What Vera Wang Taught Me About Not Settling in Your Wardrobe

As I delve into the design world so I can better learn the skills that I need to bring to life the clothing creations that swirl through my head, I’ve paid close attention to the historically significant designers who have shaped fashion as we know it.

 

One of the most notable female designers is Vera Wang. While much could be said of her professional contributions, I am especially fascinated by the thing that spring boarded her niche in wedding dress design—her dissatisfaction over the dress options available for her own wedding.

 

She was a 1989 bride searching for a dress outside of her time, one that she could visualize in her head but found nowhere in stores or magazines. Instead of a trendy, excessive and decadent style so hallmark to the decade, she sought a minimal, simple, timeless gown. With the help of a tailor, she created her own dress, and after her marriage began a new path by starting her own wedding dress boutique.

 

I feel a similar urge stirring my heartstrings. I’ve been pregnant and postpartum now twice, and I God-willing I will be again in the future. One of the not-so-insignificant “cons” of pregnancy for me has been that my clothes are uncomfortable because of the designs of the garments and especially because of the materials used. Many of my maternity clothes don’t even fit me well (or at all) by the end of pregnancy even though they are supposed to be maternity clothes!

 

Also, the maternity clothes that I do have aren’t really style or first choice. When it comes to breastfeeding, more of my clothes become available again to me, but only gradually through a period of (impatient) waiting, while I transition down four sizes till I’m back to my original size! In the meantime, I have to have in-between sizes clothing that I don’t really like that much, and that is simply annoying, not to mention provocative of decision fatigue, when I have enough to think about with a little baby in tow.

 

If pregnancy and breastfeeding are supposed to show case the fullness of femininity and a woman’s dignity to the world by nature of the glorious albeit sacrificial stages that they are, then I really believe the clothing available to us during these periods should be lovely, comfortable, intentionally designed, and our first choice in aesthetic appearance!

 

My friend Helen changed my life forever when she introduced me to the idea of a wool-based capsule wardrobe. She wore one dress for 100 days (the Wool& challenge) to help change her mind set about quality vs. quantity of clothes in her wardrobe.

 

I was very inspired, and with the help of my amazing husband, Kirk, I began a wardrobe transformation beginning in late 2023. I started out by purchasing a single button-down linen dress, and a few wool blended cardigans. I was amazed by how much happier I was with something not made out of polyester, which was most of my wardrobe prior, because it is what stores often carry at an inexpensive price tag.

 

Gradually over the next year and a half, I’ve transitioned my wardrobe into a much smaller one, with almost all-natural fiber-based clothing. Now I love the feeling of the materials against my skin whereas previously my clothes would get irritating to me after a few washes and piling of the garment. I actually do laundry less often (thanks to the anti-microbial properties of wool and linen), and all the pieces I have are intentionally chosen and made to last, meaning rather than generate wardrobe waste, my clothes will last for years to come.

 

Prior to this transformation, my approach to shopping, styling and clothes buying was much different. I never realized how much quality really matters over quantity. I love my clothes way more, am way more comfortable in temperature regulating wool and linen (and cotton, too; I love denim). I am more creative with my outfits because less really is more.

 

When I do have a wish-list item for my wardrobe now, I think about it longer and with more intentionally rather than just buying it on impulse. I seek out pieces that flatter my body rather than trying to fandangle through a mountain full of ever-changing trends.

 

This process has been a wonderful gift to myself, but it has not resolved the core problem that I come back to. Even though I have great pieces in my closet and have truly recognized the benefits of real materials and waiting to save up for the pieces I really care about, I still think with a heavy heart about how I will have to give up many of these clothes once I get to a certain threshold of pregnancy, all the way through the gradual transition of postpartum, next time.

 

I am out to solve this problem for women, because I am certain that I am not alone in this struggle! The funny thing I’ve realized is, the desire women have for good clothes that flatter the body isn’t just a piece of marketing-tactics-induced psychological trickery, a useless vanity, or unimportant. The great dignity of motherhood and even the potentiality to bear this gift found in every woman is worth celebrating. Celebrating beauty is accomplished by showcasing our worth with humility and honor. Women deserve to feel beautiful because it is our essence. Therefore, it makes it among one of the most important things that a woman can have.

 

Now of course there is infinite more complexity to making a woman feel beautiful than a physical product. But one great first step is showing up wherever you may be with intention, whether it’s the home or the boardroom, and making an appearance to match the true preciousness of your unrepeatable individual soul.

 

When you are a mother, it could never be so important as then. The gift of being mother means that you are so precious and wonderful that you get to overflow into the world in the form of more “little you’s” running around. After all, children are the greatest affirmation of oneself: that you are worth multiplying for.

 

I am dreaming of more than just “new clothes” for women. I want to see a revolution in the way women, particularly mothers, view themselves. I want women to claim and own the great dignity that they bear and hold their head up high over the great accomplishment and contribution to the world they are making. Mothers are literally the hope for the future, because without babies humanity perishes, and without a mother a baby cannot grow into existence or thrive.

 

One small step in that direction is by giving women a chance to just be at home in their clothes, cutting out the mental strife of having to change between multiple wardrobes depending on the season of life you’re in, and eliminating the literal sweat that comes with clothes made out of plastic (just sayin’).

 

Let’s become masters of our own unique destinies and thrive in the life we’ve been given.