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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

curated closet 102: filling closet holes

One of the goals behind starting this blog was to chronicle my journey towards building a versatile closet that will transition with me as I finish graduate school & into a future professional career.

I certainly do not have it all figured out yet. But it looks like I am not the only one struggling with the notion of a curated closet, filled with things you LOVE not just like.
This realization that we have much to learn from each other, kicked off my curated closet series.
In the first class we learned about how to avoid impulse shopping
And now we are expounding upon one of the points from CC 101: Identifying holes in your closet.
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 I think I can safely say that no one reading my blog (including myself) needs clothes. Sure there are some versatile pieces that if you had, would maximize the use of your other clothes. But how do you pinpoint what these pieces are?


{1.} Get ready to try things on. Fix your hair, put some make-up on, turn the tunes up. When you look good, you feel good & this will make point #2 much easier!

{2.} Put it on your body. No ifs, &s, or buts about it. Sure you loved with when you bought it, but how about now? You won't know until you see it on your body!

{3}. Determine remix potential. While you have on each piece, play dress up in your closet. Consider belting tops, layering dresses, or dressing pants up & down.
Looking for inspiration of how wardrobe basics can be remixed, check out my "wear closet staples" Pinterest board!

{4.} Does it fit? Is it flattering? Really, is it? Turn around, bend over, sit down, stand up. Do you have shoes to wear it with? Can you tuck in your shirts if you want to?

{5.} Can it be fixed? So maybe the hem length is off, or the width of sleeves is no longer on-trend. Consider ways that you could tweak these items yourself (hello Pinterest tutorials!), or swing by a tailor to get an estimate for how much these updates will cost.

{6.} Sort as you go. Make piles of "stay", "donate", "sell", etc. As you compile these sub-sets, make a note of what you are getting rid of, & therefore what might become "holes"

{7.} Toss "closet crutches". Before I purchased the Madewell leopard flats that have rarely left my feet over the past month, I resisted purchasing new leopard flats because I had a 6 year old pair from Target. They were falling apart & I didn't totally LOVE them, but having them in my closet deterred me from replacing them, they were a closet crutch!

{8.} Be brutal. You are building your dream closet. If you haven't worn it, it isn't flattering &/or doesn't fit within what you imagine for your dream closet GET. RID. OF. IT. Maybe you could make some extra cash on eBay or Poshmark in the process!

{9.} List "wardrobe completers". Now you have gotten ride of "closet crutches" & identified pieces that will make your existing items re-mixable, write down these holes that will be "wardrobe completers" & take it with you next time you go shopping!
Maybe it is a casual blazer to layer over Summer dresses, or a colorful skinny belt that will give your tunic tops a whole new life!

Whether you are ready to tackle your closet now or plan to have a future date identifying "wardrobe holes" pin this handy guide you get you started!

Have you seen my Wardrobe Staple List that started it all? 
Check out the original post here & my shopping recommendations here.

Next week I will be sharing the "wardrobe completers" that I identified since first posting my 50 Wardrobe Staples shopping list!

Right now, I have my eye on some layer-able silk tanks for with skirts now & under cardigans later!
What "wardrobe completers" are you shopping for to pull your existing items together?

P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a $50 gift card to Lisa Leonard's fabulous shop {here}!!

13 comments:

  1. How do you organize your closet? Is this coming up in a future series? Which items do you fold and which do you hang? I know this seems like an odd question, but I have a tiny closet and I am thinking about adding rolling racks in a spare room so that I can see my clothing better and therefore use a greater percentage of it. Thoughts?

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  2. These are such great tips, Jess! I totally agree about getting ready and looking nice before you try things on. If you look or feel frumpy, you're not going to like ANYTHING, no matter how good the piece.

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  3. I need to clean out my closet BADLY but it seems like such a daunting task that I keep putting it off.

    -Sharon
    The Tiny Heart
    Group Giveaway!

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  4. Taking my list of items with me when I go shopping is a life (more like money) saver! It really does help!

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  5. Altho I prefer the one-on-one, here in my closet help, this post is greatly appreciated! Thanks:)

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  6. this is an AWESOME post, jessica! this is something i have actually been working on A LOT lately - the truth is my closet is SO SMALL (space wise) and i know there are a lotof things I don't like / don't wear - so i'm trying to do a better job of really organizing my closet to fit me better!!

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  7. You should do a section each day - then it won't be such a chore :) Pick a section you like first (maybe all your cute colored jeans) & you will be more likely to start it again the next day!
    xx

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  8. Great tips, Jessica! I have been doing some closet cleaning, but I really need to go through EVERYTHING and determine my route. I am going to check out Poshmark and see what progress I can make there!

    -AJ
    FitTravelerAJ.com

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  9. These are such great tips!! I go through my closet about once a year (or more!), especially since I started blogging and changing my style. I have a huge problem with impulse shopping (mainly online) so I'm trying to just stick with in-store purchases. Thanks for the advice!

    Lauren

    Exploring My Style

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  10. These are great tips! I think I have quite a few holes in my closet, unfortunately -- but I'll use that as an excuse to go shopping. :)

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  11. This is a really great post - I've been culling my wardrobe for a couple years now, although find it difficult to get it to perfect. I'm pretty much on the hunt for some jackets at the moment to pull together some otherwise simple looking outfits.

    http://www.mademois-elle.com/

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  12. Great post! I think the worst part for me is I'll go shopping for something that I love, and when I get it home or after a few wears, it loses its appeal. But there are other things I buy and continue to love for years. I don't know how to figure out if it's something I will TRULY love for long, you know?

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Thank you for your comments, they make my day!!
xx