Style Statement -- Live by your own design

Did you know that most women wear only 30% of their wardrobe? It’s all too easy to have a closet stuffed with clothes we don’t really like, items that obscure the buried gems we should wear to feel beautiful and authentic.

If you find yourself throwing up your hands in frustration and declaring “I have no clothes!” a little too often, it’s time to go shopping in your closet. It can be fun – and a lot more affordable!

Here are my three proven steps to closet-shopping. After you follow them, you’ll also be much more successful when you shop for real at your favorite stores. A well-planned, well-loved wardrobe paves the way for new additions that express your Style Statement, and thus, you!

Step 1: Edit

• Try all your clothes on. Ask yourself, “Do I love it?” “Does it flatter me?” “Have I worn it in the last year?” For your no’s, create a recycle pile. You can either donate clothes to people in need or host a clothing swap party with your girlfriends! Here’s one take on how to do a swap.
• Organize. If you don’t see your clothes, you won’t wear them. Hang the clothes you’ve chosen to keep on good, matching hangers – they help make sense of your wardrobe and they make opening your closet a visual delight! Organize either by color or by style (I like color … easy to see what you have), and buy clear shoeboxes to store your shoes.

Step 2: Appreciate

• Recognize and treasure your best physical feature. Accentuate it – it will compensate for other parts you’re less confident about (e.g., a small waist balances full hips). Everyone has a favorite feature … a long neck, lovely ankles, broad shoulders, shapely calves … so take the time to honor yours in this exercise. The trick here is to forget your size and discover your shape. Check out The Body Shape Bible by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.
• Care for your wardrobe. Alter clothes that need a nip, tuck, or letting out – fit makes a huge difference to how our clothes hang and how we move in them. Dry-clean items that need it (and remember to take clothes out of plastic dry cleaning bags when you hang them back up – fibers can’t breathe in them). Shoetrees will get you more wear from your footwear, as will a good polish from time to time.
• Mix and Match. Create new outfits with what you have. Mix work and play. Have a girlfriend over, indulge in The Sartorialist and go wild! A striped shirt with a leopard pattern cardigan … a skinny jean with a peasant tunic … bold jewelry instead of pearls with a little black dress. The only limit need be the fact that you be comfortable enough in your outfits to actually wear them … which you will be if you’re thinking about your Style Statement!

Step 3: Add

But before you add …

• Inform yourself. Take photos of what you own for reference when you treat yourself to a shopping excursion – you can store them on your phone. Buy fashion magazines and tear out what inspires you.
• Make a list of what you need – from basics to extravagant items of pure desire – and don’t forget your second word!
• Think about your budget to avoid guilt, and remember that impulsive purchases are very rarely ones you’re delighted with later.
• Prep yourself for a shopping day guided by intention and purpose – and wear something fabulous to remind yourself of the standard your new clothes have to meet to be purchased.

When we edit, appreciate, and add to our wardrobe, we invite clarity and creativity. Try it for yourself, and get ready to feel transformed!

Photo credit: Patricia Larsen