The mysterious art of wardrobe management

[OublietteBravo]

Has anyone perfected the mysterious art of wardrobe management? Because I certainly haven’t, and I’m looking for tips.

Currently I swap from summer clothes to winter clothes around October, and then from winter clothes to summer clothes around April. I manage to motivate myself to iron about once every 18 months . I mostly ignore anything that needs to be dry cleaned as that’s just too much effort. Oh, and I’m really bad at getting rid of clothes and shoes. Even though I’m really good at buying new clothes and shoes.

I’d like to get more on top of my wardrobe. But how?

@Ellllle

I love clothes but does anyone else just feel like these problems arise because we just buy too bloody much? I am ruthless these days with new purchases and wear things until they have holes or look shabby and I still have too much.

Yes to this @Ellllle, and I'm a sucker for sales and end up with loads of bargains that are ok, but I don't love them. I'm convinced the way forward to me is to be way more mindful of what I buy.

I left S&B for a bit because I realized that I was trying to fix my wardrobe problem by buying more of the "right" pieces. Over the winter, I got a few lovely items, but I felt like still didn't have anything to wear. I felt like I was trying to salvage a sinking ship by bucketing out water. So I thought I'd take a break, instigate a no-buy season, and figure out a few things. Here's where I got to:

I was trying to dress about five different women. The mum, the professional, the trendy brunch-on-the-weekends -friend, the cool rock chic (the idealised me), the weekend slob. I had clothes to dress ten different kind of woman. So find your style before buying more. Choose a word to define your style and stick to it.

Declutter. Yes, the silk shirt was expensive but if it no longer fits, you won't get any more value from it storing it longer at the back of the rack. The money you paid for it won't reappear if you hold onto it long enough. Jeans you might have loved ten years ago? Are you still the same shape as 10 years ago? Do you like the same style as ten years ago? I don't. If a dress is beautiful but needs 20mins of ironing, I'd rather wear something else and sleep an extra 20 minutes. The world is full if beautiful dresses. Your wardrobe probably too.
Capsules don't have to be boring or classic - most of us already operate a level of a capsule wardrobe anyway without realising it. To me, cutting down means I can wear my best stuff all the time without the guilt of seeing all the unworn items.

Get rid of stuff that doesn't suit your lifestyle. I have to have clothes that can be washed frequently because of crummy little hands; they have to be comfortable and look nice. I don't buy anything that falls outside of that category because I know I won't get my money's worth from it.

Unsubscribe from emails, catalogues etc. If you don't know it exists you can't desire it

Find a storage solution that works for you and limit the number of storage space. I had an extra dresser which I sold because I didn't want to have an "overflow" space for clothes after decluttering. Try things outside the norm - I stored my pyjamas in the bathroom because I always have a shower before bed so it seemed logical.

Imagine what else you can do with the money & revel in the space you've cleared. I feel so much better because my drawers actually slide shut comfortably and I can see everything in one go. It's actually lowered my base-level anxiety.

This worked for me - I got rid of about 60% of my clothes. My friend, who is brutally honest, helped me (you look like a carrot in those jeans, ditch them) and I swear it's SO much easier to get dressed now. I did this in 4 sessions and every time I decluttered another layer. You can organise until the end of the earth, but unless you cull really well, you'll always swim against the tide.

pigtailsandall this is so helpful

"Yes, the silk shirt was expensive but if it no longer fits, you won't get any more value from it storing it longer at the back of the rack"

Well, you'll regret if you lose the weight though.

" I'm a sucker for sales and end up with loads of bargains that are ok, but I don't love them. I'm convinced the way forward to me is to be way more mindful of what I buy."

I'm not sure. Whenever I think hard about what to buy e.g. look at something in a shop, look at everything else, go back, go back again I end up without being sold before I can get it and then I regret it. Sometimes you've just got to go for it I think.

