How to declutter your wardrobe
If you often stand in front of your wardrobe and feel you have nothing to wear even though it’s stuffed full of clothes then a declutter will work wonders. Not only will it feel cathartic and good for the soul but you will find you actually have more outfits in there than you thought and have more clarity on the things you love (your personal style) and any wardrobe gaps you have.
The point of discovering wardrobe gaps is so you can shop more efficiently and only buy the things you really need. This approach yields better outfits.
I also recorded a 20 min podcast (before lockdown) on how best to declutter your wardrobe if you prefer an audio version you can hear it here.
Shake up your style rut
It’s just a fact that it is really, really hard to look at yourself objectively because we all live inside our own heads and busy worlds a huge amount of the time. This is a big reason why loads of people end up getting in a style rut and end up feeling really frustrated, not knowing what styles of clothes suit them anymore or just landing in a ‘safe spot’ and not busting outside a comfort zone which can make for a very dull wardrobe!
Its always good to get on top of your wardrobe because we have to get dressed every day! And really, if you've got great outfits on, it can make you feel fantastic. If you look good, you feel good.
Lost excitement with your style?
So if you're sitting there thinking, "Oh, I've really lost my way with my wardrobe, I don't know what suits me anymore. I feel like I haven't got any good outfits despite having lots and lots of clothes in my wardrobe." You know, there are lots of reasons people get frustrated but the brilliant thing is this can be so easily fixed!
Your wardrobe is one of the things in life you can totally control and use it to make a really positive difference in your life.
It starts with a declutter
The starting point to take control of your wardrobe is to declutter. This time of year (Jan) is a great time to take stock and to think about getting rid of unneeded, unwanted, unused and unloved stuff and just clearing space.
What I suggest is to start off by taking absolutely everything out of the wardrobe. Go through it piece by piece. So you might have, for example, in drawers probably, rather than in your wardrobe, lots and lots of pairs of jeans. Do you still wear all those jeans? Are those cuts current? Have you got some jeans that have been dragging on the floor and they're really, really worn out? Maybe the knee's gone in them. That's quite a common thing. How do they look? You can pull things like these on and not really pay much attention to it, but actually it's looking quite scruffy.
What else is looking scruffy in the wardrobe? Not just jeans, but anything in your wardrobe. So perhaps cardigans, the pockets have gone in them or the moths have got to some knitwear, things like that. That's one of the things I suggest to people when I’m decluttering their wardrobe is to just make sure that everything is in good condition.
The next thing is people say, "Well, why should I throw away clothes that are in good condition? I feel bad about that." People feel guilty about throwing away perfectly good clothes.
But what you have to ask you ask yourself is, "Am I wearing those clothes? Are they bringing me any joy?" This is what Marie Kondo, the de-cluttering queen, talks about. "Are these clothes sparking joy?" It might just be that you've got bored with them. That might sound frivolous because we're in an age of sustainable fashion and being concerned, of course, rightly so, about the environment and all the waste in the landfill. You know, Britain is one of the worst for that as well with the fast fashion, brands like Primark, stack it high and sell them cheap and all of that stuff. Not very sustainable at all.
2. Don’t buy lots of cheap clothes - buy less but better quality
Try to make 2020 the year that you don't buy lots and lots of clothes and you only buy things when you really need them and perhaps spend a bit more on quality. If you have got your wardrobe stuffed with things like that, it could be time to take them out, but then to make a new year's resolution or a new goal that you're not going to do that anymore going forward and just say at least for the next four months, you're not going to buy anything, for example.
3. Make sure all the items are enjoyed and enjoyable to wear
Just have a good look through, make sure everything in there is sparking joy for you and that you're really enjoying wearing it. Make a resolution not to buy anything so cheap anymore, so that's will save you money in the long term and it's better for the environment.
You might have some things in there that actually could be worth a bit of money to a charity shop. So put those things that aren't working for you anymore into a bag to take to the charity shop. If you do feel guilty, just think those items are going to be doing good for the charities. Those clothes that you've already paid for are now going to be put to good use.
Some clothes you might have will be a step up from that, which could be more designer, so maybe the higher-end brands, not designer but Whistles, Sandro, Maje, brands like that that you might be able to get some money for on a resale site. So there's Depop is one. Obviously there's eBay. There's lots of the higher-end really designer clothes. Vestiaire is a website that is good at reselling designer clothes. I'm talking Eve's and Ron and things like that, really more designer pieces.
4. Try to be brutal
If you're reluctant to get rid of some things, perhaps you've got an emotional attachment to them, my suggestion is to put those in another separate bag. And if you haven't worn them in the next season, so if they're winter clothes and you haven't worn them again, probably for two winters in a row or something, then it is time to be brave and to let it go.
Having a decluttered wardrobe means that then you can really see the good stuff that you've got in there and then you'll find it a lot easier to put outfits together. But also you'll find it a lot easier to work out what you need to buy next.
5. Think about your lifestyle
When you're doing this, think about your lifestyle. What do you need your clothes to do for you? What sort of environment do you work in? Do you work in a smart-casual environment? If you do, are you senior in that smart-casual environment because you do need to be seen to be senior.
Think about where you want to go in your job as well. Do you want to get a promotion this year, are you senior already and want to be taken more seriously? It pays to invest in your wardrobe to open doors and bring opportunities.
6. Know your personal style
I wholeheartedly really would say that this is the most important thing I think I personally have EVER found out about my own style is knowing what my personal style is.
Just to explain, I would look at people in the past, I would compare and despair. I'd look at someone else in a really nice outfit. They might be wearing some cutoff tailored trousers, cropped tailored trousers and a pair of brogues and a nice shirt. And I just think, "Oh my God, she looks so brilliant. I wish I could look like that." Then I'd try and recreate that look maybe and I would just look wrong in it. The reason why, even though that lady that I saw and respected and admired her style looks brilliant, she might have been the same kind of height as me, roughly the same shape, so on paper we should both look as good in that outfit, but the fact is, if it's not your personal style, then it isn't going to work for you. So finding out what your personal inherent style is, is probably one of the most important things you'll ever know about yourself.
Do a Pinterest board and pin outfts you would love to wear. Do you like edge in your outfit? E.G. boots, leather, chunky jewllery or are you more of a classic dresser? Do you like wearing girly dresses? Do you hate to look girly and prefer to look womanly but feminine?
When you put an outfit on try to think of an adjective that describes the outfit. That is really helpful to help decide if you are achieving the look you want.
I’m currently working on a guide to help with this so watch this blog/space!…
7. Know your body shape
So if you know your body shape, that's another way to really narrow down choice in the shops. The main body shapes, they're apple, pear, hourglass, inverted triangle and column. There are five main body shapes. If you look at my other posts on my blog, I've often got lots of body shape tips on there and what sorts of dresses suit certain body shapes.
8. Know your colours
I wouldn't say live by this, but it's really good knowledge to have to get your colors done and know what kind of suit you.
The main thing is whether you're cool-skinned or warm-skinned. So if you're warm-skinned, you've got yellow, golden undertones in your skin. And if you're cool-skinned, you've got blue/or pinky undertones in your skin.
I do a colour consultation as part of my wardrobe declutter service.
Decluttering just feels so good!
Once you declutter, you will feel lighter, particularly at the moment when we’re on lockdown. It's very cathartic. It's just really a nice feeling and productive to get rid of all the deadwood and clear your wardrobe so you can really see what fantastic outfits you've got in there and shop less but much more efficiently.
If you don’t have the push to get it down yourself, get in touch to book a call with me or check out my wardrobe decluttering service here.
