How do you organise your clothes so you actually wear them & don’t just throw on the same old things?

[hibernatingbear]

Just that really. I feel like I have clothes & there are nice things I could wear together in different combinations but half the time I just grab what’s nearest. Then when I have to look nice for something I panic & either wear a tried & tested outfit I’ve worn before or panic buy something new to rev up what I’m wearing. Should I be storing my clothes IN outfit combos? Having a massive try-on of everything? Asking a friend to help me sort through it all? (I don’t have an insane amount of clothes but I have enough that it should, I think, be easier than this to look pulled together at the drop of a hat!)

Spend a day figuring out combinations that work, including shoes and accessories.

Then either take photos or make easy to use lists, then print them (photos/lists) and stick them on the inside of your wardrobe door.

Much less thinking left to do each morning!

That sounds a good idea, especially the photos/lists. Thank you. (Now to find the tiiiiiime!)

Every few months I spend a couple of hours going through my wardrobe. I hang in categories (tops/jumpers/dresses etc). Then once I've worn items they're put in the other side of my wardrobe so I can see clearly which items I'm avoiding by what's left unworn. Then I try to be ruthless a get rid of things I've avoided a few times.

I try to plan my outfit before I go to bed and get everything ready hanging the whole outfit outside the wardrobe. Because I'm not in a rush then I'm wearing more exciting clothes rather than just grabbing what's handy.

I have a really great app called Stylebook which allows you to store photos of your clothes and create outfits. It also records other data like fabrics, colours, prices etc which enable good insight into what you actually wear, cost per wear etc. It’s a little time consuming to set up but then allows you to easily scan through your entire wardrobe or any mini collections that you want to create ( ie work or holiday clothes). I think it’s a great idea to get a friend involved to help pick out some combinations that you might not necessarily think of straight away. That time invested really helps when you’re in a hurry and just want to grab something but feel great.

@imadeitnice That sounds like something I could do which would be a bit speedier than doing a big try-on day. I have things in categories already so halfway there. Thank you.

I think I’m daunted by some of these (great!) suggestions because I can’t find the time to upload everything to an app or do a whole day of trying on. But also I’m not convinced I will come up with great ideas of what goes with what (in new combinations I mean). I feel like I’d get halfway through trying things on & feel discouraged / like everything looks awful / like I have no taste or style. Maybe that’s what I need to address: the confidence bit.

I am the same op!

Small child & hectic job mean I have limited time in the mornings.

I am currently going through my wardrobe wearing everything once and deciding what to keep or re-home. I’m hoping that having a smaller wardrobe will make getting dressed easier. I can’t see the wood for the trees at the moment!

I also plan to only keep things that

1-suit my CURRENT lifestyle
2- I LOVE and
3- fit me NOW

Hoping this helps.

We’re also renovating our house so I plan to have lots of user friendly storage space - at the moment many of my clothes are literally in boxes piled up on top of each other which is not helpful!!!

Oh and also I photograph my outfits so if I wear a combination that looks good together I photograph it so I can remember it

Also anything that looks crap, or is annoying to wear (itches, twists, rides up) gets re-homed (charity shop or sold) immediately

Oh and I tried StyleBook and gave up - I simple don’t have the time for all the faff of uploading all my clothes. Great idea if you have time for the initial set up perhaps.

By putting them away every time I take them off. If I leave them on the chair I just put on the ones from yesterday.

There was also a recent thread about self imposed “uniforms” where some posters were saying they kind of decide on a “uniform” for say the next couple of months, buy a couple of versions of that uniform & stick to it so they don’t have to make any daily decisions about what to wear.

One poster in particular sounded like she put a lot of thought into her “uniform” and was clearly very fashion-conscious so it doesn’t have to be boring. I found that thread fascinating.

You have less! If your wardrobe and drawers aren't crammed full then you will be able to see what you have. And the things to get rid of, are the things that don't go with much of the other stuff or that you don't like to wear so much.

@Enzbear I do put them away!

@PattyPan I also don't have too much, I don't think...I mean I probably have a few things I could get rid of, but it's not like it's crammed...I also switch over winter & summer twice a year so what is visible is what I •could• wear now. I mean I'm not looking at my cupboard & seeing a load of floaty summer dresses right now for example.

@KiteflyingKitty I'll look up that uniform thread; thank you.

That sounds so useful the idea of a self imposed wardrobe, haven't been able to find it on my (limited abilities!!) Searching, if anybody comes across it would love a read.

The app thing is just way too much admin for my liking and I do enough of that at work. I just look to the next day ahead and work out what I'm going to be doing so pull out the main bits of the outfit the night before and its one less thing to think about before I've had my morning coffee. My thought process always starts with shoes because I don't want to have to change my clothes to fit with the shoes after I've already chosen the outfit.

Chishnfips, I used to build my outfits around my tights! When coloured tights were a thing about fifteen years ago, and I had loads of exciting clothes. I loved dresses & skirt suits. I’d get my knickers, tights & bra on, and match-up the outfit from there.

I love this thread, I have recently added a few bits to my wardrobe to fill some gaps but I need to do the photo thing and I love the idea of putting the outfit together the night before, I would definitely put more thought in this way.

I am guilty of this - I'm terrible for bunging on the same pair of black pleather leggings and an off the shoulder slouchy jumper - so I put them on top of my wardrobe so I can't reach them. It's forced me to wear jumper dresses, proper trousers, jeans and skirts.

I also put a few pairs of jeans/trousers that I never wear into a basket and that has to be my first port of call to find an outfit in the morning.

I'm really good about outfits for work but get very lazy with off duty

Is this the uniform thread @KiteflyingKitty?
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/4447506-Self-imposed-uniforms

I post outfit photos on Instagram every day. It makes me plan out proper outfits (which I do at night for the next day) even if I am just WFH in jeans and a jumper.

I used Pinterest to search for outfits that included items I had eg “leather leggings outfit” or “red coat outfit”. I did it for accessories too & specific types of footwear. Or for a specific activity eg “casual Sunday lunch”, Sounds a bit naff but I found it really has helped me style my clothes & get the most from my wardrobe. I have boards for each season & then sub categories eg “denim” “layering” “weekend”. If I can’t decide what to wear then I spend 5 minutes looking through my boards for inspiration. I loved that it built up over time - I would spend 5 minutes here & there searching & that I didn’t have to faff about with time consuming taking photos or uploading images etc. Pinterest is not as good as it used to be because of the amount of ads & IG basically became more popular. My issue with using IG is that the majority of influencers are in new stuff every week, most of which is fast fashion & trend led. I’m more interested in how to wear the same item in different ways & developing my own personal style.

Well here I am again in the same jumper I have worn for several days ... it is comfortable, it is warm, it looks nice. Every morning I look for something else among my clothes but put the same one back on. Hey ho!

Is it that you won’t wear your “good” stuff? I’m terrible for this! I used to wear all of my nice things, years ago... But, I’ve lost weight recently & decided to raid my wardrobe! I usually think, “I don’t want to get it ruined”. Now I have a baby, everything gets wrecked anyway!

I'd watch trinnys wardrobe organisation video on Insta/YouTube. Yes she has 100* more then the average woman but she knows storage.