@Gwenhwyfar hmm would you though? If something fitted you five or ten years ago, and you lost weight now would you go back to the old stuff in your wardrobe? I know I'd rather get whole new pieces. Also the way we carry our weight changes over the years, boobs change due to childbirth/hormones etc etc it might hang very differently to you now than ten years ago.
You can't keep everything "just in case". You'll have to buy a new, bigger house every ten years if you do.

"If something fitted you five or ten years ago, and you lost weight now would you go back to the old stuff in your wardrobe?"

I have done with some things. (To be honest I've also ended up regretting throwing away some things when I lost some weight because my weight fluctuates and I could have worn it again).
I have some old clothes. Some things go out of fashion, others don't so much.
My boobs have just sagged a bit, no other change and not everyone on MN has had children.

"You can't keep everything "just in case". You'll have to buy a new, bigger house every ten years if you do."

No, but you can keep some favourite things.

I go back to old stuff all the time.

the silk shirt was expensive but if it no longer fits, you won't get any more value from it storing it longer at the back of the rack. The money you paid for it won't reappear if you hold onto it long enough.
I read or heard somewhere that by holding onto things you don't use you are depriving someone else who would wear/use that item.

I think if you have pieces that fit and look good, no reason to get rid of them just because they are old. That's not what I mean at all. I mean you should get rid of stuff that doesn't fit, isn't comfortable, looks tatty/broken, or you just don't reach for. I think we all make shopping mistakes and feel a sense of financial guilt when we have something we just don't wear. But the guilt doesn't become less just because you hold onto to the stuff (opposite, actually)

I basically wanted to create space in my wardrobe so I could see everything at a glance. I have a dresser where the top drawer is for my husband; middle one is for my socks and underwear, and bottom drawer is loungewear and sports stuff. Everything else hangs in the wardrobe. After I got out everything I didn't wear (including a beautiful &Other Stories dress which was so fiddly to wear I just never did, and brand new Whistles dress which made me look dowdy) it really felt liberating to look in and to realise that everything in there was an actual option for that day. I felt like the stuffed-full abundance always made me feel like I had nothing to wear.

Oh and I also challenged myself to wear stuff I wasn't sure about, even tights/underwear/socks. I remember one day pulling out a really soft pair of bamboo tights thinking I had totally forgotten about them. After getting to work and having to hoist them up around 50 times already, I suddenly remembered why I didn't wear them. Ditto a lacy top where the scratchy collar made my neck itch all day. Sometimes it's good to wear through everything to see if it still fits/you like it.

The brief I gave my friend was that my outfits had to be comfortable enough to sit on the floor with my child (bar 2 occasion dresses) and make me look good enough that I'd be happy to run into my ex-boyfriend wearing it.

"I read or heard somewhere that by holding onto things you don't use you are depriving someone else who would wear/use that item."

Hmm. There's nothing to say that the next person to buy it would necessarily wear it regularly either.

"make me look good enough that I'd be happy to run into my ex-boyfriend wearing it."

I agree with that as a criterion for buying something new, but not as a criterion for stuff you wear only at home e.g. lounge wear or sports clothes. If I really like something, I don't want to ruin it by wearing it constantly at home - that's what my old trackie bottoms are for.

Relating to wardrobe management - where/how do you store half-used items? I mean things you've worn once or twice and are not yet ready to wash but don't want to put back in with clean clothes.

It is the number one reason my bedroom looks messy - half-worn clothes everywhere. It's been a particular problem with the changing weather!

@Pigtailsandall Useful question. If I have only worn something briefly, I hang it in the wardrobe again. Worn more than that, draped around my bedroom. Do mine and yours probably look similar!

I have a decorative wooden ladder in the bedroom where I hang all my partially worn clothes before they’re ready for laundry basket. Mine is similar to this in the pic.

@wetpants Good call

Interesting thread.

