Out of Moth Balls: Shop Your Closet

“I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes. I had one thousand and sixty.”

Imelda Marcos

Sometimes it feels like I have that many shoes and sometimes it feels like I don't have any. It all depends on what outfit I'm trying to work with. And, yes, I frequently build my outfit around my shoes.

We forget how much stuff we accumulate. We forget the free t-shirts, the impulse buys that were so on sale we couldn't resist, and the dresses that we're always 5 pounds away from fitting into. We get into ruts where we feel like we have nothing to wear, where everything feels old, boring, and uninspiring. We forget what it means to have fun getting dressed in the morning (especially if our morning starts at 5 a.m.) and we forget what it is to walk out the door feeling vivacious, sparkling, and even sexy. We just forget.

It's time to remember. Set aside an afternoon or even a week of afternoons depending on how vast your wardrobe is and start going through it. Work through piece by piece and with each dress, shirt, sock, scarf, etc. ask yourself if you really LOVE it. Was it something you would have worn during the wear only things you love week? Pull out all those pieces you LOVE. Take pictures of them and make notes about what you love in as much detail as you can. Included in this should also be those sentimental pieces that you love too much to let go of. In my case I still have the dress I wore to my first Prince concert. I will never wear it again because it is too young for me, but I love it and want to keep it for what it represents. It goes with prom dresses and the shoes I wore to my undergrad graduation. Set all the LOVE items aside. (If you have a spare bedroom or hall closet, you can move the love stuff in there.) Now look at what's left behind. What do you see?

If you see an empty closet, you rock. You love getting dressed everyday and should consider yourself lucky.

For the rest of us, consider why the things left behind aren't with the items you love. You might think, "Well, it's a red tank top. How much can you love a tank top?" You'd be surprised. I have several tank tops that I adore. I have work out pants that I can't wait to wear for my next jog. You can feel amazing and love wearing anything.

Now here's the hard part. It's time to prune away the things that are clogging up your closet.

• Start by taking out anything that has holes, tears, stains, or fading. Can it be repaired? Is it worth hiring someone or doing it yourself? If the answer is no, toss it. Make a pile of things to be mended, but don't put them away. Keep them out so you will remember to get the pieces fixed.
  
• Next take out items you haven't worn in the past year. Why haven't you worn them? Are they someday outfits (outfits that don't quite fit or you haven't had occasion to wear)? If it's a someday outfit you LOVE, then by all means hang on to it for the time being. If it's a someday outfit that you just feel like you should keep because you haven't worn it but it doesn't make you happy, give to someone else.
  
• Now consider what's left. Probably some of these items are what many of us call staples: plain t-shirts, black pants, any clothes that might be required for a vocation. Consider these staples. Why don't you love them? Because it is completely possible to love staples. As a rule, I don't wear white t-shirts because they don't flatter me, but I have one I got years ago that is so soft I just love how cozy I feel wearing it with pj pants. You can love staples. So what don't you love about yours? The cut? The fabric? The color? If it's something you have to have for work, hang on to it (we'll work on replacing it in a couple of weeks). Everything else, pass it on. Even if it's something you bought in the last year; if you don't love it, it's time to part ways.

Once you've worked through all of this, it's time to move on to phase two: Figuring out what loves you. This phase helps pinpoint what flatters you and how you can work it into the style you love.

Check back in a few days for my post on TV fashion in honor of the return of Mad Men.

Until then . . .

Style well.