come into my closet

A woman's closet is a very personal place - for me it is my treasure chest, and I truly do my best to keep my "treasures" in good condition, as I would any other prized possession. After graduating from college, I began focusing on a less is more idea for my closet - meaning that I wanted to concentrate on buying a fewer quantity of clothes but of ones that are of a greater quality and will last me for many years to come, throughout life's transitions.

In my current living situation, I have a pretty great closet arrangement. Along one entire wall of my bedroom, two large closets hide behind doors. On one side, lives most of my day-to-day clothes (sweaters, button-downs, jeans, slacks, daytime dresses, and most of my shoes).

I like my money right where I can see it... hanging in my closet" -Carrie Bradshaw

Current inspiration pictures (torn from magazines) are taped up along the inside of my closet doors. Right now I am inspire by lady like ensembles - embellished "Chanel" coats + skinny jeans, blazers + A-line skirts

 

uniform hangers help classy up my clothes, and make seeing what I actually have easier
(it is like shopping from a boutique everyday!)

Jeans hang on pant hangers in twos to save space

Clothes that I haven't worn in a while hang on the outside handles or are laid out in - having these clothes out in plain sight reminds me to wear them, and if I don't wear them after having them out for a while, it is time to part ways with them.

Shoes are organized in their boxes at the bottom on shelves, my go-to favorites are usually kept out in the front

In the other closet lives my jackets, coats, fancy dresses, boots, and seasonal clothing (i.e. swimsuits are put away in a box right now, while my gloves and hats are out, but this changes depending on the time of year)

Coats and boots have their own closet 

My favorite boots

 This past weekend I went through my closet and had an organize/purge session. I realized that since I have been fortunate enough to not get any taller or wider since high school I have been holding on to a number of clothes simply because they had at one point had actually cost me a lot, or had retained sentimental value, even though I do not wear them regularly or at all. I pulled out all the clothes that I haven't worn in a while and sorted them into 4 piles:
1. Keep - after putting on some of the items I realized that they could be updated or mixed into my closet as is. I hung these up at the front of my closet so that I can make a better effort to wear them (If I still am not wearing them after seeing them everyday for a while, they will get moved to a new pile)
2. Swap - as I mentioned, I have been holding on to some quality clothes for a while, but I simply do not wear everything in my closet. I am currently working on organizing a "swap" with some of my girlfriends so that we can have "new-to-us" clothes for free!
3. Donate - some clothes I have been hanging on to are simply just not working with the other residents of my closet, nor did I think my girlfriends would have any interest in them... to the Goodwill they go.
4. Trash - no one wants to see what I do to ballet flats, there were some "well loved" pairs that simply had no more life in them.

While I did end up removing 2 large bags of clothes (1 for the swap, the other for Goodwill) and even tossed some gross ballet flats, I am confident that I will be able to do more with the clothes I now have hanging in my closet, and even "re-discovered" some gems that I can't wait to mix up!

There are plenty of "clothes diets" and "30 for 30 Remix" stories that challenge us shopping/clothes addicts to rethink our habits, and analyze what we NEED instead of always looking to fill a void with what we WHAT. I think for now I am going to continue my focus on purchasing quality well-made clothes instead of picking up cheaper, more disposable items - which will help my closet remain trim and be more eco-conscious.

How many clothes do you need anyways?

Could you get by on 6 items of clothes? Or go a whole year without shopping?!

xx

Jessica