Sometimes people remark that they’ve never seen me wear the same thing twice. Well, I assure you I do wear clothes more than once, but rarely do I repeat exactly the same combination of clothes. It helps that I have an enormous wardrobe.
Today’s entry is about one little trick I use to manage my crazy closet (which is actually a spare bedroom). If your wardrobe is sparse, this may not be helpful to you; but if you are a fellow shopping addict who stares into her stuffed-to-the-brim closet thinking “what the hell am I going to wear today?” then read on…
I came up with this idea at a time when I had lots of older stuff in my closet that I hadn’t worn in awhile but still wanted to wear, as well as several new things to add to the mix.
Start with a few index cards. You will use one for each week – 4 or 5 to begin, but you can always add more later. Now pick a category (for example: tops, jackets, shoes, accessories, skirts, etc.) and on the first line of each card, write down something in that category. It could be one specific item (ex: Ann Taylor striped turtleneck) or something more general (ex: patterned sweater). In the example below, I picked all items of the tops or sweaters variety.
Then pick another category and write down an item on each card. You see where I’m going with this… You can make as many categories as you like, or you can even pick random items. I started out with categories – tops, shoes, bottoms – then I did a round of randoms, then did two more categories – accessories, jewelry. The “rules” are really up to you. But in general, try to pick out some items that you’ve had for a while but have been neglected, as well as items that are newer. Then be sure to throw in some basics and favorites.
This project can easily be done on your own, but I consult with my trusty advisor, Coco.
Once you have your cards done, use them as a jumping off point each day that week when you’re deciding what to wear. You could wear multiple items from your card on the same day, or just pick one thing each day and build your outfit around it. Again, you make the rules so it really doesn’t matter! You can be as strict or as flexible with your cards as you like.
If anyone else decides to try my little scheme, let me know what you think! Did it work for you? Does anyone else have unique ways of managing their closets and thinking of new outfits? Leave me a comment!