5 reasons for having a coord bank

Long-time readers may recall my mentioning something called a coord bank several times here. It’s nothing that fancy, really, just a name for outfits that I have put together and haven’t ever had the chance to wear. Some of these exist as part of my 1 Dress 4 Looks series, some were put together for other specific prompts, and others exist in my mind or a Google doc where I jot down loose ideas. As I said, nothing necessarily formalised or standardised, but certainly useful. And for those who don’t have a coord bank of their own let me present you with a few reasons for why it’s good to have one.

1. Quick and easy menu for busy people

By far the biggest benefit is just having something ready to reach for when you need it. Let’s face it, life gets in the way sometimes. We get busy or tired (or both), but we might still want to dress up and/or join a lolita meetup/event. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with repeating outfits or with the simplest of coords that you know work. But having a coord bank to dip into for something in a pinch means that those aren’t your only choices.

With some minor changes, this is the same outfit as what I put together for the 41st 1 Dress 4 Looks post.

2. A base to build on

A coord bank doesn’t have to consist of completed outfits only. Moreover, depending on how long you’ve been adding to yours, you’re inevitably dealing with style shifts, changes in what you own and growth of confidence and experience. But at times it’s easier to improve an existing idea than to create something from scratch. And this applies equally whether it’s for an elaborate themed coord for a special event or if you’re merely looking for inspiration. You may already have something that you like that you merely forgot about that would be perfect with a few tweaks. If you keep it in a coord bank, it will safely wait for you.

When I put the flatlay on the left back in 2016 my wardrobe was still in the process of growing. But having this idea made it easier to build the Dream Masquerade Carnival's tea party coord.

3. Spotting gaps

Nothing sends a clearer signal that you may be missing something than trying to put an outfit together and realising that you don’t have X. Sadly, most of us tend to notice that in the moment, not make a note of that anywhere and forget until the next time it happens. I know, I’ve been there. Having a coord bank that you can browse will trigger your memory, as well as show you how much you might need something, thus prompting wishlist changes. It’s perfectly possible that the white headbow you thought you needed isn’t actually as pressing as a pair of red shoes based on the coords you’ve already tried to put together.

I must have noticed that I was missing a pink headbow long before I finally made one. Otherwise I wouldn't have put the effort in. And it literally was so needed that it was my most worn hair accessory of 2020.

4. Source of inspiration

It may sound quite narcissistic to get inspired by yourself - it could be, but chances are that if you’re already aware of that, this isn’t a problem that you’d have to worry about. What I do mean by your coord bank being a source of inspiration links to point no 2 about giving you something to work with. But it also encompasses the fact that seeing your various plans and ideas in one place can genuinely spark something new. Maybe you’ll notice a blouse and sock combination that you hadn’t thought of before? Or realise that, actually, this set of colours could work with this main piece you’ve been a bit stuck with. Worst case scenario, once your coord bank isn’t that new anymore, you might find yourself inspired by seeing how your coordination skills have improved between the oldest and the newest example. Being inspired to keep experimenting and trying to put outfits together is very motivating and can reignite the spark you feel for this fashion.

Seeing everything that you've already done with a particular dress can inspire you by pointing out the things you haven't tried yet. (Like how come in all those years I've not yet worn this dress with blue?)

5. Safe space for experimentation

I say quite often that experimenting itself is great and everyone should do it because there is nothing forcing you to share those experiments if you don’t want to. By all means, take photos of them, regardless of how successful they may have turned out to be, then keep them in your coords bank. Once enough time has passed that you’re able to look at the less successful ones without an internal cringe, you might notice what they need to make the underlying idea work. Or you’ll realise that whilst the idea didn’t work that time, if you tried it with another main piece it totally could. Scientists say that no results are still results and the same goes for unsuccessful fashion experiments. But only if you take the time and energy to reflect on them properly, extract and then apply those lessons for the future.

Not all the flatlays I put together make it into the final 1 Dress 4 Looks post. Some are too much of a work in progress, while others have the misfortune of paling in comparison to the rest.

BONUS: It makes you feel like a powerful villain

… or like a dragon with your hoard. Because you don’t just have “potential outfits”. You have an entire bank of coords. A bank suggests wealth and riches. For security reasons only you are allowed to know how much is actually inside that vault, so why not let people think that you’re so creative with what you have that you physically don’t have the time to wear all of those coords out and need a bank for them?


Hopefully these have encouraged you to start your own coords bank, if you don’t have one yet. However, if you’re looking for tips on how to keep one, I’m afraid you’re looking at the wrong person. For all my love of organising, labelling and cataloguing things, I don’t have a singular place yet. Not unless we count this blog as one. So yeah, if you have suggestions on that, I’m all ears!