I’ve culled my wardrobe over the last year but realistically need to cull again. I had a baby (2018), then lost most of the weight, then lockdown happened and hasn’t been kind to my figure

I’ve got lots of clothes that fall into the following two categories (and in some cases overlap both):

1. Too small
2. Look dated

In particular I have lots of tight office dresses (think good quality jersey dresses from Baukjen etc) and high heels. I think the issue is because I loved that look until age 35ish, and used to feel a million dollars at work in the City & in swanky wine bars in my tight dresses and heels, I struggle to part with them. But realistically am I going to wear them again? I’m older. I’m no longer size 6. Trends have changed. And they’d only fetch a £5 on eBay these days so it’s not like I could sell them for a decent sum.

I’m trying hard to only buy new stuff that fits my lifestyle, so nothing that can’t be dressed down.

I’m a charity shop- loving bargain Hunter which can be dangerous though!

In terms of looking after my clothes, they are organised by item type then in colour order.

I have a 15 minute wash on my washing machine so use that to freshen anything that’s been worn but isn’t really dirty or for wool/delicates.

@Pigtailsandall

Relating to wardrobe management - where/how do you store half-used items? I mean things you've worn once or twice and are not yet ready to wash but don't want to put back in with clean clothes.

It is the number one reason my bedroom looks messy - half-worn clothes everywhere. It's been a particular problem with the changing weather!

I have a chair in the bathroom. I put my clothes there for tomorrow ready for me to wash and dress in the morning. I make a point of getting those half worn things used again and ready for the wash pile.

@Gilbot I notice certain brands sell well on Ebay. Baukjen is one of them. Not everyone is stylish, so it may be worth a try. Start the listing at £9.99. Even if you only get one bid, on 5 dresses, you’ll make £50 if you put a bit extra on your P&P to cover fees.

I'm a capsule wardrobe person, and not a season switcher at all, because well, I don't have much clothes so everything fits in my wardrobe anyway.
My style is naturally dictated by the fact that I cycle everywhere I go, so long dresses, wide trousers, handbags, long heavy coats are just not possible for me.

My style is quite parisian (being a parisian myself). Loads of oversized tops, mostly shirts or plain tee-shirts. Quite unisex I'd say.
Just a handful of accessories (like statement earrings, head scarves and glasses) and a bit of make up (mostly red lipstick)
Very uncomplicated really.

My staple look is something like today - I cycled and went for lunch out + theater, a good 20 miles cycling day - oversized navy shirt, grey skinny jeans, black ankle boots, and an almost ridiculously oversized (I love oversized right) navy rain poncho.

I don't buy often, so far this year I bought: A white cotton top, a pair of white trainers (after my dog pooped on my previous pair), and the rain poncho. I have my eyes on a cashmere dark green jumper for the winter so that might be my last purchase of 2021.
I tend to apply the "one in, one out" policy.

For me it came naturally, because of the cycling situation, and my taste for minimalism. I identified years ago the style I liked, and I clung to it so far. I guess also the fact that I'm in my early 40s and that my weight has never changed since my early 20s makes it easier.

Regarding Macro vs micro trends, my theory is that macro trends involves the whole silhouette (like midi skirts, wide trousers, mom jeans and YES, oversized tops) whereas micro trends are item (or a piece of an item) based (one shoulder top, specific pattern or colours, bell bottom trousers).
For example, two years ago, plenty of women were wearing a plain white t-shirt with a kinda midi leopard skirt and white trainers. The silhouette stays, but the leopard skirt isn't as common now.

@Gilbot eBay them. Someone else might love them and even if you only get £5 for each ( I think you'd get more) you let them go. Better than staring reproachfully at you when you open your wardrobe. I suggest 'buy it now' at £20 to start. You can accept offers or reduce.

I hang my clothes for 24 hours then put them away unless they are actually dirty

I did sort out my wardrobe summer 2019.

I sorted clothes into
Going out crops
Long sleeve tops
Non black short sleeve
Black short sleeve
All have matching hangers
Then sorted by colour.
Then turned all hangers one way and once washed, the hanger is turned around.
2 years later it's still mostly only 50% worn.
Mostly tops that are just a bit too clingy and I'd get hot and bothered in them.
Should really remove them now.