Five free resources to help you craft your dream wardrobe
These no-cost and low-cost gems will help you chart a course to becoming your own personal stylist.
In the spirit of all these wonderful, no-cost resources, this post is free. If you enjoy it, please consider supporting my writing by joining the list!
A couple of weeks ago, I was applying for an MBA program (fingers crossed!) and had to identify my greatest weakness. Beyond the superficial, like my unholy dependence on caffeine and my tendency to remember my keys just after I’ve locked the door behind me, I admitted that I have very little formal training in my chosen profession. I’m a photographer who has taken only a single, one-semester course on photography. And as a small business owner, I’ve had even less guidance.
It’s certainly an insecurity of mine that so much of my education has been self-led and provided by cheap and free resources on the internet. But is it really such a bad thing? As I was writing about it, I started thinking about what an incredible treasure our collective knowledge is—even more so because of its amazing accessibility.
Sometimes I open Google Translate and think about how, not long ago, I would have had to pull out a dictionary or a phrase book to learn a useful new word. Or I’m walking to a new restaurant and think about how much more difficult it would be with a phone book and a paper map as my guides.
Here is a brief list of the things I’ve taught myself to do with the help of the internet:
Cook delicious meals from scratch
Take professional-quality photos
Start and run a small business
Sew bags and clothes
Decorate those items with embroidery
Draw and paint landscapes
Manage professional social media accounts
… and lots of other, smaller things that I’m sure I’ve forgotten originated on the internet.
Just like making scratch pasta or filing an LLC, professional-level personal style used to be a privilege reserved for the wealthy. And while personal stylists are still an amazing resource for people with demanding, public-facing careers, the rest of us are no longer stuck settling for our nearest department store racks.
That said, sometimes it feels like there’s just too much. Wading through the bad or useless advice is time-consuming. But I’ve been digging for years, and I’ve found a few extremely valuable resources that anyone who’s interested in dressing beautifully should be aware of.
Seamwork - While this website is aimed at sewists, their Design Your Wardrobe challenge is the best course in personal style that I’ve found. The best thing about DYW is that the lessons steer clear of talking about how “flattering” (aka slimming) your clothes are. Instead, there’s a great deal of focus on your values, your lifestyle, and the colors and textures you enjoy. Even if you don’t sew, I highly recommend joining DYW for all that you can learn about silhouettes, mood boards, and capsule wardrobes. Instead of a sewing planner, simply make yourself a thrifting mood board and try to create your ideal wardrobe out of yard sale magic. The course is free twice a year, and the spring session starts March 27, so sign up now if you’re intrigued. But beware: you might be inspired to start stitching your own stuff.
Queer Eye - If you already have Netflix, Queer Eye is free to you. I adore stylist Tan France’s just-right-amount of judginess as he provides clothing coaching for the show’s heroes, and Jonathan Van Ness’ practical and aggressively positive grooming tips, too. I think the show hits its stride around Season 3, when they start offering makeovers to more women in addition to only men, but every episode is a little nugget of feel-good inspiration. It’s the modern-day answer to “What Not to Wear,” and I highly recommend curling up with an episode when you need a boost.
MatchesFashion - This app is a free resource as long as you put your credit card in a locked safe while you scroll. Matches Fashion calls itself “The modern luxury shopping destination for the confident global fashion consumer.” For me, it’s a great place to get styling inspiration while sitting my butt firmly on the couch. Here, all the latest designer pieces are curated in collections like “The Modest-Dressing Edit” and “Out of Office Style.” The most valuable content for those of us seeking inspiration is the opportunity to see the various pieces on the models, creatively styled, which can lead to fun tangents and new ideas.
In the app, there are also editorial stories that I can only assume are aimed at trust fund babies, Wall Street CEOs, and celebrity stylists. For example, you can read all about how to find your next fine jewellery investment, on the off chance you’ve got twenty grand burning a hole in your pocket. Resist the urge to reject this as being for other people, though. Despite the fact that it’s obvious promotional content, I like to read the articles with an open mind and try to pull out general themes I can apply at the thrift shop.Skillshare - I’m wary of any styling class that’s overly prescriptive, especially since styling can quickly veer into judgments about what people “should” wear based on their body types and gender identities. However, I can recommend the course Fashion Coolhunting, which is taught by fashion educator Agus Cattaneo. The great thing about the course is that Cattaneo digs into her formal education and professional experience to go behind the scenes of trend identification and forecasting. I’m currently working through the lessons myself, so take the course with me and we can discuss our progress! If you’re new to Skillshare, you can use my referral link to get a free month here.
Alison - Want to dig deep? Alison is a free learning platform that offers an incredible variety of courses related to personal styling, including a “diploma” in fashion design. Like many free online learning platforms, the site makes the bulk of its money by charging for the official certificate at the end of the course. But since you’re just learning for your own gratification, there’s no need to shell out at the end, or even to complete the course—just pick and choose what interests you. There’s also a much shorter course on becoming a personal shopper that is designed to take about 2-3 hours to complete. While Alison is highly rated, I haven’t tried either of these out yet, so if you do, please let me know what your experience is.
I may not be a fashion expert just yet, but I’m certainly an expert at finding the experts. I hope you find this useful on your journey to becoming the master of your own closet.
P.S. I will be participating in Seamwork’s Design Your Wardrobe, as I do pretty much every spring, so if you’re joining in, tell me! We can buddy up!