Your closet: inspiration or irritation?
January 4th, 2008I believe in a small, fully-functional and efficient wardrobe. Those of you who have seen my closet will back me up when I say that I share a small walk-in wardrobe with my husband and I keep all my seasons, footwear and accessories together in one place. I keep my coats in a closet downstairs and my underwear, socks and workout wear in a chest of drawers that I share with hubby.
That’s it. Everything that I need to put together an outfit is in sight and on hand and this is key. I get to shop in my own closet everyday which keeps me calm and makes my toes tingle. It takes a bit of energy keeping your closet organized but once you’re in the routine, it’s easy as pie and worth the effort. I swear that I save time and money by knowing exactly what I have and being able to retrieve it instantly.
Creating a happy, practical and comfortable personal dressing environment is achievable, even if your closet is relatively small. It’s a question of savvy editing and clever storage. Take the time to clean out your closet over the next few weeks and make 4 piles (a pile to donate, to alter, to store and to keep). Once you’ve done that, get organized and introduce a closet system that works for you.
I edit my closet 4 times a year and use a “one-in, one-out” principle which keeps it tight and manageable. The skill lies in updating a wardrobe with the right items to keep your look current, timeless and fab, and in the correct amounts to keep your wardrobe balanced.
These skills can be learned and applied. It also helps to have the right storage and these IKEA wardrobe systems are affordable and may serve as some inspiration.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:45 am
With the new year here, I am very inspired to dive into my closet and weed out the stuff I never wear. A few years back, I did a major overhaul of my wardrobe…after dragging every stitch of clothing around with me for years and years. At that time, I invested in some nice hangers and for quite a while, things looked really nice in the closet. Now, I have let things slide and I have started “saving” clothes again instead of weeding out as I buy new items. This situation makes it very hard to dress in the morning so I tend to wear the same things over and over instead of incorporating all of my clothing items into my day-to-day routine. So now, my look is dull and all those cute clothes are sitting unworn. What a waste! New year…new habits. And clearing out the old!
January 4th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Thanks for sharing your closet with us Marlene. It’s hard to find the time to clean up and stay organized. I wish that there were 36 hours in a day. I wish you happy closet cleaning and keep us posted on how liberated you feel once you’re at the point where you can comfortably shop in your own wardrobe. They say it takes 14 days to break a habit. That sounds like an awfully short time to me.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am
My closet is frustrating! I’m an organizing freak, so my closet is highly organized. But I’m also a packrat, so (as I mentioned in another comment) my closet is stuffed with old clothes I hardly ever wear.
I have a fairly large closet in spite of our small one-bedroom apartment. It’s full of my winter clothes, but I have more winter clothes under the bed in bins with my spring/summer clothes. Twice a year, I go through my clothes and throw away worn-out items give away others, but I’ve never broken down and gotten rid of all thing things I don’t wear anymore. Oh, and I also have even more clothes that I never wear stored somewhere at my parents’ house waiting until my husband and I have a real house with somewhere to store all of our stuff. So cleaning my closet (including the extra stuff that’s put away) is a major project on my “to-do before I go back to school this semester” list.
Less is certainly more when it comes to clothes. Having too many can be exasperating.
My shoes are all on an organized shoe wrack in the closet. For some reason I’m better about getting rid of shoes than dresses, shirts, pants, and tops. Could be because I’m hard on shoes and wear them out in a year. When I buy shoes I’m replacing old ones, so I have a good “one-in, one-out” system with shoes. I guess I should apply that to all of my clothing.
I also have a closet full of coats, since I like to collect those.
Thanks for the tips Angie. You have inspired me. Those organizing systems look great!
January 4th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Wow! Inspiring. I am a born purger, so I love getting rid of things I don’t wear. But, my problem is figuring out the optimal amount of clothing to keep. I’m going to try buying less, but of higher quality.
What are your favorite brands in terms of quality? I like the looks of J Crew and Boden, but have had sweaters from both of those brands pill badly within months. Maybe pill-free (wool) sweaters are only in my imagination?
January 4th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
A really helpful comment that you made within the last few weeks was “does it work for you?” For me that was a really helpful hint on wardrobe maintaince. You didn’t say “is it cute, warm, comfortable, expensive, did someone special give it to you” but is it working for you. If not, then that item is just taking up wardrobe space. This is a slightly different way of looking at things. Happy closet cleaning everyone!!
January 4th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I’m impressed with the cleaning-up enthusiasm. Remember that you’re allowed “a sentimental box” that’s filled with clothes that you don’t wear, but tell a story like an oversized university sweatshirt, a gift from a loved one that you don’t like but can’t part with, items you bought on your honey moon long long long ago, your wedding dress and other items along these lines. Buy a special container to store them in and keep them in your closet if you have the room, or wherever you have extra storage space.
