If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to do the seasonal wardrobe change and have a bit of a spring wardrobe audit.
The best way to check out what you have, what works and what doesn’t work in your wardrobe is to go through each item of clothing piece by piece. Allow yourself at least a day to do this.
Put your clothes into three piles:
Pile 1: Clothes you will keep
Pile 2: Clothes you might keep
Pile 3: Clothes that must go
How do you decide?
Is it the right colour?
- If the answer is yes, then ask yourself if it is the right style. If it is then it goes in Pile 1.
- If it’s the right colour but the wrong style, can it be altered or worn differently to make it work? If it can, it goes in pile 2.
Is it the right style but the wrong colour?
- Can you wear it with a complementary colour from your palette? Do you have accessories like a necklace or scarf that will make it work? If yes it goes in Pile 2.
- If it’s the wrong colour and the wrong style, it goes in Pile 3.
- If it’s not your current size and you haven’t worn it for a year it goes in Pile 3.
Pile 1 – Clothes for keeps
- Organise garments by categories: coats, jackets, suits, skirts, trousers, blouses and shirts. Group them by colour within these categories to help give you ideas for combining clothes.
- Button up jackets and coats, and pull up zips, so that garments hang straight before you put them in the wardrobe, all facing the same way.
- Don’t put anything back in the wardrobe unless it’s clean
- Don’t overcrowd your wardrobe
Pile 2 – Is it worth keeping?
- Check every piece against what you have in your wardrobe to see whether it is worth keeping. You might find that a jacket in the wrong colour, for example, can be made to work for you if worn with a top that you’ve decided to keep.
- Can you update some items? A skirt that isn’t quite this season’s midi length nor mini could work simply by shortening the hem. Changing buttons on a jacket can give it a new lease of life.
Pile 3 – Dispose of clothes as you see fit
- Give them to a friend
- Sell expensive items and those that are still current and good quality
- Arrange a clothes swapping (swishing) party
- Donate them to charity
Finishing Touches
Before you put everything back in your wardrobe, vaccum and dust it and perhaps place some moth repellent products at the bottom. To preserve the shape of your clothes, you will need the correct hangers
- Sturdy wooden hangers for jackets and coats
- Wooden hangers with clips for skirts and trousers
- Padded hangers for lightweight and delicate luxury fabrics
- Basic plastic hangers for blouses, shirts and lightweight summer dresses
Extracted from Colour Me Beautiful the book April 2014
Chapter 7 – Your Everyday Wardrobe, page 188