Wardrobe Series: Take a look at what you’ve got

FB: What our closet actually is… 

FB: And what we’d like it to be 😛

This one is the easiest. Basically, face your wardrobe head on.

In these categories, mark down how many items you have in each. Take a couple days to do this if you need to.

Tops

Turtlenecks, t-shirts, sweaters, halter tops, etc 

Pants

Trousers, khakis, anything that isn’t a pair of jeans. 

Jeans
Shorts
Skirts
Dresses
Jackets

Denim jackets, brocade jackets anything that doesn’t have a matching bottom. 

Suits

Pant suits and skirt suits that match. Don’t double-count them in other categories. 

Formal/Party Wear

I’m talking about those sequin flapper dresses you absolutely CANNOT wear anywhere BUT at a party or special event. 

Coats

Winter jackets, fall, autumn, spring, things you wouldn’t normally keep wearing inside. 

Loungewear

Sweat suits, sweat pants, comfy wear you dare not wear outside. 

Other

Costumes, Medieval wear for regular and special events you participate in 

At an immediate glance you’ll be able to tell what you have an overabundance of, and what you’re lacking. For me in this category, without a doubt, I have an overabundance of tops and a real lack of formal/party wear and shorts because I hate wearing shorts.

The reason why you want to take stock of what you have, is for a couple of reasons.

What does my wardrobe say about me?

You have to know what your wardrobe represents at the moment. Look at what you’ve actually got to work with, to begin. What does it say about you? What clothes are the most worn/worn out? Which ones seem brand new or with tags still on?

It’ll give you a glimpse into what your life is really like, or what you’d like it to be. If you have a TON of tops but not many pants, it may mean you like a lot of variety, but get bored easily with trends. Or if you have a lot of new-ish party wear with tags still on it and well used lounge wear but most of it you haven’t even worn in the past 3 years, it means you’d LIKE to party more often but often end up in your sweats instead sitting at home, eating a tub of ice cream (guilty as charged….). And it may not be necessarily that you have nowhere to go, but there’s no motivation to go anywhere, and/or you weren’t really aware of the situation.

If you’re OK with this lifestyle, continue with it. But it might indicate to you that you’re wishing for something else for your life, and maybe you should do something about it. So make concrete plans to go out with friends, or with your significant other and make use of that fab party wear to fulfill that part of your wardrobe, if that’s what you really want.

Do I still need to be looking for ________?

Sometimes in your head (normally if you have too many clothes), you think you are STILL looking for the perfect pair of black pants. But they may just very well be hidden in the back of your closet, and just need a bit of tailoring or a button sewn back on to be perfect. Or the perfect pair of pants is part of a suit. But you haven’t worn it because you haven’t broken out of the mindset that a pair of pants in a suit CAN be worn separately. This’ll stop you from wanting to spend some major dosh (money) (again) on another pair of black pants only to come home and realize you had the perfect pair to begin with.

Where am I spending most of my money on?

This’ll also help you understand that you’re spending your money in an area (party wear) that returns no “investment” because you’re not even going out to parties that often. So if you want to stick to the lifestyle that you have now, you ought to spend more of your money on fancier/quality lounge wear since you wear that most often. And it’s even worse (for me anyway) to see party wear with tags on it in my closet, and realize I spent much more on that gorgeous dress and have never worn it yet my loungewear which I wear on a regular basis is a ratty old men’s Hanes t-shirt that comes down to my knees.

You need to know what you have before you can know what to get rid of, and what you actually want/need in a wardrobe.

What if most of my clothes are good, but are the wrong size?

And if you have a ton of clothes that are in between sizes, for those strong ladies who losing weight and/or gaining it, then take into consideration whether or not these pieces could work for you at any size.

What I mean is if you have lots of pants and tops, but not too many wrap dresses, or other pieces that can be more readily adjusted to your changing size, then you should think about:

A) Not buying any more pants/tops if you have enough in each size, until you settle down to the realistic size that you are comfortable with, and you’re happy.

B) Buying pieces that can be adjusted to your size if need be, like wrap dresses, A-line skirts, items with stretch in it, or belts.

For more info, see my post: Losing Weight and your ever changing wardrobe.

Now what?

The point is just to look at what you have. Take stock. Be aware of what’s currently in your wardrobe, and what you’re spending your hard earned money on.

Next: What is your lifestyle like?