Is it Time to Weed Out Your Wardrobe?
Are you ready for some Spring and Summer weather? I am! Are your clothes ready for this season? How do you transition your wardrobe from Winter to Spring? Do you need to move your winter clothes from your closet to make room for your Spring/Summer wardrobe? How do you physically do it? Is it an all-day flip from Winter/Fall clothing to Spring/Summer, with clothes stored in totes or another closet? Or do you just moving the clothes around inside your closet to make this season’s items more accessible? Do you have a different way of doing it? Whatever you do most of us, make some changes inside our closets to get our clothes ready for bright sunshine and warmer temps.
I find the transition to Spring clothes to be the best time for a Wardrobe Weed-out! You may call it something different. That’s OK! I use this as an opportunity to take a look at what I have. Figure out what I need. And keep my wardrobe working for me.
Here’s my DIY Wardrobe Weed-out!
To free up space in a closet, start by removing the Winter clothes that benefit from being folded during the off season. Items like sweater dresses, bulky knitted items, and winter accessories. Once that group is gone, it frees up quite a bit of space. While boxing those items, look to see if anything is worn out or needs to be repaired. Worn out items can find new life in crafts. Items can be repaired now, or have a note attached to remind you, in the Fall, that they need attention. Also, if cleaning is needed, drop the items off at the dry-cleaners or launder.
Group your clothes together. Then organize the clothes within the grouping. There are a lot of different approaches to this. Use the one that makes the most sense to you. Three suggestions are: By sleeve length; By color; By outfit. For this example, we’ll use sleeve length to illustrate. Group shirts into groups of sleeveless shirts, short sleeved shirt, ¾ length shirts, long sleeved shirts. Now, go through checking to see that each item is in good condition, still fits and it is not outdated. If an item doesn’t make the cut: Toss it, if it’s worn out. Or repurpose it as rags or kids play clothes. If it’s in good condition donate it or use a service like threadUp. Then do the same with pants, sweaters, layering pieces, dresses, jackets, whatever is in your closet. If you want to take your grouping to the next level. Sort the items by color within the subgrouping. One way to do this is to group the shirts from light to dark, by sleeve length. This can make finding your short-sleeved navy shirt easier.
Don’t forget about socks, underwear and footwear. Because what you wear under your clothes makes a huge difference in way your clothes look on your body. Shoes may need to be cleaned and polished before storing them for the season. Thankfully, in Elko, we can store our heavy winter shoes and snow boots for a few months. Yeah! Check the heels of your shoes for wear. If your shoes look tired, it may be time for a new pair. Also, check for stains or tears. Great looking footwear can easily elevate your look.
Just for the Guys
Dress Shirts – Check the collars and cuffs for fraying, puckers or an uneven finish. Sometimes the interfacing used in construction fails or reacts when the shirts are cleaned. This is the usual cause of a bumpy appearance on the collar or cuff. Check for loose buttons and replace.
Pants- check the hems for fraying or discoloration, unfortunately this usually means that the pants need to be replaced. If you’ve been hesitant to purchase new pants because you don’t like the current style, check out your favorite company’s website. Most brands have multiple styles available including pleats, cuffed, tapered, straight, athletic and tall styles.
I hope these tips help you get ready for the Spring 2021 Season. Enjoy!
Marie Manning is an Image Consultant and the owner of Intentional Image. She can be found on Facebook at Intentional Image. If your business or organization would like host a free workshop on the topic of Your Professional Image or Making a Lasting Impression contact [email protected]