Is your closet stuffed with clothes you don’t like?
A common statistic says that most women only wear 20-30% of the clothes they own. I believe it - not only because I’ve lived it myself, but because I always ask my new and potential clients to estimate their own percentage. Most of them answer that they wear between 20-40% of their clothes, but if they’re already intentionally working with a capsule wardrobe, the percentage can be a lot higher.
To get clarity in your wardrobe, I always recommend paring down to the essentials. There’s no long and complicated process involved. Just take everything out of your closet, and get rid of everything you don’t like. Doesn’t fit? Gone. Needs repairs or alterations you know you aren’t doing to deal with? Gone. Color doesn’t look good on you? Gone. Reminds you of a crappy date? Gone. Pattern isn’t your taste anymore? Gone. Never worn it? Gone. You don’t feel great in it? Gone. You get the idea. Do this with your handbags and accessories too.
Depending on the item, “gone” can mean tossing it in a donation box, giving it to your sister, or storing it in a bin under your bed, as long as it’s out of your closet. If you struggle with letting go, the third option is a good one: if you need something, you can always retrieve it from the bin, but what you’re trying to do is create space. You want to remove the visual clutter and mental labor of all those pieces you shove past every morning to get to something you actually want to wear.
If you’re not a capsule wardrobe person, don’t worry. You don’t have to commit to a smaller wardrobe forever. In fact, paring things down makes it easier to go shopping again, because the gaps in your wardrobe have suddenly become obvious. You’ll also clearly see what the items you chose to keep have in common, whether that’s a silhouette, a color scheme, a type of fabric, or a pattern.
Here’s a non-clothing example of how getting rid of stuff can bring clarity to a space:
I love being surrounded by art, so until quite recently, my living room walls were absolutely covered in different types of artwork. Paintings, mirrors, photographs, linocut prints, butterflies under glass, embroidery, weird little wall hangings - we had it all, big and small. Every time we brought in a new piece, my husband suffered with me through the inevitable rearranging of everything, only for me to later complain that I wanted to throw everything away because it was visually overwhelming (I’m a joy). Finally, during one of these interminable rearrangements, he said, “You always say you want to get rid of everything, so let’s just take it all down and see what you want to keep.”
Once it was all off the walls, I didn’t want to put much back. I boxed up a couple sentimental pieces, gave a couple things to friends, and sold the rest online. I’ve felt overjoyed every single day since, walking into my colorful and airy living room, where I now actually notice and appreciate the art that I love the most.
Just as in my living room example, having too many clothing pieces clamoring for attention in your closet can distract you from the pieces which genuinely bring you joy to wear. You may find yourself wearing things you don’t enjoy out of guilt or obligation, thinking, “I have this, so I should wear it.” Having an excess of rarely or never-worn items can even lull you into a false sense of security. You feel like you have clothing for any scenario, yet you find yourself panic-shopping before a wedding or a job interview because as it turns out, you don’t have clothing for any scenario. Not clothing you like, anyway!
Give this method a try. You might be surprised by how little of your clothing you’re wearing on a regular basis. And I hope you’ll be surprised with some newfound creativity, too!