I’m in my spreadsheet phase

On using Excel for ideal wardrobe building

Eek. It’s been a minute. I’m still here, just a bit quieter than usual. The past months have been marked by something personal that’s been simmering in the background for quite some time, occasionally bubbling over and taking more energy than I’d like to admit. I’ve been keeping things small and close: slow days at home, long conversations with friends, and pouring most of what I had left into REYÈM, which thankfully has been thriving. Writing felt like one thing too many. Let alone getting dressed my best, which is, eventually, what this whole newsletter is about.

And then there’s the last bit of cold. Those final weeks of winter always feel like they stretch on for a full year. But something is finally shifting. The first real hint of sun. Sitting on a bench with a good coffee. Unbuttoning my coat because I was actually warm. Small things, but they added up to something.

So I’m easing my way back in. Writing a bit more, posting a bit more. Maybe keeping this space alive will help keep that spark alive too.

The first week of January did not exactly help matters. We’d just come back from France when I was promptly knocked out by a hefty flu. As soon as I started feeling human again, I had surgery, followed by more bedrest. Then another flu. Then another surgery. Which meant I spent a lot of time horizontal, staring at the ceiling, and as one does, spiraling into wardrobe analysis.

Somewhere between hour three and hour seven of my stare-off with the ceiling, I decided it was a perfectly reasonable time to make an Excel sheet for my ideal wardrobe.

Because when I looked at what I actually own, a pattern emerged. I tend to buy variations of what I already have. Another easy pull-on pant. Another t-shirt. Different versions of the same function. Or occasionally I swing in the opposite direction and buy something that looks incredible but doesn’t quite fit my actual life. Either way, I end up with doubles where I don’t need them and gaps exactly where I do.

So I started by breaking down what my style actually is into three directions:

Refined ease. Clean lines, comfortable clothes that aren't lazy. The pieces that feel almost automatic to throw on in the morning and still make me look composed throughout the day. Mostly what I wear to work, during the day, running around. It sounds like the easiest category to crack, but it isn't. Simple pieces still need some structure, some something, to feel effortless rather than just easy.

Polished femininity. The part of my wardrobe for dinners, events, occasions. Feminine but not sweet. Sets, skirts, a bit of shape. The way I dress when I actually want to make an effort, and when it most feels like me. Still comfortable, just noticeably more up.

Offbeat interrupt. Not a full look, just one slightly unexpected piece. A colour, a texture, something vintage, a different shoe. Something that breaks the neatness just enough to keep everything from tipping into too-predictable. Never worn all at once.

From there, I mapped everything into categories and ideal quantities. It sounds clinical. It’s been surprisingly clarifying.

It’s already stopped me from buying things on Vinted just because they looked interesting. Or shopping without a plan. Or, and this is the real one, buying yet another simple everyday knit when I already have plenty that I only half love. The actual plan is to let a few go and replace them with one or two that are actually right. In that order, importantly.

I’m not quite ready to share the whole spreadsheet. That feels a bit like showing someone your bank statements on a first date. But let’s start with bags, a slightly odd category to lead with, given that I’m not naturally a bag person. Then again, maybe that’s exactly why it’s the easiest place to begin.

My dream bag wardrobe, and the spreadsheet behind it, looks a little something like this:

Refined ease — 4 to 5 bags

• A new everyday bag that fits my laptop. This is the big one. I’ve been carrying the same Mansur Gavriel shopper for years. It’s aged beautifully and, with a bit of love and polish, could absolutely have a strong second life. But lately it feels less like a considered choice and more like a canvas tote I just happen to grab on the way out. It no longer elevates anything. What I’m looking for: understated, sophisticated, not too heavy on its own. The kind of bag that makes an ordinary outfit feel instantly more deliberate. Maybe a Hermès Garden Party? Golden tips welcome.

• A medium-sized everyday bag. I tried on the Balenciaga Rodeo in khaki in Paris and it has not left my mind since. Big enough to be practical, small enough to feel intentional. Though I keep going back and forth on the larger version too, which makes me wonder if that one should just be my laptop bag instead. And honestly, the medium bag category in general is full of things I love right now, like this one. The spreadsheet does not have an answer for this yet.

• Beach and groceries bag. Ever since I saw it on Caitlin Burke, I’ve been slightly obsessed with this oversized Khaite tote. Convinced I’d use it constantly from April through September, for the beach, groceries, general summer life. I missed it when it was briefly on sale, which is probably for the best since it’s not a first priority. For the close lookers: the spreadsheet is colour-coded. Green means I already own it. Red is first priority. Orange comes next. Yellow is a maybe that might never happen.

• A small everyday bag. My rule is that each bag should have one primary task. I can already see this one from Porto Studio, which I’ve mentioned before, quietly breaking it. It’s casual enough for day but works for easy evenings too. Something similar at a much lower price point can be found here.

• And then one more gap. I don’t know what fills it yet. But I’m certain I’ll need to have left room for it.

Polished femininity — 2 bags

• A simple evening bag. The Fane Bra bag is actually already on its way to me from Paris, which I’ve been thinking about for an almost embarrassing amount of time. My hesitation was always that I see it everywhere, and whenever something tips into that territory for me, I tend to stop reaching for it fairly quickly. But then I kept going out for dinner and wishing I had it. Every single time. So the argument was won.

• Something softer. Since the evening bag is black, there’s room for one more in a different texture and mood. Suede, velvet, something that isn’t black. I spotted this little blue suede number on Sasha Mei and completely fell for it, though it’s currently sold out in that colour. Its bigger sister in the most perfect shade of pink is also very much on my radar.

Offbeat interrupt — 3 bags

Everywhere else in my wardrobe this is, and probably should be, the smallest category. But for bags it feels like there’s room for it to be a little different. Though I’ll admit that might just be because I already have two that belong here and need to justify the mental space for a possible third.

Loewe (left), SC103 (right)

• The Loewe bag I bought at an outlet in New York. My use of it comes and goes in waves, but when I reach for it, it still feels right. A lucky find, and if you’re after one, Google image search is genuinely your best starting point.

• The SC103 Kees gifted me in NYC (there’s a good selection of them on SSENSE right now). I still use it a lot. It makes an outfit more interesting immediately, and though it reads as a summer bag, I wear it throughout the year. My only thing with it is that it doesn’t really make me look polished and composed?

• And then, ideally, something fun. I keep an eye out for the Loewe convertible wrist bag: silver hardware, a colour I'll still love in three years, a price that actually makes sense. One pops up on Vestiaire every now and then. Not a first priority, but the hunt is ongoing.

A few ground rules

No bags without a clear role. No bags that fall between two categories. No beautiful bags that aren’t practical. No oversized statements just to make a statement. No another-black-item-without-a-new-function.

Each bag gets one primary task. No multitasking.

A few bags I already own are missing from this list because they’re already in a sell pile, waiting to be uploaded to Vinted. Soon, I promise.

When I first made the spreadsheet, I had no intention of sharing (the idea of) it. But the more I work on it, the more I think it was never really about the sheet. It’s just a way of paying attention. To what I actually wear, what I actually reach for, what actually fits my life as it is rather than as I imagine it to be.

Maybe sharing it here keeps me accountable. Maybe it helps someone else make sense of their own patterns. What category should I tackle next?