It’s that time of year when the dark nights are setting in, the leaves are falling off the trees and you are feeling the cold. It’s time to say goodbye to that Summer wardrobe that felt like its time was just too short. Unless you have bags of room the chances are that your clothes are feeling the crush in the wardrobe as you pull them out and find that they need ironing for a second time.
It’s time to move to your Winter wardrobe but what a task, how do you sort things, where do you put them and where do you start?
Firstly consider, does your wardrobe work for you? Chances are that like most people your answer will be “no”. So before just pilling clothes into a suitcase in the loft or moving them into your spare room why not spend a bit of time sorting through what you have so you only need to store what you will wear next season and keep in your wardrobe the things which you will wear this Autumn and Winter.
A good starting point is “do you wear everything in your wardrobe?” On average we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. That’s a lot of space being taken up by clothes we don’t wear.
Your clothing needs to suit your colouring, body shape, life style and style personality in order to work for you.
Get everything out of the wardrobe and review each item:
- Consider: does it suit you? Try it on and review it in a full-length mirror, it’s the only way to tell. If something doesn’t feel right you won’t wear it.
- Do you feel great in it? These are the items that tick all the boxes; the right colour, the right shape, the right style.
- Does it fit you? There is nothing more depressing than having clothes a size too small and hoping to fit in to them one day. Unless you are seriously going to lose weight, get rid of them and buy something for the here and now. The likelihood is that if you do lose weight you will buy new clothes anyway!
- Does it go with anything? It may be a fabulous skirt, which you just need the right top to go with. Keep it and start your shopping list.
- Have you worn it in the last year? If you haven’t and you can’t bear to say goodbye put it aside until you next review your wardrobe.
- Are you saving it for best? Unless your saving it for a special occasion like the little velvet number you wear for the Christmas party; then wear it now. Saving it for best means you just don’t wear it! When you eventually do it will be out of fashion!
- Does it suit your lifestyle? If you are always in jeans and tops do you still need a wardrobe of suits? Lifestyle and clothing requirements change, so adjust your wardrobe accordingly.
- Is it still fashionable? Fashion moves in circles, take the camel coat this season, who hasn’t had one before? However, new styles are updated and tend to look modern and are often more flattering.
- Anything not ticking the “keep me” list can then be cleared out, try charity shops, dress agencies, EBay or simply re-cycle bins, there will always be a use for it when you part company.
- Now on to the clothes you are keeping. Start with Summer items which can simply be put away until next year, unless you are fortunate enough to be jetting off to a warmer climate you won’t be wearing them again anytime soon. Sad but true! Divide your Summer clothes into categories, transitional pieces, high summer clothes, holiday clothes, shoes and accessories. If necessary you can bring them gradually out of storage, for example bringing out transitional summer clothes in Spring as you put away heavy knitwear. Changing seasons is gradual and so are our clothing requirements.
Think; beachwear; bikinis, swimsuits, shorts, beach dresses & kaftans to store all together as they maybe the last things you need if not holidaying until next August. Then think lighter weight transitional clothing. Last but not least your high summer clothing like white linen, Summer dresses, cropped trousers and t-shirts and of course your summer sandals. - Do consider items which you can wear Summer and Winter, many clothes can be worn in the Summer with a pair of wedges and in the Winter with a pair of opaque tights and boots. A silk skirt can often double up for this look and still worn with a vest but layered up with knitwear which creates interest with the different textures. You will often still need a pair of sandals in the Winter for certain occasions.
- Organisation is key, put your clothes back in your wardrobe in a way that means something to you either by garment type, so tops, skirts, trousers and dresses or by blocks of colour or by usage; work, social, casual. Hang on plastic or wooden hangers, never wired. Fold knitwear, as it often loses its shape on hangers.
- Anything requiring cleaning or mending should never be stored or put back into the wardrobe. You simply forget it had a mark or a missing button when you next go to wear it or worse; storing dirty clothes just attracts insects.
Storage containers:
- Stick photos on your shoeboxes or buy clear plastic ones so you can see clearly what is in each. Put your Winter shoes and boots at the base of your wardrobe so they are readily accessible.
- Hang scarves, belts and necklaces on hangers or over the door hooks.
- Keep jewellery organised, there are some lovely jewellery chest of drawers which allow you to keep things altogether.
- There are lots of storage containers that can be used to store clothes depending on your space options. There are; shoe cabinets, under stairs shoe storage systems, stackable shoeboxes and drawers. Wicker boxes and chests, under the bed plastic boxes, cardboard, fabric storage boxes and cubes. If space really is at a premium there are vacuum seal storage bags which you literally fill and suction the air out with a vacuum cleaner thus quadrupling your space. There are over the door hooks for anything from jewellery to coats.
Clothing Protection:
When storing clothes it is always worth a few extra protection methods: Clothing responds to storage conditions and is best stored at a natural or cool even temperature avoiding extremes and never too hot. Your loft may not be the best place for clothes storage with possible damp in the winter and heat in the Summer. Any humidity can attract bugs and lofts can be the point of entrance into a house.
Clothing should always be clean as besides attracting unwanted pests any stains are unlikely to come out of a garment after six months.
Store clothes with acid free tissue, folding garments in tissue protects and keeps them pristine, the tissue should be acid free as acid can damage clothing causing it to deteriorate. Washed unbleached cotton muslin can also be used. If using plastic storage, line the plastic with tissue or muslin, so the clothing does not sit directly on the plastic.
Wools and silks shouldn’t be stored in airtight containers as the fabric needs to breath. These two fabrics are also most at risk from moths which do like to destroy clothes, so it is worth storing with anti moth products. There are some natural anti moth protectors such as Calibri Natural Wool protector available through www.lakeland.co.uk, which claims to keep moths away for six months. This is a natural alternative to some products, which may be hazardous. It’s also worth mentioning that starch can attract moths.
Keep clothing gently fragranced with lavender sachets, which also help in the war against moths!
Ensure that clothes are dry when stored, as any damp will cause mould and mildew, if moisture is an issue, silica can be used to help protect garments.
For Men
Men often don’t have the same attachments to clothes as women and often fit their clothes into one wardrobe. Though there are always exceptions! So the same process should be followed as women, though it may be a quicker exercise!
Some pointers are:
- Consider have you worn it in the last year, if not clear it out.
- Pack any lightweight clothes away until next year; think linen, short-sleeved shirts, shorts and sandals. Bear in mind the earlier advice on storage.
- Organise your wardrobe with suit hangers for all your suits; fabric rather than plastic is preferable.
- Hang ties on a tie hanger or coat hanger if you have just a few and clear out any novelty or old ones, a poor tie can really break an outfit.
- Hang belts and any scarves.
- Hang clothes by product type, formal coats, suits, shirts, trousers, casual shirts, tops, trousers and jeans. Fold knitwear and t-shirts. Avoid the use of wired hangers as they can misshape your clothes.
- Only keep shoes, which are in good condition as footwear is always noticed!
© Copyright Catherine Cliffe ~ All About Style 2010
Previous ArticleNext Article
