and comfort to make our outfits. Without them, creating cohesive looks becomes a struggle. Often, I find clients are missing essential shoes. For instance, they may have only one or two pairs, often seasonal such as boots for winter and maybe an old pair of flip-flops for summer. However, to complete summer outfits they need comfortable, stylish shoes suitable for the season and their aesthetic.

Another common gap is layering pieces. If you live in a place with fluctuating temperatures or all four seasons, layers are essential for comfort and style. Layering pieces like cardigans, button-up shirts worn over a t-shirt, blazers, or jackets can add versatility and polish to any outfit. Without them, it’s especially challenging to style looks for transitional weather, such as fall or spring, or in climates where temperatures shift throughout the day.

3. Ask Yourself, “What Do I Like To Wear?”

If you’re unsure of the silhouettes, fabrics, and styles that you love, it’s difficult to know the clothes to bring into your closet. This often results in a wardrobe full of items that don’t make you feel great, so you’ll rarely reach for them when making outfits.

To build a closet you love, start by identifying the elements that resonate with you. Do you prefer certain colors, fabrics, or silhouettes? Do you lean towards prints or neutrals? Knowing these preferences helps you choose pieces you’ll want to wear. When your closet contains items you feel excited to reach for, putting together outfits becomes easier and more enjoyable.

4. Have Quality Neutral Basics

The next reason is not having quality neutral basics in your closet. For years, I avoided spending on basics, thinking they were boring and opting for statement pieces. But without a foundation of well-made, neutral essentials, mixing and matching became a daily struggle. I’d often be 30 minutes late, clothes scattered everywhere, feeling like nothing worked together.

When you have quality basics in neutral colors, you have endless styling options. Its neutrality and quality make it versatile and easy to incorporate into different outfits. Most of us can benefit from having a core set of high-quality, neutral basics. These pieces seamlessly mix and match with prints, colors, and statement items in your closet, making outfits effortless and stress-free.

5. Having A Functional Wardrobe

If you don’t have a functional wardrobe, it takes extra time to put together outfits. It’s likely because you lack pieces that truly reflect your unique style. This is why a foundational capsule wardrobe, tailored to your style, is essential. A functional wardrobe includes quality basics in neutral colors that easily mix and match with the rest of your closet. These foundational pieces act as building blocks, allowing you to quickly put together outfits that make you feel great.

I once worked with a virtual client who struggled with making outfits. This was not due to a lack of clothes but because she had mostly statement pieces. She had bright colors, prints, and bold silhouettes without enough basics to ground them. By adding capsule essentials, she gained versatility and the ability to create cohesive looks with ease. If your wardrobe is heavy on bold colors and prints that suit your style, that’s wonderful! However, incorporating more neutrals will make it easier to wear with other pieces, giving you endless outfit options.

6. You Base Your Style On Influencers

Another reason it can be hard to put together outfits is if you’re relying on social media as a guide for what to buy rather than as a source of inspiration. Instead of using these images to shop your closet and recreate similar looks, you may feel like you should buy the exact pieces you see. But often, these items don’t look the same in real life. Influencers use special lighting, cameras, and styling tricks that create a polished look that doesn’t always translate when you try it yourself. This is something I’ve experienced personally and observed with many clients. When you buy influencer-promoted pieces, they often don’t fit as expected or don’t match your style, making it hard to put together outfits that feel right for you.

Instead, try using social media as creative inspiration rather than a shopping list. This principle has helped me over the years, even when fashion magazines were the main style guides. I used to avoid them because they made me feel inadequate and the items felt unattainable. A friend once told me I didn’t need those exact pieces to achieve a similar look. Now, I share this advice with clients. Use social media for inspiration, not as a catalog. Let it spark ideas for using what’s already in your closet, so you can build looks that feel stylish and uniquely yours.

7. Practice Putting Together Outfits

What we focus on and practice is what we improve at. If you’re not actively practicing putting outfits together, it’ll naturally be harder to do. I recommend setting aside time once a week to experiment with your wardrobe. If you have a standing rack, great. If not, use your bed or a chair. Spend around 30 minutes playing with different outfit combinations for the week. Make this a fun, enjoyable routine. It’s a skill that gets better with practice.

