Rediscover your Wardrobe

As part of this month’s commercial detox, I have made it one of my goals not to purchase any unnecessary clothing. After all, I do have a wardrobe filled to the brim with clothes that I already own, most of them sitting unused at the backs of drawers or hidden between garments hanging in the closet. Since it’s now the end of summer as we head into fall, it’s about time to do a wardrobe change over anyhow, and in the process I plan to use the following tips to help me rediscover old pieces that have been hiding out of sight out of mind! The purpose of this exercise is not only to help me find existing items in my wardrobe that I haven’t been wearing, but to also help me create a “new” fall wardrobe by mixing and matching items I may not have normally thought to put together during that morning rush preparing for my work day! I suggest giving yourself a good amount of time dedicated to finishing this project, like two to four hours depending on the number of garments you own, so make sure to clear your schedule and your mind before you begin. I promise though, this will totally be worth it in the end and will almost be like a shopping experience except you’re using your own clothes and don’t even have to leave the house! Your credit card will thank you!

1. Prepare your space.

Before you begin this wardrobe transition, you will first need to have a good deal of space set out for yourself in your bedroom or living room where you can spread out your clothing and give good thought to how you want to style them for the fall season. Once you know the space you would like to use, I suggest cleaning it up a bit by sweeping or vacuuming the floor, making sure there are no other clothes or items that could get covered or lost during the process and generally make the space clear of any objects that might get in your way. This is an important step because your clothes are going to be everywhere during this process and getting them dirty or being too cramped will hinder your creative juices!

2. Grab your camera.

It doesn’t have to be a fancy DSLR, unless that’s what you want to use! Your cell phone’s camera , webcam or even a Polaroid will work fine! The point of the matter is that you need something to visually capture the outfits you are about to create. This is a very important step because you will need the visual reminder later on when you forget about your clothes and get back into your clothing rut!

3. Sort your clothing by color and type.

Now comes one of the hardest parts of this whole exercise. You will need to begin removing all the clothing from your closet, drawers, etc and start sorting them into piles laid out on your bed, the floor, etc. I suggest sorting clothing by the type of garment (blouse, long sleeve shirt, pants, etc) and then group them by color family the way you might do while washing them. I suggest the following color groupings, but yours may vary by the items in your closet: Darks (Black, Grey, Navy, Dark Greens, etc), Lights (White, cream, beige), and Brights (Colors of the rainbow). Once you have completed this step, all your clothing should be in piles around you. Don’t get overwhelmed! The next part can be super fun if you let it!

4. Start “shopping” your closet until you come up with at least 5 “new” outfits.

Go through your piles and take a good look at your clothes. Start putting together new outfits based on different combinations of clothing that you haven’t tried before. Try different techniques like layering blouses and sweaters, mix a few prints, imagine a dress or tunic as a top tucked in and belted! If you’re really lacking inspiration, pull our your laptop or iPad and start searching Pinterest for outfit inspiration. I bet you if you look hard enough at the clothing you have in front of you, you probably have items right in front of you that would create that ideal outfit you pinned last year! Don’t be afraid to swap garments out for one another. So, the look you want includes a henley, use a chambray instead. No short-sleeved blouse to go under your cardigan? Try a well fitted t-shirt instead! You don’t have to own every item you see on a model in order to capture her style. You just need an open mind to find the pieces in your own wardrobe that could act the same way to evoke the style!

5. Snap a quick pic of your “new” outfit.

Once you have an outfit put together, lay it out in front of you and photograph it. It would also help if you gave the outfit a name, like “Edgy Office Look” or “Casual Friday Polka Dots”. The image and name association are going to help you remember the outfit and what your thoughts were for wearing it later on when all your clothes have been put away. Another way to help you remember the outfit would be for you to hang it up as an outfit in your closet instead of separating the outfit into its pieces when you put it away.

6. Clean up and organization.

At this point, once you have all your new outfits photographed and planned out, you will need to start your clean up. If you change your clothing out for the season, proceed with putting last seasons clothing away and replacing the dominant spaces in your wardrobe with the current seasons clothing. Now is also a great time (since your clothing is in color coordinated piles) for you to look and see if you have any unnecessary duplicates, old, worn out or damaged pieces that need to be mended, discarded or donated to your local thrift shop! Slimming down your wardrobe is a great way to keep yourself motivated to wear all the pieces in your closet. Too often we get caught up wearing the same outfits repeatedly and when we get sick of them, the answer is shopping for new. Fight the urge to shop for new and shop your closet first!

Did this exercise inspire you to begin rediscovering your own wardrobe? Do you have more clothes than you actually wear on a regular basis but also find yourself constantly shopping for new? Think about your triggers for buying new clothing and let me know your plans to pare down your wardrobe or start wearing pieces that you had forgotten about! We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below!