Ladies!!! This is just feeling so great! Thank you to each of you who is joining me on this closet purge. I am so excited to be helping you on this journey of Creating Your Dream Closet! Is your closet feeling a little empty now? Mine is. Look how sad! Haha…all that space!
MUST. BE. FILLED.
Okay now the crazy shopper in me wants to come out! (Yep, you’re getting to know me a little too well now, right?) But FIRST! First, we have to know exactly what we’re shopping for. And how do we do that, you might be asking? Well my friends, it is time to find out your own fashion style and gather some inspiration for that shopping trip.
Assess Your Closet
Take a look at that closet again. I know we touched a bit on this yesterday, but let’s take it a step further than a “mental note”.
What seems to be the common theme throughout your wardrobe? This will give you a lot of insight on what your personal fashion style is. Do you gravitate towards certain colors? Do you have a lot of feminine pieces that bring out your girly side or do you stick to a more classic style? Do you like edgy details and bold graphics? Take a notepad and jot down any word you can use to define what you see. Assuming you followed my suggestions while cleaning out your closet, you should only be left with pieces you truly love.
But if you want me to be completely truthful with you… When I hit this phase of my closet cleanse, I discovered there were still pieces in there I didn’t love, but that I kept for sentimental value and necessity. I’ll give you a couple examples so you know what I mean.
- Custom shirt with a funny phrase – It’s faded and old and not something I will likely wear, but it reminds me of a dear friend and makes me laugh every time I see it.
- Old, but basic tees – They are pretty ratty looking. In fact, my hubby actually requested me not to wear them in public. And yet, I don’t have the budget to completely replace all my tees, so I held on to just a few to throw on with pajama pants when I just needed something cozy.
- Maternity clothes – Obviously I have no use for them now, or maybe even in the near future. But I held on to a couple of the basic, non-trendy pieces for “just in case”
So what do you do with these odds and ends that are taking up space, but you aren’t really using? Well, for things I am saving for sentimental reasons, I make kind of a time capsule. I will be storing it with my high school cheerleading and similar stuff. The old tees….well, they are going to have to stay until I replace them one by one. Just one of those necessities for me. The maternity clothes are also being stored. Simple enough, right?
Back to gathering inspo…
Take a Style Quiz
After you have jotted down some key words describing your closet, it’s time to narrow down your search a little more by taking a style quiz. If you are feeling overwhelmed, this will help to focus your thoughts as you gather inspiration and put together your wardrobe. I scoured the internet far and wide and took every quiz I could find until I found one that I thought accurately pointed out my style – Creative and Trendy. I hope it will helpful for you as well.
Create a Style Board
Are you feeling a little more focused? Do you feel like the quiz was an accurate interpretation of your style? It’s time to try something with me. Don’t start pinning to a board you already have on Pinterest. Start a new one. Title it “The New Me” or “Style Inspo” or “Finding my Personal Style”. Really – title it whatever you want, but I encourage you to start fresh! The reason being that your style is always evolving, so I find it helpful to do this with a fresh set of eyes. That way you aren’t basing your inspiration off stuff you once loved, but what currently catches your eye. You know what you have that you love, but now it’s time to browse what you love about the current styles.
You should have fun with this part. Do you have a friend whose a style you really admire? Take a look at their boards for inspiration. Is there a fashion blogger who has your dream closet? Pin your favorite looks. Browse women’s fashion, 2015 trends, and spring fashion and pin to your hearts desire. Then take a step back and look at it. Does it reflect overall the same style you are currently wearing? Or are you noticing something else that’s drawing your eye? This just may be the perfect time for you to branch out and incorporate a little more of that into your wardrobe!
You can check out my style board here…
How Do You Feel?
At this point, you may find yourself experiencing one of the following emotions:
1. Excited and relieved:
You have purged the old and you get a fresh start with your wardrobe.
OR
2. Worried:
You have an infinite amount of possibilities before you.
Which direction do you want to take and how will you achieve creating your dream closet.
Which one are you right now? You don’t have to be afraid to say! Both are completely normal. While I am feeling excited and relieved, I understand completely being on the other spectrum of emotions. We are only on day 3 – so we have plenty of time to help you achieve that dream closet! For now, take a sigh of relief that you are over half way done.
Behind on the process? I’ve posted links to each step right HERE for you. You’re welcome. Or you can follow along to PART 4 right now…