I adore superb quality garments and make a point of buying a certain level of quality. I don’t always buy the best quality available but what I get certainly looks pristine when I purchase it. I won’t buy anything that looks shoddy. I am less brand conscious then I am discerning about each piece that I buy and how it’s quality measures up. I have had my fair share of inferior quality expensive designer items and shan’t fall into that trap again. I’ve worked in the clothing industry for years and it’s quite true that a beautiful Banana Republic trench coat is made in the same factory in China as a hellishly expensive designer one. This is why it’s important to develop an eye for nice quality as opposed to sticking to certain brands. However, that being said, certain brands are known for their immaculate quality like Hugo Boss. Along with developing an eye for good quality, remember that careful laundering goes a long way.
January 4th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I am very unhappy at the moment with my closet situation. It seems I have overbought in order to fit in and have tons of things I have no desire to wear much less think about. If I buy less I wind up with nothing to wear which spells chaos. I can’t figure out what basic is anymore, what works for me, what I should be doing or should build my look on anymore. At 37 I have never been in such a life draining mess as I have been the last several years so far as my “look” goes. I am so unhappy I could kill myself. I have nothing to wear and reading fashion magazine just makes me feel worse about myself. It’s like there’s some kind of secret everyone else knows that I don’t. I buy like a slave every season hoping this season will be less disasterous than the last. I hate fashion and don’t know why I even bother.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I also want to add the “to sell” pile to that list! I have made quite a decent sum of money selling some of my old clothes on ebay. Sometimes you end up with clothes that are still perfectly wearable, modern, and high quality, but that just don’t fit you or flatter you anymore. Then you can take the money you made and put it towards a newer, better wardrobe. The downside to this is that people tend to search by brand or label, so clothes that should cost a lot more usually don’t end up being sold for their true value. Still, I was able to sell a pair of used Joe’s Jeans for $109. Not too shabby for a used pair of denim that didn’t fit me anymore!
On a side note, I’m disappointed to say that my DKNY Soho jeans have stretched out significantly since I bought them less than a year ago. I always washed them in cold water and dried them on a rack, but I guess since they were slightly big to begin with, even a small amount of stretching would distort them. They might end up in the to-be-sold pile
I guess for $45 I’m not too devastated, but they were my favorite jeans!
January 4th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Good point Maya.
DKNY Soho jeans are cut wide and unfortunately start to grow on the first day. They do fit well before they grow though, so if you buy a size smaller than what you’re use to, you should be in better shape. They start at a roomy size 2 which means you’ll need to move onto another style if those are still too big.
January 5th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Yep, mine were a size 2, so I couldn’t go down unfortunately. I’m on the prowl for a similar style (and hopefully price!).
January 5th, 2008 at 5:20 am
i have a built in closet of shelves, but the shelves are really high, my clothes would be much better organized and i would rotate clothes more if i could divide them somehow. i rotate my hung clothes (pants and work dresses) because i can see all them clearly but the items folded and on the shelf are less well rotated.
January 5th, 2008 at 10:31 am
I keep a pared down, organized side of my closet. My husband on the other hand has taken up a new hobby: Tee Shirt Collecting. Every road race, every volunteer activity, every concert brings more Tee Shirts into our shared closet. He admits he has too much stuff and has to weed it out, but I usually have to drag him up there and help him do it. He has more of our closet space and most of the drawers in our dressers. I’ve been toying with the idea of building a separate closet in our bedroom so we can each have our own.
The one thing I do need to organize though are my shoes. Even though I don’t store off season clothing outside of my closet, I should come up with an off season shoe storage solution. My summer shoes are taking up too much space in my closet.
January 5th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Yup, blokes aren’t always as motivated to edit and keep their closets as tidy as ladies. But in the same breath, I have to say that I have meticulously neat male clients who put their wives to shame.
The “free T-shirt road race thing” is common Nicole. I’ve packed away many of these in plenty of wardrobes. They form part of “the sentimental box”. Buy a storage container and store them away and that’ll hopefully give you a spot more space.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Purging clothes..my favorite topic! This week I got rid of a good coat that I’ve had for 5 seasons but alas the style was a bit dated. Since last year I bought a coat, I figured I could get rid of one. I also donated a black purse that I’d gotten from Nine West. I used this bag a few weeks ago and I was so frustrated by the straps which kept curling up…it was really annoying and so I felt the bag had to go. Today, I went to Bloomingdale’s and I have to say that tons of clothes were 40%-50% off…brands like Diane von Fursternberg and some pieces from Theory. But I thought it better to save my money. I just don’t want to buy things b/c they are on sale bc that’s how I get stuck with a closet full of nothing to wear. Tim Gunn’s Style show says that the basic wardrobe pieces to build a good foundation are: A Basic Black Dress, Trench Coat, Classic Dress Pants, Skirt, Blazer, Classic White Shirt, Day Dress, Cashmere Sweater, Jeans, Sweat Suit Alternative and an indulgent trendy item. I find this little list helps me balance my wardrobe and allows me to keep a less packed closet. Lastly, the wooden hangers I bought on-line 2 years ago really do make my closet look neat and they help my clothes last longer. I think I paid about $75 for 100 hangers. It was worth every cent.
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