SORTING THROUGH A
wardrobe often requires a
deep breath and patience. Give
yourself time, space and a
positive attitude. Then dig in.
•Recruit the help of a good
friend or, at the very least, a
good mirror. A professional
stylist or image consultant will
give an unbiased opinion as
well as teach you some tricks
for combining pieces.
• Try on every item in your
wardrobe for ;t, style and
color. Figures change, lifestyles
change and pieces that worked
;ve years ago might not cut
it anymore.
• Yasmin Anderson-Smith,
a certi;ed image consultant,
recommends making three
piles: must-keeps (favorite
pieces that ;t your frame, suit
your lifestyle and make you feel
good when you wear them),
maybes (pieces that might
need tailoring or alterations, or
“orphans”—pieces that don’t
match anything else in your
wardrobe) and de;nite no’s
(sort these into two piles:
trash and donations).
• To determine whether
to keep an item, ask yourself:
Have you worn it in the past
two years? Does it ;t? Is it a
good color for you? Is it still in
style? If not, is there a way to
update it? Do you have items
that work with it?
•For pieces with sentimental value, Anderson-Smith
recommends donating them
somewhere where they will be
cherished, such as a women’s
shelter or transitional clothing
group. She says, “It’s gentler
to separate when you know
you’re not letting it go into a
big, wide abyss. The item is
going somewhere meaningful.”
•Once the “keep” items go
back in the closet, set up a
space for anything needing
repair or ironing. And always
have a donation bin for pieces
that are prisoners in your
closet. “Set them free,” says
Kate Brown, a certi;ed professional organizer.—LA
Rules for
letting go
with khakis and specialty T-shirts.) Eliminate anything that isn’t doing its job anymore.
The piles also allow you to estimate how much
space you’re going to need when everything goes
back into the closet. If your sweater pile is on the
verge of toppling over, plan on extra shelving and
drawers. For dresses, think tall hanging rods.
Then, start putting together outfits, or “
capsules.” “Capsule dressing is a way of finding groups of clothes that work together
and are interchangeable: gray slacks, a
colored jacket, a neutral shell,” says
Anderson-Smith. Add accessories: scarves, jewelry,
handbags and shoes for a complete ensemble. Snap
some photos or jot down the outfits.
Now make a list of core items you might be
missing. Check for any “orphan” items
and set a time limit for finding some-
thing to work with the piece; after that,
When it’s time to head back into the closet, take
a close look around. A professional closet
installation can make the biggest impact
and show you how to best use the space,
Organizing doesn’t need to be elaborate. Rolling
up socks in a sock organizer and sorting by color
isn’t going to work for anyone who isn’t naturally
organized. Kate Brown, a Costco member and a cer-
tified professional organizer on the board of the
National Association of Professional Organizers
(
www.napo.net), encourages people to ditch the
guilt and not overthink organizing. “Do underwear
and socks really need to be folded?” she asks. “Find
what works for you and do that.”
An easily fixable problem that Brown often sees
is improper lighting. “If the closet isn’t
light enough to see what you’ve got, it’s
never going to work,” she states. Try a
chandelier-type overhead light, then use
puck lighting to illuminate dark spots. In a reach-in
closet, install a fluorescent light above the inside of
the door.
As items go back in the closet, weed out the
special-occasion clothes, a category that
includes not only formal items but pieces
used for a specific purpose, such as gardening or tennis. Put them somewhere
accessible but separate from everyday pieces.
Seasonal items such as heavy wool sweaters or
strappy sandals can go in clear plastic bins so you can
find them easily when the weather starts changing.
You’ll want the clothing that you wear most frequently front and center in the closet,
whether that’s business wear or yoga
clothes. Brown recommends sorting
clothes first by type and then by color.
This means that all tops go together, grouped by color
first, then style: sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve.
Continue with bottoms, jackets, sweaters and vests.
Today’s fashion lines are often blurred, and
black pants or a white blouse can be
dressed up or down. Give
yourself options and
make your clothes
work double duty.
“Shop your closet, have a plan and
know your lifestyle:
Those are the key
points I try to hit on
with my clients,” says
Anderson-Smith. C
Costco member
Laura Amann is
a freelance writer
living in the
Chicago area.
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