Wardrobe Taming -- Day One
[ 9 September 2007 ]
Wardrobe taming series:
Day One 
Day Two Day Three Day Four Day Five Day Six Day Seven Day Eight
What’s stopping you from looking your best? When I say best, I mean drop-dead gorgeous. I mean you could show up Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt on the red carpet. I mean feeling good in everything you own. So, what’s holding you back?
Here’s a hint: it’s not your thighs/beak/haircut/eye colour. Everyone can look amazing, regardless of their physical attributes! Odds are, when it comes to looking fabulous, your problems stem from your wardrobe. We are all faced with some kind of wardrobe dilemma! Left unchecked, a closet can easily turn into a hulking beast, bulging with odds & ends. This sort of closet is adept at dosing its owner with a big spoonful of dread as soon as it’s opened.
Here is but a paltry selection of things that can go wrong in the depths of your wardrobe.
You can’t find anything, &/or
A whole lot of your clothing needs fixing or tailoring, &/or
You don’t have the right pair of shoes to pull everything together, &/or
You’re missing the basics you need to add versatility to your wardrobe, &/or
You don’t have the confidence to wear half the stuff you own, &/or
Your body has changed shape & your clothing hasn’t, &/or
Your style has changed & your clothing hasn’t, &/or
You have realised, after reading Fashion Help For Recovering Goths, that most of what you own is entirely the wrong colour… & the list goes on!
How many did you say “yes” to? How many made you CRINGE in recognition?! Oh, you naughty thing! Time to get it together, what do you think?
Your mission… (should you choose to accept it) is to set aside a chunk of time today. Say, an hour. Skip the time you usually spend watching The Hills, or baking, or reading the newspaper (it’s bad for you, anyway!). Put on some good music — I recommend Busta Rhymes & N.E.R.D., but your mileage may vary. Clear a space on the bed. Take a deep breath. Open your closet, & start going through it.
Divide the items into piles: things you wear, & things you don’t. This shouldn’t take long. (Hint: the evening dress you wore once goes in the “things you don’t” pile!) Be honest with yourself, it will benefit you in the long-run! Once this is done, you can put the “things you wear” pile back in your wardrobe. Now, look at what’s left on your bed.
Why don’t you wear these things? Wrong size, shape or colour? Does the hem need taking up (or letting down)? Don’t have the confidence to wear it? Don’t know WHAT the hell to wear it with? Again, sort into corresponding piles. Once you’re finished, move the stacks out of the way, but somewhere you will see them. (Maybe onto a couch or an empty bit of floor space.) Now, have a cup of tea & a sit-down.
Over the next week, I’m going to tell you what to do with these stacks. I will assign you “wardrobe tasks” — which you may carry out at will. The aim, by the end of next week, is to have transformed your wardrobe & the way you look at it! I plan to have you wearing things you had previously relegated to the “I’m not magnificent enough to get away with that!” pile. Your closet will be streamlined, organised & totally user-friendly. Time to whip that beast into submission!
Are you with me?!
Hyper-love & bunny kisses,
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EFT Negative People Cleaning Out Your Wardrobe
I guess I could work on that tomorrow.
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
My wardrobe and I need a good hard whipping!
We are both getting a bit too big for our britches!
You are just the domin-style-trix we need to slap us around a little!
Don’t hold back honey
xx
thank god for you, seriously.
my entire bed room has been overtaken by my wardrobe.
ahhh thanks for this! cleaning day is tomorrow and my closet is full of ‘all of the above’. can’t wait to hear more!!
cool!
i actually did a similar series a couple months back, starting here…http://bitsandbobbins.com/journal/2007/07/03/less-is-more-downsizing-and-decluttering-your-wardrobe-getting-ready-part-1-2/
i’m interesting in reading your take on such things, though! :)
THANKS FOR REAL! My closet is something that has been bugging me lately. You’ve read my soul!
I’m so excited for this series. My wardrobe is in desperate need of a rehaul.
Horray, wadrobe sorting time :)
My main problem is a tendency to not put clothes away, so for me wadrobe sortout = bedroom sortout.
Im with Bridey – even with 2 chests of drawers and a wardrobe I still have trouble fitting everything in and a lot of it ends up in piles on the floor. I actually cleaned out my wardrobe 2 weeks ago but as an op-shopaholic that buys new stuff every few days the new found space gets filled up very quickly.
hehe aw gala, i’m afraid! if i do that, all i’ll be left with in my permanent pile is pajamas… nevertheless, i shall attempt this task of yours, i trust you :D
Firstly I wish my wardrobe look that the one in the picture!
