As I’ve been posting about my closet makeover this year I’ve had several people comment how it’s a project they’d be interested in too so I thought I’d talk a little bit about my process.
The first step like anything in life is deciding to make a change (ok that sounds a bit dramatic I’ll admit – just to be clear we’re talking clothes and not my struggle with drugs and alcohol) beyond that I think there’s several different ways to approach it but for me one of the first things I did was to clear out the clutter so I could take inventory of what I have. Anything I didn’t realistically see myself wearing in the next year and didn’t have extreme sentimental value was bagged up and donated. Anything that didn’t currently fit but I would consider wearing again if it did was put into Rubbermaid storage bins – this left only the items that currently fit and matching my current taste and then when I separated out the spring summer from the winter fall I realized that what was left in my closet was a tiny fraction of what had been there before I started – no wonder I had trouble digging through it all to find something to wear!
When I started this is what my closet looked like , yes it was spilling out into the room – Yikes!
Next, I did a little reading. I’ve read a lot of fashion books over the years but I can’t recommend The One Hundred by Nina Garcia enough – I have found myself going back to it over and over through out the years. The basic premise of this book is Nina lists 100 items she thinks every stylish woman should own, there’s a few dated items but most are pretty timeless – for example a ballet flat; right now Tory Burch ballet flats are where it’s at but no specific brand is mentioned. So I pulled out my trusted copy and re-read it to take note of what items I had and what items I would really like. Although Nina has 100 items I will say that not all of them are really fashion items in my opinion and there’s some on her list that I’m never going to do – for example she lists fishnets – nope, never, not gonna wear them. Style after all isn’t about just wearing something because someone else told you to wear it, it’s about having your own sense of what’s right for you and wearing it with confidence. So of the hundred I have about 75 I’d like to include, and from there I thought about what I felt made the most sense for me right now to try to add in the next year – one day would I love a fun pucci scarf? Absolutely, but I think there’s other things on the list that would make more of a impact to me right now.
Once I had my list I did a lot of online browsing to determine what kind of price point I should set – this is a very personal thing and I don’t think anyone can really decide upon but you. First off there are times where more expensive doesn’t mean better made, it just means prestigious brand. Also, not everything at a certain price point is going to be an “investment piece”, For example, right now every blogger is carrying a boxy Gucci purse, and they are lovely but I dare say they are also very trendy so if one is not in the habit of buying $2k bags every year and wanted to buy a investment bag they could carry for years I would say a Louis Vuitton would be a smarter purchase. Of course some of you are reading this and thinking psh, a $2k bag isn’t that special of a purchase, it’s not like it’s an Hermes while others are thinking $2k on a purse, wtf . . .that’s more than I spend on clothes for an entire year. Also, the concept of “worth it” means different things to different people – a $2k bag is “worth it” to someone who has the funds and would use it on a regular basis – but for someone that wouldn’t have the occasion to carry it often or would require saving in other areas to make the purchase it’s probably not worth it no matter the brand or how well it is made.
At this point I’m in purchase and evaluation mode – thinking about what things on my own list aren’t very realistic right now or what has been a struggle to find and looking for the items that I do want to purchase this year. I’ve always considered myself to be into fashion and take care about the things I wear but I have never purchased items and put together outfits with such purpose as I have this year and I must say that it has been really beneficial. This is a really embarrassing confession here but in the past there have been times that I have missed events because the outfit I wanted to wear didn’t look in real life as I did in my mind and nothing else in my closet made me feel confident or appropriately ready for the event. Since taking on this project there’s been a few times when I’ve put something on and left the house only to decide its not something I want to wear again but I haven’t had that “I have nothing to wear” feeling. It’s made getting dressed in the morning easier, I’ve gotten rid of very little once the initial purge was over while in the past it was common to wear things once or twice and then get rid of them, and I haven’t purchased anything with my credit card (this is a big one for this shopaholic). So in reality, in having less I actually feel like I have more. Sometimes less really is more.
This is my closet currently, we moved so it’s a different closet but this is the same if not slightly less than the space of my previous closet. Note how there is spacing between the hangers and everything is organized instead of in piles.
**This is not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own. The linked product above does use an affiliate link which means I would get a very tiny commission if you make a purchase, this does not cost you anything and I have linked to the very best price for this book**
Let’s connect! Follow me on instagram to keep up with me and my daily outfits