If you’re anything like me, a stay-at-home mom of a two-year old (and occasional freelance event planner), your wardrobe probably consists mostly of cozy-comfy leggings, oversized shirts and sweaters, and sneakers. Essentially, I live in sweatpants, pajamas, and loungewear, which has created an all-for-one outfit on constant rotation, and I’m now in desperate need of a spruce up! I’d like to get my closet back on track with some more stylish, yet comfy options, and still keep those leggings and oversized shirts around for the occasional lazy day. But where to begin when curating your wardrobe? Here’s how I plan to update my closet.
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- Step 1 – Review Your Existing Closet. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty, and go through your closet, dresser, and any clothes you may have stowed away in storage bins. Pull out all of your clothes from every nook and cranny in your house to ensure a complete review! Try things on and see if they still fit, or, more importantly, do they flatter you and make you feel good? This may be time-consuming, but worth it in the end. What pieces do you continuously grab for? If it’s not your favorite or you haven’t worn it in a long time, you should get rid of it to make room for something else.
- Step 2 – Keep, Sell, Donate, or Throw Out. While sifting through your clothes, make four piles: one for items you’ll keep and continue to wear, one for those you’ll sell, another pile for donation, and a collection of clothes that are simply too tired or worn, and should be thrown out. This can be a hard task to accomplish, as you may talk yourself into keeping things you’ll never wear again, but by curating a thoughtful and well-organized wardrobe, you’ll be sure to wear the pieces you own over and over again. It may even be helpful to bring in a friend, who can be a voice of reason and keep you on track. If any of my clothes are still in amazing shape, I try to sell them online at Poshmark to make a little bit of money. I’ve been successful in selling name brands on the site, but anything on the lower end has flopped, and then I just donate them. If you do plan to donate any items, make sure the pieces are still in good shape for the next person to wear.
- Step 3 – Understand Your Colors. Have you heard of color analysis? It’s a great way to find out your clothing color palette based on your skin tone, hair color, and eye color. This analysis will help determine which colors look best on you. A great website to help you figure this out is ColorWise. There are lots of professionals out there who charge for this service, so this free tool is awesome! This analysis was eye-opening for me, as I discovered I am a Classic Autumn palette, and a lot of the colors I own (grey, navy, black) actually wash me out. Now I know to keep this in mind when looking for new items, or even with things I currently own. I keep a photo of my final analysis colors on my phone, so when I’m out and about, I can reference the color blocks that look best on me. I inevitably still reach for black, grey, or navy items, and I have to remind myself that they’re not the best for my coloring, and I need to train my eye for the new colors!
- Step 4 – Round Out Your Wardrobe. So you’ve gone through your existing clothes and found things you wish to keep. Now you need to determine what items, if any, are still needed to fill in the gaps. You may be surprised that your wardrobe is smaller, yet still offers lots of options to mix and match, and you may not need much more to complete it. Based on the season, you may need more shorts or more sweaters, but make these additional pieces intentional, so that you can wear them for years and years to come. If you find, like me, that you have tons of tops but not a lot of bottoms, focus on adding shorts, jeans, or skirts to your wardrobe. These pieces should all compliment each other, so that you can use the tops you already own, and wear them well with the new bottoms you add to your closet. I also think the quality of the clothing should be taken into consideration; if you plan to keep this in your wardrobe for years to come, you may need to pay more, and it should be worth it. I’m not a huge accessory person, but if you’re looking for some staple pieces, I like to keep a brown and black belt on hand, brown and black sandals, white sneakers, pearl earrings, my Madewell leather purse (purchased for a steal on Poshmark), and a gold bangle or two for when I really want to feel glam! Keeping it simple but classic really goes a long way with your wardrobe.
- Step 5 – Wear! Once you’ve pulled your wardrobe together, try on your outfits and mix and match to see what looks best together. Even if you have dwindled your wardrobe down to the basics, by mixing and matching, you could have a hundred different options in a snap. My motto: if it makes me happy – wear it! I plan to try on my clothes and take photos of my outfits, so that whenever I feel stumped or uninspired, I can look through my ‘rolodex’ of outfits, and easily find something to wear. I also love to use Pinterest and get inspiration from other fashionistas, AKA stay-at-home mom bloggers! My personal goal is to actually get dressed (no leggings!) for any play dates or ventures outside my house. Don’t get me wrong — I still love my cozy-comfy clothes, but those I’ll keep for when I’m home.
So after updating my closet, my spring/summer staple closet will include:
- Tops: solid colored V-neck t-shirts, a graphic tee, a white button down, a chambray button down, striped sweaters to layer on cooler days/nights, striped long-sleeve shirt, denim jacket, and rain coat
- Bottoms: two to three distressed/light wash denim jeans (high rise/mom jeans are back in style!), one pair of white jeans, three denim and solid colored linen shorts
- Skirt/Dress: sweater dress, lightweight dresses to wear on date nights or over bathing suits as a cover-up
- Accessories: solid colored bathing suit, leather purse, gold jewelry, stud earrings, brown/black belt, sunglasses, neutral headbands (I love to wear one all year round!)
- Shoes: Birkenstock sandals, Blundstone boots, all-white sneakers
My hope for having a curated wardrobe is to simplify my closet, enjoy ALL of my clothes, and truly not have to think about putting a nice outfit together, since I’ve ensured everything is cohesive. Your wardrobe will be as unique as you are, and I wish you happy curating for a lovely spring/summer wardrobe!
