OK, maybe that’s a slightly broader topic than I can cover in one blog, so I guess what I want to talk about is how to organize your wardrobe…
How To Organise Your Wardrobe
This time last year I wrote a detailed step-by-step guide on how to conduct a WARDROBE DETOX (click & scroll to the bottom) containing practical fashion tips resulting in a full wardrobe makeover, including helpful storage solutions.
So this year, I’m hoping you’ve done the big overhaul (??) and don’t need a huge cleanse, or maybe you don’t have the time or head space to commit to re-organise your entire belongings, so for you, I’m offering shockingly simple style advice.
STEP 1: WARDROBE MAKEOVER
The first and most crucial step when giving your wardrobe a makeover is to EDIT.
I can pretty much guarantee that you probably don’t need all that ‘stuff’ that is currently in your closet.
From my first hand experience as a personal stylist, clients retain lots of clothes & accessories that no longer suit their fashion style, some of which they no longer even like but keep because they feel guilty throwing them out, particularly when some items are still relatively new. I get it, I HATE waste, so here’s my professional wardrobe stylist advice:
Sustainable Fashion – Recycle Materials
- Give unwanted pieces to a friend or family member
- Swap at a clothes party – you could even host one? Works particularly well for accessories as they tend to fit a broader spectrum of body types
- Sell and recycle the money (I do this frequently via Ebay or High End Facebook group for more expensive purchases – click for links)
- Sell better quality/unworn/designer items to a to a dress agency who sells it for you for a percentage, Di Nuovo is a personal local favorite
- Alter or make the item in to something new, so for example if you love the colour and pattern on a top but hate the sleeves, remove them! Voilà! A brand new top you will wear for $20 tailoring cost!
- Give to a second hand shop to support local charity’s, Vinnies, Red Cross, or The Salvos
Any of these ways to recycle your textiles would not only eliminate guilt, but actually make you feel pretty good about supporting sustainable fashion in Australia and becoming more environmentally friendly. There’s an increasing number of sustainable fashion brands throughout Australia & New Zealand..but more on that in a different post!
Simplify Your Wardrobe
Another reason why editing is so crucial is because it’s counter-intuitive to try and find space for clothes and accessories you’re not actually enjoying? They just take up valuable space – and for Sydney wardrobes that means prime real estate!!
YOUR BELONGINGS HAVE TO EARN THEIR PLACE IN YOUR WARDROBE
If you approach your wardrobe/draws with this in mind, it drastically changes what your space needs to contain.
Keeping your closet jammed packed:
> Creates more creases and if clothes are creased, your less likely to wear them
> Means you can’t see the fantastic pieces you own as they’re covered by your fashion mistakes – if you can’t see it you won’t wear it!
> Overwhelms you, leaving you more likely to pick out the same thing you always resort to wearing
> Stresses you out when you can’t find the what you want!
Does this sound familiar?
Minimalist Wardrobe
The Minimalists are American authors, podcasters, filmmakers, and public speakers Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. The duo began pursuing the minimalist lifestyle in 2010 and have influenced thousands of people to do the same, to read more about them click here.
However, don’t think you have to go all ‘minimalist’ and throw out most of your closet when performing a wardrobe makeover – although I am able to perform the following styling service if this is what you need? :
HALVE YOUR WARDROBE
&
DOUBLE YOUR OUTFITS
However, cleansing your closet can be as simple as eliminating just a 3 pieces. Simply starting to remove just a few things no longer serve you is freeing, cathartic even. Getting rid of emotional baggage!
Don’t think it has to be a huge clear out where you try on every piece you own and decide its future, to be honest, you can probably identify certain clothing you’re not enjoying, instantly?
Am I right?
Personal Style
Be honest with yourself and where you’re at, if an item doesn’t represent YOU and your personal style meaning you’re always going to choose something else instead, then maybe it’s time to discard? We evolve as people therefore our fashion style needs to evolve accordingly.
Mini Wardrobe Makeover
Some of our belongings make us feel uncomfortable at certain times – if we’ve put on weight for example which most of us are guilty of during Christmas and New Year – but it might make us feel more uncomfortable thinking about throwing it out. Therefore a ‘mini-wardrobe-makeover’ might suit you better?
Below is actually my mini wardrobe detox I’ve just conducted consisting of 20 pieces that I’ve removed, not because I hate them, but because I don’t fancy wearing them right now so i’m giving them a ‘rest’.
Do Your Clothes Need A Rest?
Working as a personal stylist in Sydney, this is the fashion advice I give – ” sometimes, some clothes just need to be given a rest “. Don’t we all need a rest sometimes?
Obviously there are seasonal changes to our wardrobe to ensure it’s always weather-appropriate, which i’m sure you do every 6 months as you follow me regularly and know I endorse this 😉 so what i’m talking about is resting ‘other’ items you’ve fallen out of love with – pieces you’ve worn on heavy rotation, an item you just can’t quite outfit how you hoped or something you’ve simply ‘gone off’. Don’t just assume you have to throw these out.
Ask yourself the following:
DOES IT FIT MY BODY TYPE?
DOES IT FIT MY LIFESTYLE?
DOES IT MAKE ME FEEL GOOD?
IS IT READY TO WEAR? (IE. DOES NEED ALTERING?)
HAVE YOU WORN IT IN THE LAST YEAR?
If the answer is ‘NO’ to most questions, then try the sustainable fashion suggestions 1-6 above.
If the answer is ‘YES’ to most questions but you still don’t feel like wearing it, then perhaps give it a rest? Carefully store it somewhere outside of your functional wardrobe (although it can be shelved at the very top of your closet), then re-visit it in 3 or 6 months time depending on your comfort level and you might just find you now have the top to wear with that ‘rested’ skirt, or you forgot you had that lightweight knit and can’t wait to wear it again?
IT’S LIKE SHOPPING IN YOUR OWN WARDROBE
Which is free of charge. And that’s the best bit!
So why not start with just 3 pieces? You might find that over time, you feel more comfortable to remove a few more items because your not throwing them away, never to be seen again, but instead transferring them to a ‘rest pile’ therefore you can be pretty ruthless as it will remain in your home.
OK, So What Shouldn’t I Throw Away?
> Timeless women’s clothing in quality fabrics such as leather, sequins, velvet or denim as these rarely date
> Black doesn’t tend to date as quickly so I suggest to keep
> Vintage styles …as they always look cool and could double as fancy dress!
> Items with sentimental value and those pieces you want to hand down to your children
Shockingly Simple Fashion Tips
So you can see how easy organising your wardrobe can actually be.
JUST START TO EDIT A FEW PIECES…AND GO FROM THERE!
You don’t need to necessarily approach it as a 2-day-job, but instead just start to be honest about what you haven’t worn and ‘rest’ them to give your wardrobe a mini-makeover. Trust me, you’ll start to enjoy your edited wardrobe so much more when all you can see is great purchases, that fit you and are ready to throw on!
Contact me to make a booking here. See you soon!