Happy new year friends and, if you’re like me, happy new budget! After the over spending that’s bound to happen in December from buying gifts for others and let’s be honest those sneaky Black Friday deals for myself, I always crave some from of a spending fast in the new year. Style doesn’t always have to be about rocking the current trend and I believe you can do a lot with what’s hanging in your closet so whether you’re spending your money on school books or just giving your pocket book a break, let’s talk about my top tips for making the most of your current wardrobe.
- Start with the laundry. i bet your favorite things are buried at the bottom of a hamper, you love them so you’re wearing them. In order to move on to step two everything must be hanging up and clean.
- Time for a closet clean out. Now that your eyes are on everything you own and it’s in its proper place, you’re free to move on from pieces that are no longer working for you. You’ve identified your favorites. Your ‘capsule wardrobe’ if you will. They were the items you washed and the ones that get the most wear. Be real about your lifestyle. Are you mostly going to school and church? You may not need 52 prom dresses. If those are what makes you happy, that’s ok! Keep a sparkly dress to wear to your next murder mystery party or layer your favorite dress with a sweater to make it appropriate for Sunday, but I bet there are some you can let go of and make sure your every day clothing is accessible and can be seen to help the getting dressed process to be as easy as possible.
- Seek inspiration for your current closet. I love Pinterest for this because of its searchability. Create a new board, name it ‘my closet’ or your clever version of the title, and start searching things you have in your closet to see new outfits you may not have thought of. Save pins that pair things you own for your personalized style board each time you’re getting ready.
- Try out of the box combos. My favorite way to do this is by hanging shirts and blouses directly over pants and dresses. Your eye will immediately pair a top with a bottom and even if the item hanging directly beneath doesn’t work it may inspire you to try a new color combination or texture that does. If you’re not able to arrange your clothes from top to bottom, another trick I learned by watching Rachel Parcell is to choose one piece you want to wear and quickly pass it by every possible piece to see if something catches your eye. I’ve created many outfits I wouldn’t have thought of before with this method.
- Give every piece its turn. Now that you’ve cleaned out the pieces you’re not wearing everything in your closet is a winner! But I’ll bet by next week your hamper will hold the same 14 things you washed this week. Give every item its turn by only wearing each thing once. Give yourself a marker or take photos so you don’t repeat outfits. At the end of the season anything you haven’t worn must go. A bonus of this method is it’s a simple way of cleaning your closet without having to dedicate a Saturday afternoon to the process.
