Any tips for a wardrobe clear out and sort out

[Lardlizard]

Time to have a revamp

Can't help but feel the PP who "Marie kondoed" then replaced it all did it wrong... I think she makes excellent points and goes about decluttering in a gentle and respectful way. She never says you have to get rid of your whole wardrobe. If you loved and/or needed items in your wardrobe you should have kept them! OP if you've not seen the show I especially love how she goes about saying goodbye to items that have served you well in some way but it's time for them to move on.

Yes OP I think with navy and black basics maybe worth storing them for a while if you can just to check whether you do actually want to wear them or not. They can be very useful to make outfits but if you find they stay stored then get rid of them in 6 months, say (depending on their season). I'd probably only store them too if they are good quality, fit you, and not worn out.

And with the navy dresses - do you like them and wear them? Do you feel good in them? If yes, keep! If no, get rid!

I do try to try think about outfits as I shop, but I will try to be mindful about outfits as I go though the wardrobe too
I think this is partly why I’m a dress fan ! Easier for me

I have to say I think the advice about getting rid of things you haven’t worn for a year is wrong, at least it is for me. I often bring things back that haven’t been worn for longer than that and would massively regret getting rid of them. A year is no time at all really.
Unless of course you’re looking for a minimalist wardrobe where everything gets worn all the time. That’s really not for me, I love mixing things around and rediscovering things.

www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk/back-to-basics-neutrals-for-autumns

www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk/how-to-wear-navy-autumns

Oh thanks for the fab links, yes I’m 100percent this colour, warm autumn
And teal is a good colour for me
Or that muddy kinda navy which is hard to find

I think I will proud the navy times into storage, I think I have a few dresses but nothing special really in navy
There a few things I’ve got again because we liked the print, but often the items with prints on often have a navy background

I'm a big fan of the Stylebook app. Once you set it up it takes very little time to record what you wear every day and add new items. It really useful for putting outfits together and seeing what you actually wear regularly, also brilliant for packing for trips.

Ok I’ll buy it then, how long will it take me to set it up ?

I'm attempting Project 333 which a PP has mentioned. I've put together my 33 pieces for autumn and its already got me thinking that I have a lot of clothes but not necessarily good quality clothes. I started a thread and some others have joined, come have a nosey if you like :)

As an autumn it’s worth thinking about what your neutral colour is, as black and navy are too draining. I tried brown at first but it can be a bit dowdy as a base colour, and I’ve found beige is much better. I was slow to experiment with it because to my mind it’s always “boring beige” but while it’s not as chic as black, it can be quite elegant and expensive looking too.

I have a summer friend who eschews black for grey and that works very well too.

I hung onto blacks and navies for a long time because I thought they were necessary. I’m not advocating throwing them all out at once, and not at an awkward shopping time like this, but maybe think about replacing them in the long term.

@diddlediddle

Actually, I did do it properly, and I find her method of 'if it brings you joy' such a stupid thing.

Why? Bc at that moment, or that year ( my friend just had a baby), a lot of things may not bring you 'joy' that may in the upcoming year.

What I did do since then is repurpose my clothes a la Alexa Chung.

For example, if I hate a dress I will put a wool navy sweater I already own over it, with boots, and make it a fab skirt. According to kondo, that dress alone would not have brought me joy.

I think her idea of throwing things away if doesn't bring you joy utterly wasteful. Why not try to wear it a different way instead?

Why throw clothes or shoes away? Instead try to find a new way to use them? It requires very little thinking and just being organized, and does it work with your style? Can the dress you hate work with a belt and jacket?

I'd recommend you go through very carefully and do your colours in detail even if you think at first glance that you're an autumn. Its easy to immediately say that 90% of the Uk population is an Autumn and its easy to gravitate towards colours you like or that are more fashionable rather than your actual colours.

Magenta is not an autumn colour (depending of course on what you're calling magenta). You also say red isn't good but red is very much an autumn colour. Depending on the contrast between your hair, skin and eyes you may well be a winter. If ivory looks better on you than white and gold jewellery looks better on you than silver than yes it sounds like your skin is warm toned not cool toned.

@kierawhogives I am really sure that Marie Kondo would be absolutely behind the idea of repurposing a piece of clothing if the new version "brings you joy" - makes you feel good! No need to interpret her approach so rigidly. Her general ethos is about reducing waste (by not having so much in the first place) so there's no way she would not advocate adapting clothing using accessories etc if the new version actually works for you. Similarly I am also sure that she would expect people to try to imagine whether their current life circumstances mean that there are pieces they should hold onto for next year (eg I love this dress but I'm still losing baby weight so I'll keep it until I can fit it again, or I love this jumper but it's not quite in fashion this year so I'll store it).

I know that many people can't afford to only wear things that make them feel good and that's fine, but this thread wasn't about that. I do think that in general feeling good in what you wear is important for your mental health.

William Morris, “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” is another good rule to apply to your wardrobe - lots of less exciting pieces can be useful when layered as part of an outfit, for example. It’s easy to get carried away Kondoing - and then regret it later when you need to repurchase the same stuff.

I actually think Marie kondo actually means exactly the same thing as the Morris quote above. Joy isn’t about being excited by something. Eg you wouldn’t throw a hammer or an unbrella or wellies away when doing Marie kondo as they are so useful, But wouldn’t necessarily make you Feel joyful when you look at them but joy is more than excitement. It’s easy to chuck stuff when doing kondo if you take the joy thing too literally. I Interpret joy as Useful, beautiful or fun.

Exactly! 👏🏼

Yes I agree, Morris and Kondo are saying the same thing, it’s just the idea of “joy” can be misinterpreted and lead to people binning 99% of their belongings.

None of the usual rules work for me because I can easily not wear something for a year and then suddenly rediscover it and wear it lots!

Generally the things I get rid of were a bit of a mistake buy to begin with... perhaps a colour or a shape that never suited me at all but I was too lazy to return it and forced myself to wear it twice. I also get rid of items that just look past their best (badly bobbled or stretched cheap t-shirts etc.). I try to shop differently these days and even though I own lots of clothes, I have a higher success rate and love 95% of them so it's hard to get rid of anything now. (I've done the big clearout several times in the past 10 years...)

By the way, H&M are still accepting bags of clothes (any brand) and fabric in exchange for a £5 voucher. A recycling scheme which is useful if you ever shop there.

Oh I didn’t know that about h and m, I have read the Marie kondo book, I was in tears of laughter at the take your shoes off and thank them, gloriously nutty ! But I loved it, I did however chuck a few too many house things out Like a toy box, that I should have kept etc
But nothing too drastic

I am due to do a wardrobe cull this weekend .
Any summer clothes that I want to keep will go in SpaceSAver bags and the A/W clothes put away last year will go out .

I took 2 coats ( a long very warm padded coat - too warm for me , and a dark blue boyfriend coat ) to the Charity Shop last winter .

I think I need a new coat , but in reality I have enough (though there's one in Next I quite fancy)

Sometimes I'll buy a TShirt completely out of my comfort zone in colours , like orange . And find I really like it .

Don't like any yellow apart from pale , any turquiose or bright green .

On the William Morris theme , I shop for food in Sainsbury and often have a wander through clothes and think "Oh that's a Usefull top " . Not glamour but one I can wash , wear and rely on . Suits me