When shopping for new clothes, the first place to look, according to Cochrane, is in your own wardrobe. “There’s quite often something you have forgotten about, that has new relevance,” she says. “It’s like a new signing. It’s always good to do an audit of your wardrobe at the start of a season. This helps with what you don’t need, as well as what you do.”

Perhaps the problem here is that you can’t see the woods for the trees. By woods, we mean clothes. And by trees, we mean other clothes. “When wardrobes are bursting at the seams, it’s common to reach for the same items again and again, often before they even make it back onto the hanger,” says Ms Laura Price, founder and director of The Home Organisation. She suggests editing your clothes and rethinking the wardrobe space to work better.

“Clear zones should dictate what goes where,” Price says. “Your main wardrobe space should be for the clothes you wear every day. If you can, store less-worn items in another space that’s accessible, but not right in front of you.”

And get new – matching – hangers while you’re at it. “Get rid of the plastic and wire, and opt for slimline velvet or rubberised hangers,” Price says. “Not only do these instantly elevate the look of your wardrobe, but they save space, too.”

“We undervalue the things that we own by the way that we store them,” says Ms Shakaila Forbes-Bell, fashion psychologist and author of Big Dress Energy. (She cites her recent podcast with Ms Sophie Liard AKA The Folding Lady.)

With your clothes collectively in better shape, it’s time to look at the bigger picture. Perhaps a pattern emerges? Other than the one on that festive sweater.

In her 2023 book Wear It Well, stylist Ms Allison Bornstein introduces her Three-Word Method. It suggests boiling your style down to a “personal mantra”, which respectively captures your everyday wear (word one), what you’re aiming for (word two) and an emotional counterpoint that describes how you want to feel in your clothes (word three). She gives the examples of Mr Jimi Hendrix (“ornate, daring, bohemian”) and Mr Harry Styles (“1970s, textured, tailored”).

If your brain works in pictures rather than words, there are apps – such as Whering – that can help you compile photos of the clothes you own. “There’s that new iPhone function where you can drag a photo of an outfit you’ve worn and copy it to Notes,” Forbes-Bell also suggests. “People are doing that.”

Nailing what your style actually is will ultimately help you think about getting dressed. It will certainly shape the way you look at any new additions to your wardrobe.

We all go through phases – or eras, to borrow Ms Taylor Swift’s parlance – with the clothing to match. Some pieces we hold on to. Think of the items that have helped shape who we are and perhaps we still turn to today. These belong to our continued identities or the transitional identities that help you get there. “Your best self and what you are hoping to achieve,” Forbes-Bell says. “How you see yourself in the future and the you when you feel like you’ve accomplished all you want.”

Other items represent dead ends or discontinued identities. “For me, that would be the skirts that I wore when I was 18 and going to clubs, which I wouldn’t be caught dead in today,” Forbes-Bell says. “Shoes that were uncomfortable – those are things that I don’t tolerate now.” Those are the items that are up for donation (or try MR PORTER RESELL).

Another consideration is if there’s a disconnect between the clothes you own and the body or lifestyle that you currently inhabit. “We often don’t acknowledge how our bodies change over the course of our lives,” Forbes-Bell says. “We fall into old habits and don’t align these changes with our shopping behaviours.”

“Pooling visuals and taking styling notes from a variety of sources is a great way to stimulate your evolving style,” says Ms Sophie Watson, MR PORTER’s Fashion Editor. “This can come from all over, from old movies, photobooks, characters from the small screen or vintage magazines. Use your phone to archive, screenshot or catalogue your findings. Pinterest is also a great place to store and file your discoveries (MR PORTER has a great one to get you started).”

Another inevitability of the smartphone age is the sartorial sway that influencers can have. “The forever churning modern-day stimuli of the red carpet, runway and street-style trends can feel like a bombardment,” Watson says. “The social media-fuelled micro-trends such as blokecore, grandpacore and Gorpcore are not for everyone – and are certainly not worth losing sleep over.”

She suggests sticking to your key style principles. “Know thyself,” she says. “Relook at your own mood boards and dependable staples – no one looks good sporting every polarising trends like a #menswear Buckaroo.”

Among the benefits offered as part of MR PORTER’s EIP (Extremely Important Person) programme is access to a Personal Shopper. And noting what’s missing from someone’s wardrobe is what they do best.

“Usually, I examine a client’s past purchases to determine their position on the fashion spectrum,” says Mr Farid Sena Hounkponou, one of the dedicated members of our Personal Shopping Team. “This process allows me to easily identify gaps or potential additions that could enhance their wardrobe. The next step involves making suggestions, aiming to complement the client’s previous purchases.”

