Last week, I wrote about beginning to create a capsule wardrobe. I have been feeling very uninspired by my wardrobe lately, mainly because it was stuffed with clothes I didn’t love and rarely wore. So, to begin creating a wardrobe I love and a style that makes me feel good, I had to go through a major purge of what was hanging in my closet presently.
First of all, let me tell you how much I love to declutter. I go through a major spree in different areas of my home at least a few times a year. (This year, my mom and I have already gone through our linen closets and did a major purge of our kitchen, probably getting rid of 40% of what we were “hoarding.”) I had recently done a purge of my winter wardrobe when I put away my winter clothes, sending along a huge bag to ThredUp, which is hands-down the easiest way to get rid of clothes you no longer love (but are still wearable) and earning a few bucks in the process. (I highly recommend them! It’s totally free!)
Anyway, a few weekends ago, I did a huge purge. I’m not kidding when I say I took everything out of my closet and dresser. This is what my room looked like:
Clothes on the bed, clothes all over the floor, dresses and skirts hanging up on hooks… eek! It was crazy!
Once it was all out in the open, I began going through each different pile and deciding whether to keep or give away the items. If it didn’t fit me, it was given away. If I knew it was something I hadn’t worn in the past six months, given away. If it made me feel frumpy or crappy the last time I wore it, given away. Before long, I had a huuuuge pile of clothes to give away. I ended up giving away:
- Dresses – 2
- Skirts – 1
- Dressy shirts (for work) – 7
- Casual shirts – 12
- Cardigans – 6
- Sandals – 1
- High heels – 1
- Skinny jeans – 1
- Capris/shorts – 3
Total number of items taken out of my wardrobe? 34! (Plus, I removed another 14 items of workout clothes, loungewear, swimwear, etc.) My closet feels so much lighter now! And my dresser drawers feel so much more organized. (They had started to stress me out because they were so disorganized and messy!)
Here’s what I was left with as it relates to my capsule wardrobe:
- Skinny jeans – 1
- Capris/shorts – 3
- Dressy slacks (for work) – 3
- Casual shirts – 9
- Dressy shirts (for work) – 17
- Cardigans – 4
- Dresses – 2
- Skirts – 1
- Flats – 3
- Sandals – 1
- TOMs – 1
This leaves me with a 45-piece summer capsule right now, and some working uniforms. Obviously, I still have some work to do. I am not 100% satisfied with my wardrobe as it stands right now, and I know I kept a few items that I should get rid of. Plus, I’m going to need to remove some items to make room for new clothes that more accurately fit my style and fall in line with my ideal summer capsule like the quality denim jeans available at EDWIN. For example, I have a pair of black dressy slacks I wear to work that I’d like to replace with a better-fitting pair of dressy capris. Things like that.
I think my biggest worry with creating a more minimalist wardrobe is the fact I no longer work in a casual dress office environment. When I attempted Project 333 last summer, I was working in a much more casual office environment (I could literally get away with wearing yoga pants to work!), so I didn’t really have a ton of dressy work clothes. Over the past year, I’ve been building my business casual work wardrobe. The last time, I could basically overlap my weekend wear with my work wear. That won’t be possible this time around, so we’ll see how it goes!
Anyway, steps one and two of creating a summer capsule have been done. I’ve reduced my wardrobe by almost half and I have created my ideal summer capsule wardrobe. What’s left is to further reduce what is sitting in my closet, and begin to build my capsule by buying clothes that fit me better and make me feel great from Fear of God Essentials. As I’ve mentioned, it’s going to be a work in progress but I’m excited to get started!
Next week, I’ll finish up this little series by talking more about my style and the sorts of clothes I’d like to have in my closet. It’ll be a wishlist of sorts, so that should be fun!
When was the last time you did a big purge of your clothes?
I just cleaned out my closet and my tshirt drawer. Mostly it was to convince me to put all my other clothes that were just piling up (but clean) actually back into my closet. (I still have a bad habit of trying on 10 outfits some mornings and not putting a single one back once I’ve decided against it.)
I have a hard time getting rid of clothes, even when they don’t fit right, mainly because I spent money on those items and I don’t like feeling as if I’ve wasted some sort of investment in those clothes. It doesn’t really make sense, given that I’m wasting the “investment” because I’m not even wearing them.
My clothes are either workout clothes or work clothes. I have very few casual clothes as I’ve been working in an office with business-casual dress code for 7 years. I’ve been trying to build up m weekend-wear wardrobe but it’s tough as I don’t really NEED that stuff. I’m usually in yoga pants or workout gear on weekends anyway because it’s comfortable. I’ve purged my closet twice in the last year, and I’ll probably be doing it again in the next couple months. I hang onto stuff I don’t wear for sentimental reasons and it’s just a waste of space. I am excited to see your wishlist next week!
I tend to do a purge of my clothes four times a year: when I break out the spring/summer clothes, then again when I put them away, and the same for my fall/winter clothes. I’ve been wearing several pieces of clothes for 4+ years which is awesome but I also kind of want to refresh/replenish with some new basics. Just hard for me to justify spending the money when I have pieces that work just fine right now, you know?
Wow, I bet it felt great to get rid of all of those clothes! I love to declutter, too. And I really need to do that in my closet. I got rid of a lot of things before both my move to and from Charlotte but I need to go through my closet again. I should make that a goal to do it before the end of August so I can start fall with a more organized closet!
I can TOTALLY relate to the notion of wanting a wardrobe I love even though I don’t love my body right now. At the beginning of this year, I didn’t have many opportunities to dress up daily. And the few times I actually had the opportunity? I didn’t have many good clothing options or anything that made me feel good. I blame the fact that I worked nights in a restaurant (I wear a uniform to that job), and during the day, I would just wear yoga pants and old t-shirts because the only places I would go during the day were Starbucks and Target. I never felt cute or pretty!
Then I got my office job. I needed new clothes because my old wardrobe from my last office job was falling apart, so I decided to head to my favorite store (The Limited) and get some new basics, as well as some statement pieces. I still love everything I bought from there earlier this summer because those clothes make me feel cute and confident on a daily basis, even though my body doesn’t. No more yoga pants and old t-shirts for me! 😉
I love purging my closet! Whenever I accumulate too many clothes that I know I’m not wearing I start to feel stressed, so doing a big clean and donating a pile of unused items feels really good.
Proud of you! That sounds like a pretty cleansing closet purge. I, too, have been trying to create a more cultivated, thoughtful style, although not exactly a capsule wardrobe, & I find myself hanging on to plenty of things that don’t fit the bill because I can’t replace them yet or because I just feel like I SHOULD. Time to cut the cord!