Four Steps To Overhaul Your Wardrobe

When Candace Bushnell created the character of Carrie Bradshaw in her book that spawned the highly successful television series, “Sex in the City,” we all met a brilliant and successful columnist and fashionista, living a fabulous and idyllic life in the heart of Manhattan.

In the show, Carrie famously proclaimed, “I like my money right where I can see it—hanging in my closet.” Cue the expansive, and envious, walk in closet complete with every designer brand that costume design legend, Patricia Field could get her hands on.

And what a fantasy it was. That is until reality sets in. The reality for many of us who are not fictional characters in a television show, is that school of thought would with most certainty, leave one financially overextended and in a downward spiral of impulse purchasing.?

And, if that isn’t scary enough - there is a bigger rock bottom.?

Dare I say it? Well, you’ll know you are there when you open your wardrobe doors and utter five terrible words,?

“I have nothing to wear.”

I hear a version of this problem statement from many of my clients. You may be repeating it to yourself right this minute. If you are, there is no shame. It’s not to say that you don’t have beautiful clothing now, or in the past. Perhaps you haven’t been able to articulate what you aspire your personal style to be, or your lifestyle has changed. What you do know is you are tired of looking at the clothing that does not work.?

If you’re seriously considering overhauling your wardrobe, one piece of advice that I want you to take in early in this process is, stop haunting yourself with what you have spent up until now. If you don’t, it might haunt you forever. In the wise words of Elsa from Frozen, “let it go”.

You may be thinking, “If only I could start over”. The great news is you can with these four steps.

1. Be Selective

One of the most effective ways to upgrade your wardrobe is to apply this principle. Think of your closet as an exclusive members only club. Only the pieces that you adore and are truly excited to show off would make the list. Pieces that are ill-fitting, uncomfortable, out of style simply would simply not make the cut.

2. Be Authentic

I have always believed that true personal style is a custom job.?

It’s very similar to finding personal happiness and body acceptance. There is no one size fits all template that we can package up and sell. I always educate my clients that to have great style, you need to know your proportions and dress for them. The other important factor is to find what you want to wear. To do this, I recommend creating a vision board of outfits that you are drawn to. Think about what words come to mind when you think about your personal style? Structured? Flowy? Preppy? Bohemian? 70's? 90's? Colorful? Muted? Monochromatic? Neutral?

My style? Menswear meets femininity with pops of sequins and sparkle! I also have never met a ballgown or a bow I didn’t love!

Sarah’s sample vision board

You can create your own collage, Pinterest board, or an actual physical mood board by cutting things from old magazines, high school style!

3. Quality Over Quantity?

If you take just one piece of advice from this article I beg you to build a wardrobe of high quality pieces that will last more than just a few years.?

One of the hardest lessons that most of my clients tend to learn is how much they have spent on pieces that are low quality and fall apart, are impulse purchases or simply don’t suit them. I remember seeing bags and bags on the floor of one woman's home having edited her closet and these items earmarked for donation and consignment. I could tell the tremendous weight of her regret having spent so much.

Doing a seasonal purge will help keep you honest and in the know of what exactly is in your closet. Bring everything out of the closet and tackle by item category.

Your clothing will end up in four different sections: keep, donate, consign and tailor.

• Keep: The clothing you keep will go back into the closet sorted by style and colour.
• Donate: Clothing for donation can be labelled in bags or totes. There are a number of donation options including organizations like Goodwill, Dress for Success and other local charities.
• Consign: Consignment is an excellent way to earn money on items that are high quality and that you no longer wear. It also helps keep clothing out of landfills.
• Tailor: Having a tailor at your disposal is key to have in your fashion arsenal.A great tailor can alter pieces to not only fit perfectly, but give a garment a longer life.

Here are some things you can ask yourself while you're purging:

• Do I actually wear this?
• Does it fit properly?
• Does it fit your current vision for your personal style?
• Do I already have too many of this type of item?
• Is it in good condition or has it seen better days?

The answers to these questions will be evident and I encourage you to be discerning. This process will be an investment of time, but do keep going and take as much time as you need to go piece by piece and do it right.?

4. Sustainability Is Always In Style?

The amount of waste in the clothing and textile industry is astounding. If you didn’t know, in Canada, the average person throws out 81 pounds of textiles annually, while North Americans send 10 million tonnes of clothing to the landfill every year — most of which could be reused or recycled according to statistics compiled by Waste Reduction Week in Canada.?

To put this into perspective, recently I walked into a well known fast fashion shop and I passed a complete wall that was filled to the brim with white bell sleeved tops brandishing a huge red sale sign. It wasn’t the sign that caught my attention, it was the sobering fact that none of these tops were going to sell even at $3.00 a piece and where they were going to end up.

In closing, creating a new wardrobe, let alone a sustainable one can feel like a daunting task. Like any lasting change, success is rooted in making small, yet deliberate steps that will go the distance.?

Don't forget the goal: A closet full of clothes that you love!

Happy editing!

Sarah

In my next blog post, I will share my tips and tricks to filling the clothing gaps you may have discovered from overhauling your closet, so stay tuned.?I would love to know in the comments if this process have worked for you? What was the most helpful? What didn't help at all? What could be more useful for you?? Any other burning questions??