How to Create a Wardrobe You Love
Want a small wardrobe but don’t how to start? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a small wardrobe.
You want to be happier when you look in your closet, right!?? Let me tell you a secret. My life completely changed when I got rid of half the clothes in my closet.
Can you believe that I can create this many outfits from just a few pieces of clothing?
Seriously, my closet looks like this:
I want to help you have the same joy.
But before I share how to create a small wardrobe, I want to let you know that it’s not JUST a small wardrobe that is going to improve your everyday life. It’s what’s in it.
I want you to have the closet and style that you dream of having! So, I’ve created a list of wardrobe essentials!
RIGHT now, click on the image below to get this list of 14 Wardrobe Essentials to start you off after your purge:
Have the list tucked away in your email? Excellent! Here we go!
If you are ready for:
- reduced stress
- no more agonizing about what to wear
- Less laundry
- More awesome outfit combinations that you will get complimented on
A small wardrobe is definitely for you!
Here’s how to create a small wardrobe.
First, remove your entire wardrobe from the closet and lay it out so you can see each piece.
Then, sort it into four piles:
Yes: I love it! It makes me feel amazing. No brainer.
Maybe: If I can clean off this stain or fix that hem, I would probably love it.
No: Doesn’t fit right. Not loving the colors.
Seasonal: I will definitely wear this during Springish-Fall, but it’s way too hot now.
It will not be easy! However, I swear you can do it.
Getting rid of clothes is hard for everyone because we hang onto items out of emotion rather than actual logic. In fact, I swear I went through the five stages of grief while completing this task.
Denial
My closet is completely fine. Look at how well organized I have it. Everything by color. Hmm, I’m running out of space. Perhaps I should move some of these clothes to this rack over here.
Anger
How many friggin clothes do I have?!? What? They can’t all fit in one pile?!? Where the hell did I get all these plastic hangers?
Bargaining
I snatched my Agnes & Dora leggings from the top of “No” pile. “No, I can use these for running,” I thought to myself. I headed to my closet. Then it occurred to me, “In the middle of summer, JoAnn?” Dang it! Ok, one pair as pajamas then.
No, I can’t get rid of that dress. I wore it to a party 10 years ago. It was such a fun party. I’ll just keep that dress.
Depression
This is sooooo hard. I really need a glass a wine. Is 2 pm too early for wine?
Acceptance
Actually sent this message to a friend:
After that initial cleanout, the difference in clothing shocked me!
Now, I have
Can you believe the difference after seeing how many clothes I had on the floor on the previous page?
I discovered what I LOVED in my closet, but I didn’t quite have enough for a workable wardrobe. I needed a few more bottoms to make it through the week.
Do you know what you need?
RIGHT now, click on the image below to get this list of 14 Wardrobe Essentials to start you off on a wardrobe you LOVE!
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Joann,
Thanks for reading my post on “How I got rid of my wardrobe”. I loved this post you wrote–I particularly loved that you incorporated the Kubler-Ross grief model. Genius!
Denaye
Thanks Denaye!! Your post was genius!! It inspired me to finally make the change I needed in my wardrobe! Going over to read your blog now 🙂
Love this! I have been working on creating my smaller wardrobe and it so so refreshing! Thanks for sharing this at Tues Talk!
This is such an interesting concept! I don’t know if I could do it. I should give it a try, my closet is a disaster! 🙂
It feels so good when it is done Allison! You will find you only wear a few of the things in your closet. But its hard to get rid of items. I recommend you have a glass of wine handy 🙂
I also look at a full closet thinking: “I have nothing to wear!” I have some clothes so old they should have been dumped long ago.
I so need to do this! Thanks for the motivation! I just love that you found a wrap from 2002. 🙂
Oh shoot! I still need to put that wrap in the mail!!
Good luck!! Let me know how it goes!
Doing. This. This is amazing. I love you for this post.
Thanks Megan! It’s seriously the most amazing thing. Makes packing for vacations easy as well 🙂 I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
This post is so timely for me; been wanting to “minimize” my wardrobe for years but find it so challenging! Closet is packed; I don’t love shopping at all but find myself picking up something new because I can’t dress myself half the time when confronted with the chaos. I know this closet issue is burning my time and money every day!
Interested, though, to hear of you or others have suggestions when it comes to managing very different aspects of life? (It was easier when I wore all black all the time lol) Much as I’ve tried to convince myself to dress like a grown-up, if I’m not working it’s cut-offs or cargos and a tank top, but I’m in real estate and need to dress to make my clients comfortable – sometimes that’s biz casual and sometimes it means serious heels and pencil skirt.
Thanks in advance if anybody has advice 🙂 Kristen
Hi Kristen! My approach has been to focus on neutrals and basic colors for my pants and skirts. That way, I can pair any bottom with any top. Plus, if I own one beautiful black pencil skirt, people really won’t notice if I wear it several times because I can mix it up with different tops and accessories. If you have these very different facets of your life, I would say to buy a few quality pieces for each that are easy to mix and match.
I’m interested to hear other people’s advice on this 🙂
Thanks JoAnn. That makes perfect sense… probably just need to discipline myself into more basic stuff most of the time 😉
inlove this. I really should do this! It will be so hard though.
I recommend a glass of wine and trust your first instinct 🙂 You will probably find that you don’t wear half the things in your closet and it will be easier than you think!
Im ashamed to say that I went through this whole shebang in March… I think I gave away about 100 items, and YET…. my closet still looks like it was hit with a tornado, that dropped the neighbors clothes into it…. I can’t stand the vast majority of what I own.. but I can’t seem to give it up, I keep thinking “what will I wear?!” (*eh hem* I haven’t worn any of the things I kept for that reason… I keep wearing just a few things. I might have to try a new method… I once read of the “stash it in a box, daily pull out what you wear for two weeks… then donate whatever didn’t make it out of the box”… maybe that will keep me “honest” about what I wear…. *sigh*
I feel for ya. It’s hard to give up stuff. As I said, I had to go through this process with a glass of red wine in my hand 🙂 My advice is only keep what you love! If you can’t give up the rest, stuff that in a box and put it in a hard to reach place, like the garage. If you really need something, its still there for you. However, odds are, you will probably not even miss it. Let me know how it goes!
I love this idea.. I really need to clean out my closet. Really, really badly.
Do it Lauren! If you need me to ship you a bottle of wine for the process, let me know 🙂 It is slightly painful but feels so good once its done!
I like downsizing, but I’m wondering what happened with your off-season clothes. I keep them all in my closet because I don’t want to have to store them somewhere else. How many items do you have taking into account the other seasons?
Hi Heather! I have a drawer in a dresser in my room where I keep about 10 off-season garments. They stay in there until the season changes and then I switch out the seasons. People living in colder climates will probably have a little more than me to switch 🙂 I’m doing a webinar tomorrow at 10AM MST where I’ll show you everything! You can ask questions too. Come join! It’s here –> bit.ly/1QpsHxT
My sister shared a great tip with me years ago. Her philosophy is that she can not buy something new unless she is willing to toss out something already in her collection, whether it be clothing, shoes or accessories. It works for her!
Me on the other hand I have to go through the purging process first in order to make that work. My issue is I absolutely hate shopping for clothes so it takes me longer to get rid of things! Maybe it’s time to seek the assistance of a professional stylist!
Hi Renvoe! You sound a lot like me!! I’m holding a free webinar on this very topic this Wednesday! Come hang out and chat! You can sign up here –> http://app.webinarjam.net/register/25177/9bf8586ff5