Monsters In Your Closet? How To Tell Which Pieces Are Holding You Back
Fall is so blissfully stylish. The layering, the coats, the boots. It should be the most exciting time of the year to get dressed, but most of us are haunted by our wardrobes! Our closets are filled with pieces that probably shouldn’t be there. It’s time to break down the monsters in our closets that are holding us back and talk about a few simple ways to free ourselves from them for good!
Remove clothing that no longer fits
What feels more defeating than not fitting into old clothes is staring at those clothes every morning and hating yourself. Who wants to start the day that way? Not me. Before I enter a client’s closet I ask them to remove pieces that are too small or too large. Not only is this stuff taking up major real estate in your closet, it’s weighing heavily on your mind. I’m not saying part with it forever, but remove it and store it somewhere out of sight. This isn’t to free up space to buy more clothes necessarily. It’s to give your stuff some breathing room, take inventory of what you have and then assess all the ways you can wear the clothes that fit you.
Let go of the person you once were
Clothing represents us in many ways. Some of it dates back to a time where we held a different job or even a different version of who we are today. No matter what it represents, that is not a reason to hold onto something. We are who we are today.
In my experience most women start to pivot their style around the age of thirty. It’s like we start to see a clearer picture of who we are and what we like. This is so liberating, but what should we hold on to moving forward?
I say the only stuff we take with us are the pieces that lift us up emotionally and align with who we are today. Ultimately the winners are the timeless well-made clothes we’ve collected over the years, the incredibly unique finds we’ve collected on a trip, heirlooms passed down by chic family members or high end pieces purchased for an amazing price. Regardless, make sure the stuff makes you happy and aligns with you.
Trends
When people ask me what’s trending – it annoys me. Why? Because I don’t care about trends. Truly, I don’t. I encourage my clients to wear what they are drawn to (no matter where the item ranks on the seasonal trends list). There’s always a reason behind why an item captures your attention. Start to take note of the reasons. The only trends that you should be interested in are the reasons because your reasoning is significant to you and that’s all that matters.
I’ll use myself as an example. It may seem like I’m a trendy cat, but trending styles just so happen to align with who I am right now. I’ve always liked big pants because they make me feel more balanced. Lucky for me, huge pants are in style! I gravitate to styles that are different because it’s empowering to stand alone in something I believe in. No joke, this is why I walk into a boutique and ask them to show me their weirdest pants. If I like them I buy them. See, style is more than clothes. Style evokes all sorts of feelings that can raise us up. I encourage you to pay attention to your reasons and you’ll start to piece together who you are in your wardrobe!
Stuff that’s too hard to wear
Not a lot needs to be said here, but if you cannot get something on your body without the help of someone else – ditch it! Who needs that sort of stress? Getting dressed should be easy. Not a chore. Or how about the shirt that always exposes your bra, or the pants that look wrinkled no matter how many dry cleaners press them. Make this process enjoyable and fun!
The tired stuff
If your stuff has makeup stains, armpit stains, pulls, holes or irreconcilable damage – get it out of your closet. You don’t have to have expensive items to look and feel great, but you do have to have clean and damage-free clothes.
The stuff that needs a tailor
Find a good tailor! Many pieces are a quick fix away from working incredibly well in your day-to-day looks. Hem the jeans that are at the awkward length, fix the drooping armholes in a silk shell that you invested in, add a button to the blouse that ever so slightly gaps because your chest is a little on the larger side. I bet you have good stuff, but it doesn’t get worn because something is a little off! A trip to the tailor can take you very far.
The other 95%
Most of us wear the same 5% of our clothes on a regular basis. The other 95% barely gets any love. There are a few simple reasons why. First, I’ll quickly review what I’ve already mentioned: remove what doesn’t fit, remove what’s no longer aligned with you and remove the trends that you don’t love. The remaining factors come down to maintenance and organization. You need to be able to see everything you have in order to wear it. Here we go!
Categorize your clothing as specifically as possible. All of my button downs are grouped together, blouses, jeans, pants, etc.
Hang your t-shirts, belts, shapewear, sweaters (google how to) and anything else that seems to pile up and get lost in the abyss of your drawers and shelves.
Do a little laundry daily and put your clothes away (I’m terrible at this but I’m working on it!)
Get everything off the floor.
Keep your jewelry organized.
Get your wrinkly stuff presseD.
Store your seasonal items away, if possible.
Get shoes and bags fixed.
Take care of your things: de-pill sweaters, address stains immediately, pick a day and make it your dry cleaning day (I also need to work on this).
Whatever the monsters are in your closet: do not fear. Even if you work on eliminating one of the categories above you’ll feel such a difference. Again, wardrobes are meant for wearing and getting dressed should be fun!
Feel free to reach out to me at ALH Style.
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