A more true statement could not be uttered, Mr. Laurent. The second part of this quote should read, “Fashion is for the masses. Style is for the individual,” because style is such an individual statement. Your translation of style will be completely different than anyone else’s. Your style is influenced by your personality type, what feels comfortable to you, your daily activities or job, and so many other factors. The most important thing is to discover your own personal style, feel totally comfortable with it, and do not struggle each day to find it, but return to it naturally and with ease.
But I think we are getting ahead of ourselves. Before we discover style, we must delete from our lives what is not stylish. It’s time to face the music. I am sure there are clothes in your closet currently that you have not worn in years. There are items that are either too big or too small for you right now, but you know that one day they will fit so you hold on to them. And then there are the clothes that you bought and never wore; I’m sure a few still have the tags attached!
So, the first step in establishing a workable closet is to purge, purge, purge. Take out every piece of clothing and try it on. You don’t have to make outfits at this point, you are just trying to establish what fits and what does not.
Rule number 1: Dress for the size you are today. We all want to be the size we were in high school (or maybe college), but holding onto clothes that don’t fit does not help your search for style. These clothes simply take up space in your closet that could be used for fabulous pieces that do fit!
Create places (boxes, crates, garbage bags, etc) to put the clothes into categories: fits, does not fit, does not fit but nice enough to get tailored. This is when you have to suck it up and be honest with yourself. If a blouse gapes open at your chest, or you have to lie down to zip up a pair of pants, don’t whine, just throw it in the does not fit bin and be done with it. This is not an exercise to make you feel bad about yourself, but simply a step on your journey toward finding your inner fashionista!!
Rule number 2: Tailoring is your friend. If there are pieces in your closet that you love but just don’t quite fit, take them to a tailor! Once you find a person you like who does good work, your clothes will fit you perfectly from that point on. Consider this rule when going through your clothes, and don’t get rid of a fabulous piece that you would wear if fit better.
Rule number 3: Dirty pits? You must get rid of it. Ok, so that is a little bit crude, but I needed to get the point across. Once you have a set in armpit stain in a blouse or shirt, the chances are slim to none that you will be able to get it out. More importantly, once this happens to an articles of clothing, it usually means that you have worn the heck out of that shirt or blouse. Good on you! That was money well spent, now give it up! This goes for other items as well: pilling and picking on sweaters, ring around the collar, and...well, you get the point.
Continue trying on all pieces in your closet until you have divided everything into the three piles. Make sure you keep the throw away items in a special place so that they don’t get donated.
Follow these rules, and your closet will be well on its way to revealing your style.
Next, we will rediscover your wardrobe!
No comments:
Post a Comment