1. Lost Weight

One of the times when you need a new wardrobe is if you've lost a fair amount of weight. To begin with you can belt in loose waistlines, but as your weight loss continues your old clothes will be far too big. Once you've reached your target weight (and make sure it's a healthy target), toss out your old clothes and celebrate your new figure with a whole new wardrobe.

2. Changed Career

Many careers have a particular dress code; if you've made a radical change of career you will need to invest in a suitable range of work gear. It may not be realistic to buy everything at once, especially if this is your first job after graduating. Buy some key pieces at first. Then you can add to your work wardrobe gradually as you can afford it.

3. Giving up or Starting Work

When you give up work for maternity leave or full-time parenthood, work suits and formal wear will need to be put aside. This is the time to pick up more casual, practical outfits that can cope with frequent washing and are comfortable to wear. If you go back to work after a career break, you'll need to do the opposite and look for smarter clothes (your older work clothes may not fit!).

4. Major Birthday

I'm not in favor of dressing a certain way because of your age. Dress the way you like and that suits you. However, celebrating a major birthday may serve as a good time to review your way of dressing. What suited you at 20 may not work when you're 30. Conversely, as you get older you may have the confidence to pull off a style that you didn't wear when you were younger.

5. Need New Image

Sometimes you simply feel like changing your image. Even if you like the way you look and dress, you may want some variation in your wardrobe. Most people find a drastic change too sudden, however, so start by gradually working new pieces into your wardrobe. Perhaps accessories or new glasses will be a good introduction to the new you.

6. Changing Tastes

I used to almost always wear jeans, but in recent months I've switched to preferring skirts. What brought about this change? I began to feel interested in a new look. Tastes change throughout your life. It would be pretty boring to dress exactly the same for years on end! So if your tastes start to change, it's normal and you should enjoy it.

7. Boredom

Even if you like your wardrobe, it can get boring to wear the same old things every day. It's often said that we wear 30% of our wardrobe 90% of the time. If you find yourself doing this, it may be because the rest of your wardrobe doesn't really inspire you (we all make mistakes when purchasing clothing). So get rid of the clothes you don't wear and buy some replacements you really like.

Buying a new wardrobe doesn't necessarily mean throwing out everything you own and replacing it with a whole new set of clothes. But there are times when you need (or want) to substantially change your look. See my post on 7 Low-Cost Ways To Renew Your Wardrobe if you want to buy lots of things but don't have the budget to match! How many different 'looks' have you been through?