Closet Overhaul

Closet Overhaul

A closet overhaul sounds like a big, dramatic purge. It doesn't have to be. At its core, it's just checking in with your clothes and asking an honest question: do I still want to wear this?

Before you start: make a mood board

If you've made a style mood board, have it nearby. It gives you a sense of the looks you want to keep and move forward with, so you're not just deciding what to cut. You're deciding what fits the direction you're headed.

Step 1: Let go of what's no longer wearable

Start with the easy part. Anything with holes, stains that won't come out, stretched-out seams, or fabric that's past saving can go. Some pieces might be worth repairing or tailoring. The rest have done their job.

Step 2: Try everything on

This is the step people skip, and it's the most important one.

You may have loved something last year and worn it constantly, but when you put it on this year, for some reason it's just not your thing anymore. That's normal. Bodies change, tastes change, lives change. The only way to know is to put it on.

Step 3: Go category by category

I've loved clothes since I was a toddler, and as a designer, I have a lot of them. Doing the whole closet at once would be overwhelming, so I go one clothing group at a time: all my pants, then all my T-shirts, then long sleeves, workout clothes, sweaters, and so on.

Take jeans, for example, a favorite of mine. Pull out every pair you own and try them all on, one after another. Seeing them side by side makes it easy to tell which ones you actually love and which ones you've been avoiding. Pay attention to how each pair fits and how you feel in it. Keep the ones you like, and let go of the ones you're not interested in wearing.

Working by category also shows you what you have too much of, and what you're missing.

Keep what brings you joy

I'm a big fan of Marie Kondo. She does a marvelous job of going through things, and of letting them go kindly. Her focus on keeping the things that bring you joy is incredibly important, and it works especially well for clothes.

Not everything you keep has to be practical. Some pieces stay because they're nostalgic, and some stay just because I like the way they look. That's allowed. The goal isn't a perfect closet. It's a closet full of things you actually want.

Bring in a second opinion

If you get stuck deciding what to keep and what to let go, ask a trusted friend or family member to help. Pick someone who knows you, is honest, and will be kind about it. A second set of eyes can see what you can't: that the jacket you love is a little too big, or that the sweater you almost tossed actually looks great on you.

Pay attention to how you feel

The most useful part of an overhaul isn't what you get rid of. It's what you learn.

As you go, be self-aware. Notice what makes you feel good, what you enjoy wearing, and what you keep reaching past. Take notes, even just in your phone. Those notes will tell you more about your style than any trend report.

What about the pieces you let go?

There are lots of good options for the clothes that don't make the cut, from selling to swapping to donating. More on that in a separate post.

Then comes the fun part

Once you've gone through every category, you're left with a closet full of clothes you actually like. That's when the real work starts: going back through what you kept and styling it into outfits. New pairings, new combinations, pieces you forgot about working together in ways you didn't expect.

That's what a Wardrobe Study is really about. The overhaul clears the way, and styling is what makes the closet work for your life.

Schedule a Wardrobe Study →