Between founding her renowned clothing company, SKIMS, and recently being presented with the Fashion Icon Award at the People's Choice Awards, Kim Kardashian has grown to become pretty prominent in the fashion world.
Of course, much of Kim’s emergence in this industry stemmed from the influence of her now-ex-husband, Kanye West, who would go to great lengths to style her throughout their marriage. Aside from handpicking her outfits himself, Ye once revamped her entire closet, almost reducing the mogul to tears as he got rid of everything he didn’t like.
Well, shortly after Kim filed for divorce from Kanye last February, she opened up about finding it difficult to choose her outfits without his assistance.
In fact, she revealed that after making one of her first public appearances dressed up without her ex’s approval, Kanye called her and told her that her career was “over,” before comparing her look to Marge Simpson.
So, on a journey to rediscover her sense of style in last week’s episode of her family’s Hulu reality series, The Kardashians, Kim took a trip down memory lane to reflect on some of her old looks, which was possible thanks to her yearslong collection of clothes meticulously stored in a literal warehouse.
And fans were certainly taken aback by Kim’s collection, which consisted of 30,000 garments that she’d worn at various events, award shows, and parties over the years.
“Every time I look at something, it’s just a memory,” she adds, before literally recalling the exact backstory behind several items of clothing.
As she reflects on her age-old outfits, Kim explains that she’s long had Kanye as a “crutch” to depend on when it came to making her fashion choices.
“When it comes to my style, I’ve always had Kanye there as this crutch to teach me so much about fashion,” she explains.
“Having that not be there as my crutch to guide me has really forced me to figure it out on my own,” she adds.
Well, it’s safe to say that Kim’s excessive collection left viewers shocked, with many taking to Twitter to comment on the “wasteful” collection.
“Kim k having a warehouse with 30,000 pieces of archived clothing she hasn’t seen since 2012 feels so wasteful,” one person tweeted.
Kim k having a warehouse with 30,000 pieces of archived clothing she hasn’t seen since 2012 feels so wasteful
“Not because its cool to hate on Kim or whatever, but this goes beyond collecting fashion pieces. This is plain hoarding, and many young creatives may benefit and be inspired by seeing the same 30,000 pieces in a public institution like a museum,” another wrote.
Not because its cool to hate on Kim or whatever, but this goes beyond collecting fashion pieces. This is plain hoarding, and many young creatives may benefit and be inspired by seeing the same 30,000 pieces in a public institution like a museum. https://t.co/34zT6mLtCg
“Kim k having 30,000 pieces of clothing in storage aside from her closet is insane to me,” someone else added.
Kim k having 30,000 pieces of clothing in storage aside from her closet is insane to me
Now addressing the large collection, Kim appeared to refute speculation that she wastes all of her clothes as she got candid about rewearing an old dress for a huge recent event: her sister Kourtney Kardashian’s wedding.
Kourtney got married to her beau Travis Barker in a lavish ceremony in Portofino, Italy, just over a week ago, and the lavish ceremony saw all of the guests dressed in variations of black, red, and floral prints.
Kim wore a stunning black Dolce & Gabbana piece, keeping in line with the brand of everything else at the wedding — right down to plates, cutlery, and food.
Posting some new pictures from the big day, Kim shared a photo of herself and her 8-year-old daughter, North, writing: “Fun fact about this look for the wedding.”
* FUN FASHION FACT *
“I know you guys just saw me in my [archive] on last weeks episode of The Kardashians!” she went on. “I have every piece photographed and on an app. So when I knew I was going to Italy (LOVE a theme for a trip) I pulled all my Dolce & Gabbana clothes to try on again and see if I could re-wear anything!”
She then shared a photo of herself at the 2011 Glamour Awards, in which she was wearing the same black Dolce & Gabbana gown.
“The dress I wore to the wedding was a Dolce & Gabbana I purchased at Bergdorff Goodman in 2011 and wore it to the Glamour Awards,” she wrote.
“But to make the dress more modern and more me, I wore this lace gloved [Vetements] dress I had in my closet for a layered lace look,” she explained.
Fans were pleasantly surprised to learn that Kim had upcycled two of her old pieces, especially given that she so recently flaunted her entire warehouse of seemingly untouched old garments.
“I didn’t think I could love this look more but the fact you made it from an existing piece makes it actually perfect,” one person wrote. “Please do this more and more to encourage us all to reuse and recycle.”
@KimKardashian I didn’t think I could love this look more but the fact you made it from an existing piece makes it actually perfect *chefs kiss* Please do this more and more to encourage us all to reuse and recycle ♻️🖤🌏🪐🌈
“I love that you recycled the dress and made it modern. It definitely relates more to the average person who cannot afford to buy a dress once and never wear it again,” echoed another.
@KimKardashian I love that you recycled the dress and made it modern. It definitely relates more to the average person who cannot afford to buy a dress once and never wear it again. 👏👏@KimKardashian do showing you are just a normal person !!❤️❤️❤️
Several other users praised the look while expressing their joy at Kim for confidently coming into her own independent sense of style.
“This is fab, I love to see the references to your old style,” one wrote.
@KimKardashian This is fab, I love to see the references to your old style
“this was smart. i definitely thought this was one piece!!!” tweeted another.
@KimKardashian this was smart. i definitely thought this was one piece!!!
“love seeing you come into your own with your style,” noted a third.
@KimKardashian love seeing you come into your own with your style🥹