The value of a fully organised wardrobe capable of handling a busy lifestyle is sadly, seldom realised. Wardrobes bursting at the seams, sheltering neglected clothes bought years ago are commonplace. A poorly managed wardrobe is likely to squander your time and energy and even compel you to buy more clothes unnecessarily. Most people can only dream about opening a refined wardrobe where they can quickly and intuitively select well-matched items in minutes, let alone seconds.
A swift audit of all the items in your wardrobe is all that it takes to regain control of your clothing. If you can set aside just thirty minutes for a wardrobe audit you’ll be flying. Initially the thought of stripping, purging and reorganising your wardrobe can feel daunting, but it’s certainly worth the effort. Below is a four-step system which guides you through a wardrobe audit.
The review stage requires quick decision-making to ensure that you break any irrational attachments to unworn clothing. It may be that you spent a lot of money on an item and that it’s in fantastic condition; but if the reality is that you rarely ever wear it, then this constitutes an item to be sold. Below are some considerations to guide you through the review stage further. Remember to follow your instincts and be completely honest with yourself.
Does it fit you?
This is as good a reason as any to remove an item from your wardrobe. Poorly fitting clothing is one of the first things people can notice about you. Clothing must complement your body or face being swiftly abandoned in your wardrobe, stealing space from more flattering clothing.
Does it look great on you and do you enjoy wearing it?
Your wardrobe should serve you beautifully and effortlessly. You should feel confident that whatever you grab from your collection is going to empower you, even if only in subtle ways. If you regularly get compliments from a particular piece then that should indicate that it’s a keeper. However, if you don’t actually get enjoyment from wearing it, then by all means move this along to the “release” stage.
Have you worn it in the last 12 months?
If the item isn’t a “once a year” staple, such as a tuxedo or cocktail party dress and you haven’t worn it in the last twelve months, then seriously consider removing this item. It will just take up space and distract you from seamlessly picking out an outfit.
Play Tag
You have the freedom of reorganising your wardrobe however you’d like to, but ensure that it’s convenient and subliminally fun to implement or it will simply fall apart. A best practice would be to label your hangers with free hanging tags to quickly identify what type of clothing you have available. Colour coding tags will make a huge impact on how quickly and efficiently you’re able to understand your options. For example, shirts might be indicated with a purple tag and jeans by a green one. Colours make items buried in your wardrobe much easier to spot!
You may wish to narrow your search further by noting what types of other items complement a particular piece of clothing right on its tag as shown above. Just be sure to put the same item back with its correct tag afterwards. Once you take an item out to wear move the hanger to the end. Never have unoccupied hangers mixed in with your clothing.
Maximise your space
Labelling is equally important for the clothes that you’ve put in storage between seasons. In summer, keep those newly unneeded scarfs in a transparent storage box and label it. Repeat the process on your wool jumpers, wool hats, gloves and sweatshirts. Rail-space rarely gets used to its full extent. Think beyond the horizontal constraints of the rail. Multi-hangers are a very resourceful way of utilising vertical space.
Maintaining your wardrobe
Following your wardrobe audit and reorganisation, attention must be paid to maintaining your collection. Eva from Social Beautify has been working in the beauty industry for over a decade and has kindly offered some of her insight on fashion and style.
To be stylish and save money you have to stop chasing the latest fashion and find your own style. This is somewhat a practical exercise when you audit your wardrobe, and partly psychological as you need to discover who you are and how would you like to be perceived.
The clothing in your wardrobe is an investment. To make the healthy returns on your wardrobe for years to come, opt for timeless styles over ever-changing seasonal fashion pieces. Fashion is best thought of as a spice, “giving finishing touches to outfits that emphasise your personal style” as Eva submits.
Eva also advises that you include core pieces in your wardrobe which never go out of fashion, such as a well fitted pair of jeans, heels, brogues and even trench coats which can be dressed up or down. Core pieces are fundamental in building an interchangeable wardrobe where many items complement each other. This allows you to create many interesting outfits from a small amount of items in your collection!
Featured image from Vicki Burton
* Guest Post *
Post written by Robert Jones on behalf of Boohoo
