Hi everyone
Hope you’re having a relaxing holiday period and as another year comes around I wish all of you only the best for it!
I’ve mentioned my recent survey a few times now - thanks so much if you did it. The aim of it was to find out more about you - specifically what topics are helpful and of interest to you.
Amongst other things, I asked about your most pressing style dilemma. A frequent response spoke to the need for wardrobe decluttering. Here is what some of you said on the topic -
‘how to cull efficiently and strategically’
‘more actual cupboard space and culling old stuff’
‘discarding clothes that I no longer wear. Hoarding.’
Sound familiar? It seems to be a perennial challenge, so what’s the best way to approach it? There is no one way of course but the following might help.
Keepers
The easiest place to start is with the items in your wardrobe that you wear often - and that you actually like. These pieces are obviously keepers.
Like what I’ve been wearing lately. This combination of keeper items is working well since Melbourne’s summer has so far been mild -
Never worns
A quick win is also possible if you then consider the things you haven’t worn in a long time. If you haven’t reached for something in say, 12 months I think it’s reasonable to remove it from your closet.
For example, I love this dress but because it’s heavy denim it’s too hot for the warmer months. At the same time it’s not the kind of thing I want to put on when the temperature drops. So I never wear it. Ditto for the sandals, which are too big.
Key questions
As part of the process it’s also useful to ask yourself some key questions like -
how do I want to look and feel?
what does my lifestyle demand?
what do I feel comfortable in?
These will likely take time to answer, but doing so offers up good clues as to what to keep and what to discard.
Which helps when thinking about the rest of your wardrobe, which is where the greatest challenges lie.
The rest
So, what to do with everything else? To gain some clarity I suggest trying it all on. Taking images of yourself and reviewing them can also help for items you’re not sure about.
There are a number of options - arrange your things in piles depending on what you decide.
keep
repair/alter - this is sometimes all an item needs to make it more wearable
dry clean - a refresh can serve a similar purpose
sell - this might be appropriate for a more expensive item that you aren’t wearing. List it on a resale platform like eBay or Vestiaire or consign it to a recycle store.
donate
discard - if the item has had it!
If your closet is bursting at the seams the process of trimming it down might feel overwhelming. The important thing is to make a start - it may take several goes to get through it and that’s completely fine.
I’ll leave it here for now - I hope this helps. Please drop any questions or thoughts in the comments, I would really love to hear from you.
Bye for now, I’ll see you in two weeks!
x
Jennie
What about gym fashion. When do you discard shoes and gear, when they are not looking good, when buying new ones. What if they look great but are old?
Great topic. I seem to give clothes away and then sometimes regret it. What about when fashion is cyclical and returns. I particularly agree if something is uncomfortable and get rid of it