This method is essential because practicing making an outfit builds confidence and ease over time. Consistently doing this a couple of times a month helps you improve and reveals gaps in your wardrobe. This makes it easier to prioritize new wardrobe additions. Instead of defaulting to the same “safe” top each morning, you’ll have a growing list of outfits you love and can pull together with confidence.

8. Have Versatile Pieces

When we say an item is versatile, we mean it can be styled in various ways and adapted for different occasions or seasons. A versatile piece can be worn casually during the day, dressed up for the evening, and styled for multiple seasons. It’s an item you can mix and match, giving you multiple outfit options. This is why I encourage clients to avoid shopping for outfits by buying both the top and bottom together and always wearing them as a set.

When you shop this way, you limit the flexibility of each piece. Instead, by choosing versatile items you build a closet where each piece can work in multiple ways. This creates endless possibilities. To create a truly versatile wardrobe, seek out pieces that you can easily mix, match, and adapt for different settings. This not only gives you more options but also makes getting dressed easier and more enjoyable.

9. How To Make An Outfit Is Hard If You Have Mostly Statement Pieces

If your closet is primarily filled with statement pieces, it’s likely making outfit creation more difficult. Having too many statement pieces without enough basics can be overwhelming and hard to mix and match. Statement pieces often include bold prints, vivid colors, or unique silhouettes, like exaggerated ruffles or oversized fits. These are less versatile than classic, streamlined items. If you love statement pieces, aim to limit them to around 20% of your wardrobe. This way, you can balance them with neutral, versatile basics that act as a foundation for more flexible outfit combinations.

For most people, wearing multiple bold items together can feel overdone. Instead, having neutral, versatile pieces to pair with these standout items will create a more cohesive, wearable wardrobe. This approach gives you balance, letting each statement piece shine while still making it easy to put outfits together.

10. Buy Items That Work With Your Wardrobe

For many of us, making outfits for everyday life can be challenging. Especially if we’re unclear about our style or haven’t recently done a closet edit. Buying items without considering your current closet or personal style often results in pieces that don’t work together.

To make outfit creation easier, start by doing a closet edit or declutter. Assess the pieces you enjoy wearing, and aim to reach a point where you’re wearing 80-100% of your wardrobe. Then, when you bring in new pieces, they’ll be more likely to complement your existing wardrobe. This makes it simpler to assemble outfits that feel cohesive and reflective of your style.

11. An Organized Closet

Another common issue I see during closet edits is disorganized closets. When pieces are scattered, it becomes much harder to put outfits together. An organized closet is essential for creating looks easily because it allows you to see what you own and find what you need without hassle. When your closet is organized by category you can easily mix and match.

Additionally, keep the pieces you wear most often front and center in your closet. I suggest hanging these items rather than storing them in drawers, as this makes them more visible and accessible. Hanging items by type and even by color further streamlines the process. It makes it easier to see your options and put together outfits that feel cohesive. An organized closet saves time and ensures you make the most of what you own.

12. Unworn Items Hanging In Your Closet

Here’s a key rule I live by and encourage my clients to follow, never hang anything in your closet that isn’t 100% ready to wear. This means every piece should be cleaned, altered, and steamed before it’s in your closet. Otherwise, if these items are mixed in with the rest of your clothes, you’ll inevitably pull one out in the morning, only to realize you can’t wear it. Instead, I recommend keeping items that need alterations in a separate section of your closet or on a dedicated rack, reminding you to take them to the tailor.

Additionally, only keep freshly cleaned items in your closet. Anything that needs dry cleaning should be placed in a bag near the front door, so you don’t forget about it. Make sure all items are also steamed or ironed. Keep wrinkled clothes in a separate area or on a rack, and take 15-30 minutes weekly to steam everything that needs it. This ensures that in the morning, every piece in your closet is ready to go, without any last-minute prep needed. This helps you maintain a closet that’s functional, organized, and easy to navigate, making it simpler to put together outfits you love.