Closet Confessions: What We’ve Learned from Rewearing Our Favorites

In this episode, we dive into one of the most revealing exercises you can do for your sewing practice: identifying your wardrobe workhorses. We'll explore how to discover which pieces you actually reach for day after day, what those choices reveal about your personal style, and how to use these insights to plan sewing projects you'll love wearing for years to come.

How to Identify Your Wardrobe Workhorses

Understanding your wardrobe workhorses—those pieces you reach for again and again—is one of the most powerful ways to guide your sewing decisions. Instead of making clothes based on what you think you should wear or what looks good in photos, this process helps you sew for your real life and actual preferences.

1. 
   Start by simply looking through your closet. You probably already have a sense of which pieces are your workhorses—they're the ones you wash most often, the ones that are always in the laundry basket. Walk through your closet and pull out anything you know you wear at least once a week during its appropriate season. Look for the pieces that are getting a little worn, that might be starting to fade or show their age. That wear is actually valuable information about what works in your daily life.
2. 
   Track your outfits for deeper insights. If you want to get more scientific about it, start documenting what you actually wear. The easiest way is to take a quick photo of your outfit each day on your phone—you don't have to post it anywhere, this is just for you. After a month or two, scroll through those photos and you'll start to see patterns emerge. There are also apps designed for this, like Stylebook or Indyx, where you can track your outfits and see statistics about what you wear most. You might be surprised by what you discover about your actual wearing habits versus what you think you wear.
3. 
   Don't forget outerwear and specialty pieces. When we think about our wardrobe workhorses, we often focus on tops and bottoms, but don't overlook the other categories. Your most-worn cardigan or jacket is telling you something important about your style. Same with your loungewear—if you're working from home, those pieces might be your actual workhorses, not your "going out" clothes. Don't forget activewear either, if that's something you wear regularly. Those pieces count just as much as anything else in understanding your true style preferences.
4. 
   Make a list of your top 10. Once you've identified your most-worn pieces, write them down. Literally make a list. Try to get to at least 10 items if you can, but if you have more, that's great too. For each item, write down the category—is it a t-shirt, a cardigan, jeans, a dress? Also note the color, the fabric type, and the general fit or silhouette. This list becomes like a blueprint for your sewing. It's showing you exactly what works in your actual life, and you can reference it when you're pattern shopping or fabric shopping.
5. 
   For each piece, note why you think you wear it so much. This is where it gets really interesting. Don't just list what your workhorses are—dig into the why. Is it because of the color? The fabric? The fit? How it pairs with other things? Maybe it's because it's machine washable and you don't have to think about it. Or maybe it's because it has pockets and makes you feel put together. Sometimes the reason is practical, and sometimes it's emotional. Both are valid and important information about your style preferences.
6. 
   Look for patterns in your patterns. Once you have your list with all those notes, step back and look for the bigger picture. Do most of your workhorses share similar characteristics? Are they all in the same color family? The same level of ease? You might notice that almost all your most-worn pieces are in certain colors, or that they all have a comfortable but not oversized fit. These patterns tell you what to prioritize when you're planning your sewing projects, helping you move away from impulse making toward intentional wardrobe building.
7. 
   Consider the gaps. While you're analyzing your workhorses, also think about what's missing. Are there categories where you don't have a reliable workhorse? Maybe you need a go-to dress, or a coat you actually love. Or maybe you have workhorses that are getting worn out and need to be replaced. This is different from just making what's trendy or what looks good in a pattern photo—you're filling actual, proven needs in your wardrobe based on your real wearing habits.
8. 
   Translate your workhorses into sewing projects. This is where all that analysis pays off. Start planning sewing projects based on what you've learned. If you love a particular ready-to-wear piece, look for patterns with similar characteristics. Don't try to recreate it exactly—that can be frustrating. Instead, capture the essence of what makes it work for you. Focus on the elements that make you reach for those pieces again and again, whether it's the silhouette, the fabric, the color, or the functionality.
9. 
   Test your theories with muslins or simple versions first. Before you invest in expensive fabric or spend days on a complicated project, test whether your hypothesis is correct. If you think you'll wear a lot of loose linen tops, make one in an inexpensive fabric first and see if you actually reach for it. This is especially helpful if you're trying to branch out from your current workhorses but stay in the same general style territory. Think of it like making a draft before the final version—you're testing the concept, not just the fit.
10. 
    Revisit and refine regularly. Your wardrobe workhorses will change over time as your life changes. What you wore constantly in your twenties might not be what works in your forties. What worked when you were going to an office might not work now that you work from home. Try to do this analysis at least once a year, usually when you're planning your seasonal sewing. It's not about starting from scratch each time—it's about noticing what's shifted and adjusting accordingly. Some workhorses will stay with you for years, and those are your true classics. Others will rotate out, and that's okay too—your style is allowed to evolve.

This process is all about being honest with yourself in a gentle, curious way. When you stop feeling guilty about not wearing those complicated pieces you thought you wanted and instead focus on sewing more of what you genuinely love to wear, everything shifts. You'll start feeling so much more confident in your handmade wardrobe because you're finally designing for your real life, not an imagined version of it.

What are your wardrobe workhorses telling you about your style? Take some time to analyze what you actually reach for, and let that guide your next sewing projects.