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No one will ever accuse my closet of being boring. But they might take a look inside and wonder if I live with two roommates, or if I’m secretly a musician or aspiring actress. When they ask I can only laugh it off until it’s time to haphazardly throw together my next outfit. My multiple fashion personalities are keeping my closet from being truly cohesive!
Most people tend to stick to one style in their wardrobe. They rock the classics or they conform to prep or they flow through boho or they eclectically assemble hipster chic. Indecisive me can’t make up my mind so instead I’ve got some urban pieces over here, and some feminine ones over there, and a whole lot more sandwiched between. While it’s fun to mix different styles together I end up with fewer outfits than I could have simply because pieces don’t work with each other.
I don’t mean to suggest that you can’t have elements of different styles in your wardrobes. In fact one of my great pleasures in dressing is combining pieces with varying themes together. But within the community I’m hearing a lot about trouble assembling pieces into looks, so I’m breaking it back down to basics for this post.
Much like a closet with many amazing items but no real outfits, the first step is getting organized. Perhaps instead of organizing your closet by item type (i.e. tank tops, short sleeves, long sleeves, button-down), you organize by style type. Eclectic in one section. Urban in another. Prep together here, feminine sandwiched over there.
Once you have your styles put together visually you should start to see where your gluts and holes are. Perhaps you’re a homebody but your closet consists of clubbing clothes. Or maybe you’re a 9-to-5 warrior with too much casual weekend wear that can’t be made office-ready. Maybe you love the idea of a good studded shirt but your school’s dress code prohibits such things. You had that three month love of long, flowy boho tops that you never wear now. Your weekly uniform is black and grey while your closet is surprisingly full of color.
My next step is to start putting together outfits. I challenge myself to make 20 outfits. My habit is to reach for my favorite items first. Once those outfits are together, I ask myself: Do I have at least 7 work outfits? Are there a couple of great date outfits? Will I be naked on the weekend? I might swap some outfits around, or add to the pile to make sure my bases are covered.
When that’s done, the next step is taking a look at what’s left in my closet. Time to cull! What pieces left over are frivolous extras, or no longer in regular rotation, or just never going to justify the space they take up? The bad news is, it’s time for those items to go! The good news is that you can donate them. Or sell them, or consign them to make some money to save or reinvest in new pieces. Up to you!
second row tops, l to r: Anthropologie, Anthropologie, Anthropologie, Zara.
third row tops, l to r: Anthropologie, J.Crew, J.Crew, Helmut Lang.
bottom row, l to r: Paige Denim, Michael Kors silver, Michael Kors gold, Alexis Bittar, Anthropologie.
(Quick note: the graphic above is just for reference!! I can’t afford all this stuff but want to give you an idea of how I work through my list.)
Once my closet is in good shape, the last step is looking at my wishlist. The first thing I do is look within my wishlist itself to see what items stick out. Which of these items are not like the others? And would I wear those items?
With that in mind, I can immediately cross something off the list…
Next: what style am I going for this fall? From the looks of these items it seems I’m going preppy with an edge. Luckily that fits right in with more than half my closet. So the next question is which items are outliers? Are they too edgy? Will they have enough utility? If there are similar items (such as the Tibi dress and the Proenza Schouler dress) which one wins out?
The next question is which items already have coordinating pieces in my closet? If I’m going for preppy with an edge, I need to find either basics in my closet that these items pair well with or items within the same or complementing styles. For example, the striped Tippi J.Crew sweater in the third row down would look great over my blue No. 2 pencil skirt for a prepster look but would also work great with a pair of dark plum leggings I own and my faux fur vest over it for a more boho weekend look. And then I can also wear it with my wide-leg grey wool trousers for a work look. So it’s a good fit for my closet!
On the other hand, the orange and tan Anthropologie top in the second row down is going to be less versatile. I can see myself wearing it with jeans on the weekend…and that’s really it. The orange color is attractive to me because it’s subdued and I don’t have anything like it in my closet. But how would I wear it for work? What else does it go with? Much as I like this top, it might be the next thing to get an X.
And so on, and so on. Eventually I’ll get to the point where I’m ready to prioritize the list, deciding which items to buy now vs. sale vs. wait it out to see if I really, truly want those items. And as new items tempt me I now have my edgy prep guideline to use to decide whether an item fits into my selected Fall 2012 shopping personality or if I’m in danger of going off the deep end.
That’s how I keep my multiple fashion personalities in line. What tips can you share with the community?
Previously:
Help! My closet is full of pieces I love and no outfits!!
Building your wardrobe :: Fall 2012 wishlist
Thoughts on finances and how I keep my spending in check
And on Tumblr:
Fall 2012 :: Giving these trends a try
Everything in this catalogue shall be mine, part 1
Now I’m Loving: Chambray Dresses
Pattern Mixing (series)
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