This option is not available to everyone. However, every MR PORTER customer has their own Wish List, and Hounkponou suggests you use it. “The Wish List is a valuable tool,” he says. “It is effective for keeping tabs on pieces that catch your eye in the moment. And, given that preferences may evolve, it offers the flexibility to revisit and appreciate various items over time.”

“A lot of men tend to buy the same thing over and over again,” Cochrane says. “This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I also think occasionally it needs to be updated or switched up.”

“Outfit repeating should be every man’s secret wardrobe weapon,” Watson agrees. “There is no shame in knowing what works for you. Investing in brands and materials that suit your lifestyle makes getting dressed in the morning a breeze.”

Watson suggests evaluating the core everyday pieces in your wardrobe – the building blocks, if you will – and looking to upgrade them. “MR PORTER’s new Essentials range is a great place to start,” she says. “Box-fresh cotton T-shirts from visvim, sumptuously soft cashmere sweaters from The Elder Statesman and grown-up yet relaxed wool trousers from The Row will masterfully slip into your current rotation and give it the modern and luxurious edge it deserves.

“Having a set of fundamental pieces in your arsenal takes the stress out of getting dressed and gives you room to then play with accessories or some newer investment pieces,” she adds. “These can bring some colour or texture to your looks as the seasons change, or as your tastes and style develop.”

“Once you have the fundamentals down, this is where the fun can start,” Watson says. “Toying with colour and texture can be daunting to some, but if you are up for the challenge, there is nothing holding you back from dipping your toe into the ocean of directional menswear. A good jumping off point may be a brightly coloured sweater or knit, which could take your jeans and white tee look from simple to sparking joy (thank you, Marie Kondo).”

However, think beyond trends. “When investing in statement pieces, consider whether they will stand the test of time,” Watson says. “Heritage patterns such as checks, plaids and Breton stripes hold longevity. And sweats and crew-neck knits in brighter monotone colours will bring visual interest to your fits without going overboard.”

Shirts, sweaters and T-shirts often seem like the obvious wardrobe fix. However, it could be that you’re looking in the wrong place. “The perfect pair of trousers can be a wardrobe game-changer,” Watson says. “Once found, they can fortify many a successful look. Take chinos – these can be worn with your favourite vintage tee and a cardigan at the weekend or dressed up with an Oxford shirt and Derby shoes for effortless office steez Monday to Friday. Wide-leg silhouettes, soft wool blends and drawstring details add elegance and ease, so body types can find the perfect pair.”

“Quality underwear is often overlooked by clients,” Hounkponou also notes. “It’s common for individuals to stick to what they know. Introducing clients to specialised, premium underwear brands such as CDLP can be transformative. They often become repeat purchasers.”

Now you’ve done your homework, you’re better placed to make purchases that you won’t later come to regret. “I always advocate to go into shopping with a strategy,” Forbes-Bell says, offering a reminder that you’re not just buying for yourself now, but your future self.

“I tend to go by two rules,” Cochrane adds. “Thinking of at least three things I could wear [it] with, and if I keep thinking about it. That’s usually a sign it’s a keeper.”

Forbes-Bell suggests that your inability to buy the perfect jeans might have nothing to do with the shape of your legs and everything to do with your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DPC). “That’s the area of the brain that helps us make decisions,” Forbes-Bell says. It also deals with working memory, stimulus discrimination, stress responses and emotional and behavioural control – and it’s highly susceptible to dopamine, the reward hormone.

“If [the DPC] becomes overloaded with dopamine, that’s when we make poor decisions,” Forbes-Bell says. Shopping just for the thrill of it? Forbes-Bell suggests that you “calm yourself down, take deep breaths or walk away – don’t let that dopamine take over.”

Not to blow our own trumpet, but online shopping might just be your friend here. It offers the time and space to make the right decisions – but also a prolonged buzz. “The anticipation of shopping online, of waiting for the item, increases dopamine, so you feel more excited,” Forbes-Bell says. “It’s not just going to come immediately, it is something that you’ve waited for.”

Thinking that any item of clothing can be the final piece of the jigsaw is “wasted energy”, Cochrane says. Changes in your lifestyle, body and – yes – wider fashion will always have an impact on your wardrobe. “There will be items you buy on repeat, so perhaps the way to think about it is honing your taste and then updating and refreshing when that feels right,” Cochrane offers.

“You are probably still hunting down the ultimate Oxford shirt, the perennial trench coat, or the quintessential sneaker, and that’s fine,” Watson says. “Play the long game. The results will be much more gratifying with each considered purchase.”

“Building your wardrobe is an ongoing adventure,” Hounkponou says. “It never really stops. There are always fresh pieces that can totally transform an outfit. As long as you’re open to trying new things, the journey is always fun.”