A Wardrobe That Works: Making It Happen

Tuesday, June 09, 2015



After I decided to make my wardrobe work for me, it was time to make it happen.

Step One: Wash all clothes and have a sorting party. I made sure all of my clothes were clean and then I scooted things around in my room to give me a big space to work in. As I emptied out my closet, I sorted things into piles according to type of clothing as well as what I wear, what I don't wear, and what I needed to try on.

Step Two: Take a break so that you can come back to the job with fresh eyes. By the time I quit on the Friday before last, I had a MESS on my hands. There were a gazzilion hangers and I was beginning to wonder if I could REALLY do this. It was so bad that I didn't even attempt to make any more progress that Saturday. I took care of other things around the house, went to a movie (Tomorrowland), and tried NOT to think about the disaster waiting for me. I was out of town the next day which turned out to be the perfect excuse to let it wait one more day.

Step Three: Finish what you started. When Monday rolled around, I decided that this job WAS going to be finished and that I really was doing the right thing. After straightening up the piles from Friday, I emptied out the chest that holds my winter wardrobe and every single drawer in my dresser so that I could sort those clothes too.

Step Four: Get a second opinion and make your final decisions. After all of the sorting, I had a basket full of clothes that I KNEW could hit the curb and a pile of things that I wasn't quite sure about. Starting with the stuff I knew I was ready to part with, I hauled each pile into the living room so that I could get some second opinions. With the bulk of the job behind me, Monday's work went pretty quickly.

Step Five: Listen to MY Mother (yes, I said MY Mother).  It was difficult at times, but my Mom reminded me that as soon as you get rid of something that you haven't needed for a long time,  a week or two will go by and all of a sudden you'll wish you had it and you'll regret that you got rid of it. I can't remember exactly what she said next, but basically it was something like, "It's going to happen. Just be ready for it and move on." 

So...That's what I'm doing.


Let's go over what I kept:

Go-To Uniform: The outfit I wear when I don't know what to wear. I love it because it's comfortable, I can wear leggings if I suspect chilly weather, and I feel put together when I wear it.

Mix and Match: These are the items that I pack whenever I'm leaving town for a a few days. I do wear a few of my favorites just because, but I kept most of them because they are my traveling clothes.

Dresses: If I'm not wearing something from one of the "uniform" categories, I'm probably wearing one of these.

Other Uniform: Along with my dresses and go-to uniform, these are the pieces that I tend to wear during the spring and summer months. 

As you can see, I kept quite a bit! There are five to six items from the mix and match category that will probably find their way out of my closet when I go through things one more time when the season is over. In the meantime, I'm just glad that I finally took the time to make this change!



Do you think you'll jump on the capsule wardrobe bandwagon?



(SIDE NOTE: I took pictures for Kiki, but you should know that I didn't photograph everything I kept. While I did cut down on my gardening/work clothes, pajamas, hoodies, and comfy clothes  stashes, I did not take the time to photograph them.)

9 comments:

  1. Good for you! I don't know that I have it in me right now. Maybe I'll start with fall/winter since I don't have many clothes for those seasons. Plus I'm hoping most of it will be too big anyway.

    How did you like Tomorrowland?

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  2. I kind of do this already, but I've definitely accumulated some stuff I don't wear. I'm thinking of having a clothing swap with my friends to get rid of my excess and pick up a few more items for my uniform. :)

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  3. The tip to divide by piles of "types" is really helpful! I always just sort into "keep" or "don't keep," but separating by "work clothes," "night out" or "my daily style" would be really helpful to see what's needed or what's extra!

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  4. girl.
    GET IT.
    this is awesome.
    my closet is so ridiculously large...i'm just such a clothes hoarder :(

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  5. Awesome job!! I have GOT to do this. I just know it's gonna be quite time consuming and once I start there's gonna be a huuuuuge mess. I need some motivation. Haha. By the way, was Tomorrowland any good?? I'm curious about it!

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  6. This sounds like a wonderful system. We have been gradually purging everything around our house, clothes included. It is amazing how much we have downsized, yet, what amazes me even more is how much stuff we still have! So much excess! We are working on it, but it is a journey...a slow-moving one, at times, but we are getting there. :)

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  7. Anonymous7:22 PM

    So, a couple of months ago I thought about doing a capsule wardrobe. I made a list of what I wanted to have and was surprised to see that I already had most of it, I just needed to get rid of what I didn't wear. When I moved out of my parents, I got rid of SO much. And although I didn't do a capsule wardrobe, I did go through my whole (small, midtown city living) closet, my chest of drawers, and I have this three draw plastic thing. I got rid of two big garbage bags full of clothes! And for the life of me, I couldn't tell you what was in there. Just shows me that I didn't wear half of it. I'm a big t-shirt hoarder and I'm one of those people that thinks every t-shirt has a special meaning/memory. But, the more I realized I didn't wear them and threw them into the bag, the more that faded. Plus, I couldn't wear some of them anymore anyways! Whew, all that to say, I could probably go through again and purge. I've somewhat adopted the thought now that when I buy a new piece of clothing, I have to get rid of something in my closet. So that also helps me when walking around a store. If I can't think of something I would be willing to get rid of, I won't buy what I'm holding. And it helps me to not buy something similar to what I already have. :)

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  8. Good for you, girl!! I love the system you chose! I'm definitely a clothes hoarder, but I love how capsule wardrobes make you think about what you're wearing and really evaluate your clothing choices. I've been doing kind of a capsule-esque system since last fall, and I'm loving it!

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  9. Go you! You did a great job with this! You should do fashion-esque posts where you show us some of the outfits you chose to keep! :)

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