Make UNDER Your Closet

Over the past few years I have been focused on figuring out my true personal style regardless of trends.  All my life my closet has been in different stages of identity crisis.  When I started fashion school in 2008 I was determined to once and for all figure out who I am when it comes to my wardrobe.  I could always follow trends and stay looking current but I was getting sick of a wardrobe in constant flux and was tired of always wearing the same things as the people around me.

Now, six months out of school, I'm still not quite there. 

BUT!! Having come this far, and after reading stacks of fashion books, doing dozens of closet clean-outs on my own closet, and analyzing, analyzing, ANALYZING my clothes and my shopping habits, I have learned a thing or two about myself:

1. I buy things I don't love sometimes just because they're on sale.
2. I hold onto some pieces in an emotional way.
3. I fluctuate between sizes occasionally and have trouble knowing what to do with too-small things until they fit again.
4. I have trouble seeing potential outfits for the season I'm in, when the other season's clothes are still hanging in my closet.
5. I buy things sometimes that I LOVE, but that just plain don't work for me.

Any of these sound familiar???

I have come to realize that having a well rounded wardrobe of pieces that you love, that fit and flatter your figure and that mix and match flawlessly with each other does not necessarily mean that you need tons of clothes, in fact, it means that you need LESS clothes.

So now, you see my dilemma.  Getting rid of things I may love, but that don't look good on me, finding a place for the other season's clothes and honing my shopping skills (and shopping restraint!)

I have always wished for a minimalistic wardrobe.  I daydream about the day when I can look at my closet and there are only a few key pieces hanging that I love and that are quality items.  I think about how it would look to see each piece delicately hanging on the rack none of them touching the garments next to it.  Ahhh.  Someday.  I'm getting closer and closer to it.

 I mean, we hang our clothes so they don't wrinkle, yes?  Then why are so many of us living out of closets where we are literally shoving hangers into the rack just to get it hung?  Trust me, I've seen it and it makes no sense, yet I have been guilty of it myself.

There's a rule I learned while at FIT.  It's called the 20/80 rule.  Most people only wear 20% of their wardrobes 80% of the time.  Yep.  It's true.

What about the other 20% of the time you ask?  Well, that's special occasion stuff that we only break out when we need it, or the occasional time when you actually wear a piece that's been hanging in your closet forever and then the minute you get home you rip it off and remember why you never wear it. It doesn't fit right, it's scratchy, it rides up, it doesn't stay down, it's uncomfortable, it's an ugly color on you, whatever ---- GET RID OF IT!!

Are you with me??

Here is my step-by-step guide to make UNDER your closet:

1. CATEGORIZE PILES. Make places for separate piles and label each if you want. The categories are as follows:

GOODWILL
GIVE TO FRIEND/FAMILY
ALTERATION
OUT OF SEASON
TOO SMALL
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
CAN'T PART WITH IT...YET

Any pieces that are staying in your closet should get hung back up or folding and put away.

Most categories should be self explanatory but I will clarify a few things.

 Try not to put too many things in the "give to friends/family" pile as I've seen too many of these items slip back into the closet from which they came from defeating the purpose of the clean out. This category is really only for things that are quality items that are wrong for you that might be right for someone you have in mind, if not, give it to the needy and put it in the "Goodwill" pile.

Things that go in the alteration pile should be SO close to fitting you perfectly, that they will only need a small alteration to be perfect, otherwise it's probably not worth it.  Don't bother altering clothing that isn't good quality.

I urge people to try and stick with clothing that is "seasonless" meaning it can be worn whenever and is not so easily placed in one season or the other, the more you try to do this, the less of a problem the season-switch will be for you.

Finally, there is no "too-big" pile because if it's too big, give it away.  If you feel like you want to keep one or two quality pairs of pants in a size or two bigger than you are that's fine but try to only keep a few KEY pieces in the too big category. The same goes for "too small", keep only key, quality pieces that you will be excited to see and wear again when the time comes.

Try to fight the urge to put a lot of items in the "can't give away...yet" pile.  It's really only there for the items that you find yourself wanting to give away, but for some strange reason, can't...yet.  I put my own items like this in a box in the basement and if I'm not missing them at all after a few months, I don't even look in the box, I just bring it to Goodwill. 

2. TRIED AND TRUE. You know the saying "tried and true".  Well, think of it while you go through EVERY single piece of your wardrobe and look at yourself in the mirror, sit down, lift your arms and be truthful about how useful the piece is to you. If you can look at it and the seams are falling apart or it's of a lesser quality than you want in your wardrobe than obviously just go ahead and toss it in the "Goodwill" pile.

3. ASSESS WHAT IS OUT.  See what kind of progress you have made and where your clothing is.  You can get some insightful looks into your shopping habits by seeing that clearance blouse that you had to have lying in the Goodwill pile.  Just because it's on clearance does not mean it's a good buy after all if it was not right for you.

4. ASSESS WHAT STAYED.  I like to do this in a categorical way as well (surprise!). I made under a friend's closet once and she had 37 athletic T-shirts.  No one needs 37 sports T-shirts, not even athletes! Separate your clothing that is left in your closet by category, then, keep the best of the bunch, give away the rest, you don't need it, it's excessive and it's taking up precious space.


**This is the portion of the make under where having me there would be very helpful but I will try and explain it so you can try it on your own.
5. ASSESS YOUR LIFESTYLE. Now that you have everything that stayed categorized and you are looking at your closet inventory, assess your lifestyle. A family member's closet I made under had a lot of business pants, jackets and dressy work clothes but she was now working from home.  I told her it wasn't likely that she would need most of it anymore and she agreed.  She was able to give away almost all of it, keeping a few essential pieces that were better quality, should an opportunity arise that she needs them. Logically think about what you DO on a daily basis and whether your wardrobe is hurting you or helping you in that manner.  Do you never know what to wear when you go to work but you have 87 pairs of jeans?  Odds are your wardrobe is out of balance with your life.  Doing this should eliminate the 20/80 rule in your wardrobe. Hopefully after this you will wear 80% of your clothes 100% of the time!

6. ANALYZE.  Pay attention to your wardrobe and make mental notes to keep learning about your style.  Pay attention to what you always gravitate to. A friend of mine realized when she did a similar experiment that she always buys things with some kind of stripe on them, she LOVES stripes! So now she is aware that she's building her wardrobe around loving stripes but she watches her shopping so she doesn't turn into the crazy stripe lady!

When shopping, remember the items you got rid of and be VERY, VERY selective. Try everything on and try to live by the one thing in, one thing out rule. If you can't get rid of something when you buy something new, odds are, you didn't have any need for that new piece. Figure out what the holes in your wardrobe are. Are you always reaching for a plain slim white Tee that you don't have? Is there a skirt you'd like to wear but need a silk blouse? Then by all means, go get it, and even better if you can find a quality one on clearance!

Simplifying your life begins with your closet! Good luck! 

Someday....   A girl can dream right?