Is your closet overflowing with clothing, but you have nothing to wear?

It’s a Friday night, and you’re getting ready to go to dinner and drinks with some friends. You stand in front of your closet – packed to the gills with an unreasonable amount of clothes – and sigh.  You have the same complaint that so many women are familiar with:

“Ugh — I have nothing to wear!” you say to your husband, who honestly couldn’t care less if you decided to head to the restaurant wearing the same thing you always wear… he doesn’t get it, it’s always so easy for him to get dressed!  

Okay, so the problem isn’t that you don't have anything to put on your body in a literal sense. In fact, you have a closet full of clothes. It was just that you suddenly hated every single item hanging in front of you. Women usually love what they buy, yet hate two-thirds of what’s in their closets!

“You have more clothes than anybody I know,” your husband says. “How could you have nothing to wear?”

So often I will hear from a client that they have a wardrobe full of clothes but still nothing to wear.  Why is this?

There are so many reasons….

You haven’t thrown out any items for years, even though what goes around always comes back again, it doens’t mean that you should be holding in to it for 30 years. The pieces are taking up precious space (both physical and emotional), they haven’t been out of your closet in decades.   And let’s not forget all those going out tops back from when you were in your 20’s , everything you’ve ever worn to a wedding in the past decade – they were expensive so best hold onto them in case you can wear then again, or you never know, they may come back into fashion.

Your clothes don’t fit properly – whether you’ve put on or lost weight, or bought something in a smaller size thinking that it won’t be much of an effort to lose that 5 lbs til you can fit into it, but you still haven’t, these clothes are taunting you and reminding you about any weight issues you may have… or you purchased a piece that just doesn’t flatter your body type; you were going to get it tailored 2 years ago, but it still hasn’t happened yet.

Your pieces only serve one purpose- you go into a store and buy exactly what’s on the mannequin and therefore only wear those pieces exactly how they were styled by the stores’ visual person or you segregate your clothes into pieces that you wear to work, pieces you wear with kids, or pieces that you wear out with friends… there are no crosses your clothing boundaries.

You keep all your favorite clothes, you love them – how could you get rid of them, Ok they’re looking a tad tatty and tired, dated and old, and you haven’t really worn some of them for years, but you still love them and you spent a lot on them… you can’t throw out something that you love.

You’re constantly buying new clothes, without thought about what you have, and what you need in your wardrobe.  You have every color under the sun in your wardrobe.  Your clothes don’t match, you can’t create outfits, you’re constantly trying on different personality styles so it’s all a bit too all over the place to really work.

You have lots of clothes, but they’re all the same, 20 pairs of black trousers, 2 dozen pairs of jeans, 8 blue tops, 15 pairs of black flats, 7 identical t-shirts.  Whatever your weakness, whatever you think will always come in handy you keep buying the same garment over and over, but forget about creating outfits.

You’re always in a hurry and can’t be bothered to look through everything. You end up wearing the same clothes over and over again.

Your closet has a few gaps. Maybe you don’t own the perfect black trousers or the section of womens coats and jackets in your closet is a bit weak.

How to create a closet filled with clothes you wear….

Ditch the out of date pieces  – this is an easy one – the worlds of Elsa…” let it go.”  If it was expensive or possibly now vintage, but you no longer wear it –put it on Poshmark if you want a return on your investment.  Otherwise donate it.

Keeping clothes that don’t fit is bad for your emotional well being.  If the clothes are too small and you are in the process of losing weight, then pack them away somewhere so that they’re not taunting you daily about your weight.  If in another 6 months or year you still can’t fit into them, get rid of them.  If they’re too large and you’re keeping them in case you put weight on, get rid of them or have them altered to fit you.   If they just don’t fit quite right, see if they can be altered to fit, if not, and sometimes they’re just not cut right for your body shape, then move them on – sell, give away, donate.

Each item has many facets - if you cant create at least 3 different outfits with an item it’s not worth the investment… stop purchasing one fit wonders. Also, think about each item in a unique way and don’t limit it to it’s original purpose. A top that was purchased to be worn under a blazer can be paired with jeans and heels and worn to dinner or sleeveless sheath dress can be worn with a Moto jacket to give it an edgy look.

Favorites – you’re letting your emotions hold you back.  Are you going to build extra rooms onto your house to store all your favorite items?   That’d be pretty expensive wouldn’t it?  Do you have photos of yourself wearing those favorite outfits?  Do you have memories of wearing them?  Yes they may have made you feel and look great at the time, but if they’re passed their use-by date, let them go, they’ve just become clutter -and does clutter really make you happy?

Stop shopping and start refining your personal style- pin down the colors that make you look really fabulous, and to understand the shapes and styles of clothes that work best on you.  Take a calculator and go through your wardrobe, add up what you think you paid for each item, then prepare to be shocked at what you’ve spent.  You may think that an image consultant is expensive, but a good one will save you money for years and years and years because you’ll stop wasting money on stuff that doesn’t work.

Take an inventory of what you own - Hang like items together and you’ll realize just how many of the same thing you have.  You may not have known just how many pairs of jeans, or black pants or whatever is your weakness you have, until they’re grouped together, staring at you. 

Plan in advance - look for an item at the bottom of your closet, something you haven’t worn in ages. Build an outfit around that item and wear it the next day.

Purge your closet - make a list of everything that you need. Next time you’re out shopping think about investing in the perfect nude minimalist shoe or any other key items that will tie together outfits.

it’s time for you to pull out your clothes , start trying on, and creating outfits. Photograph your outfits so you know what to wear the next time you’re meeting your friends for dinner. Need some help creating outfits contact me for help!