I’m there, can I still keep my jeans?? Lol
Looking forward too it, and also comes at an excellent time, I’m moving house, so revamped wardrobe, new home, new job. Excellent
xx
:D I just spent an hour or so re-organising my wardrobe, throwing out clothes that I haven’t worn in x months or so and probably don’t intend to. Then I sit down for my daily dose of iCing, and it seems that spring cleaning is in the air.
i badly need a wardrobe cull. so thumbs up for the little push. hehehe.
Also brownie points for NERD. lovvvve them.
You’ve just given me the much needed push to begin tackling my CLOSET OF DEATH. Maybe after this, I can have my room back. :)
Is that Carrie Bradshaw’s bedroom?
Danielle – yup… it def is. For some reason that closet and bathroom will be ingrained my my memory for evvver.
i did this about a week ago, very half heartedly – i’m so attached to my stuff, even though it’s is of no use to me anymore. . . but this has totally inspired me to give it another try!
thanks gala
Fabulous advice. I’m super organized and routinely clean out my wardrobe, but admittedly there are a couple of things that I have been holding on to because I “think that I will need them one day”. Like black dress pants. I have 2 pairs, and scarcely wear either! They just don’t feel like me.
Thanks for the inspiration, and I will be making those piles later today. *
fantastic. inspired. brilliant! although my problem is not throwing stuff out- its trying to fill it back up again with things i’ll actually wear! i did the wardrobe detox about a month ago and now i have no clothes, because i dont know what to buy. hehe
I am soooo with you.
I feel like my wardrobe isn’t really me any more.
I’m excited!
i am so bad for not buying the essentials and basic items – when i shop, i am like a magpie. i instantly go for the exciting, sparkly things and thus, i have two wardrobes full of clothes (and i do mean FULL), and about six coherent outfits. i am working on this!
xoxo
I’M WITH YOU GALA!!! =D
I’m with you too!
My problem is that I cut most of my clothes up and never wore than after doing so.
I hope this will help~ I’ve got too many basics.
You have perfect timing, Gala! At uni it’s fresher’s week and I start teaching my classes next week. I find now that when I go in, I feel quite intimidated by all the young funky things in their late teens who seem to exude confidence and flare. Hopefully after sorting out the wardrobe, I’ll be able to waltz around uni with an air of style and sophistication instead of slouching around in jeans and a t-shirt!
I’m with you! :D
Oooo, excellent!
Yes!
YES!
i am a clothes packrat. i have so many old clothes that need mended, shoes that need re-soled, old t shirts that i can’t give away because of one memory with it but i haven’t worn any of them in years…
send me on my way to my ultimate goal of DAILY TANK GIRL STYLE.
It’s the wardrobe Olympics!
This is fabulous! I was just thinking about doing this… and dreading it… I’ve put on a few pounds but can’t stand the thought of ditching my clothes that ALMOST fit like they used to.
Until I’m there, at least I can make the most out of what I have that does fit.
So glad you’re doing this!
i think we need to some how swap clothes since we all need to get rid of some of our clothes… ive been meaning to declutter for about two years now
Liser – that’s a great idea! i don’t know how it would work LOL but imagine how many great things that we’ve got & don’t want to throw, might work with/fit/suit someone else perfectly?
Liser—
Recently after a big closet purging, I held a clothing swap. I invited my friends (who were all psyched for an excuse to purge their own chaotic closets) and advertised it in a few relevant local online communities, too. It was awesome! People discovered treasures in other people’s trash, and I donated all the leftovers to Goodwill. It was the easiest event ever and really fun. I recommend it to all :)
>rr
what do you mean by saying the newspaper is bad for you?
the timing couldn’t be more perfect! i’m moving house next weekend and decided this weekend is packing/sorting out clothes – now i will have all the tips i need to make sure it’s a success!
yay gala! and happy birthday! xoxox
“Kind of like what you would wear to the funeral of your husband if you had murdered him with a pearl-handled pistol.”
SO FUNNY!!
I love the green dress from san fran. Love, love, love. I would wear that thing every day. The cut-out front is amazing.
Julie
What about things that you wear a lot but don’t actually look that great? Do they go with the ‘don’t wear’ pile?
Took me quite a lot more than one hour but since I’m a big fan of wardrobe taiming myself I looove this and will now move on to day two straight away :)
I have way more clothes that need to go into the “don’t wear/hideous” pile than not. Once I’ve finished with this stage of the project, I may have to resort to running around in my skivvies a few days until I can properly re-fill my closet!
Thank you for this! I’ve always struggled to find a guide to re-doing a wardrobe that’s written from a perspective that speaks to me. I really need your help, Gala, so THANKS! (:
I’ve been meaning to do this for so long, & just started today! I’m normally completely ruthless with my wardrobe, but still have an awful lot of things that I don’t wear. Everything in the ‘Things I Don’t Wear’ pile is either things I feel guilty about giving away as they were gifts from family, or things I don’t have the self-confidence to wear on a daily basis. Thanks so much for the fabulous guide Gala!