Have you ever stood in front of a full closet and thought, "I have nothing to wear!" It may be true. My client, friend and all-around cool-girl powerhouse, Jennie Baird, wrote these lines on my LinkedIn page. Thank you for the perfect opening to this month’s blog, Jennie!
This closet is full…but also full of outfits! She’s been given lots of attention recently ❤︎
There are a few reasons why the “closet full, nothing to wear” thing happens (day to day lifestyle changes, physical body changes, and not giving your wardrobe attention over a period of time). And there are some very simple steps you can take to remedy the situation.
Set aside a few hours to focus on this. You deserve to give your time and attention to your wardrobe. After all, it’s a major way in which you communicate with the world. And, I love the notion that “what we give our attention to, grows.” If you feel like you struggle with personal style and/or getting dressed each day, I encourage you to give a bit more time and attention to this and see what happens 💗
Go through your closet section by section. I love to pull out all the shirts onto a rolling rack and go through each one. Then do the same with pants and jeans, jackets and blazers…you get the idea.
Start by keeping your favorites. Those are easy to spot! Then look at the pieces you never wear. Those are also easy to spot. Then decide on the “maybe” items. These could be basics you want to keep until you refresh them or unique garments that you don’t wear often but don’t want to release either. The bottom line: you have to love it or it has to fulfill a very specific purpose—otherwise it’s see ya later!
4. As you go, try to notice patterns: do you buy items that are really similar? For example, are all your work pants the same shape/silhouette or dark color? Do you own lots of sweaters in one or two shades? Things like that will make getting dressed harder because every outfit looks the same even though you’re wearing different pieces. The opposite can be true as well: Do you tend to buy interesting, unique pieces? Perhaps you don’t have enough of the basics to pull together an entire outfit. Analyze what you’re seeing in each section of your wardrobe and then think of what may be lacking. Start a list of those things!
5. This may sound overwhelming (that’s where I can step in and help if you’d like—I do sessions both in person and virtually), but you may be able to do this on your own more quickly than you imagine. Remember: you have to love it—you have to feel good when you wear it; otherwise it’s not serving you well and you probably won’t wear it, but your closet will look (and feel) full!
6. Wrap up this exercise by putting everything back into its place in the closet (click here for more on that and…perhaps dust in your closet while the clothes are out 😊 Many of you know firsthand how much I love to take a Swiffer to an empty shelf or bit of floorspace!). Donate or sell your giveaway pile. Here’s more on that. Garments with stains, rips, etc can be recycled. Here’s a good local-to-Greenwich textile recycling program. Many communities have them—find one near you. Commit to wearing the items you’ve decided to keep because you know you love them and they make you feel happy, strong and confident.