If it’s not a light jacket or something you wear on a daily basis – put it in a box, trunk or the spare bedroom closet. (Make sure you remember where you put them for when the temp drops.) Folded things can remain folded, hanging pieces can simply be hung in an out of the way closet. Donate things that you haven’t worn in over a year. Someone will be able to get some wear out of your cast-offs. Be realistic, especially with your shoes and sandals. They may need to be replaced.
What’s left in your closet should only be summer wardrobe that you actually wear, that fit you, flatter you, and that you love. Organize items by category, then by color. This makes pieces so easy to find when you need them. Try things on that haven’t been worn in a while things change – you might be surprised.
To update last year’s pieces, add some accessories in fun colors that don’t necessarily match, but that relate to the outfit somehow, or tie everything together. Try a bright scarf or chunky necklace. Both of those pieces are very fashion forward this season. Two prints CAN be worn together if, and only if there is at least one color that’s the same in both prints, and if one print is more bold, one is more subtle.
Not only does a summer closet edit allow you to freshen up the ambiance of your closet, but it affords you wonderful and excting discoveries when winter rolls around. You never knew how much you loved that sweater that your Great Aunt gave you until its been sitting in a box for a few months! Place a few small cedar blocks in each box to keep the moths from making lunch out of your items.
You might just find something you would love to wear in the back corners of your closet. Use inspiration from magazines and catalogues like Anthropologie and J. Crew to put together outfits that express the real you!
Liza M. Dombrowsky and Marian Rothschild, AICI FLC
Marian Rothschild is a Certified Personal Image Consultant with Look Good Now serving Boulder and Denver, CO. Specialties include color analysis, wardrobe and closet consultation, personal shopping, makeup lessons, makeup applications for photos, and speaking on the topic of image for business and groups. Please contact Marian at 720-933-9247.
Liza Dombrowsky is Marian’s assistant as well as an MBA candidate at the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder.
Here’s an updated outfit using that shirtdress. Now it features plum patent leather pumps, a brown leather belt worn higher on the waist, and creative accessories. The colorful bracelet has a touch of red in it, to repeat the red that’s in the dress. The gold hoops relate to the gold color in the bracelet without being too matchy-matchy. And pop your collar for more lift.
One of the most often asked questions from clients is “What can I do about The Gap at the top of my jeans?” It’s frustrating and confusing to want jeans, but every pair you try on has The Gap! You know what I’m talking about; the 2 or 3 inches that stick out at the back of your waistline on your jeans and other pants. It’s stupid, it’s gross.
Second hand stores and I have a long history. My role as a “second hand rose” started when I was a little girl, the middle of five children, from a modest-means family in the Chicago area. My mom would take me to Saint Mary’s Thrift Shop in suburban Flossmoor. This second hand store carried everything from lady’s coats and dresses to household goods.