First off, thank you for being here.  Truly and dearly, from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate each and every one of you.  Without you, we wouldn’t be able to do what we love to do.

So now, let’s talk about this newsletter: More and more I find myself thinking about my personal style.  But it’s specifically about two different points — 1.  What am I trying to convey with my outfits and am I achieving that? and 2.  Am I building a wardrobe that reflects that?

I love that personal style is something you build, day by day, over a lifetime, that is never fully formed because we are always changing.  It’s exciting!  But I want to do this in an intentional way; to reduce the amount of stuff that I bring into my world and how to keep track of and use what I already own.  And what a perfect time to be considering this. It’s the beginning of the new year, I’m in a bit of an outfit slump, I just brought in a handful of newness that I want to get into the mix.

Hence, the theme of our first newsletter: closet organization.

Here’s something that you should know about me—I’m ruthless when it comes to my wardrobe (and most other things in my life).  If it’s not making me happy, or at worst, if it's making me feel guilty, it’s gotta go. Those drop crotch pants I bought in Italy that I paid too much for?  That drawer of sentimental t-shirts that I never wear?  The thing that used to fit me (or never fit me) but one day it just might?  Lets address all that stuff and make a fresh start, shall we? 

Let’s start with the garments.

I do full closet sweeps twice a year; Spring and Fall.  I take a weekend day, get the playlist fired up, and go through every garment in my closet.

Here is my yes and no flow chart:

Have I worn this garment in the last year?

a. Yes, great, keep it around and see if it makes the rotation for this year.

b. No, because:

1. It’s a sentimental keepsake/something I’m handing down/memorabilia

• Wedding dresses, grandma’s ballgowns, great grandpas chore coat, all of these things can be stored and free up valuable closet space.
• Concert purchases or things bought on vacation etc etc?  Consider framing them?  Making them decoration?  If you don’t wear, they can’t be in your working closet, and they gotta go.  Sell or store.

2. It’s rare/vintage/occasional.

• Vintage pieces are really fun and can add a ton of personality to your wardrobe, but if you don’t know how to style them they’ll sit around.  Let’s put them to use!
• If it’s something dressy and you rarely wear it but it fits great and is timeless, keep it, but maybe store in a dust bag in another closet.
  • Formalwear is tricky.  Unless going to formal events is part of your lifestyle, consider selling and making room for harder working pieces

3. It needs work/doesn’t fit.

• If there are garments that don’t fit you, can they be tailored to?  If yes, put them in a pile for tailoring.  Otherwise, SELL!
• If there are pieces that have damage or need mending, put them in a pile for the dry cleaner even if you said you were going to do it yourself.  If the piece has been sitting around waiting, give yourself a pass and let someone fix it for you.

4. Do the same thing for your bags, belts, hats, and jewelry.

OKAYYYY!  Now what we’ve got is your working wardrobe!  The pieces that you love, look great on you, and work with your lifestyle.  Here’s how I organize them in my closet:

Pants/Skirts

• Check for seasonality
  • If it’s a spring/summer skirt that you can’t even look at in the winter, consider storing it in another closet if you have one, otherwise put it in a garment bag with other seasonal items.  When you open that bag in Spring, it’ll be like Christmas
• Separate by short and long
• Separate by solids and prints

Tops

• Check for seasonality like above!
• Put all your button downs together, then sort by color
• Put all your casual day-tops together, then sort by color
• Put all your weekend/going out tops together, again, sort by color

Blazers

• Sort by color

Dresses

• Work Dresses - sort like above
• Weekend Dresses - sort like above
• Going Out Dresses - sort like above