Having spent the entire weekend clearing my own closet to prepare for the new season, (bearing in mind this is something I get paid for in real life), I was staggered at the piles of unused garb that I managed to produce in just one morning - and that was in the Tee shirt section alone. To be fair I had been hanging on to things for quite some time with that 'may come in useful one day' kinda attitude.
No.1 problem of being a Stylist - you can spend countless hours coming up with outfit ideas thus either rendering half of your actual wardrobe unnecessary or worse, obsolete or conversely finding it sadly lacking in required content.
Quite by chance a fashionista friend of mine had ripped an article from the weekends FT magazine 'How to Spend It.'
Lucia van der Post had suggested that very day that :-
"Quite often when women say they've nothing to wear it turns out to mean that they've got loads in the cupboard but just at that moment they don't fancy it"
It appears she may be right... what seemed like a simple task at the outset turned into a marathon of sorting & schlepping. Did I really possess 18 pairs of jeans - cropped, skinny, flared, boot cut, boyfriend... skinny for a skinny day, skinny for a fat day... it was time to edit in the same cruel heartless manner that I use in my day job. Many a time I have mercilessly stripped a prized 1980's power dressing collection bare leaving its owner with a few classic accessories as they limp wounded alongside me to the store to replenish their loss.
No.2 problem of being a Stylist - after the recent NY Fashion Week and various Trend Reports I'm already looking at next summers items. In this industry its key to look on trend but the skill is in doing that without blowing the bank. Time to attune to what was on the catwalks last February to sort the task in hand.
Whilst it's easy enough to skim through and delete a clients sentimental pieces when it came to my own cache - 1st designer bag, mothers scarf from her honeymoon - it was a tad trickier to do in reality - the theory being, whatever isn't actually being used doesn't deserve a spot in the closet. When it comes to sentimental items though, that you just can't bear to toss - the master plan is don't chuck it, celebrate it! Frame it, display it, just show it off!
The key thing is to make 3 piles as you go :
Discard Alter Save
The discard pile should contain 'has beens', tired and shoddy pieces and anything scary that quite frankly you wouldn't be seen dead in on a NY street. In this pile you can consider consignment pieces - if you have designer items that still look fresh yet are not your thing - try a consignment store. Beware, its a jungle out there - only known high end labels in great condition are taken -there's nothing worse or more bruising to your self esteem than tripping merrily into a consignment store with your much loved labels, that you have at last deemed 'so over' only to be scrutinized by the staff and turned away because your trophy pieces are indeed 'so over'. Another alternative is to give to Goodwill - a great charitable organisation that you can actually get a tax break with on a donation - feel good, make a few dollars - what's not to like?
If things need a little love but are still workable, chuck them in the alter pile. Packed on a few extra pounds this summer ? - check out whether a tailor could loosen some seams. Got super skinny with all those Hampton's Spin classes ? - see if you can get things taken in.
Save anything that is classic, still fits, works for your current lifestyle and also works with other pieces in your wardrobe.
On a practical note within your closet - pull whole sections out as you go, arm yourself with enough garbage bags to keep order and having a true friend along for serious honesty is always good.
If you have the space and one of those wardrobes with an upper & lower section, split your clothes so that the tops live on the top & the pants/skirts on the bottom - so when you take an overview of an outfit each day, you already have the top/bottom equation visually in the right place.
Fold sweaters with the belly end (not the neck end) facing you- once worn, face them the opposite way and slowly you begin to see a pattern emerge, over the season, of what you are actually wearing and what you could delete next time around.
Take a peek at the soles of those summer sandals or fancy flip flops - now is a good time to re-sole any favourites so they will survive through to next year. As you break out those winter woollies, consider a dry clean pep up before sliding them into place.
Remember that 'order' and 'system' in a closet is your mantra and much easier to attain if you use the right props - check out the Container Store or Target for well priced storage, shelving and boxing.
Space in your closet is like gold dust - make sure each piece that returns after your hard work actually deserves to be there!
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