Brands in my closet

To take a break from lookbooks, shoplogs and trend posts, I thought this week’s fashion post could focus on the brands I have in my closet. Not because I think it’s the most informative type of post I’d write, but because I thought it would be fun, not in the least place for myself, to discover how many different brands I own clothes from. My most worn brand is quite easily H&M. It’s not uncommon for me to wear an outfit that is head to toe H&M. The main reason for that being the fact that it’s the most accessible to me as there are two stores around the corner from my house AND their website has decent shipping. It also seems to fit my body shape better than ZARA so I generally enjoy shopping there. However, when I drew up this list I was quite surprised that I had so many other brands lying about, even though, often it’s only one or two items.

Some of my dresses

Most heavily represented:

• H&M, Divided, H&M Trend, Sport, LOGG
• ZARA, TRF/ Trafaluc, Basic, Woman
• ASOS
• Forever 21, Love 21
• Moto (Topshop)

There is only a handful of brands that I have many items from. And most of those are very affordable brands. I tend to buy my basics from H&M, Asos & Forever 21. The latter two are my go to brands for fun dresses that not everyone has, whereas I buy other more on trend items from H&M. I have quite some ZARA items and those are all very much one off pieces such as button down shirts, a blazer or a more special top. Lastly, pretty much all my jeans are from Topshop and their denim brand is called Moto. I have 3 Jamie’s and 3 Joni’s, as well as a pair of highwaisted shorts.

Stack of sweaters

Some bits & bops:

• River Island
• New Look
• Primark (Atmosphere, Cedarwood)
• Cooperative (UO)
• American Apparel
• Sparkle & Fade (OU)
• Vila
• Only
• Vero Moda
• Bershka
• Monki
• Ichi
• Mango
• Clockhouse (C&A)
• New Yorker
• Topshop
• Hema

There are some brands that I shop at sometimes, but not all the time. Simply because I only get to them when I shop in other cities (Monki, River Island, Primark), because they are generally a bit more expensive (American Apparel, Topshop, Urban Outiftters), or because they don’t always sell items that fit my taste (Mango, Hema, New Look). Whenever I find these stores and brands, I tend to give them a whirl and pop in to have a look, but usually it’s just single items that draw me in. I do still enjoy wearing those items that I do have, in fact, some of them are my favorites, but it’s always a bit hit or miss for me here.

Single pieces:

• The White Pepper (Asos)
• Traffic People (Asos)
• Love (Topshop)
• Band of Gypsies (Asos)
• Mint & Berry (Zalando)
• Club L (Asos)
• Kling
• Ravi Famous
• Wal G (Topshop)
• Parisian Collection (New Look)
• Pins & needles (UO)
• Kimchi Blue (UO)
• M&S
• GAP
• BDG (UO)
• The Beautiful Ones (UO)
• Jacqueline de Yong (Only)
• Adidas
• Reebok
• Hunkemöller
• Donna
• American Eagle
• Abercrombie & Fitch
• Jansport
• Sutherland
• Yessica (C&A)
• Milagra
• Onitsuka Tiger
• Miss Etam
• Old Navy
• Costes
• Vanillia
• Staring at Stars (UO)
• Mink Pink (UO)

Lastly, the single pieces. Many of these brands are again places I don’t shop at much but my main reason for not going in isn’t because they don’t draw me in. Most of these brands are brands which are harder to find in the Netherlands. In fact, GAP, American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch don’t even have stores in this country, so many of these brands represent stuff I bought while on vacation. However, there are also some concession brands in this list that are sold at Asos, UO or other larger stores that sell sub brands. Those collections are generally smaller and thus harder to get a hold off. Yet again, some of those items are my most unique and special items that I keep hanging on to. Such as the vintage red blazer I bought in London, or my bold floral print button down blouse by Mink Pink.

All in all, I think an overview of the brands in my wardrobe quite nicely showcases one of the tips I gave in my ‘how to find your style‘ article. I tend to make sure I have my basics from affordable brands and have build up a wardrobe around that using one off pieces by many different brands. The bulk of my wardrobe come from places I find it easy to shop from, but I like looking out of my comfort zone and sometimes even off the beaten path to find those items that make my wardrobe the versatile vortex it has become.

What brands are in your closet?